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."
Then Jesus says in Luke 6:21a, " Blessed are you who are hungry now." Jesus and His disciples were often hungry. We read about them picking grains of wheat to eat on the Sabbath. We also read about Jesus performing miracles to feed the people following Him.
But unlike poverty there is a spiritual hunger. I think that is why Jesus used the word now in this verse. This spiritual hunger won't continue forever. The spiritual hunger for God's presence will be completely satisfied in the future. But we are blessed now as we hunger for God.
Following Jesus, many times, meant poverty, hunger, and oppression for His disciples. But when you have that physical dependence like hunger, poverty, or disease, you more clearly realize your need for God, and how dependent you are on Him.
These blessings that Jesus gives are not requirements for joining God's family, but instead encouragement for those who are already children of God. Jesus is saying that through our dependence on God, that is where we find true blessing, happiness, and joy. So, we can rejoice now because we belong to Jesus forever.
Luke 6:21b-23 – “Blessed are you who weep now, because you will laugh. 22 Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you, insult you, and slander your name as evil because of the Son of Man. 23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy. Take note—your reward is great in heaven, for this is the way their ancestors used to treat the prophets.”
I read this passage and I think of it as Jesus preparing His disciples to be pastors. He spoke of the blessing associated with suffering and oppression. His disciples would be hated, insulted, slandered, and excluded because of Him. But Jesus said there would be laughter, rejoicing, and even jumping for joy. Not just peaceful contentment in the midst of persecution; Jesus was talking about jumping up and down and dancing with joy.
Now when you are being persecuted or oppressed, how can you possibly be joyful like that? We can be because followers of Jesus know something that the rest of the world doesn't because as Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:4:
2 Corinthians 4:4 – “In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
So listen closely. Even in suffering and death, followers of Jesus can find joy.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 – “For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. 18 So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
So the Bible is telling us that Jesus's followers can rejoice now because we have glimpsed the future, and the future is glorious. What does that future look like when Jesus comes again?
Revelation 21:4-5 – “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away. 5 Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.”
The prophets of the OT were mistreated for proclaiming God's truth, and just like them the disciples would be mistreated for proclaiming the truth about Jesus.
Even today, Christians around the world experience different levels of persecution--some even to the point of death - for telling people the truth about Jesus. But Jesus promises a great reward when this happens. We don't earn these blessings by our suffering; we receive them as gifts of God's extraordinary and extravagant grace.
Luke 6:27-28 – “But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
Let's be truthful. That is difficult to do. If somebody hates us, it's hard to love them back. If somebody curses you it's difficult to bless them. If someone mistreats you, it's hard to pray for them. So how can we possibly do this? The answer is with the help of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables us to love like Jesus loves.
Be kind. Do good. Say something nice. Spread joy. Smile. We see these slogans on t-shirts and stickers and social media all the time. And it's a good thing that our culture is interested in promoting ideas of kindness and love. But is it enough just to repeat these slogans, or put them on t-shirts, or add them to your social media profile? To answer that question, just turn on the news or check your media feed. You'll see that the slogans for the way people really act are often more like this. Be inconsiderate. Disagree. Say something mean. Spread hate. Grumble.
If we were honest, despite our best intentions, we often struggle to be kind and love others. Maybe you get grouchy when you're hungry. Or when you're tired. Or when something is stressing you out. Or you're sick, or running late. Maybe you only lose your cool when the other person is completely out of line. We can't be perfect all the time, right? But Jesus wants us to love everyone all the time, even our enemies. He told his followers:
Matthew 5:48 – “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
But how can we do that? We aren't Jesus. We aren't perfect. But Jesus said that those who believe in Him will have the Spirit flowing out of them as streams of living water.
John 7:38 – “38 The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.”
We can't force ourselves to feel love. But we can allow the Holy Spirit to empower us to act with love. This is the only way we can even begin to get this right. When we submit to the guidance and the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, it is the Spirit that produces love in us. Love is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
So it is the Holy Spirit that produces the love that does good to the people who hate us; love that speaks blessings when the people speak against us; love that prays for the people who hurt us; love in action.
So if you want to put that rule into practice, pray for that rude person that you met at the store. Praying for that coworker who takes you for granted. Pray for the family member who hurt you. Pray for the friend who betrayed you. Or maybe ask the Lord to show you who you need to pray for today. That is love in action.
Luke 6:29-32, 35-36 – “If anyone hits you on the cheek, offer the other also. And if anyone takes away your coat, don’t hold back your shirt either. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and from someone who takes your things, don’t ask for them back. 31 Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them.
******** 32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. . . But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High. For he is gracious to the ungrateful and evil. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”
A lot of people today think of Jesus as a great moral teacher and even quote verse 31 as the Golden Rule. This idea of treating others the way we want to be treated makes good sense to most people. After all, we've all made mistakes, and wouldn't you want others to overlook your mistakes sometimes? The Golden Rule is an idea that people can affirm, even without believing that Jesus is the Son of God.
But Jesus is the Son of God, and His teachings go far beyond what the world considers good. If we look closely at Jesus's teachings, they don't make sense to this world. Jesus says if anybody steals from you, give them more of your stuff. If someone insults you by slapping you across the face, give them an opportunity to add another insult.
What we're being told is that we don't just love the people who are lovable and the people who love us back, but we love the people who hate us. Jesus wasn't saying that this radical love would help them become children of God. Instead, this radical love would show that they were already part of God's family.
So just what was Jesus's ministry? His ministry was to teach us to be as much like Him as we can be. As part of God's family, we follow Jesus's example. Jesus loved the people who cursed Him, hated Him, mistreated Him, and even killed Him. Even while He hung on the cross, Jesus prayed, "Father forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing." We are called to love like this because Jesus loves like this.
So Jesus commanded us to love - not as an emotion or a feeling, but as an action. Paul wrote in:
Romans 5:8, 10 – “But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. . . For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.”
Here is something to think about. In our sinful state, we were Jesus's enemy. And so, we are being taught today that we can love with this same extravagant love that Jesus has for us because even when we were Jesus's enemies, He loved us the same way.
I am thankful that Jesus loved sinners. Without that love, where would any of us be?
Jesus loves you, even if you are presently an enemy of His. He still loves you. Won’t you consider asking Him to be your Lord and Savior?
