Author: Bill Hall

Luke 6:32 “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.”

   Jesus moves on here to help us understand an important truth. There is a motivation behind the Golden Rule. More than that there is a motivation behind the Christian life in general. And, it isn’t what most people think it is. We are to love our enemies because by doing so we emulate Christ.
   See, this whole thing is about Jesus. All of it. It is all about Him and the Father and how the Father is giving Him all things and He brings glory to the Father. So our every action is part of a grand plan to bring ultimate glory to the Father.
   We have heard that we should love people because that is the ‘right thing to do’, or because it ‘makes everything better’, or it is moral, or whatever. These reasons are all fine and good, but they are totally incomplete. We should love our enemies because that is what Jesus wants us to do. It is a command. It is how He shows His love through us. And if we are motivated by anything other than obedience to Him, then that reflection is tainted.

   Heavenly Father, we praise You for You are altogether glorious! You are worthy of the highest devotion. Only You can merit our soul’s best songs. In You we find the Purpose of the ages. Your love is a shining example that we emulate to our credit, but only by the power of Christ. In the end we must say we have only done as the Lord commanded. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:31 “And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.”

   This is that teaching of Christ refereed to as the Golden Rule. It is indeed a very important and valuable lesson for all of us. However, it tends to be extracted from the teachings of Christ and made to stand on its own, which it cannot do. Without the greater context of the other teachings of Christ, or of the the rest of Scripture, the rule becomes nearly useless. It could be used to excuse all sorts of behaviors in that it will devolve into nothing more than practical mutual benefit. Christ’s intention is higher than that to be sure. The greater context here makes that plain.

   Heavenly Father, You alone understand how to be good. We think we know, but You alone actually do it. It is only by the righteousness of Christ that we may appear in Your presence. I will praise Your Holiness! You are above and high, and we are below and low. Our life is best lived reflecting Your great glory. Thank You for life in Christ! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:30 “Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.”

   In the classic Les Miserables the protagonist Jean Valjean is encouraged to turn from his life of crime by a priest who does not tell the police of Valjean’s theft. Beyond this he gives Valjean the stolen silver for a better life, and a candlestick to symbolically light his way.
   What Jesus is giving us here still goes with the general theme of the sermon. The Gospel is to be spread without resisting persecution. But, also, and far higher, it is to be spread by showing sacrificial love to the very enemies that would persecute the children of God. Christians should have a message that is powerfully backed up by their actions. Though these giving actions alone will not save, the message without them tends toward emptiness.

   Heavenly Father, we praise You for Your amazing love, and Your absolute Holiness. The two are there together and are in no way a contradiction. You have loved because You have chosen it. Your Holy Person has planned out history so as to get to Yourself the greatest glory. And why not? You actually deserve it. You are worthy of it all! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:29 “To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.”

   The followers of Christ are not to resist persecution. Force and faith are not to be mixed. To be sure Jesus will indeed establish His kingdom. And force will be involved, but a force beyond all imagining. He will rule with power that Satan himself cannot resist. But now, as his followers, we are to never mix the sword and the cross.
   And why? Because we minister to a world that is condemned to destruction. There is no purpose in resistance, and every purpose in mercy. Believers must do all possible to help this world understand the desperate situation it is in. Offer the other cheek, hoping the beater will think before striking again, and knowing even if he doesn’t, you have done the will of the Master.
   Unfortunately passages like this have been distorted to teach how to handle bullies, or how to take tongue-lashings. Though to be sure Christians should handle these problems well, the Bible is much more than a self-help book. Jesus is interested in more than teaching you how to win friends and influence people. He has given us marching orders as the members of a great and everlasting kingdom that is coming to this broken universe.

   Heavenly Father, give us the upward look that will put our lives into perspective. We look at Your Great Glory and see Your Almighty Power. Thrice Holy You are! May we gaze towards Your holy dominion for all of eternity! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:28 “bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.”

   Only the Lord Jesus can give to us a heart that will overflow with kindness upon those who mistreat us. However, be sure to keep something in mind here. In the context, Jesus is still speaking about persecution. Though Christians are to be kind and loving to all, this is specifically targeting those who are suffering for the sake of Christ. Sometimes we feel the need to be good to our enemies, but the truth is they are our enemies for good reason, because we have been acting the fool.

   Heavenly Father, give us pure hearts that seek after You! You are our treasure. You alone can fill our deepest longings. You alone can give us the truth we need for our souls. I will praise you for Your great love and live to sing Your glory. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:27 “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,”

   Jesus directs his words to those who hear. In other words He knows some of His hearers were truly listening, actually taking His teaching to heart. And what does He say to them? He gives them one of the most difficult commands to keep.
   Indeed, how does the Lord Jesus expect us to genuinely follow such a command? We have many in our day who will keep it in their flesh, being their best selves. They will use tactics of the flesh and mind to discipline themselves to be nice to everyone, even their bitterest enemies. But is that truly what is being taught here? Is it enough to coax the meanness out of ourselves? Or is Christ calling for something more?
   What is it that Jesus has done? He has made a way of redemption available to the bitterest of God’s human enemies. He has suffered at the hands of His creations. Above anyone He has shown what it means to love one’s enemies, and to do good for those who hate you. Make no mistake here, Jesus alone has made it possible for us to live by this dictum. Only by new life in Christ may we have a heart and soul that can truly love the unlovable. Don’t get this wrong. Don’t try to manufacture a love that you are incapable of without Him.
   We live in a time where men are trying to have practical goodness without true holiness. Decency has been transformed and elevated. Intolerance has been named tolerance, and good evil. All is on its head. The ‘nicest’ folks are diabolically evil, and yet it is so hard to see. But it is life in Christ that truly makes love possible.

