Bible Text: Luke 6:27-49 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above is the
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September 4, 2022
“Living for Christ: Part Two”
Luke 6:27-49

Read Luke 6:27-28… 

27 “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

 

Jesus gives four commands to His true followers and  believers; those who able to “hear” [understand and obey] what Jesus is saying.

 

 

#1.  Love your enemies…

 

 

Proverbs 25:21,

“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.”

 

 

#2.  Do good to those who hate you…

 

 

Romans 12:21,

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

 

 

#3.  Bless those who curse you…

 

 

To bless them is to tell them the truth about God’s expressed love toward them

 

(John 3:16),

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

 

(John 3:36),

“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

 

 

#4.  Pray for those who mistreat you…

    

 

The first recorded words of Jesus, while on cross were

 

(Luke 23:34),

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

 

Like Jesus, we should pray for those who mistreat us, showing them kindness, blessing them.  When we do that, we may very well turn one who is an enemy of God, into a brother or sister in the Lord.

    

We were all enemies of God before coming to Christ for salvation.

 

Romans 5:8-10,

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

    

Read Luke 6:29… 

29 Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.

 

Last week we studied the first part of this verse, “Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also.”  I showed you Matthew’s recorded words of this same section of the Sermon on the Mount

 

(Matthew 5:39),

“But I say to you, do not resist an evil person [unbeliever]; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”

 

Most Hebrew-speakers and people of Jewish descent are right handed.  For a right-handed person to hit another person on the right side of their face, would most likely be a slap, with the back of the hand, an act of contempt.  This is not speaking about a physical attack, but instead this is a form of humiliation.

    

To turn the other cheek isn’t about being a pacifist, as God’s children we should expect to be despised and ridiculed, because of our relationship with the Lord; but when that happens, we are to seek reconciliation not retaliation.

 

1Peter 2:15,

“For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.” 21-23, “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously.”

 

1Peter 3:13-17,

“Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.”

 

As a Christian, it is not about my rights, or the injustices done to me, nor is it about getting even; it is about Him who died for me, that I might live for Him

 

(Hebrews 12:3),

“For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

 

Let’s look at the second part of

 

Luke 6:29,

“and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.”

 

What is this talking about?

 

Matthew 5:40,

“If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.”

 

During the time of Christ, most people didn’t have large wardrobes, or storage units where they kept their overflow of possessions; and so, if someone had a legitimate claim against you, your clothes could be used to pay your debt to them, or to serve as a pledge that you would pay your debt.

 

The shirt [lit. tunic] was what you wore next to your skin (of which you might have several); the coat [lit. cloak] was your outer garment (of which most people only had one), it often doubled as your blanket during the cold season.

 

Exodus 22:26-27;

26 If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun sets,

27 for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his body. What else shall he sleep in? And it shall come about that when he cries out to Me, I will hear him, for I am gracious.

 

Deuteronomy 24:13,

13 When the sun goes down you shall surely return the pledge to him, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you; and it will be righteousness for you before the LORD your God.

 

give us more information about what Jesus was referring to, “If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun sets, for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his body. What else shall he sleep in?” 

 

So in Luke 6:29;

29 Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.

 

Matthew 5:40,

40 If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.

 

Jesus is saying that even if someone keeps your coat you are not to retaliate, even if that means you lose your shirt also.

 

Read Luke 6:30…

30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.

 

Jesus now says, “Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.”  The first part of that illustration “Give to everyone who asks of you,” seems to be in the context of someone having a need and asking you to help him.

    

Let’s look at the parallel passage in

 

Matthew 5:42,

42 Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

 

to gain a better understanding of what Jesus is saying, “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.”

 

When someone has a genuine need and they come to you for help, and you have the means to help them, you ought to do so; this is not talking about enabling someone or helping them when they are unwilling to help themselves or work themselves, as Paul wrote

 

(2Thessalonians 3:10),

“For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.”

 

On the other hand, if we are aware of a genuine need and we know we can provide what is necessary, we should offer do so, and not wait to be asked.  God’s people, above all people, ought to be generous and gracious to others, just as our Father in heaven is to us.  If we are living for Christ, it will show for we will 

 

(Ephesians. 4:32),

“Be kind and compassionate toward one another,”

 

and we will

 

(James 2:8),

“love [our] neighbor as [ourself].”

 

The second part of

 

Luke 6:30 presents a different scenario,

“whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.”

 

What does this mean?  I believe this is speaking about believer being robbed.       

    

Theft or stealing is sin.  Number 8 of the 10 Commandments

 

(Exodus 20:15) says,

“You shall not steal.”

 

and in

 

1Corinthians 6:9-11 we read,

9 Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals,

10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

    

I don’t believe Jesus is saying (in Luke 6:30), that we should let thieves get away with robbery.  Jesus Himself drove the money changers and those selling animals out of the temple

 

(Matthew 21:13) saying,

“My house shall be called a house of prayer; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”

 

But clearly it may not be a good idea  for you to go and confront the thief who robbed you and demand back what was stolen; instead, you should go to the authorities God has instituted, we have a system of Law and Order, so that we might legally and lawfully retrieve what is ours.

