Luke 6:24-37: Sermon On The
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study, we looked
at verses 12 through 23 in chapter 6.
1.1.1. In the first section we saw that Jesus chose the 12 apostles from among
all of His disciples.
1.1.2. We began to look at the first part of Jesus’ “Sermon On The Mount.”
1.1.3. Then, we took an overview of the Sermon On the Mount and examined what
has been called the “beatitudes” that Jesus taught on this day.
1.2.
In our study today, we are
going to look at verses 24 through 36 of chapter 6, the second part of the
Sermon On The Mount.
1.2.1. In our last study, we looked at the fact that in the Sermon On The
Mount that Jesus was speaking to an audience that consisted of three
groups:
1.2.1.1. The newly chosen apostles.
1.2.1.2. A Large group of His disciples.
1.2.1.3. A multitude who had come to hear Him speak and/or to be healed by Him.
1.2.2. We also discussed several things concerning the this Sermon On The
Mount that Jesus taught on this day, including:
1.2.2.1. It was a foundational teaching for Jesus entire ministry and training
of the 12 for the mission that He had for them in taking the gospel message out
to all nations of the world and making disciples of all the nations.
1.2.2.2. Jesus was teaching a new standard of righteousness. The religious leaders of the Jews in Jesus
day, which consisted of Pharisees and Scribes, believed that zealousness and
righteousness before God could be measured by outward observances of law,
rules, and rites. Therefore, they had
added hundreds of laws to the Laws of Moses thinking that the Laws of Moses
were too vague for them to monitor righteousness. If a person kept all of the laws of the
Pharisees and Scribes then that person was considered by them to be righteous
before God. However, Jesus realized that
righteousness wasn’t obtained by mere external observances of law, rules, and
rites if the heart and motives of the person aren’t righteous. Therefore, Jesus taught in this Sermon On The
Mount a standard of righteousness for His disciples of all eras to follow that
was based upon the internal attitudes of a person’s heart and motives. In doing so, Jesus raised the standard of
righteousness for His disciples to the nth degree.
1.2.3. We also discussed the fact that in the Sermon On The Mount that Jesus
began to teach the “Royal Law of Love” which His disciples were to express and
live out towards each other. However,
the love that they were supposed to express was not like the love that people
in the world express for it was unconditional (not based upon the performance
or loveableness of the one being loved) and His disciple was to love all
people, even those who are his enemies and sought to harm him.
1.2.4. Finally, we began to discuss the “beatitudes” in the Sermon On The
Mount. These were all of the “blessed”
statements. We saw that “blessed” means
“happy” and that Jesus singled out four different types of people who were
“happy,” those who are:
1.2.4.1. “Poor in spirit.”
1.2.4.2. “Hunger.”
1.2.4.3. “Weep.”
1.2.4.4. “Persecuted for righteousness sake.”
1.2.5. We saw in each case that Jesus’ disciple is “blessed” or “happy” as a
present possession because of living each of those characteristics. This is not happiness in a future state that is
mentioned but rather happiness as a present possession.
1.2.6. We saw that in each case there was also an eternal reward to be
received from the Lord for God’s people for acting in each of those ways, for
every good deed a Christian performs shall receive a reward at the day of
Judgment for believers.
1.3.
Today, we are going to look
at part #2 of the Sermon On The Mount:
1.3.1. We will look at the ‘woes’ that Jesus taught in this
sermon. We will see that for every “blessed”
statement previously pronounced that Jesus pronounces a corresponding “woe” or “curse” for those who
do not have these characteristics. The “woe”
anticipates an impending judgment or loss of reward from the Lord.
1.3.2. Then, we will primarily concentrate upon Jesus’ teaching concerning
walking according to love.
2. VS 6:24 - “24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.” - Jesus pronounces a ‘woe’ upon
those who are ‘rich’
2.1.
The first thing that comes
to mind is to consider who the ‘rich’ are whom Jesus singles out in this
verse. Is every rich man being
referenced here? Does the Lord condemn
every rich man simply for the fact that he is blessed with the riches of this
world?
