The Jesus Lifestyle, Part 3

Hello everyone.

Today's post will continue to examine Jesus' sermon in Luke 6, this time focusing on Luke 6:37-42. As Jesus continues this sermon, he is teaching us the kind of people we ought to be.  He has just established in verse 36 that we are to be merciful, as God, our Father, is merciful. In what follows, Jesus explains to us how we can be merciful.  These imperatives that Jesus gives also back up the Golden Rule that Jesus gave in verse 31, treating others the way that we would like to be treated.  For example, I don't want to be judged, therefore, I should not judge. Here are four imperatives to help us live the Jesus lifestyle:

• Don't be judgmental. This is what the Pharisees were like.  They felt free to judge everyone.  But that did not give them the right to judge.  Only God has that right.  It is our nature to be self-righteous and make judgments on other people, but this is not the Way that Jesus is presenting here. Jesus’ way is to extend mercy and non-judgment. 
• Don’t condemn.  This seems to go along with the whole non-judgment thing.  If we do not offer condemnation to others, we in turn, will not be condemned. 
• Forgive. God has forgiven us, and we, in turn, must forgive others.  This doesn’t mean that we pretend that the guilty are innocent, but we should learn to let go of the offenses committed against us.  Forgiveness is hard, but necessary for us and for others.  Forgiving is being like Jesus, who forgave those who were killing him, even as they were doing it. 
• Give to others. Jesus makes it plain here, that how we give will determine how we are given to.  The measure that we use will be used toward us.  In fact, it seems that if we give of ourselves generously, we will reap far more than we have given.  If we are stingy, we will receive very little in return.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be poured into our lap. (verse 38) The blessings will just keep coming if we are generous. 

This is how we show mercy, and how we obey Luke 6:31.  This is the Jesus Lifestyle. We live a life among others without judgment or condemnation against them, forgiving them and giving generously to them.  An important note here is that this is not about physical blessing.  This is about greater blessings of not being judged, not being condemned and being forgiven.  

Darrell Bock points out that these four imperatives are to be taken together.  Each also brings a promise.  Bock says this, “What is commanded is an attitude that is hesitant to condemn and quick to forgive.  What is probitied is an arrogance that reacts with hostility to the worldly and morally lax, viewing such people as beyond God’s reach.  What is censured by Jesus is an attitude like that of the Pharisee….Such an attitude is really self-righteous and usurps God’s role. (Bock, 605-606)

After teaching us how to obey the Golden Rule and be merciful, Luke says that Jesus teaches them a parable. His parable begins with two questions: ‘Can a blind man lead a blind man?  Would they not both fall into a pit?’ These are great questions with obvious answers.  A blind man should not lead another man because they would both fall into a pit.  Jesus then talks about teachers and students.  The student is not above the teacher, but does become like the teacher. The teacher cannot teach something that he or she does not know about.  

So, if a spiritual teacher is in truth spiritually blind, think Pharisees and teachers of the law, they really have nothing of value to teach, and their disciples will learn nothing and fall into a pit. In Luke 6, Jesus is not specifically addressing the Pharisees, but in Matt. 15:14, he does say basically the same thing about them.  ‘Leave them (the Pharisees); they are blind guides.  If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.’

Choose your teachers carefully, otherwise, you may find yourself in a pit.  Jesus is offering a comparison between good teaching and bad.  The Pharisees are judgmental and arrogant.  Jesus is neither of those things. He is the good teacher that we should follow, and when we are fully trained, we will be like Him. 

 Jesus continues to talk about self-righteousness.  He paints an image of a man with a wooden beam sticking out of his eye, trying to remove a speck from another man’s eye.  The image is actually somewhat comical, because we all know that the man with just a speck in his eye is going to get whacked in the face by the guy with the beam in his eye.  It is not that the speck shouldn’t be removed.  It should be.  But let the man with the beam in his eye remove the beam first.  This makes it safer to remove a speck without doing serious harm to the other man.  