 

1Peter 2:13-16,

“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.”

 

Romans 13:1,

“Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God,.”

 

Romans 13:4-10,

“But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

 

Love is the fulfillment of the law, not retribution or retaliation.  That may be hard for us to accept in our brain; but honestly, it is in our heart that this teaching must be understood and responded to. 

 

The most important thing in this life is not personal property; the most important thing is the love of God in you, and the most important thing you can do is to share that love with others, even those you don’t like, those who mistreat you, curse you, persecute you, and even those who steal from you.

 

1Peter 2:11-12,

“Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

    

Our purpose on this earth is to be a witness of Jesus Christ: crucified, resurrected, and coming again.  And as we have studied these past few weeks, it is clear that we should expect the world to hate us, just as it hates our Lord and put Him to death on a cross, although He was not guilty of any crime.

 

Hebrews 12:2-3,

“Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of [our] faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.   …Consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

 

1Peter 3:14-17,

“But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.”

 

Next week we take a deep look at

 

Luke 6:31,

“Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.”

 

This section in Luke 6, from the Sermon on the Mount, is indeed difficult to accept and understand, and quite impossible to obey, apart from the love of God in us, through Christ.

      

But for today, I would like for you to turn to

 

1John 5:3-5,

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

 

1John 5:11-12,

“And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.”

 

 

 
Pastor Mike
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Bible Text: Luke 6:27-38 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above is the
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August 28, 2022
“Living for Christ: Part One”
Luke 6:27-49

 

See Luke 6:20-23… 

20 And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

22 Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.

23 Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.

 

As Jesus begins to preach, He directs His attention to His  true disciples who are among this large crowd of mostly Jews, both the uneducated and religious scholars, the poor and the wealthy, the religious elite and the irreligious, all those who need healing of their mind, body, and soul.

    

And what a sermon He preached.  Blessed or happy are those who are spiritually poor, hungry, and mournful, for they will be made spiritually rich, filled up, and joyful; and although true believers, God’s children, will be hated, ostracized, insulted, and scorned, because of Christ, they should be glad, for this world is not our home; we are citizens of God’s kingdom

 

(1Corinthians 2:9),

“which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.”

 

Whatever pain or sorrow or trouble we experience on this earth does not even begin to compare to the eternal joy that is ours.  Jesus was preaching the good news, that the loving kindness of God has been poured out on mankind, so that those who confess their need to be made right with God will be received in the kingdom of heaven, immediately

 

(Romans 8:17)

“as heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,”

 

(cf. 2Corinthians 5:17),

17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

 

for it is clear that we belong to Him, and have received forgiveness for sins and eternal life.

 

We have been given everything we need for our life on earth and for our eternity with God in heaven, where

 

(cf. Revelation 21:3-4;

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,

4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

 

Revelation 22:5)

5 And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.

 

there will be no sorrow, or crying or pain or death or darkness, for those things are gone forever!

 

2Peter 1:3,

“His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”

 

Philippians 4:13,

“I can do all things through Him [Christ] who strengthens me,”

 

Philippians 419,

“And God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

 

Jesus is saying

 

(Luke 6:23a),

23 Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.

 

that because all of that is true, we should be glad when those who oppose Christ also oppose us, for the truth is, we are sovereignly and eternally blessed above all who reject God’s Son as Savior and Lord; therefore, we should live in a victorious manner that brings honor and glory to God, while at the same time giving testimony to the love of God in Christ.

 

True Believers and Followers of Christ repent of their sins, seeking to live for God humbly, yet boldly, hungering and thirsting for God’s Word and applying it to their lives for others to witness, so that they might ask us to give the reason for the hope that we have, now and forever, through Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord & Savior: crucified, resurrected, and coming again.

 

1John 5:5,

“Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

 

1John 5:11-13,

“And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

 

Today we pick up in

 

Luke 6:27-28… 

27 “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

 

Jesus gives four commands to His followers who are true believers; for only Christians can “hear” [understand and respond to] what Jesus is saying

 

(see Matthew 13:9-16).

9 He who has ears, let him hear.”

10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

11 Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.

12 For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.

13 Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

14 In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND;

YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;

15 FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL,

WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR,

AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES,

OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES,

HEAR WITH THEIR EARS,

AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN,

AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’

16 But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.Only born-again believers can understand and obey the commands given here by Jesus: to love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you.

 

 

Love your enemies…

 

Matthew 5:43-44,

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

 

Judaism is very narrow minded and intolerant, even expressing hatred toward its enemies, especially Gentiles; although God commanded

 

(Leviticus 19:18)

18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.

 

to, ”love your neighbor as yourself,” the Teachers of the Law had added “hate your enemy” to the Talmud [The comprehensive written version of Jewish oral law supplementing scriptural laws with rabbinic discussions, including commentaries on civil and ceremonial law]. 

 

However some of the Talmud is in conflict with the OT

 

(Proverbs 25:21),

“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.”

 

To love your neighbor, even if he is your enemy, is to show mercy on him in reference to his need.  In the parable recorded in

 

Luke 10:25-37,

25 And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?”

27 And he answered, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

28 And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.”

29 But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead.

31 And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

32 Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

33 But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion,

34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.

