The Good Way

Luke 6:17–49 ESV

And 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 and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all. And he lifted up his eyes on 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 shall be satisfied. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers 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 shall be hungry. “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets. “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye. “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

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Guy Lombardo was a Canadian and American bandleader, violinist, and hydroplane race who had a unique sweet jazz style that was popular with audiences for nearly 50 years. He passed away in 1977.

One of Guy’s songs began this way…

You work and work for years and years, you're always on the go.     You never take a minute off, too busy makin' dough. Someday you say, you'll have your fun, when you're a millionaire.     Imagine all the fun you'll have in your old rockin' chair.

    Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think.     Enjoy yourself, while you're still in the pink.     The years go by, as quickly as a wink.     Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself, it's later than you think.

You're gonna take that ocean trip, no matter come what may. You've got your reservations made, but you just can't get away. Next year for sure, you'll see the world, you'll really get around, But how far can you travel when you're six feet underground?

Sources: holyjoe.org/poetry/magidson.htm & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Lombardo

The song continues, but you catch the idea.

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What is the truly good way to live?

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This was Jesus’ topic in our text for tonight.

Jesus was teaching his disciples that "the good way" to live, the best way to live is for God.

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In Luke 6:12, Jesus went up a mountain and spent an entire night in prayer. After that night of prayer, he called his disciples to him.

From those assembled, Jesus selected Twelve to be his apostles. These would be the disciples upon whom he would focus his time and attention for the rest of his earthly ministry.

In verse 17, Jesus came down and stood in a plain. He was ministering to huge crowds of people. Jesus then spoke to his disciples - primarily the Twelve - these words, which are called "The Sermon on the Plain."

As we read these verses, you may have noticed this "Sermon on the Plain" is very similar to the "Sermon on the Mount", recorded in Matthew 5-7.

Bible scholars debate whether these two sermons and stories are the same. It is possible that the sermon recorded by Luke is of another incident. Yet there are definite reasons to think they were the same.

The content of both sermons is quite similar. Furthermore, the story of the centurion's faith follows both this Sermon on the Plain in Luke and The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew's gospel.

Yet it is intriguing to note how the two sermons are tailored to the different audiences of these gospels. Someone has written that when you compare these two sermons:

Luke omits the portions that treat legal issues of concern to Matthew's Jewish audience. The comparison is significant, since it indicates that Luke presented the core of Jesus' sermon to his Gentile audience. This fact means that the ethical core of the sermon is intended for all Jesus' followers, up to the present time. (NIVAC, pp. 193-194)

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This statement - that the sermon - both sermons - are intended for all of Jesus’ followers is important. Some have argued that the Sermon on the Mount and, by extension, this Sermon on the Plain are only for believers in the millenial kingdom of God.

So, in other words, when Jesus returns and sets up his kingdom, then people will be required to turn the other cheek, but today, ha!, get your revenge!

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No, the truth is, both of these sermons address how we are to live as Christ’s followers today!

In both of these sermons we find Jesus' picture of the ideal disciple. In these two sermons, we see how we, as followers of Jesus, are to think, to act, and what we are to value.

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Jesus' preaching style was a bit different than preaching we are accustomed to today. Jesus used many word pictures to illustrate his point. He gave multiple precepts by which we should live.

Jesus' sermon is packed with biblical instruction. Indeed, a minister today can preach multiple sermons on Jesus' sermon - and not exhaust the scripture.

Yet Jesus' sermon does contain a single thought, a big idea, about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. One verse sums up the entire message Jesus gave - verse 36.

Luke 6:36 ESV

Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

What does this verse mean for us as disciples of Jesus? Simply, Jesus was teaching that…

Big Idea: The disciple imitates the extravagant love of God.

Look more closely at the scripture with me. See how and why the disciple imitates the extravagant love of God.

1. The disciple's passion is to experience God's love personally, vv. 20-26.

The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew began with nine beatitudes. This Sermon on the Plain begins with four.

Luke 6:20–23 ESV

And he lifted up his eyes on 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 shall be satisfied. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.

Blessed are the poor… throughout scripture we see God's concern and blessing upon the poor. This is not because a person who has less money than others is more spiritual than those who have more.

Rather, this saying acknowledges that typically those who are poor and deprived of the ability to provide for themselves are more open to God.

Truly, the poverty that is blessed here is the pious poor - those who recognize their spiritual poverty and their need of God. Jesus was saying, "Blessed are those who are humble enough to recognize their need of God!"

Similarly, while the hunger of verse 21 may point to those who have no food, the meaning is that of spiritual hunger. The weeping of verse 21 comes due to the strains of life, and even the injustices that a person may experience in life.

Verses 22-23 pull all of this together by pronouncing a blessing upon those who are hated, excluded and despised by society. The first readers of Luke's gospel were Christians in the first century. They were often persecuted for their faith. Think how they would have heard Jesus' words in this gospel.

At times, they could have been tempted to feel sorry for themselves. They may have been intimidated by the world. They may have wondered why God allowed them to suffer this way.

But Jesus said, "You are blessed." So they continued to serve Christ faithfully, even though they suffered for their faith.