2.1.1. In a word, “No!” Well, not
exactly, that is. There are some men who
are mentioned in the gospels as upstanding disciples of Jesus who are rich,
including Nicodemus (the one who came to Jesus secretly by night to ask Him
questions) and Joseph of Arimathea, the man who after Jesus crucifixion took
Jesus’ body and laid it in a tomb he owned.
2.2.
Jesus taught that the “poor”
were “blessed,” and this is the corresponding beatitude for this ‘woe,’
however we saw in our last study that merely being poor in regard to having the
things of this life did not make a person “happy” or “blessed”
because many who are poor are miserable, ungodly, and even criminals. In the same way, merely being ‘rich’
does not make a person be “cursed.”
It is the attitude of the heart that is at issue. If a man is rich in the things of this world
he can know and serve the Lord with all of his heart but to do so he will have
to be a good steward of the things that God has given him and realize that the
Lord did not give him his possessions to spend them lavishly upon himself. The Lord gives riches to some of His people
so that they might be the dispensers of His grace and mercy, as they exercise
the gift of giving in the church.
2.3.
It is however the case that
most who are rich are ungodly and not living for the Lord but having been
corrupted by riches they are living for the things of this world. Living this way, Jesus teaches here that they
are going to have no reward on the day of rewards for God’s people, and thus
they had better enjoy their riches in this life because in the here and now
they are ‘receiving their
comfort in full.’
2.3.1. For unbelievers, if you want you can try to accumulate everything that
this earth has to offer and live for every sensuous pleasure imaginable,
however this is foolish when you consider how short this life is in comparison
with eternity where you will have no rewards as you spend you life in the Lake
of Fire promised for everyone whose name does not appear in the Book of Life,
in other words all unbelievers (Rev. 20:15).
2.3.2. Believers also can lose their rewards by the things they do in their
life. If a believer in Christ refuses to
surrender his possessions to the Lord’s control and be a good steward of the
possessions he owns, then the Lord will tell him on the day of judgment for
rewards that he has already received his reward. If he has placed the getting of riches ahead
of obedience and following of the Lord then in this life he has received his
reward.
2.3.3. Again, this ‘woe’ is all based upon how a disciple of Jesus
views his possessions and allows the Lord to lead him in the stewardship of
those riches.
3. VS 6:25a - “25 “Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry.” - Jesus pronounces a ‘woe’ upon
those who are ‘well-fed now’
3.1.
I sure hope that Jesus isn’t
pronouncing a ‘woe’ upon everyone who eats a good meal?! This would condemn everyone but those who are
starving. Our church potluck/fish
fry/baptism yesterday would have caused everyone there to be condemned…
3.2.
We saw in our last study
that Jesus said that the “hungry”
are “blessed” or “happy” (this is the corresponding beatitude),
but that merely being hungry did not make anyone righteous and it certainly did
not cause them to be “happy.”
Rather, it is those whose hunger drives them to seek the Lord for their
provision and who thereby learn to know the providence of God who are “happy.” It is also those who “hunger and thirst
for righteousness” who shall be filled.
In the same way, it is those who are ‘well-fed’ now because they
are “spending their pleasures upon themselves” and living for
themselves, who are cursed and for whom this ‘woe’ applies.
3.3.
It is those who are well-fed
‘now,’ or in this present life, and who do not hunger for the things of
God and the life lived with the Lord for eternity, who are cursed. They will spend eternity away from the
presence of the Lord in the
3.3.1. Its interesting to see here the fact that those who have died not being
God’s people will be conscious for eternity and suffering real bodily
discomforts. Jesus says that they will
be ‘hungry’ there in the “outer darkness” (one of the metaphors
that Jesus used for hell) separated from heaven and God’s presence.
3.4.
I believe that believers who
do not truly hunger and thirst for the Lord shall have the Lord produce trials
in their life that will create a real need and hunger that they cannot satisfy,
a hunger that can only be satisfied by the Lord.
