Warm Up
- What’s a small moment recently that made you feel hopeful or encouraged?
- What helps you “see clearly” in life when things feel a bit confusing or blurry?
Introduction – The Human Condition You Can’t
Escape (No Matter Where You Live) (5 mins)
Video Notes:
- The video begins with the idea of home as a place of safety, love, and belonging, but shows how many people live in a state of exile—disconnected, displaced, or longing for more. In the Bible, exile is not just physical but also emotional and spiritual. It represents the human condition of feeling far from where we truly belong.
- Exile first appears in Genesis when Adam and Eve are sent out of the garden for disobeying God. This sets a pattern that repeats in Israel’s story—given the land on the condition of faithfulness, but exiled when they turn away. Babylon becomes a symbol of humanity’s attempt to live without God, leading to dislocation and loss.
- Even after returning from Babylon, Israel still lived under foreign rule and continued to repeat the same failures. This shows that exile goes deeper than geography—it’s a spiritual and emotional reality we all experience. We live in a broken world, longing for healing, restoration, and home.
- Jesus enters into our exile, living without a home and welcoming the lost and outcast. Through his life, death, and resurrection, he opens the way back to true belonging with God. His followers become people on a journey—sojourners awaiting the day when all things are made new and exile is finally over.
Getting to know your group / Reflection Question:
Go around the group and introduce yourself. If you would like, you can also give your insight on one of the two following questions:
- After watching the video, what parts of the “exile” story do you see reflected in your own life or in the world around you—and what might a “return home” or transformed life look like?
- If exile is the human condition—being far from where we’re meant to be—what do you think it would take for someone’s life to be truly transformed and restored?
#1. Speaking of Suffering
Read Luke 18:31-34
Around the table … what is your reflection on this passage?
Or ponder together the following questions:
- This is the third time that Jesus has told his disciples about his upcoming death and resurrection (see Luke 9:21-22, 43-45 for the first two). Why do you think Jesus repeats this information to the disciples three different times?
- Why might the idea of a “suffering messiah” sound strange to the disciples? To us?
- The disciples understand nothing of what Jesus is saying because it was hidden from them. Who or what do you think hides the meaning of Jesus’ words? Why?
2. Giving Sight to Those Who Are Blind
Read Luke 18:35-43
- Why do you think those in the front sternly order the man who was blind to be quiet?
- Why did the blind man call out to Jesus as the “Son of David” (“Son of David” was a title for the Messiah – 2 Samuel 7:12-16)?
- What is the significance of the fact that after the disciples are unable to see what Jesus is saying, a man who was blind is given his sight?
- Do you believe Jesus would have healed the man who was blind if he had not called out? Why or why not?
- Have I recently cried out to God with the kind of deep desperation the blind man showed?
3. Seeking Out the Lost
Watch Video –
Read Luke 19:1-10
Around the table … what is your reflection on this passage?
Or ponder together the following questions:
- The crowds prove to be an obstacle for both the man who was blind and Zacchaeus, and yet these two individuals are able to encounter Jesus. Why is this significant?
- Does Zacchaeus, who received Jesus with faith and joy, “find” Jesus or does Jesus “find” Zacchaeus? How might each answer change your understanding of this story?
- Jesus says that “Today salvation has come to this house…” (Luke 19:9) How does the word “today” add to the power of Jesus’ words?
- Jesus says that he came to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). The younger son in Jesus’ parable from Luke 15:11-32 is also referred to as “lost.” Compare and contrast Zacchaeus with this character. What do they have in common?
- Take some to imagine what the next year in Zacchaeus’ life would have been like.
- Who is the ‘Zacchaeus’ who is being neglected in my community (church, home, neighbourhood)?
Bible Nuts & Bolts: Tax Collectors
Tax collectors were a despised segment of Jewish society during Jesus’ day. They were independent contractors who cooperated with the Roman Empire, which ruled and oppressed the Jewish people. They agreed to pay a certain amount to the Romans in advance and then turned a profit by collecting extra taxes, tolls, tariffs, and other duties. This set-up led to corruption and abuse as they extorted people for as much as they could get. Not only were they considered to be dishonest by their fellow Jews, but they were also seen as “collaborators” who worked for the Romans and were thus traitors to their own people. A “chief tax collector” such as Zacchaeus would have many other contractors working under him.
4. Courage: Love that forces change – Your courage Score
Prayer
Lord Jesus,
you call us not just to believe,
but to follow.
Not just to change,
but to be transformed.
Shape our lives, Lord—
not just our thoughts or feelings—
but our words, our choices, our way of living.
When we’re tempted to go back to old habits,
remind us we belong to you.
You have made us new.
May your Spirit go with us—
into our homes, our work, our relationships—
so that our lives reflect your grace
and bring your light into the world.
Transform us, Lord, for your glory and your kingdom. Amen.