   Heavenly Father, thank You for life in Christ! Without it we have no hope to live right before You. We can only shadow what You intend, and end up in a deeper hole. Oh Father, make us students of Your truth! You have all that we need. We will seek to You for our souls and find the great rewarding treasure of Your Word. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:26 “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets.”

   Though the Jews of Jesus’ day would claim solidarity with the true prophets, it was the same kind of group that aligned themselves with the false prophets in the past. Jesus points this out here. Persecution is not a new thing. People of faith have suffered it form the beginning. We must never be tempted to feel sorry for ourselves when we are mistreated for Christ’s sake. The alternative is more to be feared.

   Heavenly Father, You have for all of history been there for Your people. You have seen every tear and comforted every heart that belonged to You. You are our great consolation and wonderful reward! I will praise You for Your faithfulness is beyond all we could ask. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:25 “Woe to you who are full, For you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, For you shall mourn and weep.”

   Notice here the word ‘now’. Jesus uses this word on several occasions to highlight a very particular item. There is a now, and there is a later. The word ‘woe’ is also important to consider. It is a heavy prophetic term. It specifically denotes impending doom of the wrath of God variety. It alerts the hearer that God has plans to judge a group or individual.
   Those who are full of this world’s food, whether literal material food or figuratively fullness of this world’s goods, are on the path to destruction. Many there be that walk this road. They laugh, in that they are tickled with their apparent success. But, the days will come when ‘now’ is over and later has arrived.
   There is no petty jealousy in this, but the jealousy of the God Who made everything and everyone. This is all about allegiance to Him and His Christ. Many after these words of Christ have tried to make Him out to say that material things are evil, but that is obviously not His point. The love of material things over spiritual things is the great danger He hopes to deliver us from.

   Heavenly Father, You are God over all. The material world is Yours. It belongs to You, you made every part of it. All riches and foodstuffs belong to You. But beyond that, laughter belongs to You. Our very moods and mental states are Your possession. We have not the right to claim them as simply our own, but as that which You have given us to enjoy. May our attitude always show Your altitude! Oh Father You are wise and loving and holy! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:24 “But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation.”

   This must be kept in context, just as the previous verses. Jesus is not condemning the rich out of hand. He is speaking of those who have become rich, powerful, influential and so forth by kowtowing to the whims of the times. They have gained the ‘good things’ in life by going with the flow of the present wickedness. They give the god of this world little to no resistance, and will curry his favor if they think they can excuse it.
   It is to these that Jesus is speaking. And He gives them a sobering bit of logic. Though we may not see it on the face of it, this is quite a slap in the face to those who value the things of this world above the things of God. Jesus is literally saying that what these folks are enjoying is the best they will ever get. The trinkets of the ungodly are their best and brightest hope since they have turned their backs on what God offers. Though to the man of the world this makes some type of sense, it is a sad picture indeed. If the creations of man are traded for the glories of the future world, an infinite amount is missed for all of eternity. The pleasures of this life are no substitute for what Paul calls that ‘great and eternal weight of glory.’

   Heavenly Father, as we consider the baubles of this life, they are less than shadow and smoke when compared to the slightest of Your glorious rewards. Just the blessings afforded us in this current lifetime as Your humble servants are enough to make us see the difference, let alone that which waits in eternity. Today I will praise You for Your greatness O Lord! You alone have created everything. All is sustained by Your will. The future is Your playground, and all waits on You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.”

   This is quite a significant parallel to draw. The prophets were the messengers of Jehovah God to the Jewish people. The Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day claimed to be faithful to all that the prophets had spoken. The antagonism of these leaders put Jesus and His followers in a position of opposition to them. The claim here then is that Jesus and His doctrine were consistent with the Old Testament prophets, and that His followers could legitimately identify with them.
   Beyond this, notice the reaction Jesus is telling His followers to have when they are persecuted. Though persecution is not to be sought after, it is not to be grievous either. It is not only a cause for joy, but is also the indication of eternal reward.
   This is quite a message in that it sets Christians upon a different track for the future. This world seeks a different direction entirely. But, it is not Christians who are diverting from the choice that is most consistent with reality, it is this present evil world.

   Heavenly Father, thank You for saving us from this present evil world. Though Your created world is beautiful (though cursed because of sin), the world system of humanity is corrupted. We are to be strangers and pilgrims in relation to it, even though we are patriotic citizens of Your great kingdom. Thank You for allowing us to be a part of it! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.