4. VS 6:25b - “Woe to you who laugh now, for you
shall mourn and weep.” - Jesus pronounces a ‘woe’ upon those who laugh
4.1.
I hope Jesus here isn’t
telling us that having a good clean laugh with friends will cause a person to
be cursed?! Though we don’t see Jesus
laughing anywhere in the scriptures, we can be sure that the Lord must have a
good sense of humor. He created our
ability to laugh therefore He must enjoy a laugh if our hearts are in the right
place.
4.2.
In our last study, we saw
that those who “wept” were “blessed” or “happy,” this was
the corresponding beatitude to this ‘woe,’ however we saw that it was
really those who wept and mourned as a result of following and serving Jesus
who were “happy” We mentioned
that a person can weep yet at the same time still have deep inner contentment
and joy in the Lord. Correspondingly,
here it is those who ‘laugh’ because of their worldliness and living for
the things of this world who are cursed and thus will ‘mourn and weep.’
4.3.
Those who ‘laugh now’
are cursed because if they are living for the things of this world and as a
result are partying it up and having a great old time, in eternity they will be
separated from the Lord in the Lake of Fire where they ‘shall mourn and weep.’
4.3.1. Again, note the fact that it is implied in this verse that those
suffering eternal punishment as a result of living their life in this world
outside of God’s will and being his person will be conscious for eternity and
suffer greatly (weeping and mourning).
4.3.2. I guess that you could say that for those laughing it up living in
worldliness and for the things of this life, that the Lord will get the last
laugh, and it will be a long one for it will last for eternity.
4.4.
For believers who are being
sucked into worldliness and living for the things of this world, the Lord will
one day use trials to bring them down to their knees and at that time they will
find themselves mourning and weeping bitter tears of repentance.
5. VS 6:26 - “26 “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used
to treat the false prophets in the same way.” - Jesus pronounces a ‘woe’ for
a person when ‘all men speak well’ of him
5.1.
This ‘woe’ corresponds
to the beatitude for blessedness or happiness for a person if they are being
persecuted for righteousness sake, in other words for serving and living for
the Lord.
5.2.
Certainly, Jesus is not
saying that if people say that you are a good person because of your character
and attitude as you are living for Christ that you will be cursed?! This is exactly what you would “want”
people to say for this would show that you are being a good and faithful
witness for the Lord. No, in this ‘woe’
Jesus has the false prophets and all spurious believers in mind. It is those who are leaders in the church yet
who are living to be “men pleasers” rather than “God pleasers” who will be
cursed. They do what they do so that
people will like them.
5.3.
In our day, we are seeing
more and more churches where pastors and church leaders are bending to what the
people want in teaching and ministry rather than giving the people what they
really need, whether the people want to hear this kind of thing or not. Tragically, in many churches in our day sin,
repentance, hell, and judgment are never mentioned because people will be
offended.
5.4.
There are numerous instances
in the Old Testament where we read stories of the Jewish false prophets telling
the people what they want to hear rather than serving and being led of the Lord
:
5.4.1. Wicked Jezebel had the false prophets in her day eating at her table in
1 Kings 18:19, “19 “Now then send and gather to me all
Israel at Mount Carmel, together with 450 prophets of Baal and 400
prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.””
5.4.2. Notice how wicked King Ahab
treated the false prophets in 1 Kings 22.
5.4.3. Jeremiah decried the false
prophets in Jeremiah 5:31, “31 The prophets prophesy falsely, And
the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love it so! But
what will you do at the end of it?”
5.5.
We all would like people to like us because it is not fun to be
ostracized any time that this occurs, however we as God’s people must not get
sucked into doing what we do so that we get the approval of people. It is the approval of God for our life that
really ought to matter. This ought to be
our motive for all that we do, that we would be pleasing to the Lord with our life.
6. VS 6:27 - “27 “But I say to you
who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,” - Jesus teaches that His disciples are to love
their enemies and do good to those who hate them
6.1.
