Luke 6:12 In these days, he went out to the mountain to pray, and he continued all night in prayer to God. 13 When it was day, he called his disciples, and from them he chose twelve, whom he also named apostles: 14 Simon, whom he also named Peter; Andrew, his brother; James; John; Philip; Bartholomew; 15 Matthew; Thomas; James, the son of Alphaeus; Simon, who was called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James; and Judas Iscariot, who also became a traitor.
Thus far in the narrative Jesus has had an incredibly busy schedule. We may forget that he was fully human with all of the accompanying limitations. Yet, he walked from town to town teaching, healing, casting out demons, and meeting with people. And remember he had no home, no base of operation, and no fixed income. To recharge and maintain his bearings he frequently went off alone to pray to his Father in heaven.
If Jesus, being God in the flesh, found it necessary to pray all night for guidance, comfort, and direction from his Father, how much more must we, fallen men and women, depend on prayer with our Heavenly Father to guide us through these trying times? 1 Thessalonians 5:15
Up until this point Jesus had attracted huge crowds of people who followed him from place to place. Many had come for healing and many marveled at his authoritative teaching. Many became his disciples, committing themselves to following him. In Old Israel, the Old Covenant was structured around the twelve patriarchs of the twelve tribes. Here, like the Old Israel, Jesus intentionally structured the New Israel, the New Covenant of his Kingdom, consisting of all of the tribes and nations of the earth, around twelve apostles. After conferring all night with his Father in prayer, Jesus chose from among his many disciples twelve apostles; the men that he would commission to send out into the whole world to represent him. These apostles would be trained to call everyone out of Satan’s kingdom of death and into Christ’s Kingdom of life, men that he would pour his life into, loving to the uttermost. John 13:1 Men, who through their faithfulness, as we will learn in Acts, literally changed the whole world, fishers of men.
Luke 6:17 He came down with them, and stood on a level place, with a crowd of his disciples, and a great number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; 18 as well as those who were troubled by unclean spirits, and they were being healed. 19 All the multitude sought to touch him, for power came out of him and healed them all.
20 He lifted up his eyes to his disciples, and said,
“Blessed are you who are poor, God’s Kingdom is yours.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now,for you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude and mock you, and throw out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake.
23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven, for their fathers did the same thing to the prophets.
After selecting his apostles, a great number of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon gathered around Jesus seeking, not only healing, but also to hear his words of truth, wisdom, and life. Interestingly, in Psalm 87:4 there is a prophecy about people from many distant nations, including Tyre, coming to acknowledge Christ, and here, early in Christ’s ministry Luke includes Tyre among the people gathering to hear the Messiah.
Jesus took this occasion to not only address his newly chosen apostles, but also to speak to those disciples who had chosen to follow him. He lifted up his eyes to his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, God’s Kingdom is yours.”
This is often misinterpreted today to mean that all poor people are specially blessed by God, but in context, that is not the case at all. Jesus is telling his disciples and apostles that because they have left behind worldly goods to follow Jesus their lives will be spiritually blessed. Despite the hardships and poverty that they will face, because of their commitment to Jesus, they have been adopted into the family of the Creator. No matter what circumstances they face God will be with them. As King David taught:
Though I am poor and needy, the Lord thinks of me.
My help and my deliverer art thou. Psalm 40:17
Jesus continued: “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be filled.”
Those who follow Christ will face hardships in this life including poverty and hunger, but they will also experience fulfillment in Christ. Their deepest spiritual hunger and longings will be fulfilled. They will be offered forgiveness, fellowship, and friendship with their Creator.
In fact, even though they will weep now in the future they will laugh in the joyful embrace of Christ’s community of believers.
Why will Christ’s disciples and Apostles weep?
They will be hated, excluded, mocked, and thrown out of town because of their association with Jesus.
Jesus warns that in this life, people will hate you simply because you follow him. No other reason is necessary.
Why is that the case?
