STUDY
NOTES on previous study
The Question of
God’s Heart (Luke 6:1-26)
There are several chapters in Luke that will be subdivided in our study
of Luke because of the nature of the content.
Chapter six contains the “sermon on the plain” beginning in verse 20,
and the teachings concerning the kingdom and the nature of authentic
discipleship merit a careful look.
Leading into the sermon, we see the increasing tension developing
between Jesus and His disciples and the established religious community. Usually, these “religious police” are the
Pharisees. We know them well. They were fierce defenders of what they
understood to be God’s law. They likely
had their beginnings in the days that the invading Hellenists (Greeks)
threatened to absorb Judaism into their polytheistic (many gods) religion. This group rose to defend the pure faith, and
maintain an allegiance to God’s Word.
Clearly, this was a needed and well intentioned intervention. But they had become so dedicated to defending
the purity of the law, they had built numerous “fences” around it, to the point
it became cumbersome.
In this first episode of chapter six, the disciples of Jesus (being
common folk, uninformed of the finer points of the law) were walking through a
field and picking the heads of grain, rolling them in their hands, and eating
the kernels. If you’ve ever been on a
farm, or walked through a wheat field, you’ve done the same thing. What could possibly be wrong about such an
insignificant and harmless action? Well,
the law defenders had taken the joy of setting aside the Sabbath as a day of
rest and turned it into a nightmare of technicalities. We must take note of what they had done. In the name of defending the law, they missed
its purpose and design. What was meant
as a gift from God (a day of rest and reflection on God’s abundant love and
provision) become a burden of endless
interpretations. Rolling a head of grain
in one’s hand had been condemned as work!
Without intending it, the Pharisees had created a God more concerned
about “rolling a head of grain” in one’s hand than the physical hunger of one
of His creatures!
We will revisit the behavior of the Pharisees throughout this
study. They stand as the antagonists in
the story of and call to authentic discipleship. Now, the disciples themselves are no heroes
in the story. But they do not
intentionally set themselves against Jesus as do the Pharisees and others in
the established religious community. It
is significant to note that Jesus treats this group different than any
other. He had endless patience with the
shortsightedness of His disciples and the ignorance of the masses. But He is often sharp and even sarcastic when
dealing with those in positions of religious power and authority. The reason will become clear as the drama
continues. The religious leaders should
be pointing people to God’s ancient and consistent purposes. They know the content of God’s law. But instead of inviting people into God’s
reign, they keep them from seeing it.
They became border guards to inhibit entrance rather than being the
guides to life they should have been.
Luke’s account calls us to continuously ask which role we are embracing
with our own lives.
In is fascinating to note how Jesus answers the question of that which
is “not lawful.” Jesus could have given
a quick rebuke. Surely He could have
answered, “rolling grain in one’s hand is certainly
not ‘work’ as intended in the Sabbath prohibition.” But Jesus’ response is not just to correct,
but to stimulate thinking possibly leading to repentance. I find it interesting that Jesus’ response
often evokes as much resistance from us as it did the Pharisees! Why would He cite an obscure passage from the
Old Testament that really had little relevance to the situation? David, one of the great heroes for the
Pharisees, had done something much more severe in terms of “disobedience.” He took the sacred bread of the Presence,
which was clearly unlawful to eat, and ate it along with his companions. Yet, the Pharisees did not condemn David for
his actions. After all, he was a great
king - and he was hungry. His greatness
and need trumped the violation of law.
Jesus stated that if they (the Pharisees) knew who He was, they would
recognize Him as greater than David.
This is another profound statement of Jesus’ identity. At the healing of the paralyzed man, Jesus
declared that the Son of Man had authority to forgive sins. He now states His lordship over the Sabbath.
Immediately following this event we find that Jesus did indeed keep the
Sabbath. For on the Sabbath, He entered
the synagogue and taught. This story
(beginning in 6:6) is heart breaking and deeply thought provoking. There was a man in great difficulty. His right hand was withered - useless. It is significant that it is his right
hand. This was the “noble” hand - it was
the one used to eat, to do all the noble tasks.
To eat or use the left hand for visible actions was inappropriate in
that culture. It is a terrible indictment
against the Pharisees that they had no concern or compassion for the man in his
condition. In fact, Luke’s account
clearly informs us that this man was used as a “set-up”. The Pharisees were using him as a “test” for
whether Jesus was faithful to their view of following law. Jesus was filled with indignation at their
thoughts. Again, He asks a penetrating
question, “What is Sabbath about - saving or destroying?” The Pharisees’ view of Sabbath was so
restricting God had no room to operate as Healer. How tragic!
In the name of God’s law, they had prohibited that which manifested His
essence as loving healer and restorer - redeemer of His people.
In a recent video, there is a powerful rendition of this event. You see Jesus touching the withered hand and
it coming to life. You see the joy of
the healed man’s face as he realizes his hand is restored! His mouth open in inexpressible joy and
praise, his eyes full of tears, his healed hand raised
in the air in thanksgiving to the God who graciously demonstrated His power and
love - and over his shoulder you see the rage of the Pharisees! What a stark contrast! The mighty action of a loving, gracious God
is received in joy by some and invokes great anger in others. How can this be? The God of the Pharisees was predictable and
orthodox. He would never act outside of
their established restraints. Their
“god” was too small. He fit in a neat,
containable box of certain behaviors that they had established. So fixed was their view that when His Son
stood before them with irrefutable proof of His identity - they could not see
Him.
