Luke Part 22: The Beatitudes

Text: Luke 6:20-26

This section begins what is known as the Sermon on the Mount. Luke's version of this sermon is much shorter than that recorded in Matthew. Both versions can be regarded as a condensed version, or summary, of the actual sermon. So how does this version in Luke differ, and why? Luke, we remember, is writing primarily to the Gentiles, so the summary of this sermon provided in his gospel is oriented more for the Gentile reader. There is no discussion of Moses' Law. Rather than mentioning "publicans", this version refers to "sinners", which would include all of us.

Matthew records Jesus saying they are blessed to accept persecution "for My sake", while in Luke's version Jesus refers to Himself as "the Son of Man." We have seen that this is the title He chose to refer to Himself as a representative for people of all nationalities and backgrounds.

We see at the beginning of this section that Jesus "looked at His disciples." What a thing it must have been for this Man, who spoke with such great authority, to be looking among His people, in their faces, speaking directly to them.

These first four beatitudes, the "blessed art thou" are things that are true of the people of God. God's people will always be those who submit to the Lord's leadership; they will always be distinct from the people they are living among. If they are not distinct, if there is a blending of the world and the church, it is not real Christianity.

"Blessed are the poor." The people of God are poor in all respects. Frequently they are economically poor; they are poor in spirit; they are not self-sufficient. They are not enriched by the world's goods, rather they are looking to God for their delight.

"Blessed are those who hunger now." Again, God's people find their satisfaction and fulfillment in Christ. They are not filled and satisfied by the things of this world.

"Blessed are those who weep now." This world is a sad place! God's people shed tears over the degradation of sin, over seeing Christ held in low esteem.

"Blessed are you when men hate you." Have we felt this hatred of men? Have we felt what is like to be separated, ostracized, regarded as evil? This is part of being one of God's people; this is what Christians are supposed to be experiencing.

After these four "blesseds" there are four "woes". Jesus condemns those who are satisfied with the world's goods, who are constantly jovial and amused. Woe are you when men speak well of you! Countless men have perished in their sins due to their love of others' approval!

Note how Christ's message is balanced -- it's not a weak "Smile, God loves you!" message, rather there is equal emphasis on judgment and blessing. Also see the passion in His message. A total love for Him is required. It is not optional; you must live for Him totally.

Also, we again see the "doctrine of twos". It is the world vs. Christ, there is no middle ground. You will be either blessed with Christ or cursed with the world. There is no room for blending and compromise.

There is nothing that compares to Christ! Seek Him and you will be comforted. He is a Savior for sinners!

Luke Part 21: Jesus calls the disciples and apostles

Text: Luke 6:12-19

As we have been seeing, this section of Luke describes Christ's teachings about the New Covenant and how it is radically different from the Old. In this particular portion, we see Jesus calling his apostles. He chose these men to perpetuate the new thing He was doing.

First, we see Christ going up on the mountain to pray. We don't know how He prayed or what the nature of His prayers were. But we do see Him spending the whole night in communion with His Father. Amazing!

After His night of prayer, Jesus called the disciples and the apostles. What is a disciple? A disciple is a follower of a particular person.

Jesus called many disciples, but he only called twelve apostles. The word "apostle" means "sent one" and these twelve were a special group of men, given to the church to lead and guide.

We know almost nothing about some of the apostles. They did their work without much acclaim and were not recorded in the annals of history. Yet they were faithful servants. We should keep this in mind when we read about the history of the church. We certainly no little about many other significant people who served God faithfully.

Perhaps we will one day find that the men who did the greatest works in church history were neglected by the historians. Particularly, we know that by the 3rd or 4th century, much error had crept into the church. Were there any true Christians? Of course! But the enemies of the truth were the ones in power, and they were the ones writing the history, so of course we don't hear much from the faithful believers!

Jesus was establishing the method by which truth would be handed down. He would speak to the apostles. Then the apostles would teach other men directly, who would in turn teach other men. This pattern can be seen in 2 Tim 1:13,14 where we see Paul telling Timothy to guard the teaching he was receiving from Paul. The pattern is always one of one individual passing on the truth to another. It's an organic and real thing -- the giver and receiver of the truth have a relationship with each other. This has been turned on its head with the modern seminary approach, where students are taught in classrooms without the close relationship to the teacher that we see in the Bible.

