According To Luke: Kingdom Talk

Luke 6:17-36    (NRSV)

He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

Then he looked up at his disciples and said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,
    for yours is the kingdom of God.
“Blessed are you who are hungry now,
    for you will be filled.
“Blessed are you who weep now,
    for you will laugh.

“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

“But woe to you who are rich,
    for you have received your consolation.
“Woe to you who are full now,
    for you will be hungry.
“Woe to you who are laughing now,
    for you will mourn and weep.

“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

As the Scripture was read, I bet that the passage sounded rather familiar --- yet at the same time you recognized that something wasn't quite right about it.

These words are familiar because we have heard them time and time again from Matthew's Gospel in the section that we call The Sermon on The Mount. 

Pastors are much more likely to preach from Matthew's version than they are from Luke's for reasons that we will explore in just a few minutes.

But before we do that, let's look quickly at some of the differences between Matthew and Luke's versions.

In Matthew, the Sermon takes up almost three chapters for a total of 109 verses.

In Luke, it takes up only part of one chapter and is only 30 verses long

What is also interesting is the way that Luke sets up the story. 

He [Jesus] came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him [Jesus] and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

Luke tells us that the people who had gathered had come to HEAR Jesus --- not to test or challenge him as was so often the case.

And in these few verses, Luke reminds us once again of the universal scope of Jesus work and ministry:

·         People came from ALL of Judea

·         ALL sought to touch him

·         Jesus healed ALL those who were ill or filled with unclean spirits

According to Luke what Jesus presents is the standard for every disciple --- for every follower of Jesus.

He tells us what the Kingdom of God is going to look like.

And what will that be?  Listen again to the four opening Blessings and Woes

“Blessed are you who are poor,
    for yours is the kingdom of God.
“Blessed are you who are hungry now,
    for you will be filled.
“Blessed are you who weep now,
    for you will laugh.

“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

Unlike Matthew's version of this story which says that the poor in spirit are blessed --- and blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness --- Luke tells that the Kingdom belongs to the poor!

But, Luke is in no way idealizing or glorifying poverty.

He is just making very clear to us that God is prejudicially committed to the poor.

Do you hear how scandalous this is?

William Barclay, the great theologian of the last century once remarked that this message from Luke was a BOMBSHELL, and that we have conditioned ourselves not to hear it.

Jesus is overturning conventional wisdom and expectation

Yet before we get too self righteous --- Luke is reminding us how this follows the Jewish expectation (from the Hewbrew Bible) that God is the protector and defender of the poor.

I could list scripture after scripture in which God is proclaiming this --- but I don't think I need too

One of the big differences between Matthew and Luke is that the author of Matthew seems to have domesticated Jesus because this message was so radical

Do you want to know why Jesus was killed?

--- Go read verses 20-22 again and it is pretty clear.

The scandal of Jesus ministry was his constant association with outcasts and his pronouncing of God's blessing upon them

Ted Turner once called Christianity a "religion for losers."  He made that statement based on Jesus' teachings in the Beatitudes. 

His thinking was that any religion that asks its followers to be meek and merciful even in the face of opposition can only be a religion for losers.

But if that isn't enough listen to what Jesus says next.

Not only is God prejudiced toward the poor --- but he excoriates all of us

“But woe to you who are rich,
    for you have received your consolation.
“Woe to you who are full now,
    for you will be hungry.
“Woe to you who are laughing now,
    for you will mourn and weep.

“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

Ouch!

These four woes drive home the message of the four beatitudes by following them in sequence and stating the inverse.

·         Just as the beatitudes announced God's favor --- which is an occasion of joy for the poor

·         The woes announce God's judgment --- which should be a cause for grief and remorse among the rich.  Because as Jesus says HOW TERRIBLE IT WILL BE FOR THEM! (for us?)

More than any other Gospel ---- Luke outlines the dangers of wealth

And for us living like we do they are tough words indeed.

Gustavo Guiterrez has written:

God has a preferential love for the poor not because they are necessarily better than others, morally or religiously, but simply because they are poor and living in an inhuman situation that is contrary to God's will.  The ultimate basis for the privileged position of the poor is not in the poor themselves but in God, in the gratuitousness and universality of God's agapeic love.

Since we are NOT the poor --- this passage either mystifies us or leaves us feeling guilt rather than joy.

Like the rich young ruler --- we hear God's word and go away sorrowful because our possessions are many

Then our text shifts a bit this morning and Jesus tells us that we must love --- not only those who are loveable --- but also our enemies.

Jesus seems to be saying that this is no place in our Christian ethic for vengeance or retaliation.

Jesus is going to tell us how to love, not once, but four times in verses 29 and 30

·         turn the other cheek

·         do not withhold your shirt

·         give to the one who ask of you

·         and if your goods are taken from you --- do not ask for them back

Jesus then goes on and shares how love has to go beyond just the loveable

Jesus says that we have to love EVERYBODY

We may not always like what they do, but we are called to love them with God's love.

We have to move beyond our comfort zones and truly be a people who live out their lives with Open Hearts, Open Minds and Open Doors. 

Not just for those that we like and feel comfortable with, but with those who challenge us

Henri Nouwen summarizes this concept as Christian voluntary displacement:

“The gospels confront us with this persistent voice inviting us to move from where it is comfortable, from where we want to stay, from where we feel at home … voluntary displacement leads us to the existential recognition of our inner brokenness and thus brings us to a deeper solidarity with the brokenness of our fellow human beings.”

Only when we join with our God in becoming prejudicially committed to the poor will we understand Jesus unconditional love for us.

Jesus is trying to help us understand what the Kingdom will look like, and to adjust our lives and our values to those of the Kingdom.

Rob Bell says this:

“True spirituality, then, isn’t about escaping this world to some other place where we will be forever … A Christian is someone who anticipates spending forever here, in a new heaven that comes to earth. The goal isn’t escaping this world but making this world the kind of place God can come to.”

An Amish man was once asked by an enthusiastic young evangelist whether he had been saved and whether he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. The gentleman replied, "Why do you ask me such a thing? I could tell you anything. Here is the name of my banker, my grocer and my farm hands. Ask THEM if I am saved."