Luke 6:17-26 (Sermon for the week of February 11th)

Luke 6:17-26 (NKJV)

Jesus Heals a Great Multitude

17 And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, 18 as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. 19 And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.

The Beatitudes

20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:

“ Blessed are you poor,
For yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
For you shall be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now,
For you shall laugh.
22 Blessed are you when men hate you,
And when they exclude you,
And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,
For the Son of Man’s sake.
23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
For indeed your reward is great in heaven,
For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

Jesus Pronounces Woes

24 “ But woe to you who are rich,
For you have received your consolation.
25 Woe to you who are full,
For you shall hunger.
Woe to you who laugh now,
For you shall mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you^[a] when all^[b] men speak well of you,
For so did their fathers to the false prophets.


SERMON:

This passage from Luke is known as "The Sermon on the Plain" and is parallel to Matthew 5-7 "The Sermon on the Mount". It is known as the Sermon on the Plain because Luke writes in 6:17 "Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place". Luke's version is much shorter than Matthew's with 3 introductory verses and 30 teaching verses compared to Matthew's 4 introductory verses and 107 teaching verses. Luke's version is distinctly different in that Luke includes a different variation of the Beautitudes called "the Woes" (6:24-26).

It is important to note that Luke parallels Matthew chapter 5 and 7, but does not include any comparable material for Matthew chapter 6. It is unlikely that every word written in both book versions of the sermon are exact, however, like the Word of God (which is the Bible), the Gospel always gets to the theme and allows us to arrive to the Truth. These sermons are a collection of Jesus' teachings from a variety of settings and were taught by Jesus Himself. We know that...

Luke places the Sermon on the Plain later in Jesus' ministry because Luke's concern is emphasizing a theme and not chronological order. Luke emphasizes the conflicts; between this earth and heaven, man and God, between His ways and our ways. In Luke, we often see the scribes and Pharisees taking offense at Jesus for violating religious traditions. They defend a traditional view of who God's people are (Godly Jews vs. ungodly Gentiles) and Jesus counters them with the Truth, which is a different way than they see things. Jesus gives them a glimpse into the Kingdom of Heaven which is opposite from the world they adhere to.

It is extremely hard and virtually impossible to follow the Law perfectly, and we can admire these scribes and Pharisees for trying. However it is glaringly obvious that they ignore their own prophets and ignore the very Messiah they claim to be waiting for. The prophets tried to move the Jews from level one to level two...from following the Law to having compassion. If they would have listened to the very prophets that lived among them and didn't kill them, they would have been better prepared for Jesus' arrival. Jesus moves us to level 3, but the Pharisees and scribes are still stuck in legalism and remain in level 1!

One note, before jumping into this weeks reading, keep in mind that verses 12-16 in Luke chapter 6 details Jesus choosing the 12 Apostles. The 12 Apostles correspond to the 12 Tribes of Israel. The 12 Tribes of Israel correspond to the 10 Lost Tribes and the two Tribes that make up the Southern Kingdom who are now the nation of Israel. When the 12 Apostles were chosen, they were chosen on a mountain. Mountains were places to pray and encounter God. This mountain is where Jesus is coming down from which leads us into this weeks reading.

Jesus "came down with them and stood on a level place".

"Them" are the 12 Apostles and "came down" is Jesus coming down from that mountain. Another interesting perspective is that Jesus "comes down" to the level where the ordinary people are. Jesus meets us on a level place to teach and instruct us. When a person meets you on level ground...they are not overpowering or dominant. We learn more when we do not feel dominated or lowly...even though we are by God's awesome power. Jesus comes down to our level to help.

"with a great crowd of disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon".

Verse 17 is interesting. Jerusalem is the southern province and is located in Judea. Jerusalem is the home of the Temple and the Jewish leaders. It is also the source of the largest opposition to Jesus.

Tyre and Sidon are Gentile cities on the coast of Capernaum. This suggest that Gentiles are present at the sermon.

These four places represent the span of people Jesus ministers to...Jews and Gentiles.

"They has come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured".

Believe it or not! Miracles are happening here! Those who had DISEASES were cured! Those who were possessed or surrounded by evil were CURED! Can you or I do this? We can only with the Power of Jesus. We are called as witnesses to do these very acts and it can and does happen through faith. Jesus did these things and these people were cured! Do you know any Rabbi's, Guru's, or teachers today who can do this?