The early church lived a lifestyle that was completely different from those around them. When asked why their lifestyle was so different, they responded, "We are followers of Jesus." Simply embracing the objective facts of the gospel will not produce life. Perhaps this is why we see deadness in the churches around us -- the pastors have been taught in a system with an overemphasis on the learning of facts and skills, but without the emphasis on the changed life of a life of faith. Faith must be mixed with knowledge to produce a fragrant life.

Luke Part 20: Jesus, our Sabbath of the New Covenant

Text: Luke 6:1-11

The purpose of this section of Luke, beginning with the previous passage and continuing on for a few chapters, is to show how the New Covenant is radically different in every way from the Old Covenant. This passage continues in that vein, with two incidents recorded that are related to the Sabbath. It's important to remember that these incidents were collected to teach certain points; they are not necessarily in chronological order.

What is the main teaching here? Jesus Christ is our Sabbath in the New Covenant. We are resting in Him, resting from our works. This is covered more directly in Hebrews.

Note Jesus' response in Verse 5: "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath" Jesus frequently described Himself as the Son of Man to indicate that He was a Savior, not just for the Jews, but for people from all of mankind. This Sabbath of the New Covenant was a rest, not just for the Jewish people, but a rest for all.

We have examples of the sabbath in the era before Moses -- After God created the world, He rested. But Adam was not able to abide in that rest; he still had things to do. Is it too much of a reach to suggest it was on the Sabbath that Adam walked with God in the cool of the day? The Sabbath was instituted as a time to rest from labor and to enjoy God fully without distraction.

The Sabbath was commanded before Moses -- God told the people to rest from collecting manna on the seventh day in Exodus 16:28,29.

In Exodus 20, Moses was given the Ten Commandments, including the Fourth Commandment: "Remember the Sabbath". This "remember" meant to remember the past and to keep as a remembrance, to observe the Sabbath in time. We should remember Adam's communion in innocence and remember our rest in Christ.

The Jews turned the Sabbath into a thing of ceremony -- a list of explicit rules for refraining from labor that had to be kept. But Isaiah 58:11-14 explained what God meant for the Sabbath to be: a time not just to turn away from work, but to turn towards Him.

The Pharisee's interpretation of the law was wrong, because they had turned the Sabbath into a ceremonial thing. The disciples eating of the grain was an act of necessity; it was not wrong. Likewise, healing the man's hand was not wrong. The Pharisees had made their ceremonial, legalistic interpretation of the Sabbath more important than this man's hand.

Finally, we should note that the priests still did work on the Sabbath. The fact of the Christian's sabbath rest in Christ does not eliminate the work that we have to do. Although we are resting in Christ's merit, we still have sin to conquer and good news to spread.

Luke, Part 19: A great change; something new

Text: Luke 5:27-39

This section, as well as all of Luke 6, teach that Jesus had come to fulfill the Old Covenant and to establish the New Covenant. The idea here is of something new, both something new for individuals, and something new nationally and corporately.

First, we see with the example of Levi, a change in the individual -- the individual made new. Levi was a publican, a collector of taxes for the Jews' Roman overlords. Furthermore, most publicans overcharged. They were generally crooked, wealthy, and despised.

The story of Levi begins with "the call." Jesus called out "Follow Me!" and Levi left everything behind. Christ's call was certainly effectual. Levi, we read, "left everything behind." For a wealthy tax-collector, this was quite significant.

Next in Levi's story is "the change." Levi was changed radically. The first thing he did was to hold a huge feast, a royal reception for Jesus to thank Christ for receiving Him. He invited his friends -- probably other publicans; what friends did tax-gatherers have? The stingy Levi was changed to a hospitable man focused on sharing his goods and sharing the gospel with others.

Finally, we see "the Cure," the reason for Levi's great change. Levi was changed by Jesus -- He is the reason sinners are turned from their sin. He has the means and the power to cure the sickness of sin. Jesus told the Pharisees that He came to heal sinners, that He was a physician for those who know their sin, and acknowledge their need. This is the pattern; there is no other way of salvation.

Next, we see corporate identity change, beginning with the question over fasting. The Pharisees asked, "Why don't your disciples fast?" The Old Covenant was a legalistic system. The Jews were constantly mindful of their sinfulness and condemnation. They were constantly looking at themselves, leading to despair over sin. The same thing can happen to us if we fall under the bondage of legalism. The New Covenant is not one of condemnation and gloom! The norm for a Christian should be rejoicing because there is mutual joy -- Christ is rejoicing in us, and we are rejoicing in Him.

Of course, anytime when we are caught up in sin, if we feel as though Christ has withdrawn, this may be a time for fasting. But these are not the normal thing! We don't have to do penance or beat ourselves up. We can know forgiveness NOW.

