God Of The Marginalized

“God of the Marginalized”

Luke 6:17-26

Something VERY radical is taking place here in Luke Chapter 6.

Jesus is speaking to His disciples, His followers, His students and He is giving them their first lesson.

But it sounds VERY strange to our ears, does it not?

I mean, this isn’t the American dream.

This isn’t what we voted for.

Imagine a politician running on this message…

…he or she wouldn’t get one vote!

Would they be called names like: Socialist, Communist, Woke, perhaps liberal—or un-American?

Would their message be welcome in most American Christian Churches of today?

Or would they would be booed out?

Or kicked out?

But this is Jesus we are talking about here.

And these are His words.

“Blessed are you who are poor…

… and hungry…

…blessed are you who weep now…

…Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of [Me].”

“Rejoice!”

“Leap for joy!”

You mean we are to take it as a badge of honor when the world kicks us in the teeth?

That can’t be right.

There's a new executive order outlawing anti-Christian bias in our land!

Isn’t this why we should leap for joy?

Jesus isn’t sounding like a Christian Nationalist here.

Maybe these aren’t Jesus’s real words.

Perhaps Bible believing Christians should just ignore this bit.

I mean listen to this:

“Woe to you who are rich…

Woe to you who are well fed now…

Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you…”

Give me a break, Jesus!

This is supposed to be a Christian nation, after-all, and these aren’t American ideals.

I think we should just forget about these so-called words of Jesus.

After all, we know that the person who dies with the most stuff wins!

Nah, it’s blessed are you who are rich…and woe to you who are poor.

Jesus has it backwards!

…Or do we?

If, by chance, we are the ones who have it backwards it might do us well to try and figure out what Jesus IS talking about and why He is saying these things.

So, let’s look at the context.

Right before our Gospel Lesson for this morning we are told that Jesus “called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles…

…and then “He went down with them and stood on a level place…looking at his disciples He said the words we are talking about this morning.

Was He leveling with them?

Was He preparing them for what was ahead?

Was He saying we are in this together?

Was Jesus telling them that this is what they would get by following Him?

There is a famous story recorded by Matthew, Mark and Luke.

It’s about a rich young ruler who runs up to Jesus wanting to know how he can enter God’s Kingdom.

After some talk about the commandments Jesus tells him he lacks one thing: “Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.

Then come, follow me.”

This guy, though, decides that he can’t part with his riches, so he goes away sad.

And so, he’s sad.

But he’s rich.

Does that sound familiar?

Then Jesus says “It is easier a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

The disciples are shocked, having been taught for so long that riches are a sign of God’s blessing.

They ask Jesus, “Who then can be saved?”

Jesus says that with people it’s impossible, but with God all things are possible.

But this isn’t enough for Peter, he needs to remind Jesus of his credentials: “Lord, we have left everything to follow you!”

Jesus assures Him that he on the right path, but then says, “But whoever is last shall be first.”

The least shall be the greatest.

The most humble shall be lifted up.

This is the message of the Gospels.

This is the message of Jesus.

And Jesus lived it out.

Jesus lived it out by hanging with the tax collectors, prostitutes and other sinners.

Jesus lived it out by healing the masses.

Feeding the hungry.

Showing mercy and compassion for the marginalized, the outcastes, women, children, lepers, Jews and Gentiles alike—and putting Himself on a level place with all of them—with all of us.

The Apostle Paul described Jesus’ posture well in Philippians Chapter 2.

Jesus, he wrote “Who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing…

…and being found in appearance as a human being, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross.”

This is what Jesus did for us.