Jesus, calls the beam-eyed man, Hypocrite.  And in truth, that is what he is. The beam-eyed carefully examines others, without any real self-examination.  He makes judgements on others while missing his own glaring weaknesses. If I were to have a beam sticking out of my eye, then I am in reality, blind.  Real self-examination, stemming from a humble walk with God, leads me toward the ability to teach others. These four imperatives, the questions that Jesus asked and the story of the man with the wooden beam in his eye, all seem to point back to being merciful as God is merciful and obeying the Golden Rule of Luke 6:31. If we can be like this, then we living like Jesus - the Jesus Lifestyle. 

Tom 

     Darrell Bock. Luke, Volume 1 - 1:1-9:50. Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Academic. 1994. 

The Jesus Lifestyle, Part 2

We will continue to look at the lifestyle that Jesus puts out there for his disciples in Luke 6.  We will look at verses 27-36 today.  Again, much of this parallels the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7.   Jesus has already delivered a part of his message with a series of blessings and woes that seem counter-intuitive to the way that we tend to think. Now, in verse 27 Jesus says, “But I say to those of you that will listen.”  The heart of Jesus' message is challenging, a message that not everyone will listen to. 

His message begins with ‘Love your enemies.’  This is a hard sell, right there.  We all have reasons that we would consider someone to be an enemy. Whatever those reasons might be, they would make it hard to love someone. In fact, there are likely people in our lives that we find hard to love, and don’t even consider them enemies.  Making the idea of loving someone who has deeply wronged, is a challenge and an upward call.  

But Jesus doesn’t stop there.  As his message continues, it all seems very contrary to our nature:

• Love your enemies.
• Do good to those who mistreat you.
• Bless those who curse you.
• Pray for those who abuse you.
• Turn the other cheek.

We tend to be the opposite of this:  Blessing those who bless us, but cursing those who curse us.  That is more our nature.  Jesus says that this is a very low bar.  Everybody does that, and doing that doesn’t make us special.  

Jesus follows this in verse 31 with a well-known statement. I translated like this: "And the same way you want people to do good things to you, do those things for other people.” We often refer to this as the Golden Rule. Jesus uses the Greek word Ποιεῖτε (poiete) which means 'do.' In this form Ποιεῖτε is an imperative.  So this is a command. To obey this command, we have to be the initiator in doing good.  We treat people as we want them to treat us, not necessarily how they have treated us. 

In the verses that follow, Jesus spells it out for his audience.  If we only do good for those who do good to us, we really haven’t done anything special.  Everyone does that.  To follow Jesus, and be like him, we must do good to all people, especially to those who would do us harm.  The call here is to love all people, even those that we would consider our enemies.  Following Jesus is a high call.  Think about these two things he asks of his followers in verse 35:

• Love your enemies and do good to them,  That's a hard one.  It goes against our nature, which is to seek revenge on our enemy.  
• Lend without expecting repayment.  This is a hard one, too. There are very few things that we protect more than we protect our money.  

But, Jesus says, if we do these things, we will have great reward and be children of God.  Why? Because when we act in this way, we are being like God. The end of verse 35 tells us that God is kind, even to those who are ungrateful and to those who are evil.  God is full of mercy and so Jesus calls us to be full of mercy as well. Truth be told, it is hard to be kind to those who should be grateful to you, but are not.  It makes us angry.  To be like God, we have to continue to be kind, even in the face of ingratitude.

To sum up: The Jesus Lifestyle is challenging, because it goes against our nature.  It calls upon us to love all, and be kind and merciful to everyone, regardless of how they may be treating us.  Jesus lived it and calls upon his followers to live it as well. 

Tom 

The Jesus Lifestyle

Hello everyone.

In my previous post, I mentioned that in Luke 6, Jesus comes to a level place and delivers a sermon.  The sermon has a striking resemblance to the Sermon on the Mount.  Is Luke simply giving a shortened version of the sermon matthew recorded, or is it a sermon delivered at a different time and place? To me, those details are not as important as the consistant message of Jesus.  In his message, Jesus offers up a new and radical way to live.  Today, let's take a look at verses 20-26.  

In these verses, we have here a comparison of blessedness and woes.  They line up very well.  Blessing to the poor and woe to the rich.  Blessing to the hungry, woe to the full.  Blessing to the crying, woe to the laughing.  Blessing to the hated, and woe to the liked. But, everything seems backwards here. Those who appear to have been blessed are the ones that Jesus issues woes to.  Those who appear to be cursed are the ones that Jesus blesses.