Luke's Sermon on the Plain includes woes. These are not included by Matthew in his record of the Sermon on the Mount…

Luke 6:24–26 ESV

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

These woes are the polar opposite of the blessings mentioned before. Poor vs. rich. Hungry vs. full. Weeping vs. laughing. Hated, separated, reproached, one's name considered evil vs. "all men speak well of you."

With blessing and woe that are opposites, Jesus emphasizes His point. Our first and highest passion should be to experience the extravagant love of God personally.

Do you see the picture of Jesus' follower? This disciple loves Jesus more than anything else! This person gladly lives in poverty, if need be, as he served Jesus. And, this person humbly recognizes his need of God.

The disciple may go hungry, as their greatest passion is serving Jesus. Truly, their greatest hunger is more of God. This follower of God weeps as she suffers deprivation, as she seeks to serve God. This person is so on fire for Christ that it doesn't matter how people receive them; their desire is to serve Christ.

In contrast, the person of the world enjoys a good life now. He stores up wealth and possessions. He eats like a pig! His days are full of laughter. Everybody wants to be his friend. But this person is only living for today, not eternity.

The disciple's passion is to experience God's love personally.

2. The disciple's priority is to express God's love to others, vv. 27-36.

Think about this. What does it mean to have as one's priority the expression of God's love to others? As we read these verses, we first find four exhortations of Jesus concerning our priority of love.

Luke 6:27–28 ESV

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

Love your enemies - wow! What is our natural tendency when someone becomes our enemy? We hold them off at a distance. We paint them as evil. We do not trust them. We strike back at them.

But Jesus says to love your enemies. How do we love our enemies? The next exhortation gives a practical example: do good to them which hate you.

When you know someone hates you, instead of ignoring them, avoiding them, retaliating against them - do something good for them.

The third exhortation - bless those who curse you. Instead of retaliating in kind, respond with a blessing. The fourth - when someone treats you spitefully, pray for them.

Someone has written…

The special objects of love are one's enemies. The love Jesus commands is not an abstract love tucked away in the person's inner recesses, but a love that demonstrates itself in concrete action… The exhortations expect action, not just a private expression to God. (NIVAC, p. 189)

These four exhortations are followed by four illustrations of how the disciple prioritizes the expression of God's love.

Luke 6:29–30 ESV

To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.

Turning the other cheek. When other people reject you and treat you shamefully, you must not respond in kind. You should never fight back when someone hurts you. Instead, respond to evil with good.

Taking one's cloak. Please understand. This is not saying that the Christian should be a doormat. We do not allow just anyone to take whatever they want, to steal from us.

But Jesus was saying that we should prioritize love for others so much that we are willing to be vulnerable. Instead of fighting over what's rightfully mine, we should willingly give even more than what someone might insist on having of ours.

In a similar way, the disciple's extravagant love is shown in giving generously to whoever asks. We must not keep strict records of who owes us what.

In verse 31 is the Golden Rule - to do unto others what we would like them to do for us. Then, in verses 32-34 we find three questions about how we love others.

Do we love only those that love us? How does that make us any more spiritual than the sinner? Do we only do good to those who will return the favor? Sinners do the same! Do we only lend to those who we believe will pay us back? Sinners do the same!

Luke 6:35 ESV

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

This verse is then followed by Luke 6:36, which I believe sums up the point of Jesus' entire sermon. We are to imitate the extravagant love of God shown in His mercy to us.

The disciple's priority is to express God's love to others!

3. The disciple's perception is to evaluate others by God's love, vv. 37-42.

In verses 20-26, we see how a disciple should believe. In verses 27-36, we then see how a disciple should behave. This is all good. But if you do not change the heart and how one looks at life, beliefs will go by the wayside and behaviors will never be put into action.

You see, I can believe that being poor before God will mean I am blessed as a disciple of Jesus. But quite frankly, in comparison to many around the world, even while I am not rich, I am very rich!

Years ago I went to Ghana, West Africa, on a mission trip. There, I saw REAL poverty. People there are so poor it is hard to even describe. Therefore, it is hard for me to truly value poverty and to experience the blessings that comes with it.

I can understand that if someone slaps me on the cheek, I should turn the other. But quite frankly, I will probably never have my cheek slapped. Therefore, it may difficult for me to understand the attitude and behavior of not retaliating to insults.

The point of Jesus' precepts and principles in this sermon is NOT to give us a rigid rule book that we should always consult in case one of these things happen, but that we ignore if the circumstances and details are not exactly the same.

Rather, Jesus' purpose is to teach us how to imitate the extravagant love of God! We miss the point - the purpose - of God's Word when we begin to treat it like a rule book.

Someone may never slap me on the cheek, but they may insult me in other ways. Do I follow the principle of God's Word in allowing them to insult me further, or do I retaliate, standing up for my personal rights?

I may not have nearly the wealth or possessions of my next-door neighbors, but do I act "rich"? Am I arrogant and proud and unwilling to be humble and teachable?

Furthermore, when you have a rule book, it only has value if you start measuring people and things by it. Yet Christ expects us to imitate his extravagant love.