Jesus explained that those who do not follow him, by default, are following their father the devil, the father of lies, in whom there is no truth. John 8:44
In contrast, Christ is the truth. John 14:6 So it is natural that those who have been deceived by the dragon, Satan, the liar, to oppose the truth for no other reason than because it is the truth. In fact Christ pointed out, “Because I tell you the truth you will not believe me.” John 8:45
Picking up on that theme, Paul asked the Galatians, “Have I now become your enemy because I told you the truth?” Galatians 4:16
When we tell people the truth about Christ, life, death, repentance, and the sure judgment to come, the unbeliever’s natural reaction will be to see us as enemies who are exposing the inadequacies of their worldview; the hollow and false lies that they base their lives and decisions on. But telling the truth is the most loving thing that we can do because the truth leads to life. Lies may be comforting but they ultimately lead to everlasting death; something that no one wants.
Luke 6:24 “But woe to you who are rich!
For you have received your consolation.
25 Woe to you, you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe, when men speak well of you,
for their fathers did the same thing to the false prophets.
In contrast to the followers of Christ who endure rejection and oppression, because the powerful in this world have rejected the sure promises of God and his coming heavenly Kingdom, this world is as good as it gets for them. They love their wealth, their feasts, their laughter, and they love their prophets who bless their extravagant lifestyles. If a man would come and prophesy falsely saying, I will prophesy to you about wine and strong drink, he shall be the prophet for this people. Micah 2:11 Or as Paul would explain to Timothy, For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 2 Timothy 4:3
Even though his followers will be hated, excluded, mocked, and thrown out Jesus has some unexpected commands for them and for us.
Luke 6:27 “But I tell you who hear: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you. 29 To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer also the other cheek; and from him who takes away your cloak, don’t withhold your coat also. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and don’t ask him who takes away your goods to give them back again.
How are Christians to respond to the hatred and mocking that they will inevitably encounter?
Leviticus 19:18 teaches: You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people; you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I AM Jehovah.
Very often our natural reaction to being mistreated is anger, hatred, resentment, self-pity, and retaliation. And, in an attempt to hold on to these natural responses, the legalistic Pharisees, once again, found a way around God’s clear command. Instead of forgiveness they taught, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. Matthew 5:43
Christ shocks his audience. First, Christ is realistic, teaching that as an outspoken Christian you will make enemies simply because you dare to speak the hard unvarnished truth. Winsome half-truths and lies may be comforting but to really love is to speak the truth. Second, contrary to the teaching of the Pharisees, he tells everyone listening to him that they should love their enemies.
No one had ever heard of such a thing. The people were, no doubt asking themselves: Do you mean that we are to love the occupying Roman army and their tax collectors? How are we supposed to do that?
Jesus clarifies his statement with even more outrageous commands. You are to Love your enemies. What does that look like?
Instead of hating those who hate you, doing good to those who hate you…
Instead of cursing those who curse you, bless those who curse you…
Instead of plotting revenge against those who mistreat you, pray for those who mistreat you…
When insulted, instead of retaliating, offer the other cheek.
If someone asks to borrow something, don’t withhold it.
If someone steals something from you, don’t ask them to give it back.
These commands are clearly out of line with our feelings and are the opposite of our natural inclination to feel resentment, plot retaliation, demand reparations, curse, and, in other words, assume the role of the victim. These commands seem to be inviting trouble until you consider that this was exactly how Christ lived his life. He did good to those who hated him, blessed those who cursed him, prayed for those who mistreated him, and offered no resistance to those who killed him. And as counterintuitive as these teachings might be, without any army or any force, Christ’s teachings have changed the whole world, so much so, that now love, compassion, and generosity are considered normal and thought to be “self evident” truths, even by unbelievers.
Christian values made possible the transformation of our planet, allowing extraordinary numbers of people to enjoy an unprecedented standard of living. Nowadays, those values are so widespread that we can easily think of them as an inevitable outcome of human development. It takes a major effort of will to imagine quite how revolutionary they must have seemed when first proposed.