Honestly, what Jesus syas here sounds alot like what Mary said in her song back in Luke 1. Compare Jesus' Beatitudes in Luke 6 to what Mary said in chapter 1:

51 He has performed powerful acts with his arm;

         He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts in their hearts. 

52 He has removed powerful people from thrones,

       And he has lifted up the humble. 

53 Those who are hungry, he has filled with good things,

       While those who are wealthy, he has sent away with nothing.

In both, God will bless the poor, feed the hungry, while the wealthy are turned away with nothing. God is creating that seems very upside down to us. 

In his sermon, Jesus offers up beatitudes.  Each beatitude comes in the second person present, many end with a promise in the future tense. The situation is this way now, but in the future, it will be different. He uses the Greek word Μακάριοι (makarioi) - According to the Greek-English Lexicon of New Testament Words, this word means - "pertaining to being fortunate or happy because of circumstances, fortunate, happy, privileged or blessed. Also gives this definition - pertaining to being especially favored." So, this is what Jesus says of the poor, the hungry, those who are crying and those who are persecuted. They are blessed, or fortunate. 

On the flipside. Οὐαὶ (Ouai) According to aforementioned lexicon, this word means "interjection denoting pain or displeasure, woe." 

The thoughts Jesus expresses here are a blow to the prosperity gospel.  People often assume that they have wealth because they are blessed by God and in a right relationship with Him.  This is not necessarily the case.  Our reasoning would conclude that the rich are blessed and the poor are being punished for their sins.  Jesus says the opposite. 

The key to all of this is in verse 22.  The poor, hungry and weeping are all tied to this as well.  Jesus blesses those who are connected to Him.  But we have to understand that those who are connected to Jesus face hatred, insult and persecution. This verse helps us to understand that Jesus is not just talking about our socioeconomic status.  He is talking about how well connected we are to him. 

The comparison between the rich and poor is an interesting one.  The poor receive the kingdom of God.  The rich are receiving their comfort right now.  This implies that the comfort given to the poor comes later.  

Another interesting comparison is the 4th beatitude.  Being persecuted for the sake of Jesus is compared to having everyone say nice things about you.  The false prophets of old would say what people wanted to hear, and were therefore well-liked and popular.  The righteous prophets gave God’s message and were persecuted. 

Then in verse 23, Jesus calls us to rejoice in the face of persecution and difficulties. Why would we do that? Jesus tells us that when we are persecuted because of him, that “Great is your reward in heaven.” The reward of being connected to Jesus comes later.  In these verses and those that follow, Jesus presents a new way of living and thinking.  It is often counter-intuitive, but those who choose it end up blessed and those who reject it end up with woes.

Tom 

He's Got the Power

Hello everyone,

Today, I am going to continue my exegesis of Luke 6, this time covering Luke 6:12-19. Jesus calls twelve men and designated as apostles, then goes down to a level place and begins a sermon that parallels the Sermon on the Mount in many ways.  I will save the 'sermon' portion of the text for next time. 

In verse 12, Jesus goes up alone on a mountain to pray. The Greek word διανυκτερεύων (dianuktereuon) means 'through the night.' So we see Jesus then spends the night in prayer before making the important decision of who The Twelve would be. Jesus has a circle of disciples.  He will select from among them, who his closest associates will be, so that he can train them. The number of disciples from which he is selecting the Twelve is not shown.  Undoubtedly Jesus had great relationships with many of those who remained outside of The Twelve, but in order to effectively train these men, he had select from among them who he could give the most attention to. 

Luke uses the word ἐκλεξάμενος (eklexamenos)  describe the selection process.  The word sounds like our English word ‘elect,’ and can mean that.  Jesus went through a rigorous prayer-filled process before choosing his apprentices.  One can assume that each one was chosen for a reason, and that none of this was random or haphazard. Jesus gave the Twelve the name ‘Apostles.’  According to Alan Thompson, Luke uses the word ‘apostle’ 6 times in Luke and 28 times in Acts.  He firmly established what an apostle is.  An apostle is “an authorized representative, was chosen by Jesus and was with Jesus from the beginning of his earthly ministry.” (Thompson, 100) The Greek verb αποστελλω (apostelloe) means ‘to send.’ It makes sense then that the noun form of the word would be one who is sent.  These twelve were God’s hand selected messengers. This is one of four lists of the apostles in the New Testament.  Matthew 10, Mark 3, and Acts 1, also have lists. Jesus has hand-selected a group of men that he eventually will send out into all the world to proclaim his good news. 

