Jesus' Ministry

In our journey to Easter Sunday, we continue in the book of Luke. Last week we talked about Jesus's mission. Today we will take a look at Jesus's actual ministry in Luke 6. In today’s passage, Jesus gives us a glimpse of what life is like in God's kingdom. He teaches us that true happiness isn't what the world thinks. In general, Jesus just wants us to love others the way He loves us.

When I graduated from college in 1978, I was employed with Wyatt's cafeterias in Dallas, Texas as an assistant manager. In their training process we had to work each station to become familiar with it on a personal level.

At one point, I waited on tables and cleaned them after the customers were finished eating. I learned through the training process that restaurant management is a demanding job. I guess that's why I go out of my way to be friendly and patient in restaurants. I keep that in mind when I am tipping, too. I'm not sure how I feel about those that give $100 tips for a cup of coffee. But I tip others like I would want to be tipped. I wouldn't expect anything more. Here's the thing, though. Jesus's teaching on how to treat others, does expect more. Jesus expects His followers to love in radical ways because that's how He loves us. Prayer.

Last time in Luke 4, we looked at the first of Jesus's sermons, as recorded by Luke. Jesus spoke to the crowds of people who came to hear Him but weren’t yet following Him. Now we’ll look at Jesus's second sermon recorded in Luke. This sermon was directed to Jesus's disciples, the people who had chosen to follow Him.

Luke 6:17-19 – “After coming down with them, he stood on a level place with a large crowd of his disciples and a great number of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those tormented by unclean spirits were made well. 19 The whole crowd was trying to touch him, because power was coming out from him and healing them all.”

If we look closely, we'll see that there were three groups of people who were with Jesus in this scene. Each of them recognized that Jesus had the power to heal them. But not all of them had submitted to Jesus's authority to guide their lives.

The apostles/them. In the verses just before this passage, it describes how Jesus went up on a mountain to pray and selected the 12 apostles from the larger group of disciples. Jesus would later send these 12 out to proclaim the good news and heal the sick. It mentions:

A large crowd of disciples. These people had already chosen to follow Jesus. Not just physically, but spiritually, trusting His guidance.

A great number of people. These people weren't disciples, but they were interested in the teaching, healing, and power of Jesus.

These people were coming to Jesus to be healed but also to hear His teaching. His words and actions pointed to the truth that Jesus is the Messiah. His words taught them that God's kingdom is marked by love. His actions showed that there's no place for disease or unclean spirits in His kingdom.

As God's people, we're expected to live as Kingdom people, members of God's family, right? Jesus is going to describe what this looks like in the next verses.

Here we are some 2,000 years after Jesus announced the kingdom, and we still live in a world that's full of disease and suffering. What we are seeing from Jesus is a glimpse of the Kingdom that's coming in full when He returns. But we're invited to join this Kingdom now, where we will experience the spiritual healing that comes through a relationship with Jesus.

Luke 6:20-21a – “Then looking up at his disciples, he said: Blessed are you who are poor, because the kingdom of God is yours. 21 Blessed are you who are hungry now, because you will be filled.”

When our world today thinks about having a blessed life, we think of financial stability, a nice home, a healthy family, and good friends. But in God's kingdom, the blessed ones are the poor, hungry, weeping, and persecuted. Jesus says in verse 20, "Blessed are you who are poor." Many of Jesus's disciples left all they had to follow Him and experienced monetary poverty. That was physical poverty. But Jesus was also referring to spiritual poverty. This is the spiritual state of humility and dependence on God, which should always mark a follower of Jesus. Even King David wrote in Psalm 86:1:

Psalm 86: 1 - "Listen, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy."