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Luke 6:17 “And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases,”

   Notice here several groups of people. First, there were the twelve just listed, whom Jesus came down with. Then there was the crowd of disciples. Third we see two groups who came to see Jesus from Judea and from the seacoast. These two groups that came to see Him were then not yet His disciples. And though they did come to be healed, we are also told they came to hear Him.
   Though surely today people still come to Christ for healing, do they still come to church or a preaching service or whatever to ‘hear’ something? I know people will come to hear what they want to hear, to have their ego stroked or their sins minimized, or things of that nature. But do they come to hear something like what they heard from Christ? In our day it seems as if we must do anything and everything to draw a crowd, but our teaching is not one of the things we use. Should it not be the primary and purest way? Should it not be the chief attempt? Should it not be our focus?
   The day needs to come in which people visit church or are come to activities with Christians because of what they will hear. They will come to hear something that cannot be heard anywhere else. Ah, but so often the message of the gospel minister and the message of the world sounds so similar. Have we modified our message thinking that making it sound like the rest of the world will make it more attractive? Or has the enemy just counterfeited it so successfully that it is hard to pick out from the chorus of voices? These are questions we must grapple with. But, rest assured, the truth still attracts a crowd, though they who then stay and become disciples will be fewer in number.

Heavenly Father, in this confusing day we need Your wisdom. Good is being called evil and evil is being touted as good. I praise You for the clarity we find in Scripture. If we will but look under the direction of the Spirit, we will find things new and old to pull out and wonder at. You have given us what we need because Your wisdom is perfect. You haven’t forgotten anything, and you have revealed all that you needed to. Thank You for how You work in our lives. Your mercy and grace are truly amazing. You draw people to Yourself and Your timing is perfect. We need Your teaching because we need Your thinking. Ours is so twisted and confused. Thank You for the truth! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:16 “Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.”

   Judas Iscariot is listed last for a reason. But this reason had nothing to do with him being marginalized. Though sure enough he wasn’t a member of the inner circle (Peter, James, And John) we have reason to believe he was considered great among the group. He was the treasurer. He sat near Christ at the last supper. He was more familiar than most with he day to day operations of Christ’s ministry. Thus, there was nothing about him to suggest to his associates that he would be anything less than loyal.
   But notice that he ‘became a traitor’ according to Luke. This is an interesting way to put it, but is surely quite accurate. For one thing, though we are all born sinners (and capable of treachery), nobody is born a traitor. You have to grow into it, though some of us begin to practice at an early age. But, secondly, it seems that Judas was at first quite interested in the message of Christ, and would have considered himself dedicated to the cause. But, over time as it became clearer that Jesus had something altogether different in mind than the popular concept of the Messiah, his leanings the other way developed. Jesus was fulfilling the biblical view of the Messiah, not the popular view.
   No condition is more pitiful than a man who has forsaken much for a cause, only to decide in the process that he is completely against it. Indeed, as with Judas, he must come to a place of self-deception, thinking that good is evil, and evil good. And in this way it is possible for the apparent servants of Christ to become something else entirely.

   Heavenly Father, thank You for Your protection from lies! You constantly remind us of the truth. What a mercy that is! We praise you for rescuing us from the deception that this world lives in every day. Only by Your truth may we see what is real and find what is valuable. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:15 “Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot;”

   Jesus selected His special group from a good sampling of a cross section of Jewish society. As we look at the list of names, we are struck by a couple of things. One, He did not choose many who would be considered ‘important people’. Several of His choices were from the bottom rung of society so to speak. Secondly, He chose a good mixture of persons. The group was representative of Jewish society with the exception of the religious elite, from among whom He gained few followers.
   This mix serves to remind us that the Lord uses people from all walks of life. He doesn’t profile certain types of individuals. The thing that His Apostles had in common was not some normal feature of personal description. Instead, the common denominator was faith. These men believed that Christ was the Messiah.

   Heavenly Father, thank You for helping us understand what You truly want for our lives. We get sidetracked on things that don’t matter and fail to focus on Your glory. It is a glory to You that persons from all over the world praise and worship You in the same way, in Spirit and Truth. I magnify Your great love and power! You have called together a people for Your Name. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:14 “Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew;”

   Peter James and John figure prominently into the earthly ministry of Christ. they go on to become what we generally refer to as the ‘inner circle’, the group closest to Christ, though Jesus Himself makes no official distinction. James and John were also brothers, the sons of Zebedee.
   There are a few instances throughout Scripture where people receive name changes. However, this is rare enough to be highlighted as having special significance. Abraham and his wife, Peter, Paul, and Jacob. There are several others in Scripture who have some name changes or alternate names. But, these did not receive their alternate name directly from God. Therefore, because it is just this select few, we can make a couple of observations. First, it is probably not advisable for Christians to change their names as a way of symbolizing a change or calling. Though it happens in the Bible, since it is limited to this select few, emulation is not wise. This was a very specific choice God made at very significant times with certain persons. We will all receive our ‘new name’ when we get to heaven.
   Secondly, the re-naming of these individuals does seem to be God’s way of indicating that He is doing something new. It is a sign of a new beginning. This becomes obvious right away because Abraham and Sarah stand with Jacob at the beginning of the Jewish nation. Then, much later, Peter and Paul are the representative leaders of the beginning of the church of the Lord Jesus. So, it seems that the Lord specifically chose to change these names to indicate His Divine actions were taking a ‘new’ course from the perspective of humanity.

   Heavenly Father, thank You for the new things You have done! The history of the salvation You have brought about is truly wondrous and beautiful. Every detail is important to us and Christ is the Center of it all. Thank You for Your church and the great blessings You have poured out on mankind by the power of the work of the Lord Jesus in our lives. You have turned the progression of evil on its head and we can see the good purpose You have intended all along. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:13 “And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:”

   Jesus selects a small group from among His disciples to serve in a special capacity. Though I think we need to help all members of the church understand that they should serve in some capacity, we need to remember that there will be a special group of representatives that are selected for special service. This does not condone a ministerial synod or hierarchical leadership structure in which a small oligarchy runs all of the churches of Christ. However, it does give us a precedent for church leadership. The church as an institution is not to be governed by mob rule. Duly appointed persons are to have the rights of leadership, primary service roles, and the privilege of representation of the church.
   Jesus called them Apostles. This was His idea, to call this special group the ‘sent ones’. Are we not all sent? Are we not all Apostles? Well yes, really we are. But, Jesus reserved this name for a certain limited group that represented His church to the world as it began. So, in that sense there will be no more Apostles, though really we all are as spiritual descendants of these men.

   Heavenly Father, I thank You for order in what You do. You are not haphazard with us. You give us a structure that we can understand and work with. Your understanding of our limitations is due to Your great mercy. I praise You for it! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:12 “Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”

   An ability of Christ that we often forget about is His knowledge of the future. This knowledge really creates some interesting points of conversation if you think about it. If He knew what would happen next, why pray? Indeed, why shouldn’t His knowledge of the future change what He did on a daily basis in a very profound way? Well it did. He didn’t pray in spite of knowing the future and realizing that it would all turn out all right in the end. He prayed all night because of His knowledge that everything would turn out fine.
   We get so stuck in the present, looking to an uncertain future, that this is the only way we can conceive of reality. But, that is a limited view. Jesus never had to doubt what would come next. And, in our conception, this would cause Him to just kind of drift along, not really engaging in life since life would happen in any case. But this conception is based on a misunderstanding. And the life of Christ allows us to pull out of this misunderstanding. By the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we may begin to understand a life where choices and actions, and even alterations, still fit into the pre-known scheme of all of history.
   This is a difficult concept at first, but think about it this way. If you have never walked a tightrope 1200 ft in the air, you don’t really know what it is like. You can imagine pretty good, but you are not used to it, nor could you likely accomplish it. But, if you watch someone doing it, that act brings you one step closer to knowing the feeling of the doing of it. The same is true with Christ. It is difficult for us to imagine living ‘normal’ life while already knowing the future. But, Jesus has done it, and He brings us closer to the doing of it.
   Though foreign to us now, one day we will understand a life where we more or less know everything that will ever happen, nothing really ever changes, and human imperfection is not even possible. You might cringe. You might think that sounds too outlandish. But if you claim to believe Christ, then you must admit to each point completely. That is our future.
   The question I want to ask here is, if Jesus knew the future and yet spent all night in prayer, what does that teach us? Most of the time we don’t know with much certainty what will happen in the next five minutes.

   Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us Christ! He helps us see so much! We are so limited and yet we can stretch in Him, exercising muscles we never had before. You have pulled us out of our broken reality with your mercy and grace. How can we ever thank You enough? How can we even grow to the place that we need to be? And yet by Your grace we may. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:11 “But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.”

   The Greek here is very revealing. The scribes and Pharisees were overcome with fury. They had that emotional anger that blinds you to everything. It isn’t rational, measured, controllable, or safe. It was a reckless, shameless sort of rage.
   And yet, they discussed. They conferred. They thought and planned. Bu they did nothing. Any why not? Two reasons. First, they knew they had to be careful. Jesus had quite a following. A botched attempt could upset the careful balance of power they had with he people, and the Romans. But, the second is the heavier factor. It was not yet Jesus’ time. Still relatively early in His ministry, it would be some time before the cross came along. Thus, Jesus did not allow their plans to progress too far at this time. He was in control of the entire situation, and foiled more than one attempt on His life during His ministry. Make no mistake, the cross would never have occurred if He had not allowed it.