Verse 17 tells us then that Jesus went down with them to a level place  A vast multitude has come to hear Jesus and to be healed.  According to Luke 6:18 these people have come from Jerusalem and from Tyre and Sidon.  Jerusalem and Tyre are about 100 miles apart.  That is only a couple of hours by car, but on foot or on horseback, that is a long way to go to hear someone.  These people really wanted to see Jesus. Jesus continued healing and helping people.  It must have been quite a sight, as people were crowding around Jesus, just trying to touch him.  Verse 19 tells us that power was coming out from Jesus to heal people.  It must have seemed like magic, but instead it was the power of God.  

IN the verses that follow, Jesus delivers this sermon to three distinct groups: His apostles, a group of disciples and a large group of people who were not disciples. The disciples present that did not have the distinction of being among his apostles, was apparently still a sizable group.  Luke 6:17 says that it is a large crowd of his his disciples there. 

The sermon that Jesus preaches in Luke 6 sounds a lot like the Sermon on the Mount, but is it?  In Matthew 5, it says that Jesus went up on a mountainside, but here in Luke 6 it says that he went to a level place.  It is possible that Jesus is giving much of the same lesson, in a different place.  I have no doubt that Jesus taught a consistent message throughout his ministry.  He undoubtedly repeated himself to different crowds.  Luke 6 is often referred to as the Sermon on the Plain.  It is possible that Jesus was simply on a level place on the mountain.  So it could be a retelling of the Sermon on the Mount, or a very similar lesson delivered on a different time and place. To me, it makes very little difference whether this is an abridged version of the Sermon on Mount or not.  It is message and the new way of thinking that Jesus was presenting that matters.  We will look at this new Jesus lifestyle that he shares over my next few blog posts.  It is a differenet way of thinking then what his audience was used to. People were coming to Jesus to receive from him.  His message, however, called upon them to give, rather than receive. 

        Alan J. Thompson. Exegetical Guide to the Greek:Luke, Nashville, Tennessee. B&H Academic, 2016. 

Lord of the Sabbath, Part 2

In my previous post, we saw how Jesus, the Son of Man, declared himself to Lord of the Sabbath.  The story that follows in Luke, also occurs on a Sabbath, and on that Sabbath, Jesus shows himself to be Lord of the Sabbath.  This story is in Luke 6:6-11, the healing of the man with the withered hand. 

Jesus has come to the synagogue to teach and there is a man there with a withered hand.  The Pharisees apparently are waiting and watching to see if Jesus will heal this man on the Sabbath.  The word used is παρετηροῦντο (paretayrounto), which means to ‘watch closely.’ It sounds like they were looking for any opportunity to accuse Jesus of something.  

It was considered a violation of the Sabbath to do any medical work except in cases where a life was in danger, a baby was being born or a circumcision was being done. (Bock, 528)  Since this man's life was not endangered, to the Pharisees, he could wait a day to be healed. Their reasoning makes very little sense, and Jesus is about to expose their thinking for what it is. 

Jesus knows what they are thinking, so not does heal the man quietly, he brings man right out into the middle of everyone and heals him. Jesus is not being subtle here.  They are looking for a reason to accuse, and Jesus with his healing and use of plain common sense, shuts them down completely. 

Jesus asks them what is lawful, ἔξεστιν (exestin)on the Sabbath.  He asks which one is unlawful on the Sabbath, doing good or evil, saving a life, or destroying one.  Common sense says that doing good and saving life are acceptable on the Sabbath.  To heal this man may not have saved his life, but certainly it was doing good and not evil to this man.  Bock says that Jesus is saying “Why delay the healing, when I can do it right now?”  The answer is so clear that the Pharisees face a dilemma.  (Bock, 530)  

The Pharisees would rather that this man continue in this condition, rather than be healed on the Sabbath.  Does that make any sense to you?  Would it really please God to make this man wait? Jesus heals him.  