The next event (v. 12-16) again demonstrates the heart of Jesus that is
at the center of “authentic discipleship.”
It is time to select His disciples.
His behavior is predictable. He
spends an entire night in prayer. This
kind of prayer is difficult for us to understand. How long can a person pray? We run out of things to pray in a few
minutes. I have been involved in prayer
vigils that required long periods of extended prayer, and it is difficult to
fill the void of extended time with prayerful thoughts! Our difficulty, likely, is due to our limited
view of prayer. I do not think Jesus spent
the night in petition focused prayer.
Clearly He petitioned the Father for wisdom in His selection of His
disciples. But there were likely long
periods of silence, when the faithful Son just enjoyed the undisturbed, quiet
time with His loving Father. I have
often heard people remark, “You know, if Jesus, the
very Son of God, needed this much time with the Father, think how much more we
need to spend time with God!” I would
like to build on that thought. It was
precisely because Jesus knew He was God’s Son that He spent so much time in
God’s presence. It was not so much that
He needed it, but that it was a natural response of Sonship. The fact we spend so little time in prayer
likely has much to say about our lack of understanding our identities as
children of God. If we truly saw
ourselves as such, we would gladly seek times of quiet reflection with our
Father. I have a golden retriever - she
is an obedient and gentle dog. She is
not supposed to come upstairs without permission. But there are times when we are visiting or
relaxing in our den, that she will quietly sneak up
the stairs and sit beside the sofa. She
doesn’t demand attention, she simply wants to sit
close to her “masters.” Unfortunately, I
at times do not demonstrate the intelligence of my dog. If I saw God for who He is, would I not at
times just choose to sit quietly in His presence?
Now we begin Luke’s account of “the sermon.” In Matthew’s account, it is on a
mountainside. In Luke, it is on a
plain. This is not the same sermon, but
another snapshot of Jesus’ teaching. It
is similar to the Sermon on the Mount, but does not have to be understood as
the same event. The content of Jesus’
teaching was consistent as He moved from place to place.
In this week’s study, we will only consider the first portion of the
sermon. Verses 20-26, in and of itself
could serve as content for weeks of study.
Jesus began His sermon with a pronouncement of blessings and woes. The poor are blessed (not “poor in spirit” as
in Matthew), the hungry are blessed, the sorrowful are blessed – and those
hated, excluded, and reviled because of Jesus are blessed. Grave warnings are given to those who are
rich, full of food and laughter, and those of whom all
speak well. What are we to do with these
words of Jesus? Surely, most of us would
fit in the second category. Why would
Jesus give us words of caution and give words of encouragement to the poor and
oppressed?
Remember the “job description” of Jesus that we have already studied in
Luke 4. As Isaiah prophesied, Jesus came
to bring “good news to the poor.” Those
who are poor and hungry and oppressed recognize their need for help. Those of us who are rich, happy,
and in positions of comfort will struggle to see what God offers in the
kingdom. We have “our consolation”. We are full and satisfied. But with what? Our accomplishments? Our earthly well-being? Our social standing? Ultimately, what value do these things
hold? It is here that I must agree with
C.S. Lewis when he reminds us that our real difficulty is not that we want so
much, but that we are so easily pleased with little. This is our dilemma. The wealthy (most of us are by the world’s
standards) have a sense of comfort and well-being that is absolutely false.
A few years ago the truth of these words of Jesus really hit me for the
first time. I had the opportunity to
teach and preach in a small village in
Life’s True Foundation
(Luke
After having read the study notes
from the last lesson, answer the following questions:
1. Why were the Pharisees so off base in their
understanding of the will and law of God?
How do we keep from being guilty of the same narrow mindedness?
2. How
does Jesus’ teaching about the poor and the rich impact your thinking?
3. What
can you do to cause you to trust less in material things and learn to be more
trusting in God?
Read
1. To
what action and emotion are we called in treatment of our enemies? Do we do this? Why or why not?
2. Why
should we turn the other cheek, or give more to those who take things from us?
Do
we do this? Why or why not?
3. What
is the context of the “golden rule” in Luke?
Do we practice the “golden rule”?
Why or why not?
Read
1. How
does this reading relate to yesterday’s?
2. Is it
reasonable to think we could actually behave in this way? Why or why not?
3. What
does all of this have to do with mercy, and how God is merciful in this way?
4. Do we
manifest the character of God in our interaction with others? Why or why not?
Read
1. Why
are we not to judge? Why are we,
instead, to forgive?
2. To
what extent are we to give? Do we do
this? Why or why not?
3. What
is the definition of a “disciple” in this passage?
4. What
is the “log” in our own eye that we must remove before we help others?
Read
1. Where
do messages originate?
2. What
would Jesus prefer we do rather than just call out “Lord, Lord”?
3. Are
you tired of “why
or why not” questions? The real question
this week is “Do I believe the words of Jesus enough to actually do them? If we choose not to, to what are we compared?