This week we
will continue to study the Gospel of Luke.
(1) Read Deuteronomy 23:24-25 and Exodus 31:12-17. Do you get a sense that the disciples really violated the Sabbath? Why or why not?
(2) In Jesus’ reply, He defended the action of the disciples. On what basis did He do so?
a. Their action did not violate the law of Sabbath.
b. The Law of Sabbath no longer was needed. Why?
(3) Did Jesus consider what David did as lawful? What then was the justification for David and his companions’ action?
(4) How may such a justification apply to the action of the disciples?
(5) What is the original intent or purpose of the Law of Sabbath, according to Exodus 31:12-17?
(6) What does “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” mean?
a. What is its implication with respect to the action of the disciples?
b. What is its implication with respect to the Law of Sabbath?
c. What is its implication to us today?
(7) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” (Lk. 6:5)
The Law of Moses makes the breach of Sabbath a capital offense that is punishable by death (Exod. 31:14). The reason is that it not only is the 4th of the Ten Commandments, but it is also a “sign” between God and the Israelites (Exod. 31:13). In other words, this is the visible sign through which the Israelites would demonstrate that they are a people of the Covenant. By not observing the Sabbath, they are signifying their severance from this covenantal relationship with God.
In the observance of the Sabbath, they are not only to rest from work, but to keep it as holy to the Lord (31:15). This means that they separate not only the day itself but also themselves to the Lord.
Indeed, the disciples’ action of picking and rubbing the grain heads because of their hunger did violate the fine print of the Law of Sabbath, but the way Jesus defends their action is not only interesting, but also significant:
He likens the disciples’ action to that of David in 1 Samuel 21:1-6 and admits that the bread that David and his men ate was lawful only for priests to eat. However, David was the anointed of God. He was consecrated to the Lord just as the priests were. So, he could eat, especially in his case of extreme desperation and hunger. In a way, the show bread was meant for David and his men that day.
But here is one who is bigger than David, the “Lord of the Sabbath” Himself (Lk. 6:5). This is certainly an astounding statement by Jesus, especially to the ears of the Pharisees, because Jesus declares that He is none other than the Lord who made the Law of Sabbath, the object of Sabbath, and the Creator God who “made the heavens and the earth in six days and on the seventh day He…rested” (Exod. 31:17).
In other words, He is the ultimate judge of the Law of Sabbath. He is the God in whom and in whose presence we find rest, and He is none other than the Creator God, Yahweh. The disciples, by following Him, have entered into His presence and His Sabbath’s rest. The disciples have fulfilled the ultimate demand of Sabbath — the sign of having entered into an everlasting relationship with the Creator God.
Although the term, Triune God, is not strictly a term used in the Bible, we, once again, have a direct statement by the Lord Jesus of Who He really is, the “Lord of the Sabbath” — an unmistakable claim of being the Creator God of the heavens and the earth.
(1) What was the penalty for breaking the Sabbath Law (Exod. 31:14)?
(2) Why was it so severe?
(3) What does the fact that the Pharisees were watching Jesus closely signify?
(4) Who else could have healed the man of his shriveled hand?
(5) Read carefully what Jesus said in v.9. Jesus was not really concerned about what was lawful, but rather the real purpose of Sabbath. What is the real purpose of Sabbath according to Jesus?
(6) Why did Jesus choose to ask this question first, before healing the man?
(7) Why then were the Pharisees furious? What had they turned Sabbath into?
(8) Mark remarks that Jesus was very angry at the time (Mark 3:5). Why was Jesus angry?
(9) Can you think of similar things in your life and that of the church that might make Jesus angry today?
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath…to save life or to destroy it?” (Lk. 6:9)
The four books of the gospel do record incidents where Jesus was angry, but those incidents are not the “norm”. Sure, Jesus was distressed and saddened by the disbelief and rejection of the Jews, but only in a few incidents did He get angry. The watching by the Pharisees as to whether Jesus would heal the man with a shriveled hand was one such incident (See Mk. 3:1-6 also).
The fact that the Pharisees were watching means that they did believe in the power of Jesus, and they cared less about the life of people than their strict “observance of the law”. This reminds me of a story I read years ago about a church in one of the poorest cities in America, Camden, New Jersey.