(Daniel Hannah, Inventing Freedom, Harper Collins)
Decency, human rights, human values, all of which we thought were innate secular Western values – turn out to be values that cannot be protected enduringly without the blessing of what has been in the West, the Judeo-Christian God.
(Dr. Naomi Wolf, Have the Ancient Gods Returned? naomiwolf@substack.com, 2-23-23)
We must be careful to remember however that God’s Law never leaves his people defenseless. Life is precious and is to be defended from those who intend to destroy it. See for example; God commands that murders are to face capital punishment, Genesis 9:6, thieves caught in the act may be killed, thieves caught after the theft are to pay five times the restitution, Exodus 22:1-3, Christ instructed his disciples to arm themselves for their defense, Luke 22:36, and the Apostle Paul held the civil authorities to account using the courts to defend himself. Acts 25:11
Instead, what Christ is teaching here is that our personal attitude must never be to seek revenge. As Paul taught: As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge but rather leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: It is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord. On the contrary: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, rather overcome evil with good. Romans 12:18-21
Our commission is to be peacemakers. We are to leave judgment and vengeance to God.
God, the Supreme Lord and King of all the world, hath ordained civil magistrates to be under him, over the people, for his own glory and the public good, and to this end hath armed them with the power of the sword, for the defense and encouragement of them that are good, and for the punishment of evil-doers. (Westminster Confession of Faith Chapter 23)
As Christ goes on to clarify:
Luke 6:31 “As you would like people to do to you, do exactly so to them.”
Everyone, the world over, has heard of the so-called Golden Rule. It is often restated as: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. But to see just how revolutionary Christ’s words were I would like to take a quick tour around the world looking at similar golden rules.
Ancient Egypt: That which you hate to be done to you do not do to another.
Ancient India: One should never do something to others that one would regard as injury to one’s self.
Ancient Greece: Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing.
Ancient Persia: Whatever is disagreeable to yourself don’t do to others.
Buddhism: Hurt not others in ways that you would find hurtful.
Can you spot the difference between these ‘golden rules’ and Christ’s revolutionary command?
The other golden rules are all passive and all in the negative. You are told to just avoid doing things to others that you would not want them to do to you. These rules allow you to keep to yourself, withdrawing from people, requiring you to do nothing.
On the other hand, Christ demands that you think of others and actually do to them and do for them the very things that you wish people would do for you. Christ is demanding that we live lives of initiative and service. In an ideal world how do you want people to treat you? Do you wish people were friendly toward you, visited you, prepared meals for you, took notice of your needs, reached out to help you, complimented you, defended you, and prayed for you and your family? These are the things that we should be doing for others.
As the Apostle Paul instructed the Romans: Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another. Romans 12:10 and instructed the Ephesians: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29 Christ tells us that in serving others we are serving him: As you have done it for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you have done it for Me. Matthew 25:40
Do you think of ways to go out of your way to honor others?
Do you seek to understand the needs of others so that you may know how to best build them up?
These are difficult teachings. You may be thinking that perhaps you could occasionally reach out to your friends and family with the kind of love that Jesus demands. But before you get too comfortable with that legalistic pharisaical workaround Jesus quickly ups the ante.
Luke 6:32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive back as much. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil.
Jesus wants us to not only love those who love us but to also love those who are our enemies.
Jesus wants us to not only do good to those who do good to us but to do good to those who mistreat us.
Jesus even expects us to lend to such people expecting no return on our investment.
Why does Jesus require these things from us?
Because when we were the enemies of God, ignoring God and his requirements, pursuing all kinds of evil, and being unthankful for the blessings of God: life, health, abundance, friends, and family, God continued to love us.
Our culture has largely embraced the misguided idea that love is simply a feeling. But according to our Creator we have it all backwards. Love is first an action. Jesus said, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” John 14:15 And we will discover that as we follow God’s commandments our feelings will follow. Be obedient despite your feelings and you will discover that God will change your feelings through the power of his Spirit within you.