The Pharisees want to accuse Jesus of working on the Sabbath. How much work does Jesus actually do to heal this man?  He speaks one sentence, “Stretch out your hand,” and the man is healed. How could this possibly be classified as work?  Which of the 39 classifications of work (according to the Mishnah) has Jesus actually violated here?  Jesus has effectiviely dealt with their objection before they actually make it. 

Darrell Bock suggests that Jesus’ successful healing in the synagogue, on the Sabbath, represents an endorsement from God the Father. (Bock, 531) Jesus publicly displays his power and authority on the Sabbath and leaves it to his opponents to respond. And they do respond. Ἀνοίας - This is the word use to describe the anger that fills the Pharisees after Jesus heals the man with the withered hand.  In EGG for Luke, Thompson explains the word like this: 'mindless rage’, and  “without understanding.” “such an extreme anger as to suggest an incapacity to use one’s mind.” (Thompson, 99) In my own translation, have translated this as “the Pharisees completely lost their minds with rage.”  They can’t charge Jesus with work on the Sabbath, since he merely spoke to the man.  He has defeated them both logically, in words, and physically, in actions. They are completely confounded by Jesus, again.  So, in their anger, the Pharisees begin discussion of what they can do about Jesus. 

The Pharisees are completely overmatched by Jesus, who is in complete control of the whole situation. Unfortunately for the Pharisees, they have become so wedded to the old wineskins, that they are unable to see that Jesus and his new wineskin is a much better, much more compassionate way. Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, is The Way. 

Tom 

Lord of the Sabbath

Hello everyone, today, I will begin exegesis of Luke 6, by looking at the first 5 verses. In it, the disciples are walking through the fields, picking heads of grain, rubbing the grain in their hands and eating it. The Pharisees, seeing this, say that what the disciples are doing is οὐκ ἔξεστιν (ouk exestin) which means "not lawful, not permissible" to do on the Sabbath.

Note, that Jesus is not mentioned to be doing this, but when they are are confronted, Jesus defends the actions of the disciples. What they are doing, violates the Sabbath regulations.  At the time these regulations were oral traditional, but were written down in the Mishnah in the late 2nd/early 3rd centuries. In this tradition there were 39 categories of work that were not permitted by law.  The work being committed by the disciples: First, reaping, they were plucking heads of grain. Then, threshing, rubbing in their hands. It is only by the strictest definition of 'work' that one could call what the disciples were doing work.  This thinking actually strains the definition of work. Even the writers of the Mishnah seemed to understand the tediousness of all of these rules.  Darrell Bock shares a quote from Mishnah Chagigah 1:8 “The rules about the Sabbath…are as mountains hanging by a hair, for the Scripture is scanty and the rules many.” (Bock, 523.) 

Over time these unwritten rules had become far from what God had intended the Sabbath to be. Sabbath-keeping was important, but it should be guided by common sense.  These rules had become so nonsensical that they were not  really providing for people what God had intended the Sabbath to provide. The Sabbath was created to be a holy day and a day of rest.  The idea was that the Sabbath was to be beneficial to people, but it had become a big burden. And it must have been exhausting to be a Pharisee on the Sabbath.  Not only did they have to keep all the rules, but they felt an obligation to watch everybody else and make sure that they were keeping the rules as well. 

Jesus, in defense of his disciples, uses the example of David in 1 Samuel 21:1-6.  Who better to use than one of Judaism’s greatest heroes.  David and his men were hungry and in need, and ate the sacred bread of the temple.  Jesus makes the point that the Sabbath was like the bread, it was supposed to be for people’s benefit, rather than a giant burden that people were unable to carry. While doesn't record the statement, in the parallel passage in Mark 2, Jesus says, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."  Jesus makes the point that the Sabbath had been created for people, not the other way around.  (Mark 2:27)  

This situation leads Jesus, the Son of Man, to declare himself to be Lord of the Sabbath.  It was not the place of the Pharisees to tell God what was permissible on the Sabbath. God had made the Sabbath. (Williams, 57-58)  Bock makes this point: Was Jesus arguing that the law was never meant to be interpreted so literally that compassion was excluded in a situation of basic need? (Bock, 525.) Do the ceremonial restrictions of the law give way to basic human need? 

