Luke 6
What did I learn about Jesus?
- Jesus egged on the Pharisees to direct them to the truth.
- His words to the “haves” continue to speak to us here in Gig Harbor.
What did I learn about disciple-making?
- We must discern in hearts by our actions; what do we speak?
- To be a disciple of Christ I must be obedient to his commands.
Extended thoughts and observations from Pastor Mark:
Thanks to Elder Steve for helping me out on a Sunday morning.
It fascinates me how the Sabbath was such a point of division between Jesus and the higher-ups. And he clearly seems to be egging them on. When he stands “Withered-Hand” in front of them, and then heals him there on the Sabbath, it is OBVIOUS he is provoking them. And it works. Verse 11 fascinates me: “But they were furious…” They were so blinded by their rules that when they saw a magnificent work of healing, instead of falling on their knees to worship, “they were furious” because he healed on the wrong day. Awful!
Verse 12 is the third time in three chapters that Jesus goes to be alone to pray. We MUST pay attention to how Jesus fed his soul. What is the place of solitude in our own journey of faith?
Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount is different. It is not on a mount, for one. On a plain. It is shorter; the same stuff is sprinkled throughout his gospel. It is more focused on the poor, like the rest of his gospel. “Blessed are you who are poor,” versus Matthew’s “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Luke is the social justice gospel. It also includes a set of woes; it is more prophetic AGAINST the haves than it is just pastoral toward the have nots. We Gig Harbor folks MUST pay attention to these warnings; we are the haves of our world!
Two of my favorite, and most convicting, verses come out of this chapter; I would urge you to memorize both. The first is 45: it speaks about how our mouths only speak what we already have in our hearts. If we swear, gossip, complain, and attack, it is only evidence that our heart still does not entirely belong to Jesus. It does no long-term good to control the outflow of the putrid water; like the Canterwood water problems, we need to clean up the source of the filth!
Also, perhaps my life verse in this season: verse 46, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” I think it sums up our journey of discipleship. If he is Lord, we obey. If we do not obey, he is not Lord, no matter how we wish or pretend otherwise.