In this verse, Jesus begins to teach His disciples His “Royal Law of
Love.” The love that Jesus teaches
His disciples is unique among all of the religions of the world. Though there may be a type of love that the
founders of the world’s great religions taught their followers, none come near
the standard of love that is taught by Jesus in the Sermon On The Mount.
6.2.
We have already discussed
the fact that the love that Jesus taught His disciples to live out in their
lives was radical in that it is “unconditional love” that is not
dependent upon the worthiness or loveableness of the person loved. Plus, this love is to be extended to all, including
even one’s enemies and those who would seek to do us harm.
6.3.
We mentioned previously also
the fact that this love that Jesus taught is not primarily a feeling that
people are to have but rather it is based upon actions, the things that you do.
6.4.
It is easy to love those who
love you, those who appreciate you and the things that you do, those who will
reciprocate the nice things that you might do to them, those who are friendly
in return, etc. However, it is quite
another matter to love those who “despitefully use you,” those who “don’t
appreciate you or like you,” those “who have done harm to you or someone you
care about,” etc.
6.5.
We really need to take a
moment and consider the fact also that each of these characteristics of love
define how the Lord Himself deals with all of His creatures. God expects no more from us than to treat
others in the same way that He treats us.
6.6.
The kind of love that Jesus
expects His disciples to carry out is a love that is “of God” and only a
person who is dependent upon the Lord to work and love through him can love in
this way. This love is a “supernatural
love.”
6.7.
It is incredible to see in
the gospels how that Jesus not only taught this new law of love for others but
He also lived in His own life.
6.8.
We as people constantly make
choices in regard to who and how we
will love people:
6.8.1. We can hate those who hate us.
6.8.1.1. Most people in this world would say that this is reasonable and
acceptable.
6.8.2. We can hate those who love us.
6.8.2.1. Unfortunately, this is the way many in this world respond to God’s
people who share the gospel with them out of love and because they want them to
be able to spend eternity with the Lord.
6.8.3. We can love those who love us.
6.8.3.1. This is the way most people in the world live their life. They have a love for those who love them but
it is hard for them to love others besides those who love them.
6.8.4. We can love those who hate us.
6.8.4.1. This is the godly supernatural love that only God’s people can have as
they depend upon God’s power to love through their hearts and live through
them.
6.8.4.2. This is the standard of love that Jesus sets for His disciples in the
Sermon On The Mount.
6.9.
We see from this verse that
this love that Jesus taught is not to be a “passive” response to others
but rather an “active” one, for He says to ‘do good’ to those who
hate you.
6.10.
There is no greater
testimony to a life changed by the grace of God than when someone does
something good for someone who hates them or has done them harm. Loving like this will open doors to share the
gospel with others with incredible effectiveness.
7. VS 6:28 - “28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” - Jesus teaches that His
disciples are to bless those who curse them and pray for those who mistreat
them
7.1.
The love that Jesus has and
teaches His disciples to have goes against everything that comes natural to
them. The natural tendency in our flesh
is to “curse those who curse us.”
However, Jesus teaches us to do the exact opposite. We are to instead ‘bless’ those who
curse us.
7.2.
Again, it is the case that
in order to carry out this command of Jesus that we need to have His enabling
and power in our life working in and through us.
7.3.
Not only are we to ‘bless’
those who curse us but we are to ‘pray’ for those who mistreat us. We are also to ‘pray’ for our enemies
and those who do us harm.
7.4.
It is amazing how our
perspective changes when we actually pray for people. Praying for someone takes away the bitterness
we that we have for them. The Lord
begins to give us an empathy and pity for them as we begin also to see the
world the way that they see the world.
Its easy to judge and be angry with someone standing afar off from them,
however when we have prayed for them its like we begin in our minds to walk in
their shoes and see life from their perspective, and thus we gain compassion
for them.
7.5.
Jesus carried this teaching
out so beautifully in His own life when upon the cross of Calvary He prayed for
those who had nailed Him to that cross, beat and harassed Him, as He asked the
Father to, “Forgive them for they know not what they are doing.” Stephen, the first martyr of the church,
responded in the same way when they stoned him to death.