The Scripture does not seem to condemn David for his action, nor does the priest who was there. Would the Pharisees condemn David to justify their position? Jesus, as he always did, outsmarted them, using the Scriptures to show them truth. 

Joel Williams sums up this story in  his Exegetical Guide to the Greek: Mark from the parallel passage in Mark 2.  From this story, we learn:

• Jesus has the power to declare the purpose and standards of God’s commands. 
• God’s commands have a good purpose. 
• God’s commands are best understood by listening to Jesus. 

In their attempts to be righteous, the Pharisees had created stumbling blocks for people.  Their intentions were good, but the result was far from what God had intended. Jesus was trying to correct this, and bring a better way to God.  We still need to be righteous, but without all of the trappings of legalism. Jesus was bringing freedom, not a new legalism, and following should bring joy and not burden. 

Tom 

Wineskins

Hello everyone.  I haven't written in about two weeks.  I've been out of town for part and very busy as the school year wraps up. So today, I am ready to write some more.  I will wrap up my exegesis of Luke 5 today, with Luke 5:33-39. 

In verse 32 Jesus has told  the Pharisees that he has come to those in need of repentance. because the healthy do not need, the sick do. Now their approach is changed.  Now, they are not questioning Jesus on who he is eating and drinking with, like they did in the previous passage. Now they are asking whether he and his disciples should be eating and drinking at all.  In verse 33 they make this statement: “John’s disciples prayed and fasted often. So do the disciples of the Pharisees, but your disciples eat and drink.” In other words, "Why aren't you guys fasting?"

They point out that John’s disciples fasted and prayed often, as do the disciples of the Pharisees. It appears that Jesus and his disciples do not fast. (Of course, they are likely unaware of Jesus' 40 day fast, and he doesn’t bring it up. You have to admire his self-restraint.)

Jesus instead responds by talking about a wedding feast.  The wedding guests do not fast while the groom is with them.  Jesus makes it clear that his disciples had no need of fasting while He was there with them.  Later, after he had left, they would fast. 

In the Old Testament, particularly in Hosea, the relationship between God and His people is often seen as a marriage. That analogy is shown here, with Jesus as the groom.  The bride is not specifically mentioned, but the wedding is.  The wedding party doesn’t fast while the groom is among them. It would make no sense. 

Jesus is not rejecting fasting here.  He has fasted.  There is clearly a time and a place for it, and right now is not the time or the place. In his commentary on Luke, Darrell Bock makes a great point about this.  Jesus does not downplay fasting, nor does he regulate or make it a test of spirituality. (Bock, 518) Fasting is a great thing to do, but the key here is the groom, Jesus, not the fasting.   Jesus says they will fast when the groom is ‘taken away.’ (This implies that the groom doesn’t leave on his own accord, but is taken.  An early foreshadowing of what is coming perhaps.)  

Then Jesus told them a parable, about new cloth on an old garment and new wine in an old wineskin.  Neither work very well.  The new garment doesn’t match and will tear the old garment.  The new wine will burst the old wineskin. Jesus was bringing a new way of worship to God that was very different from the old.  These two paradigms would not work together.  

Matthew and Mark highlight that adding the new cloth to the old ultimately makes the tear worse.  Luke’s emphasis is different.  He points out the tear, but also that the cloth is mismatched. One cannot put something new on top of something old.  It doesn’t look right and the old and the new both end up damaged.  In Jesus' example of the wineskins, we see the same thing happen.  Both old and new are destroyed. The message is clear. The old traditions of the current religion and Jesus’s new ways are incompatible.

Here is an example: Fasting every Monday and Thursday.  Too much law.  Not enough grace.  Under Jesus’ new covenant, people will fast, but the time and place will be by their own choosing. 

Jesus declares that new wine must have new wineskins.  His new wine could not carry over remnants of the old.  He was creating something entirely different and separate from the legalistic Judaism of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. A new spirit, new form, a new approach are needed. (Bock, 521) The old (Pharisees, teachers of the law) will reject the new, as well, because these two ways of thinking are incompatible.  Let us make sure that we are filling our wineskins with the new wine. 

Tom