Luke 6:36 “Therefore be merciful, even as your Father is also merciful. 37 Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged.
Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned.
Set free, and you will be set free.
38 “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to you. For with the same measure you measure it will be measured back to you.”
Jesus concludes, Therefore:
- We are to be merciful toward others because God was merciful to us.
- Though we deserved judgment, God didn’t judge us, instead he demonstrated his mercy.
- God didn’t condemn us: instead he saved us.
- God set us free from the guilt and shame of our sins.
As God gave all of this to us: as his ambassadors, it is our privilege to give to others as we represent our Lord.
And as counterintuitive as this is, even as this cuts against the grain of both the fallen culture that we live in, and our selfish desires, we will find that as we give, it will be given to us. As we measure it will be measured to us, even to overflowing. When we try to be stingy, when we try to protect ourselves, when we try to withdraw mercy, grace, and love we will discover that we are actually diminished. It is as we live and display to others the generosity that God, through Christ, granted to us, that we will find the love of God overflowing in our lives. When we are selfish and miserly we will find ourselves enslaved in lives of fear. When we are generous we will find freedom.
These are amazing teachings but honestly, they are impossibly difficult and seemingly out of reach. How can anyone actually live this way?
Jesus tells a parable to explain.
Luke 6:39 He spoke a parable to them. “Can the blind guide the blind? Won’t they both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.”
Jesus returns to his original point. The legalistic Pharisees, seeking a workaround to skirt the difficult task of following God’s Law, taught Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. At first glance this sounds pious but, in fact, it is bankrupt because we are to love even our enemies. In contrast to that false teaching Jesus had amazed his disciples by explaining to them the meaning of true mercy and love; the kind of mercy and love that God demonstrated toward us even when we were his enemies.
In this parable Jesus warns his disciples against following the blind guidance of the establishment religious leaders. If they follow blind guides, the teaching of the Pharisees, they will miss the beauty of God’s truth and fall into the same pit as the Pharisees.
I’m going to ask the question
Please answer if you can
Is there anybody’s children can tell me
Tell me what is the soul of a man?
When Christ taught in the temple
The people all stood amazed
He was teaching the lawyers and the doctors
How to raise a man from the grave
(Bruce Cockburn, Soul of a Man, Nothing but a Burning Light)
Remember that Jesus had just chosen the twelve apostles. They were sinful people and, for the most part, uneducated men. They certainly were not the lawyers and doctors of the law with the elite credentials of the Scribes and Pharisees, and yet Jesus had just told the apostles to ignore the teaching of the Pharisees. But to reassure them, Jesus tells them that despite not having advanced degrees, after being fully trained under his direction, they will be like their teacher. They will overflow with a measure of his knowledge and wisdom, becoming his ambassadors to the world.
Luke 6:41 Why do you see the speck of chaff that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye? 42 Or how can you tell your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck of chaff that is in your eye,’ when you yourself don’t see the beam that is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck of chaff that is in your brother’s eye. 43 For there is no good tree that produces rotten fruit; nor again a rotten tree that produces good fruit. 44 For each tree is known by its own fruit. For people don’t gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. 45 The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings out that which is good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings out that which is evil, for out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks.
Jesus had already explained to his disciples the necessity of displaying love to the world through deeds of mercy, kindness, and generosity. In his next lesson Jesus explains that in order to live lives of love and service, humility is an essential characteristic for every disciple. In contrast, it is really easy to excuse your sins when you compare yourselves to others. This self-righteousness made the Pharisees blind to their sins and shortcomings; a point that Christ will again emphasize in Luke 18:11, The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers…” Because the Pharisees had beams in their eyes that blinded their vision, they were comfortable leveling accusations against both Christ and their contemporaries.