A dying church with a congregation of just a handful of senior citizens was initially receptive to opening their doors to minister to the neighborhood’s poor children through an after-school program. As the program prospered, with an increasing number of kids coming to be tutored (which was so desperately needed in a city like Camden) and more importantly to learn about Jesus, the church was “disturbed” by these energetic children. These few remaining people of the church cared far more about maintaining an empty, tidy shell, than allowing these children, generally surrounded by crime, drugs and guns, to take shelter in their only sanctuary. Yes, some of the children liked to kick open the door on their way into the church. As they were about to kick out the children and discontinue the after-school program, their eyes were eventually opened. They saw that as much these children behaved outwardly exactly like children for the most part, they had also been transformed from within by the Holy Spirit. They had the joy of baptizing many of these children into God’s family, in spite of the dents and scratches on the door.
People are important, because God cares about people!
(1) Why did Jesus have to choose and designate the Twelve and call them apostles which means those being sent? (See Mk. 3:14-15 for the three-fold purpose of the Apostles.)
(2) How did the Apostles themselves see their role as Apostles (see Acts 1:21-26)?
(3) How significant are these Apostles to the building up of the church? (see Eph. 2:19-20)
(4) Read Revelation 21:14. What added significance is being portrayed by this vision of the Apostle John concerning the New Jerusalem?
(5) Before selecting these 12 men, what did Jesus do?
(6) Why?
(7) Since Jesus knew Judas would betray Him eventually, why would He still choose him? What struggle might Jesus have in this process of selection?
(8) Given the significance, privilege and tremendous honor of being one of the Twelve, how does it speak of the choice made by Judas?
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“When morning came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them whom He also designated apostles.” (Lk. 6:13)
I really wonder on what basis Jesus chose His twelve disciples!
First, why would He overload the team with fishermen — Peter, Andrew, James and John? They were utterly uneducated. How effective could they be? Furthermore, He knew how hot-tempered the sons of Zebedee were: He even gave them the nickname “Sons of Thunder”! Why did He choose them? Peter wasn’t any better. As it turned out, he always put his foot in his mouth, and denied Him three times — at the worst possible time!
Thomas was notorious for his negative attitude. While everyone assured him that Jesus had resurrected, he still remained a skeptic and would have remained so if it were not for His mercy, showing him the wounds on His resurrected body.
We learn far less about the rest of the Twelve. This aptly shows that they were not apostles that could really do much for the Kingdom, except Judas. But Judas did more harm than good anyway. I would not have hired Jesus as the head of my Human Resources Department.
The amazing thing is that these twelve-minus-one disciples, with all their flaws, weaknesses, cowardice and lack of credentials, did turn the world up-side-down.
For one, we have come to know that after all, it is the work of the Holy Spirit that counts. This is why many of the early church fathers were inclined to call the Book of Acts as the Acts of the Holy Spirit.
On the other hand, it is also clear that obedience, not credentials, is what Jesus looks for in His disciples. Failures are always part of being His servants, but repentance and obedience allowed them to be used by Him for His purpose.
And finally, the willingness to suffer for Him marked the lives of all of them. They have learned not to fear those who can kill their bodies but not their souls! This willingness to suffer made them not only invincible, but extremely effective in the spread of the gospel.
Had Jesus chosen the elite of society, the sophisticated and the powerful, not only would they not be able to handle suffering, obedience, and failure, they might end up preaching a very different gospel — one that would not reflect accurately the image of the suffering Christ, nor the gospel of grace.
The messages in the rest of the chapter greatly resemble the messages in the Sermon of the Mount (in Matt. 5). However, the setting and the location are clearly different. “Preachers usually make use of the same or different matter in different sermons, especially if they speak without a written script” (Morris, 138). It is perhaps helpful to remember that both Matthew and Luke record Jesus’ sermons in a summary form as directed by the Holy Spirit with different emphases. In Luke’s case, the immediate hearers are the “disciples”, i.e. those who have made a commitment to follow Christ, not the non-believers, although they were present at time (Lk. 6:1).
