Sermon for 2/13/22 Luke 6:17-26 - 16 Minutes "God First, Others Second"

Luke 6:17-26

This morning I'll be reading Luke chapter 6 verses 17 through 26. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Luke 6:17–26 Luke writes that Jesus has just spent the night in prayer,,, then He chooses the 12 disciples,,, then He comes down with them to teach and heal the people. Luke 6:17–26 (HCSB) 17 After coming down with them, He stood on a level place with a large crowd of His disciples and a great number of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They came to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those tormented by unclean spirits were made well. 19 The whole crowd was trying to touch Him, because power was coming out from Him and healing them all. 20 Then looking up at His disciples, He said: You who are poor are blessed, because the kingdom of God is yours. 21 You who are now hungry are blessed, because you will be filled. You who now weep are blessed, because you will laugh. 22 You are blessed when people hate you, when they exclude you, insult you, and slander your name as evil because of the Son of Man. 23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! Take note—your reward is great in heaven, for this is the way their ancestors used to treat the prophets. 24 But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your comfort. 25 Woe to you who are now full, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are now laughing, for you will mourn and weep. 26 Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for this is the way their ancestors used to treat the false prophets. God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ----------------------------------------------------------- Last Sunday we looked at Psalm 138 and we seen where David,,, again as we’ve seen in other scriptures,,, wasn’t shy about showing his love and praise for God.

And that’s something that we need to be aware of and copy David’s attitude,,,, so that we can show our love and praise to God,,, and by doing so,,, it helps us to feel better emotionally,,, since it changes our focus from ourselves,,, back to God where it should always be,,, and,,, also,,, by doing so,,, others can see God’s love,,, shining out of us.

Which is always,,, something non Christians are watching for.

And they may be watching without even realizing it,,, wanting something that is missing,,, and that something,,, is,,, Jesus Christ!

This morning we are going to look at these verses in Luke,,, and see how they can help us in our walk with God this week.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 17 says: 17 After coming down with them, He stood on a level place with a large crowd of His disciples and a great number of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon.

There are different explanations as to the different accounts of this sermon.

Dealing with the troublesome part of the difference between the mountainside in Matthew,,, and the level place in Luke.

Some think that it’s 2 different sermons,,, and this argument can go on forever until we find more information,,, or we meet Jesus in heaven,,, and then it won’t matter,,, maybe!

But,,, My Bible Knowledge Commentary explains it this way,,, The sermon recorded in verses 17–49 is a shorter version of the Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew 5–7.

Both sermons are addressed to disciples,,, begin with beatitudes,,, conclude with the same parables,,, and have generally the same content.

However,,, in Luke the “Jewish parts” of the sermon,, (i.e., the interpretation of the Law) are omitted.

This fits well with Luke’s purpose.

The problem in seeing these accounts as reflecting the same sermon is the place in which the sermon was given.

Matthew recorded that Jesus was “on a mountainside” (Matt. 5:1), whereas Luke said Jesus was on a level place (Luke 6:17).

Well,,, The sequence of events solves the problem easily.

Jesus went up in “the hills” near Capernaum to pray all night (v. 12).

He called 12 disciples to be His apostles.

He then went down on a level place to talk and to heal diseases (vv. 17–19).

Following that, He went up higher to get away from the crowds and to teach His disciples (Matt. 5:1).

The multitudes (Matt. 7:28; Luke 7:1) climbed the mountain and heard His sermon.(1)

This was their solution,,, makes sense to me,,, but,,, does it really matter?

As I said,,, we may never truly know the answer,,, I just thought this might help.

Anyway,,, As I said earlier,,, After Jesus has “officially” announced the “apostles” as they are called in the previous verse,,, they came down to a level place,,, to attend to the needs of many.

And out of this large crowd,,, they have come from many parts of the country,,, People had come from all Judea and Jerusalem in the south,,, from Tyre and Sidon in the northwest,,, Gentiles as well as Jews.(2)

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 18 and 19 say:18 They came to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those tormented by unclean spirits were made well. 19 The whole crowd was trying to touch Him, because power was coming out from Him and healing them all.

