Luke 6 - Jesus' Sermon on the Plain

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Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

One of the biggest confrontations Jesus with the Pharisees was their use of the Law. For instance today it was the Sabbath Day regulations. The Pharisees had turned the Law into hundreds of regulations which totally misunderstood the true purpose of the Law. 

At this time, many rabbis filled Judaism with elaborate rituals related to the Sabbath and observance of other laws. Ancient rabbis taught that on the Sabbath one was forbidden to tie a knot – except a woman could tie a knot in her girdle. So, if a bucket of water had to be raised from a well, one could not tie a rope to the bucket, but a woman could tie her girdle to the bucket and then to the rope. - Guzik

As you can see when the Law is misappropriated it enslaves rather than frees. 

One another occasion when Jesus was teaching in temple (he had to be invited to do this). A man with a diseased hand came in. Jesus knew that the Pharisees were testing him to see if he would heal the man's hand on Sabbath. If he did, they would accuse him or working on the Sabbath. If he didn't, they would accuse him of lacking compassion. 

Jesus confounded their logic by healing the man and asking, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

Therein lies the purpose of the Sabbath to give life. As Jesus said, "The Sabbath is made for man but not man made for the Sabbath." Mark 2:27

The Twelve Apostles

Once again before Jesus made any really important decisions, he spent lots of time in prayer. In this case, he spent the whole night in prayer.  If Jesus spent this time in prayer before big decisions, how much more do we need to?

Jesus was about to choose His disciples. In one sense, there was nothing in Jesus’ three years of ministry before the cross more important than this. These were the men who would carry on what He had done, and without them the work of Jesus would never extend to the whole world. No wonder Jesus gave this critical choice an entire night of prayer. - Guzik

He called his disciples to him and called them "apostles". The word "apostle" means one who is sent. Jesus not only called his disciples he sent them out. 

The idea behind the ancient Greek word for apostle is “ambassador.” “The Greek word is apostolos, which means ‘sent one’.” (Pate) It describes someone who represents another and has a message from their sender. - Guzik

Blessings and Woes

This section is similar to Matthew's Sermon on the Mount. It says Jesus stood on a level plain, which led some people to call it Jesus' "Sermon on the Plain". People came from wide and far. Not only from Jerusalem and Judea, but also from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 

People came from great distances to be healed and delivered from demonic spirits by Jesus, even from Gentile cities such as Tyre and Sidon. - Guzik

Notice in the "blessings" section Luke's emphasis on the blessings that will come on those less fortunate. Those who are hungry, mourning, and weeping will one day be filled. This is the upside down nature of the kingdom. Even when the disciples were going to be persecuted they should rejoice because great would be their reward in heaven. 

This blessing to the poor is placed first for a reason, because it puts the following commands into perspective. They cannot be fulfilled in our own strength, but only by a beggar’s reliance on God’s power - Guzik

The hungry person seeks. They look for food, and hope to satisfy their appetite. Their hunger drives them and gives them a single focus. Jesus described the blessedness of those who focus on Him and His righteousness like a hungry man focuses on food. - Guzik

On the flipside those who had been given all these things now and didn't care about would lose them in the end. 

This was an expression of regret and compassion, not a threat. The woes Jesus spoke seem just as paradoxical as His blessings. We normally see no woe in being rich or full or in laughing, or in being spoken well of. - Guzik

Love for Enemies

Jesus continues to teach on the upside down nature of God's kingdom. In the Old Testament it was said,"an eye for an eye" or, "a tooth for a tooth". Jesus taught if someone takes your eye give him the other eye. Of course, he was being metaphorical, but the bottom line was not to take revenge on your enemies, but let vengeance lie in the hands of God. 

Jesus said if you love only those who love you what credit is that. It might even be seen as a kind of selfish love. I love others because they love me. But true love loves even when the other person can't give anything back. This is the nature of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. We could give him nothing and he gave us everything. 

Judging Others

In Jesus' day, like in ours, people were quick to judge others. The problem is we often use one own standard to judge others and another to judge overselves. I think you know which one is more lenient. As we forgive though, the same spirit of forgiveness comes back at us. In the same way when we give generously to others, God gives us back to us generally. He uses the phrase, 

 "A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

"This is true and has been tested when it comes to generosity with material resources. Simply said, you can’t out-give God. He will return more to you, in one way or another, more than you give to Him. Yet the most pointed application of this in context is not so much the giving of material resources, but with giving love, blessing, and forgiveness. We are never the loser when we give those things after the pattern of God’s generosity." - Guzik

A Tree and Its Fruit

Rather than judging others by human measures, Jesus says to measure someone by the fruit they produce. Good trees produce good fruit. They cannot help but bring it forth. It is visa versa with bad trees. A good person will bear the fruit of a life lived to the glory of God and others. A person's heart is not judged by how many times they go to church or other external measures. It is measured by faith expressing itself in love. Galatians 5:6

The Wise and Foolish Builders

Similarly a person may talk about how much they follow God, but the "proof is put in the pudding". Do they build their life around the foundation of God's Word? Though you may not see it plainly, it will be revealed when the troubles and trials of life come. Their foundation will be revealed when the rain and the wind pound against it. 

So it is with the wise man or woman who builds themselvees on the Rock. We know the Rock is Jesus, the cornerstone of our lives. When trials come Jesus will stand by us and be faithful. He will deliver us from trials in this life and one day deliver us from death to eternal life. 

Would you say your life is built on God's Word? On Jesus the Rock? If someone from the outside looked at your world they see the fruits of faith working itself in love?