"And all in the crowd were trying to touch (Jesus), for power came out of Him and healed all of them"

Believe it or not! The Power of God, the Power of the Holy Spirit, resides in the Son of God. He came to teach, and not only did He teach, but He healed everyone present! Now that is the awesome and loving Power of God! What is our call? It is to GO, to MAKE DISCIPLES, to BAPTIZE, and to TEACH. We may be blessed with enough FAITH to heal by touch and exorcise demons...if not...we strive to reach that level of faith. In the meantime, those who are of Christ's Church can heal on a more mundane level: we can supply food, clothing, shelter, medicine, and education to those who suffer. There is an endless amount of suffering, but an endless amount of the Power of God also is at our disposal!

Now for the "Woes". Luke words these differently from the Beatitudes in Matthew. Luke clues in on an important Truth. What GOD does and what WE do are two opposites. The Woes gives us this contrast. We can unlock the Power of God by understanding that Jesus ends the reciprocal principal by understanding the circumstance, doing the opposite of what we think, and asking God for help. The Woes also contain the meaning of conflict within our lives as we walk in faith. Most (and I believe if not all) men and women of Faith have had to endure our personal trials. These are meant for us to learn from and gain faith. Think about it...if we had all of the money in the world...would we seek Jesus? Or would you be out having fun? If you knew horrible pain, would you know to recognize, appreciate, and offer supplications to God when WE KNOW that He granted us relief from that pain? All of my trials in life IN THE END have taught me knowledge or has granted me a spiritual experience of God. It didn't seem like it at the time, but looking back...I understand why I had to go through that experience (in almost every case). Let me also point out that Jesus does not tell us that we should sell all that we have and give it all to the poor so that we can attain the Kingdom of Heaven. He does challenge a rich man to do this very thing...however in the Beatitudes, Jesus tells the poor that the Kingdom of Heaven is ALREADY THEIRS! In the Woes, he tells the rich that they have ALREADY RECEIVED their consolation!

Lets look at a few of the Woes:
"Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven"

The poor encompass not only the economically poor but the spiritually poor. They include the disadvantaged, the powerless, the marginalized. When the world is against everything you do, you are poor. When you strive for faith but fail all the time, you are spiritually poor. There is an argument out there that I need to address. Some believe that wealth is the mark of God's approval. Their question is "Doesn't God reward people with prosperity and spiritual blessings?" The answer is: SOMETIMES. Our spirituality is inversely proportional to our wealth. Our need for God usually falls when we are financially secure and grows when we are not. The rich tend to trust their wealth and not God. Perhaps some of the rich have gained their wealth by taking advantage of others. Keep in mind that this is not an absolute that there are wealthy people who live lives of Faith, and poor people who DO NOT live lives of faith. Luke is pointing out the Truth, the Truth is that the Kingdom of God is the reversal of this world. Where you suffer, you shall have relief! What you think is prosperity in this world, is not prosperity in the Kingdom of God! There are far more poor people in this world than "rich". This Beatitudes is a message of Hope to the majority of people in this world.

"Blessed are you who are hungry now for you will be filled"

While Jesus is here, He provides for the hungry. But "hunger" does not mean purely physiological hunger. We can be hungry for faith, understanding, truth, and justice...and can't find it. The Kingdom of Heaven is the opposite, you shall find what you are looking for and no longer hunger!

I think I will end it here with a reprint of the woes...they are Blessings from Our Lord, and if we think about the Kingdom of Heaven being opposite from this world...we can read the Woes and feel the Hope that Our Lord shall provide and does provide!

Blessed are you who weep now,
For you shall laugh.

Blessed are you when men hate you,
And when they exclude you,
And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,
For the Son of Man’s sake.
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
For indeed your reward is great in heaven,
For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

“ But woe to you who are rich,
For you have received your consolation.

Woe to you who are full,
For you shall hunger.

Woe to you who laugh now,
For you shall mourn and weep.

Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
For so did their fathers to the false prophets.


Woe to our hardships and to our enemies! Rejoice for YOUR Kingdom is at hand!

God Bless you and your families this week.


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