Since this section contrasts the blessed and the “woeful”, let’s pair them up for reflection:
|
Blessed are the: |
Woe to you who are: |
|
Poor – theirs is the Kingdom of God |
Rich – already received comfort |
|
Hungry – will be satisfied |
Well-fed – will go hungry |
|
Weeping – will laugh |
Laughing – will mourn and weep |
|
Rejected – reward in heaven |
Spoken well of - like false prophets |
(1) What do the poor, the hungry, and the weeping have in common?
(2) What do the rich, the well fed and the laughing have in common?
(3) What do all of the above have in common?
(4) Do you normally associate the poor, the hungry and the weeping as blessed? Why not?
(5) Why then does Jesus call them blessed? What might they have in common that makes them blessed?
(6) Do you normally associate the rich, the well-fed and the laughing as woeful? Why or why not?
(7) Why then does Jesus call them woeful? What might they have in common that makes them woeful?
(8) Is it harder for the more fortunate in this life to enter the Kingdom of God? Why? (See Lk. 12:21; 18:24-25)
(9) Is it necessarily easier for the less fortunate in this life to enter the Kingdom of God? Why?
(10) In the final analysis, as disciples of Jesus, what makes one blessed?
(11) How historically were prophets treated? Why?
(12) Why should the disciples of Christ expect the same treatment?
(13) If we are persecuted for the sake of Christ as His followers, what reward will be given to us?
(14) Therefore, does blessedness as preached by Jesus in this context refer to temporal or heavenly rewards?
(15) Given the teachings in this section, what then should be the mark of Jesus’ disciples?
(16) What is the main message to you today and how can you apply it to your life?
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” (Lk. 6:20)
It is certainly true that Luke, in his gospel account, has more references to condemn the rich, and thus he appears to “favor” the poor to the point that his account of the “Sermon on the Plain” calls the poor and the hungry blessed, and not just those who are “poor in spirit” and not those who “hunger and thirst after righteousness” as in Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:3, 6).
We have to remember that whether it is the gospel of Luke or the gospel of Matthew, they are recording the words of Jesus, not their own. All three Synoptic gospels record Jesus’ comment that it is hard for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God (Matt. 19:23, Mk. 10:23; Lk. 18:24). Indeed, it is harder for the fortunate in this life to feel the need for God. However, it does not necessarily make the poor, the less fortunate in this life, to necessarily feel their need for God. Carlo Corretto, who purposely led a life of poverty, had this to say in this respect:
“And when I thought of the poor I had met in my life, especially in recent years, it was clear that there were poor who were only poor — very sad, often angry and certainly not blessed.
"And again, I recalled very well, there were poor people who were quite otherwise, poor people who wore their poverty beautifully.
"Poor people who had the conviction that they were guided by God, supported by His Presence.
"Poor people who were able to love, in spite of their sudden vexations — poor people who were patient in trial, rich in hope, strong in adversity.
"Poor people who were blessed because they could bear witness, every day, that God was present in their lives, and that He provided for them as He did for the sparrow of the sky, which possess no granaries.”
I believe he captures the meaning of “Blessed are the poor” beautifully.
(1) What do you think the intention of Jesus is by prefacing this message of loving our enemies with saying, “But I tell you who hear me”?
(2) I would like to suggest that what this preface means is, “If you are really serious in listening to me”. What do you think?
(3) We all have people that we do not like, but Jesus is referring to our “enemies”:
a. What is the definition of enemies as elaborated in the examples in vv. 27-29?
b. Given these examples, who are your enemies?
(4) In asking us to love our enemies, Jesus gives very concrete instructions to us. What will prevent us from doing the following?
a. Doing good to those who hate and have sought to harm or destroy us
b. Blessing or wishing them well those who have publicly cursed or insulted us
c. Praying sincerely for those who have mistreated, abused or taken advantage of us
(5) What might prevent us from turning the other cheek to be struck, apart from the fear of being hurt?
(6) Apart from the desire to not suffer any material losses, what might prevent us from letting our tunic be taken in addition to our cloak?