Finally, Jesus gives a couple of parables to show the great change wrought in the New Covenant. First is that of a new patch of cloth on a old garment. The new cloth represents the new teachings of the New Covenant and the old cloth represents the teachings of the Old Covenant. The parable tells us that you can't pick and choose -- you can't take some of Jesus's teachings and combine it with some of the Old Covenant.

We see this kind of picking-and-choosing all around us. Islam includes Jesus... but only part of Jesus. Armenianism combines Jesus with works-religion. Some others take the Bible as a guideline for moral rules (Jesus is a "good teacher") but leave out the gospel.

Next we have the picture of new wine in old wineskins. The Jews were willing to accept Jesus; they wanted Jesus + the Old Covenant. But you can't have Jesus plus works-religion or Jesus plus a civil religious order or Jesus plus anything.

And last we have the picture of new wine in a new wineskin. Christ represented something totally new and He would only belong within the system of the New Covenant, a covenant of faith, liberty, and security in contrast to the Old Covenant with its fasting, bondage, and continual sacrifice.

There is a warning here: we have a tendency to accept the old as "good enough." People may not receive the gospel because they are happy where they are. We must be patient with them and keep sharing. Also, we may be stubborn and not see new truths and learn when we should. God will bring us along and teach us new things. We will conform more and more to His image as He shows us more truth. We must not cling to the comfort of our "old" ways of thinking.

Finally, to sinners: the old is not better. Learn from Levi! Jesus calls all sinners, and only sinners, to Himself. Repent and believe, and celebrate all Christ gives us in the New Covenant era of joyous relationship with Him!

Then Jesus

Jesus’ Farewell Prayer: Part 3, Jesus’ Relationship with the world

Text: John 17

This final discussion regarding Jesus' farewell prayer centers on how Jesus views the world. From His perspective, we can gain insight on how we should interact with the world.

The word "world" (Greek: "cosmos") is used in the Bible, and in this passage in particular, in several different senses. It may refer to the entire created universe (v.5) or to Planet Earth, or to the human population of the world.

Or, as is found most often in this passage, it may refer to the spiritual forces in human society that are opposed to and alienated from God. This is the "evil system" controlled by the devil and all the institutions used to advance this agenda. This would include systems of government, art, music, and media. The Bible says, "The whole world lies in the power of the evil one." What is valuable to the world? Money, power, pleasure, and the advancement of self.

Here are six things that can be learned from Jesus' prayer regarding the world:

1. Christians have been saved out of the world. (v.6) Every person starts out as part of this evil system. Every person starts out lost. Every person is in need of salvation.

And, every person is either still part of this evil system or part of Jesus' kingdom. Jesus contrasts His people against the world (v.9). He states that He is specifically NOT praying for the world; He is praying only for His people. He states that His people know Him and the world does not (v.3, v.25). This is the Doctrine of Twos -- there is no middle ground; you are either for God or against Him.

2. Jesus has left Christians in the world. (v.11,15) Christians are not taken out of the world as soon as they are saved! This is the place God wants for us to be. He wants us here, in the world. He has work for us to do.

3. The world hates Christians. (v.14) The world hates Christians because they hate Jesus. The Christian's righteous life is a rebuke to the world. The gospel is deeply offensive to the world -- it says, "You need Christ!" The Bible says, "All those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." (2 Tim 3:12)

4. The world is a spiritually dangerous place for Christians. (v.15) The devil makes the world look attractive. In 2 Timothy, we read of Demas, who, "having loved this present world" deserted Paul. We are exhorted in 1 John 2:15 not to love the world or the things in the world. The world can tempt or discourage us. But, the power of God is within us to help us to escape the devil.

5. Christians are in this world, but not of this world. (v11, v16). We are pilgrims here in this world; it is not our home. There is a uniqueness and a separation for Christians. We are different, and we are supposed to be so. How does this separation occur? Not merely through rules and regulations. We should look to the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus describes His people and how unique and radical they will be.

6. Jesus sends Christians into the world. We are on a mission! In verse 20, Jesus prays for those who are yet to believe on Him, the future fruit of His disciples. Jesus prays that the world may believe (v.21) and know (v.23) Him. This is our calling, what we are here to do. Let us do it with our whole heart!

