Category: Uncategorized

Luke 6:37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

   Even now this verse tends to get misused. The focus gets put in the wrong place. We often quote to each other, judge not. But we very often forget to do what Jesus does here and tie our mercy to our own redemption. We should forgive because we have been forgiven. However, Jesus goes so far as to say we will be forgiven only if we forgive.
   If I bear ill will in my heart towards another and then ask for forgiveness, I ask in vain.

   Heavenly Father, thank You for Your forgiveness! Only by Your great mercy do we have the opportunity or ability to show mercy to others. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:36 “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”

   This is one of the most powerful teachings of Christ. Jesus actually expects people to be like God. How can He possibly expect this? It is unfathomable! But, this is exactly what is in view.
   Here we see another theme in the sermon. Jesus teaches people to do things that just are not humanly possible. He sets standards so high that we wonder how any one could ever be expected to reach it. Why?
   Well He is setting His disciples up to understand redemption. He is leading on to the idea of the empowering of the Holy Spirit. He is building the groundwork for the Christian life. It is this very kind of talk that fits so well with the significant truth that to be in Christ is to be a new creation. Our old ways are to pass away, and we become new. Though the natural man still awaits the redemption of the flesh, the spiritual man is, by being made alive, emboldened and enabled to do all that Christ will here ask of him or her.
   Mercy is for sure a human activity. In other words, it is something we do. But, imperfectly. Not like God does it. Not without an admixture of selfishness. Here Christ asks for more. Without redemption by His blood, nobody could possibly think about this quality of mercy.

   Heavenly Father, as we look at Your qualities, we are so overwhelmed. Your perfection is so high and great it is staggering to us. But, You, in Your greatly powerful wisdom, You have made it possible for us to live an altogether different life. Oh how can we ever imagine the future! I am so blessed by what You have made possible now, I cannot even handle imagining too much of what You have for the future. But what I can imagine, and understand from Your Word, is enough to keep me busy. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:35 “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.”

   As can be easily seen here, Jesus is concerned with the glory of the Father. This is the proper goal of everything. Believers serve Christ to bring glory to the Father. Ultimately, all of the good that will ever be done is His doing. And that is how it should be, for God alone is good.

   Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your good. It is because You are good that there is hope. And it is by hope that we continue. And by our living Your good will is revealed. The future is as the past a testimony to Your great goodness. I love You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:34 “And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.”

   Jesus spends quite a bit of time on this subject. He is stressing the importance of giving. He does not mean here to say that His followers are never allowed to make a loan to someone. But, He also expects them to give free gifts as well, expecting nothing in return.

   Heavenly Father, we praise You for Your generosity to us. Your beneficent nature is amazing to us. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:33 “And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.”

   It is important to properly define the word ‘sinners’ in this context. The Bible indeed teaches us that all are sinners. Why then does Jesus act as if His hearers were not sinners? He was speaking here to a Jewish crowd. He new that His hearers would take ‘sinners’ to refer to persons who had no fear of God. The heathen nations, largely devoid of truth about the God of the Bible, were in view. Jewish persons who had no affinity with Jehovah God were also in view. Thus, His hearers would realize He was talking about people who did not value or try to obey the Word of God.

   Heavenly Father, thank You for the truth! It is great to have Your very message for us right at our fingertips. We can never overestimate the impact that Your Word has had on our lives. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I prays and praise You, Amen.

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.