(7) Jesus sums up the above by telling us, “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (v.31).
a. You might protest that you would never hate, curse or mistreat anyone, let alone strike anyone or take anything that does not belong to you. How then can you apply this principle?
b. If someone can really put into practice these instructions of the Lord, what kind of a person is he or she, and how would you describe these kinds of actions?
c. Do you wish to receive such kindness from others?
d. Have you received such kindness from anyone? (See v. 36)
(8) By being disciples of Jesus, we have become “sons of the Most High” (6:35). What then should our distinguishing marks be from the “sinners”, meaning those who have not been forgiven by our Father God? (vv. 32-36)
(9) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.’” (Lk. 6:36)
The teaching by Jesus to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, to bless those who curse us and to pray for those who mistreat us appears to be unreasonable and impossible to do, except for those who truly recognize their own wickedness before God and truly experience the mercies of God:
- We were His enemies and yet he loves us.
- We were God-haters and in the words of John Newton who wrote the famous “Amazing Grace”, we did not even want Him, and yet He sent His Son to die for us.
- We were God-cursers and we mistreated our Savior. Through the mouths of the religious leaders, the soldiers and the passers-by and the thief on the cross, we and the world mocked and despised the Lamb of God, and yet He says, “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing”.
We are the wicked, we are the ungrateful, and yet all we receive from God is mercy upon mercy — which we do not deserve, which we did not even want to receive. If this is how God has treated us, His enemies, how else can we treat our enemies?!
However, the recognition of our wickedness and the experiencing of God’s mercies do not “naturally” enable us to love our enemies. To forgive is still a divine act, as the many stories told by Corrie Ten Boom show. Here is one of them:
“Once after Corrie talked in a church the people got up silently, as they always did in Germany, and filed out. But working against the flow was a man coming toward Corrie. He looked familiar.
" 'No'! She wanted to scream.
"The man stopped in front of her, smiling, 'What a fine message. Frau ten Boom. I’m so glad to hear our sins are forgiven.' This very man was at Ravensbruck (the Nazi camp in which Corrie and her sister, Betsie were held and the latter eventually died naked without being attended to in her prolonged sickness)! He was one of the guards who watched coldly as Corrie and Betsie filed past, naked and degraded. She remembered him distinctly. Corrie could not speak. She pretended to be preoccupied. 'You mentioned you were at Ravensbruck. You won’t believe this but I was a guard at Ravensbruck. However after the war I became a Christian. God forgave me. Will you forgive me?' He extended his weathered and hairy hand. It was as repulsive as a snake.
" 'Oh, how hard it was to be in Christ at times like this', thought Corrie. She had a thousand reasons to hate this evil man. Poor sweet Betsie. But Betsie would have been first to forgive him. Corrie had to forgive him. Or God would not forgive her. It was perfectly clear in the Bible. She looked at the man’s repulsive hand. Forgiveness was not an emotion one indulged in. It was the will of God.
"She extended her hand and said, 'I forgive you.'
"Warmth flooded over her. It was intense. She felt herself glow with love. But it was not her love. She was powerless. It was God’s love just as Paul wrote in the fifth chapter of Romans, 'And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us'.”
(Heroes of the Faith, Boom, 182-3)
This is a section that is best regarded as a collection of teachings or sayings of Jesus during this Sermon on the Plain:
(1) Vv. 37-38 — Have a big heart
a. There are two aspects to judging: To form an opinion and to condemn. Which of these do you think Jesus had in mind?
b. If we are certain that our judgment (i.e. our opinion) is sure and that the person indeed has done something wrong (especially against us), what should we do, according to v. 37?
c. What if we do not forgive?
d. What if we do not have the strength to forgive? (Do you think the best description under the circumstance is that we cannot forgive, or we will not forgive?)
e. Luke has not clarified what the teaching to “give” in v. 38 entails. Apart from the giving of “forgiveness”, what else might it include?
f. Did you ever experience the promise of v. 38 that you received far more from God than you gave?
g. On the contrary, did you ever experience having received very little because you have given too little?
(2) Vv. 39-40 — Do not be a blind teacher
a. If we are “fully trained”, then we will be like our teacher, the Lord Jesus, and will not be a blind leader. What does being fully trained entail? (Note: Fully trained can be and has been translated as having been perfected.)
b. As a pastor, leader or Sunday School teacher, what then should you do to avoid being a blind pastor, leader or teacher?