When we begin to judge others, we quickly demonstrate a lack of love, kindness, mercy, and grace. And, we fall under condemnation ourselves.

Luke 6:37 ESV

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;

The sad thing is that too often people who judge others think they are being loving, helpful, reasonable in showing someone else all their faults. In truth, they are hateful, spiteful, and judgmental. They do the opposite of what Christ commands us!

Luke 6:38 ESV

give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

The picture of the good measure pressed down draws on what happened in the ancient marketplace, where a seller placed grain in a container. Then he shook the container to get the grain to level out so that he could put more grain in the measure. That is how God measures for the generous and those who give. In fact, he gives so that the cup runs over. (NIVAC, p. 192)

Do you see the difference? Instead of judging others by the rule book, our perception should evaluate others by the love of God.

Jesus continued with parables. He warned of the blind leading the blind into a ditch. If we refuse to follow God's way of love, we will get totally lost.

Jesus said the disciple is not above his master. In other words, we are expected to be as loving and merciful as Jesus is. And Jesus set the standard of extravagant love by dying on the Cross for the entire world!

Jesus then asked why we pick at a speck of dust that we see in someone else's eye when we have a 2x4 sticking out of our own! Instead of judging others by the rule book, we need to carefully and accurately evaluate our own spiritual condition.

Only after we take care of any sin, any shortcomings in our own life, will we even potentially be ready to help others!

Do you see it?

The disciple's perception is to evaluate others by God's love.

Jesus concluded his sermon with several word pictures in application. In verses 43-44 Jesus points out that a good tree bears good fruit; a bad tree bears bad fruit. The point is obvious: if you are truly a follower of Jesus, you /will/ imitate God's extravagant love.

In verse 45 he says that a person brings treasure - good or bad - out of one's heart. One's speech reveals one's heart. Again, the point is clear. If your heart is filled with the extravagant love of God, it will be demonstrated, it will be evident, in how you speak.

In verse 46 Jesus asked why a person would call him "Lord", but not obey Him. True followers of Jesus put God's extravagant love in action!

In verses 47-49 Jesus uses the picture of a person building a house. Those who obey His Word are like those who build with a strong foundation. Those who do not will be swept away by the flood.

In a similar way, a person may claim to be a disciple of Jesus. But if they do not obey His word by imitating the extravagant love of God, when the tests of time come, they will be swept away. Their testimony of discipleship will be seen to be a fraud.

Big Idea: The disciple imitates the extravagant love of God.

My hope in exploring this scripture with you today is to help us understand that Jesus expects us, as His followers, to imitate the extravagant love of God.

But quite frankly, if we take Jesus' commands seriously, we will be overwhelmed by the kind of extravagant love that Jesus demands we demonstrate as His disciples.

Think about it! Love your enemies? Do good to those who hate you? Bless those who curse you? Pray for those who despise you?

Willingly turn the other cheek when someone strikes you? When someone demands something from you, let them take even more than what they ask?

Give generously whenever someone asks? Never expect anything in return? Even though these people are obviously in the wrong, we cannot judge them?

They are evil - yet we cannot condemn them? We must forgive them?

Listen! If you truly consider how extravagant Christ's love is, you will be overwhelmed. We cannot do this in our own power or strength!

Our flesh rises up in protest! Even the most spiritual of people struggle to truly follow these principles!

Someone has written that this Sermon on the Plain…

Luke 6:17–20 (Courson's Commentary): …was a message meant to drive people to the realization that they couldn’t keep it, a message meant to drive people to the place of brokenness, a message meant to drive people to the Cross.

Therefore, the only conclusion that can be drawn from the Sermon on the Mount, the Message on the Plain is not, “These are good words to live by,” but, “This standard is impossible.”

Thus, the one who grasps its meaning doesn’t say, “I’m pretty good, but I’ll try harder.” No, he says, “I’m a sinner in desperate need of a Savior.”

Then, once he realizes he can’t keep this standard on his own, once he is saved, the message becomes helpful to him as it delineates the ways in which the Spirit desires to work in him.

This person then wrote a prayer that I think is a fitting way for us to end our time together. Would you pray with me?

The standards, Lord, of Your kingdom—of giving, blessing, forgiving—are qualities I lack in and of myself. Therefore, I need forgiveness, and I embrace You [today] as my Saviour. I bask, Lord, in Your grace. I plead Your blood.

I invite You to come into my heart again, Lord. And in so doing, to allow my life to more completely display these qualities. Strip from me, Lord, hypocrisy. Take from me, Lord, attitudes of judgment or condemnation.

Keep me, Lord, from being one who hears the Word, but doesn’t build my life thereon. I pray that my life might truly be built upon the Rock, that as the storms come, I might stand in that day.

So by the Spirit, in the Spirit, I absorb these teachings, this message, and pray that I might do unto others as I would that they would do unto me. Make me like You, Jesus. Allow me to be one who is more concerned about compassion than tradition.

Allow me to be one who responds to Your commandments rather than argue why they can’t be done. I pause in Your presence, asking You to do Your work in my life. Set me free, Lord, to be a liberator and lover of others as I look to and love You. (Jon Courson)