8. VS 6:29a - “29 “Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also;” - Jesus teaches that His
disciples are to turn the other cheek when someone hits them on the cheek
8.1.
This teaching speaks more to
not exacting revenge on those who harm you rather than to mechanically carry
out to the letter what Jesus says here.
We know that this is true because of what scripture tells about how
God’s people responded in similar situations:
8.1.1. In John 18:22-23, when Jesus was struck in the face after His arrest
which led up to His crucifixion, notice that He didn’t turn the other cheek but
rather rebuked the one who struck Him, “22 When He had said
this, one of the officers standing nearby struck Jesus, saying, “Is that the
way You answer the high priest?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If I have
spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?””
8.1.2. In Acts 23:3, the apostle Paul also did not turn the other cheek after
being struck on the cheek, “3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to
strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to try me according to the Law,
and in violation of the Law order me to be struck?””
9. VS 6:29b - “and whoever takes away your coat, do not
withhold your shirt from him either.” - Jesus teaches that if someone takes away our
coat that we are not to withhold our shirt from him either
9.1.
In this verse, Jesus is
teaching that when we as Jesus’ disciples have had someone steal something from
us that we are not at that point to disallow ourselves from being vulnerable to
that person again. This of course goes
against what our natural instincts would tell us to do because our natural
tendency is to protect ourselves. In
fact, there is a worldly saying in our culture that says this very thing, “Fool
me once, shame on you. Fool me twice,
and shame on me.” However, we need
to remain vulnerable to people.
9.2.
In the church, we must
realize that the Lord does indeed change people’s lives. When a person becomes a Christian God begins
to remake him/her after His own image, and I believe that coming to salvation
through Christ is the only way that people really are capable of changing. We must never believe that after coming to
salvation that a person is not going to change.
That would make the whole mission of the church a waste of time, plus
churches are filled with people who have great testimonies about how God
changed them from being miserable self-seeking and self-serving to serving
others and being the servant of the Lord.
9.3.
I think that it is important
at this point to make the distinction that we need to exercise wisdom in
placing ourselves in situations where we will be vulnerable, and also use
wisdom in allowing those whom we have oversight over to be in vulnerable
situations. Remember, Jesus taught His
disciples to “be wise as serpents and gentle as doves” (Matt. 10:16).
9.3.1. For instance, I don’t allow my wife to travel long distances on the
highway in her car without making sure that someone will be with her in case of
a breakdown. I’m also very protective of
my daughter, where she goes and what she is allowed to do. This is not violating Jesus’ teaching this is
just being wise and prudent.
9.4.
Someone pointed out that if
we took this teaching completely in its literal sense that we might end up
getting arrested for indecent exposure having given away all of our
clothes. Wisdom needs to be used when
applying this teaching to our lives.
10.
VS 6:30 - “30 “Give to
everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand
it back.” - Jesus teaches us that we are to give to
everyone who asks to borrow things from us
10.1.
Lending something to someone
definitely places you in a vulnerable position.
People often don’t take care of others’ things as well as they do their
own, some people don’t return things that they borrow, and if someone does
borrow something from you and then they lose or break it, then they often will
not be willing to replace it. However,
Jesus teaches His disciples here that they need to be willing to lend to people
in spite of the risks associated with doing so.
10.2.
Again, I don’t believe that
the mechanical or literal interpretation of this teaching is what we as God’s
people are required to do, rather as in all of the rest of this teaching on
love we need to be led by the Holy Spirit to follow His leading of us and to do
what is appropriate in every situation.
10.3.
Since I have seen how
borrowing things from friends can sometimes end up ruining friendships, in my
life I have often chosen instead to just give someone what they ask to borrow
from me. This will keep a split of friendship
from happening.
10.4.
Jesus teaches further here
that after we have lent something to someone we are not to then go later and
demand that they return it to us. Again,
this teaches the principle that for the purpose of loving people as God loves
them we need to allow ourselves to be vulnerable to them and even to be taken
advantage of by them.