(3) Vv. 41-42 — Remove our plank first
a. Jesus is obviously using an exaggerated analogy.Why would He choose to use such an exaggeration? What is His point?
b. What is the definition of a hypocrite?
c. Jesus does not appear to stop us from seeing the speck of sawdust in our brother’s eye totally, so long as we remove our “plank” first. What if we really look at ourselves and remove our “plank” first, what would it do to the “speck of sawdust” that we perceived in our brother’s eye?
(4) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be poured into your lap.” (Lk. 6:38)
This particular verse in the Bible has spoken to me in a very personal and special way. It was on June 1, 1991 that I was listening to a sermon preached based on this verse during a worship service.
Somehow, as this verse was being expounded by the pastor, it seemed to jump out of the page before me and I heard a voice speaking to me, “Give yourself to me in full-time ministry, and I’ll worry about the rest.”
I had never heard the voice of God before. Sure, He spoke to me through impressing upon me certain Bible verses from time to time. The Holy Spirit often drew my attention to my sins through a sense of peacelessness, especially when I was praying to Him. But I had never heard His voice so audibly and clear in my life.
As the service progressed, the voice would not leave me, and in fact, my heart was about to explode, sensing the working of the Holy Spirit.
To cut a long story short, I resisted the call and even said in my heart, “You must be kidding. No way, not at this time!” You see, it was a time when I was arranging bridge financing to complete a very lucrative business investment and the prospect looked awfully good.
After a while, by the grace of God, I yielded to the will of God. I gave up my financial and career dream. From the worldly point of view, I gave up all that I have been trained and worked so hard for.
But the result? I have been given a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over poured into my lap. I have truly experienced the promise of the Lord in Luke 18:29-30: “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and in the age to come, eternal life.”
Not only have I been blessed with a very supportive wife and godly children who continue to follow the Lord, I have been blessed with many spiritual children as well. And I can also say with the children of Israel that, during all these years, our clothes have not worn out, and our feet have not swollen (Deut. 8:4).
Luke concludes the recording of the Sermon on the Plain with two analogies based on contrast:
- good and bad trees (vv. 43-45)
- good and bad foundations (vv. 46-49)
(1) What are the two kinds of people being contrasted by the above?
(2) Vv. 43-45 —The two kinds of trees:
a. We know the hearers are the disciples, so is this analogy meant for self-examination by the disciples or for their discernment concerning teachers or both? Why?
b. What is the importance of using fruit to point to one’s true self?
c. By v.45, everything flows out of the heart.
- Can one fool others by acting out how good fruit looks?
- Can one fool others by carefully crafting what he will speak from his mouth?
(3) Vv. 46-49 — The two kinds of foundations (presumably as a conclusion to the Sermon on the Plain)
a. People like to say, “You can fool people some of the time, but not all the time”. How true is this statement?
b. We may be able to fool others for an extended period of time. According to Jesus, when is the time that our true self will be revealed?
c. What might be the “flood” and “torrent” that will strike us and threaten the foundation of our discipleship or relationship with Christ?
d. What might be the flood that has shaken the foundation of faith of some of the people around you?
e. What might be the reason that their faith had not withstood the test?
f. When we address Jesus as Lord, what are we acknowledging?
g. Pause and reflect on whether there is an area of life in which you have not truly obeyed the Lord.
(4) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” (Lk. 6:49)
“Man of Vision” is a book about the founder of World Vision, Bob Pierce. He was obviously a very successful and influential man. He obviously preached in the name of Jesus. He might not have driven out demons, but he certainly performed things that very few could match — the setting up of World Vision that has greatly impacted the lives of many in the Third World, especially children in abject poverty.
But in the book I just mentioned, his daughter honestly tells of how he could not get along with other people in leadership, how he ignored his family and how he contributed to the suicide of one of his daughters. While he might have helped millions of families, he ruined his own. It was by the extreme mercy of God that he was able to somewhat reconcile with his family before his death.
Bob Pierce’s life is a warning to us, especially those in Christian leadership. Jesus is not looking at the fruit of our lavish claims about Him, our effective preaching and teaching ministry, our great sacrifice for Him or any achievements recognized by the world. He only looks at our relationship with Him — if we are obedient to Him and His will. That is the only fruit that counts.