The people were eager to hear Jesus,,, because He spoke with one who has authority,,, as seen in Matthew 7:29.

Diseased people and those that were demon possessed,,, pressed close to touch Jesus; they knew that healing power flowed out from Him.(2)

And He was healing all that touched Him. ----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 20 says: 20 Then looking up at His disciples, He said: You who are poor are blessed, because the kingdom of God is yours.

Jesus isn’t referring to poor,,, as in no income or nothing to buy food with,,, instead,,, He’s talking about the poor in spirit,,, because their only hope was Jesus.

And when you have put God first in your life,,, truly made Him your first priority,,, Jesus said,,, the kingdom of God is yours.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 21 says: 21 You who are now hungry are blessed, because you will be filled. You who now weep are blessed, because you will laugh.

These are future blessings.

“The” followers of Jesus that would hunger and weep,,, because of their decision to follow Jesus,,, will be vindicated for their faith in Him.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 22 and 23 say: 22 You are blessed when people hate you, when they exclude you, insult you, and slander your name as evil because of the Son of Man. 23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! Take note—your reward is great in heaven, for this is the way their ancestors used to treat the prophets.

These 2 verses are referring to the terrible things that will happen to them because of following Jesus.

The disciples would suffer many times because of following Jesus,,, staying the course in spite of severe persecution,,, and because of that,,, they would be happy (“blessed”) because of their reward in heaven and because they were following in the train,,, or the footsteps,,, of the prophets

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 24 through 26 say: 24 But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your comfort. 25 Woe to you who are now full, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are now laughing, for you will mourn and weep. 26 Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for this is the way their ancestors used to treat the false prophets.

Jesus says,,, In contrast to the disciples,,, and others,,, that have given up everything to follow Jesus,,, were the ones that would refuse to give up anything to follow Him.

These would be the rich,,, the well fed,,, the ones who laugh,,, and are popular.

They are focused on themselves,,, their own wants,,, their own needs,,, without any concern for those around them.

Their selfish attitude would lead to terrible “woes” one day.

They are experiencing their rewards here on earth,,, there will be none for them in heaven.

Their reward will be like the rich man that has died,,, he’s in hades,,, when he sees Lazarus in heaven,,, and wanted Abraham to get Lazarus just to dip his finger in water,,, to cool his tongue,,, but Abraham tells him that he had his reward while he was on earth,,, in another words,,, he had his chance while he was on earth to take care of Lazarus,,, but he chose,,, to ignore him,,, and now,,, it’s too late,,, he missed his chance. Luke 16:19-31.

----------------------------------------------------------- So,,, as we begin another week,,, what is the meaning for us,,, what can we use in the coming days,,, to help us in our walk with God?

First,,, we need to understand that God is first in every part of our lives.

Second,,, if God is truly first in our life,,, our fruits will be shown from the way that we act,,, the things that we do while we are here on earth,,, and if we aren’t putting God first the way that we should,,, we could miss out on our blessing in heaven,,, and that’s a chance that we shouldn’t ignore.

Jesus said,,, in Matthew 22:37-39 after the scribe had asked him for the greatest commandment,,, 37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.

We must love God first,,, then,,, today it seems,,, this next is harder,,, we must,,, love others.

And it’s by the love that we show to others,,, that God’s love,,, is seen in us,,, by those seeking God in the first place.

Those that are seeking to fill a void that they have,,, an empty place that they can feel,,, they feel like something is missing from their life,,, that’s what they are missing,,, the peace that only Jesus Christ can fill,,, and it may be their last chance to see God,,, by seeing,,, what you do for others.

That’s what we need to remember this week,,, and as we celebrate valentines day tomorrow,,, that we need to love others,,, being sure that we have put God first in our life,,, and then loving others as ourselves,,, so that we can experience all the blessings,,, that we can imagine,,, as we begin our eternity,,, in heaven!

----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- 1 - Martin, John A. “Luke.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck. Vol. 2. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985. 219. Print.

2 - MacDonald, William. Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. Ed. Arthur Farstad. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995. Print. -----------------------------------------------------------