10.5.
I guess you could say that
we need to trust people to do what is right rather than seek to protect
ourselves. Trusting people empowers them
to do good. Its true that many time people
let down our trust, but nonetheless we need to continue to trust people to do
what is right.
11.
VS 6:31 - “31 “Treat others
the same way you want them to treat you.” - Jesus teaches the “Golden Rule”
11.1.
The “Golden Rule” is a
wonderful standard to use in our lives:
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you!” If people would just do this they would never
harm anyone and they would be fulfilling Jesus’ command to “love thy
neighbor as thyself.” Jesus taught
that all of the commandments in the scriptures could be summarized by keeping
just two of them, “Love the Lord thy God with all of thy heart, mind, and
strength, and love thy neighbor as thyself”
(Matt. 22:36-40).
11.2.
We as God’s people ought in
every single situation that we find ourselves involved with people take a
moment to consider how if we were in that other person’s situation how we would
want someone else to treat us. Then, we
ought to treat that person in that same way.
11.3.
I would encourage you also
that whenever you see someone doing or saying something to someone that you do
not think is kind, gracious, or appropriate that you ought to keep a mental
note for yourself and determine that you do not want to treat anyone else in
that same manner.
12.
VS 6:32-35 - “32 “If you love
those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love
those who love them. 33 “If you do good to those who do good to you,
what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 “If
you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to
you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.
35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing
in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most
High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.” - Jesus teaches His disciples
that the standard of love that He expects His disciples to live out in their
life must be greater than that which ‘sinners’ live out in their lives
12.1.
Jesus is saying that the
depth of love of those who do not know the Lord as their personal Lord and
Savior is not deep enough to satisfy the nature of love that God has for
others. Those who are living in sin and
the lusts of their flesh are primarily self-centered, self-seeking, and selfish
and thus the love that they express to others is conditioned upon the
performance of the other person. That
love is also usually extended when someone expects to get something in return
from the other person. This is the
opposite of the way that Jesus would have His disciples to love.
12.2.
Jesus teaches us that as His
disciples we must love others and do good to them expecting nothing in return
from them. We must never lend to someone
because we are expecting to get something in return for that lending. Our lending must never be based or
conditioned upon something that we receive back in return.
12.2.1.
Those who are rich and have
much of this world’s good often have people do good things for them and treat
them well, however this happens because people bank on the hope that the rich
person will reciprocate to them and that they will be personally benefited by
this.
12.2.2.
However, Jesus would have us
as His disciples be just as willing to do good things and help out a homeless
person who could never repay us as a rich or affluent person.
12.3.
Jesus teaches us here that
this is the very way that our heavenly Father deals with the people in this
world. The Lord doesn’t withhold good
from those who are wicked, but rather they are blessed in many ways in this
world, just as Jesus tells us in Matt. 5:45, ‘…for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and
sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.’
12.4.
Jesus promises that if we
are people who love our enemies that our reward in heaven will be ‘great.’
13.
VS 6:36 - “36 “Be merciful,
just as your Father is merciful.” - Jesus teaches His disciples to be merciful as
their heavenly Father is merciful
13.1.
It is amazing for me to
watch Christian people who have experienced the mercy of God working so
incredibly turn around and treat people so unmercifully.
13.2.
Our heavenly Father in
sending His Son to die upon the cross for our sins, when we as sinners deserved
the full wrath of God because of our rebellion and sin and spurning of Him and
His law and love, demonstrated to us a standard of mercy that is really
unfathomable to our minds. How could the
Lord be willing to send His only begotten Son to come and suffer such a
horrendous humiliation, degradation, and suffering when Jesus had done
absolutely nothing to deserve it? Jesus
went to
14.
CONCLUSIONS:
14.1.
Lets commit ourselves to being
people who will imitate our Lord in the way that He loves us. Lets learn to love unconditionally, and do
acts of love for people expecting absolutely nothing back in return. Lets love everyone, including our enemies and
those who have harmed us. Lets begin to
pray for our enemies and those who hate us.