Jesus’ Farewell Prayer: Part 2, Jesus’ Relationship with His Children

Text: John 17

Consider the things Jesus says regarding His desires for us, His children, in the prayer listed in John 17. Remember that this is the prayer He gave right before the events of His crucifixion. Be encouraged to remember that Jesus always prayed with perfect faith and always prayed exactly the will of God; all Jesus' prayers are answered.

Let us consider six things that Jesus prays for us:

1. That we may know God. (v.2-3). Knowing God, Jesus says here, is the very definition of what eternal life is. Knowing God is not just a mental assent to the facts about God; it is a very personal and intimate relationship with Him. We know God through Jesus; He is the Way to God, the only true Way.

2. That we might have fullness of joy. (v. 13) What joy? "My joy," Jesus says. This is the result of the gospel: joy made full. And it's not just a trickle of joy here and there, but fullness of joy. In heaven our joy will be made complete, but joy for the Christian begins on earth. Joy is essential to the Christian! It was important to Jesus here, and we have the example of the apostles constantly talking about being joyful.

3. That we might be kept safe. (v. 11, 15) Jesus prays that we would be "kept" -- kept to God, close to Him, His truth, and all of Him. He also prays that we would be kept "from the evil one". We must not be deceived -- there is a spiritual battle raging around us and Satan and his evil hosts want to bring us down. Jesus prays that God would preserve us. We have confidence (James 4:7) that if we submit ourselves to God, resisting the devil, we will be kept.

4. That we might be sanctified in the truth. (v. 17, 19) Sanctification is defined as being "set apart" from the world unto God, for holiness. Jesus here prays for God to do it. We are not passively sitting by, but ultimately sanctification is a work of God. (Philippians 1:6) How are we sanctified? "In the truth" -- through the Word of God. The more we know of the Word of God, the more we let the Word "dwell in us richly" as Colossians talks about, the more sanctified we will become.

5. That there would be unity among believers. (v. 11, 22, 23) Note that every time Jesus refers to our unity, He relates that to the unity of Himself and the Father. We are joined together with Christ, and, through Him, are joined together with the Father. Ephesians 4:3 is an exhortation to "preserve the unity" of the saints. Note that unity is a natural thing; we should be careful not to do anything to mess it up. Preserving unity requires humility and self-sacrifice. It is so important to have love for other Christians, it is given as a test for authenticity is 1 John.

6. That we might be with Him. (v.24) We want to be with Jesus. The amazing thing is, He wants to be with us, too; He desires for us to be with Him. Even as He was looking ahead to the cross, and considering all that He would suffer for us, He was looking to the final end result, and praying that God would bring us all to glory with Him. The essence of heaven is being with Jesus where He is, that we might behold His glory.

Jesus’ Farewell Prayer: Part 1, Jesus’ Relationship with the Father

Text: John 17

This passage in John 17 contains Jesus’ longest recorded prayer.  Jesus made this prayer in sight of His coming death on the cross.  In this first part, we will look at six things this prayer teaches us about Jesus’ relationship with the Father.

1. The Father and the Son have an eternal relationship.  This is made clear in verses 5 and 24.  The Father and the Son shared a love and a glory before the world existed.

2. The Father loves the Son.  See verses 23, 24, and 26.  This is a boundless, eternal, perfect love.  Love begins with God the Father.  Because we are made in His image, we can also know love.  The love God the Father has for the Son is the same love that He has for us.  We can be brought into this love relationship thr0ugh union with Christ.  Note that this was prayed with the cross in view; this great love is even in view of the wrath to be poured out upon the Son by the Father on the cross.

3.  The Father and the Son are in unity.  They are one.  See verses 11, 21, and 22.

4.  The Father has sent the Son on a particular mission.  (v. 3, 4, 8, 21, 23)  The Father initiated and sustains His work.  Jesus was totally obedient to His Father.  Even the content of His teaching was received directly from His Father.

5.  The Father has given a people to the Son.  (v. 6, 9, 24)  The Father has selected certain souls out of the world have given them to the Son.  This is important to Jesus.  See also John 6:37 and John 10.  Jesus keeps referring to this gift from the Father – it is especially important because it is a gift from Someone He loves so dearly.

6.  The Father and the Son glorify each other.  (v. 1, 4, 5, 22, 24)  What is “glory”?    It is manifested excellence.  Even the cross, with its humiliation and scorn, was a glorious thing.  Jesus displayed the love and mercy and grace of God clearly in His death.  We see in Philippians 2:8-11 that Jesus humbled himself in obedience to suffer and die on the cross, and it was for this reason that the Father glorified Him highly.  And then, in verse 11 of that passage we see that the glory is returned to the Father.