Using the false teachers as a negative example, Christ is teaching his disciples to, in humility, examine themselves, not in comparison to others but to examine themselves in comparison to the Holy God. In the light of that comparison they are to repent of their sins so that they may restore others with a spirit of gentleness. Galatians 6:1 Christ will not allow his disciples to be hypocrites like the Pharisees who point out everyone else’s faults while neglecting their own faults; hypocrites who blindly lead their hapless disciples into the pit of God’s eternal judgment.
What is in the storehouse of your heart?
Are you self-righteous, using religion as a tool to lord over others? 1 Peter 5:3 … The evil man out of the treasure of his heart brings out that which is evil.
Or are you willing to honestly look at yourself, and in humility repent and seek God’s ways? The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings out that which is good… for out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks.
The storehouse of you heart will inevitably be revealed by the fruit that you produce. For there is no good tree that produces rotten fruit; nor again a rotten tree that produces good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit.
Ultimately, there are only two ways to live life. One way produces fruit that is pleasing to God and one way produces fruit that is rotten. Jesus explains…
Luke 6:46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things which I say? 47 Everyone who comes to me, and hears my words, and does them, I will show you who he is like. 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug and went deep, and laid a foundation on the rock. When a flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it was founded on the rock. 49 But he who hears, and doesn’t do, is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
As we are seeing, in the Western world, when life is built on the wrong foundation, there is a growing emptiness. There is cultural breakdown. People are distracting themselves with things, which can never ultimately satisfy: travel, drugs, alcohol, possessions, entertainment, pornography, politics. Additionally, the foundation of distraction can never survive the judgment of God. It will be swept away.
Even within the church today you will hear people say that Jesus is their friend, Jesus is their co-pilot, or even that Jesus is their Savior, but very rarely will you hear people say that Jesus is their Lord. We all need understanding friends and, because hell is real, we all need a Savior, but how many are willing to submit their wills to and surrender their freedom to Jesus as their Lord? A Lord is one to whom you swear loyalty. A Lord is one whom you obey without question. A Lord is one who holds sway over you in every area of your life. You don’t get to call Jesus your Lord and then ignore his teachings and commands.
Remember Christ is addressing his twelve apostles and his other disciples here. He is saying don’t be like the false religious leaders who pledge allegiance to God, calling him Lord and yet try to skirt his commands at every turn. Men who hear God’s clear Word and yet devise workarounds and clever rationalizations to avoid following God’s Law. Self-righteous men who monetize God and religion for their own gain. Wolves who dress like sheep, Matthew 7:15 to deceive God’s people. Such men have built what looks like a great religious house but because Christ is not their Lord he is neither their friend nor their Savior. They have twisted and ignored God’s Word so that when they stand before the flood of God’s final judgment their house comes crashing down and is destroyed because it was not rooted in the foundation of God’s Truth. They will hear Christ say, “I never knew you, depart from me.” Matthew 7:23
If you want to be a disciple of Christ you must serve Jesus as your Lord. Secure yourself in the bedrock of Christ’s Word. God’s Word shows us how spiritually bankrupt we are. God’s Word exposes our self-righteousness. God’s Word reveals our many sins showing us our need for the grace and mercy of God. God’s Word reveals Christ’s love for us. God’s Word is a wake-up call, calling us to obedience, allowing us to live lives of gratitude, confidence, and joy. But do not forget that obedience is never the basis for God’s love, rather it is the evidence, the fruit, of our dependence on God; evidence of the storehouse that is growing within our heart.
Christ warns us what is at stake. We have to travel the painful road of serving other people in service to Jesus. Christ does not say, Whatever you wish other people would do for you, demand from them… Christ does not say, You should feel sorry for yourself because of what others don’t do for you and nurse bitterness or take revenge… No. All the kinds of things that you want other people to do for you, you must go out of your way to do those things for others no matter what you get out of it. The standard is God’s Word, the only firm foundation for life.
(Dr. Timothy Fox, Christ the King PCA Church, sermon notes, 6/19/2022)