   Heavenly Father, thank You for delivering Your children from blindness. This world is blind with rage, ignorant of the danger it flirts with all the time. I praise You for Your merciful kindness! You allow us to escape the evil of this present darkness. May we live to help others see the light! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:10

   He looked at them. This was one of those dramatic pauses. He took the time to glance into the eyes of each person in the room. This could have taken anywhere from several seconds to around a minute.
   Why? What was His purpose? Well remember that He had asked a question. He was purposely looking to each of them for an answer. He did this not because He expected to get an answer. But His action implies that they should all have had a quick and obvious answer. They did not. He could have looked round at the them for a while and never would they admit they were in error. Pride was thick.
   Jesus tells the man to stretch out His hand. Based on the wording of the Greek, it looks to be that the hand was already restored. In other words, Jesus had healed the man while He was ‘looking round’ for an answer to His question about doing good. He did it in this sudden way on purpose. He wanted them to be faced with the reality of His power while they were still reeling from the logic of His question. And, it worked. Their response was drastic, illogical, and based on unbelief.

   Heavenly Father, we often see Christ’s miracles as something that we need in our lives. We want to be healed and have all of our problems solved. But, then isn’t there something more important? Don’t we need eyes to see and ears to hear the wonderful words of life? Even for us who are Your children need a sensitivity to the truth. We need to be healed of the callousness of our souls more than the infirmity of our bodies. You are truly gracious because You see and seek to provide our deepest needs. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:9

   Jesus did not shy away from conflict. He faced His detractors head on. Giving them a challenge to chew on, He steps into the fray with a piece of logic that betrays the love of the God of Jonah. Just as with the Ninevites so many years before, Jesus would show mercy on this day.
   The question here asked by Christ is of course intended to show up the great callousness of human religiosity. Being fixated on the letter of the law, the Jews had built up an artificial wall to reinforce it. But, being far from the One who wrote the law, they were devoid of the Spirit and missed the point.
   Look closely at the question we see here. Is is lawful to save or destroy? Please realize that Jesus is questioning what is allowable for humankind. What standard does the law establish? And, Jesus is talking about just one day of the week. He could just as well heal the man the next day. So He means to say that it is not lawful for humanity to allow a fellow member of the human race to suffer for even one day, not even if it is the Sabbath.
   Of course, we are not as Christ in this matter. He could heal anyone at any time anywhere. For Him there is another standard to follow, a higher standard than the law even. This He reports on several occasions as the ‘will of the Father’ and it is by this that He lived out His time on this earth. This kept Him from at that very moment healing everyone everywhere in every time for all time. But yet, that is what He came to do. He came to make that healing possible, not just physically, but spiritually. It is by the will of the Father that this blessing is applied. And though there will be ‘few that find it’ we are told that “today is the day of salvation”, even of today is the Sabbath.

   Heavenly Father, it is by Your will that all of this is possible, and by Your will that it is governed. I do not have the wisdom or understanding to know the times and seasons in every detail and particular. But, it is in Christ, Your dear Son, that I understand the power of Your love. Even one day of suffering on the part of a withered hand is noteworthy to You. You have cataloged every cell and known the pains of each. You are more in tune with our suffering that are we ourselves. I will give You the praise, for Your way is the right way. You know what we need, and You can make life, even out of death. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 6:8

   In this verse we find one of the great features of the Deity of Christ. Now, this is an issue. Many will argue against my interpretation here. But, Jesus did, and can, read people’s thoughts.
   I realize that the text doesn’t specifically say it that way. But please keep in mind the feeding of the five thousand isn’t explained in such detail either. We know the food was multiplied, but the specifics of when exactly it happened are not spelled out. Indeed, the miracle we have here of the withered hand being healed is the same way. We are told it became whole, but the exact details of how that looked as it was occurring are not spelled out in so many words.
   Jesus knew their thoughts. If this was just a case where one human knew what another human was thinking at the moment, it would have been worded differently. In fact, this isn’t the only time that Jesus is said to know what someone is thinking. Of course, many will say Jesus was just a really good guesser. But it is more than that. Jesus illustrated time and again that He had a more than human understanding of His contemporaries.
   I make a big deal of this point because it is very comforting. The fact of the matter is that Jesus alone knows your thoughts. Being God, Jesus knows every thought your have ever had, even the ones you have long since forgotten. But nobody else has this power. Many people think the devil can read their thoughts, but this simply isn’t the case. Nothing in Scripture indicates that the devil can read your thoughts. Even in the case of possession, something that can happen to unsaved persons, there is a part of them that the devil can never completely overtake. No, the devil is just a really good guesser. He has had thousands of years of practice. He has vast resources and piles of information. Thus he can virtually read thoughts.
   But only the Lord can actually do it. So, when you are in your secret place, having your devotions with the Lord Jesus, remember that He alone knows all that goes on in your heart.

   Heavenly Father, I long to fellowship with You fully and deeply. Only You truly know me. You have all of my words, my thoughts, my desires, my ‘me’, all figured out. You really understand, you really see. Your power over me is so complete. It is not an artificial and imposed oppression. It is an absolute and functional condition. You are in the primary position because You are primary. Thank You for being the One that I can turn to. You are the True Perfection that we conceive of, but cannot completely fathom. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.