35 On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’

36 Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?”

37 And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

 

Jesus illustrates this love to a Pharisee, by explaining three responses to a man who was in need: two of those who didn’t help the man were Jews, like the injured man; but the one who helped him was a Samaritan, an enemy of the Jews.  Jesus concluded His teaching by asking

 

(Luke 10:36-37),

“Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” And he said, ‘The one who showed mercy toward him.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do the same.’”

    

Do good to those who hate you…

 

Romans 12:9,

“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor [hate] what is evil; cling to what is good,”

 

Romans 12:20-21,

“But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

 

How is heaping burning coals on someone’s head a good thing?  What exactly does that mean?  St. Augustine said, “We should incite those who have hurt us to repentance by doing them good.”  Perhaps, when you show kindness to an enemy, you maybe even shame him into having remorse, because his hostility toward you has been repaid by a kind act, and it is really hard to keep hurting someone who is doing nice things for you.

    

This passage provides a dramatic picture of how God deals with sinners like us. He does good to us, to lead us to repentance

 

(Romans 3:10-12,

10 as it is written,

“THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;

11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,

THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;

12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;

THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,

THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

 

Romans 3:23;

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

 

Romans 6:23;

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Romans 8:1).

1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

 

1John 4:19,

19 “We love because He first loved us.”

 

Bless those who curse you…

 

This does not mean we are not to suppose to warn unbelievers of the eternal consequences of rejecting God’s Son.  To bless them is to tell them the truth; to truly express God’s love toward them, they must be told that Jesus alone can save them.

 

Read John 16:7-11…

7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

8 And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;

9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;

10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me;

11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

 

Jesus speaks of Supernatural Comforter

 

[Isaiah 9:6,

6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;

And the government will rest on His shoulders;

And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

 

Wonderful Counselor] the Holy Spirit, who will come to them, but only after Christ ascends back into heaven to be at the right hand of the Father

 

(see John 14:16-17;

16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;

17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

 

John 14:25-26;

25 “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you.

26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

 

John 15:26-27).

26 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,

27 and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

 

The Holy Spirit seeks to convict the hearts of those who do not believe in Jesus Christ; for rejecting Jesus as the Son of God is the unpardonable sin that condemns a person to an eternal hell

 

(see John 3:14-16,

14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;

15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

 

John 3:36;

36 He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

 

John 6:28-29;

28 Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?”

29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

 

John 8:24-25;

24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

25 So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning?

 

John 10:30;

30 I and the Father are one.”

 

John 14:6).

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

 

In John 12:31-32 Jesus says,

“Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”

 

In John 14:30 Jesus says,

“the ruler of the world is coming,”

 

and now (John 16:11) Jesus says,

“the ruler of this world has been judged.”

 

Satan is defeated, judged and condemned by Jesus Christ, who is the Truth.  Satan is the father of lies

 

(John 8:44),

“He [Satan] was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

 

1Peter 3:8-9a,

“To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead.”

 

Pray for those who mistreat you…

 

Martin Luther once said,

“God converts those whom He does convert by showing them goodness. It is only in this way that we can convert a person, namely, by showing him kindness and love.”

 

Romans 5:8-10,

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

 

Jesus went through the most horrible pain and suffering at the hands of evil men, even though He was innocent of any crime; He did this because of His love for us.  Do you remember His first recorded words, while on cross

 

(Luke 23:34),

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

 

We all have enemies.  How should we respond to them?  Pray for them, show them kindness, bless them.  When we do that, we may very well turn one who is our enemy, and perhaps an enemy of God, into a friend, or perhaps even a brother or sister in the Lord.

 

Proverbs 18:24,

“A man of too many friends comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

 

John 15:14,

“You are My friends if you do what I command you.”

    

See Luke 6:29a… 

29 Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.

 

Jesus is not teaching that we should not defend or protect ourselves.  In fact, as Jesus and the Apostles on the night He was betrayed, went out from the Passover meal to go to Gethsemane

 

(Luke 22:36) Jesus said,

“whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one,”

 

so that they might be able to defend themselves if they were attacked.

 

Matthew 5:39,

“But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”

 

This is one of those verses that is misinterpreted more than it is properly interpreted; but what does it mean?  Are we to give in to evil? 

 

Remember when Jesus

 

(cf. Matthew 21:12)

12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.

 

turned over tables and drove evil men out of the Temple, and another time

 

(John 2:15)

15 And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables;

 

He made a whip and used it to drive out of His Father’s House, those who were doing evil there.

    

I do not believe God calls us to be pacifists when it comes to restraining evil, for to do nothing may fail to protect the innocent, or make a stand for justice, or treat others the way we want to be treated ourselves. 

    

But, what about being hit or slapped on the right side of your face?  Interestingly enough, most Hebrew-speakers and people of Jewish descent are right handed. 

 

So, for a right-handed person to hit another person on the right side of their face, would mostly like entail the back (or top) of the right hand being used by the aggressor to make contact with the right-side of the victim’s face.  This is a slap, not an assault, an act of contempt and disgrace.  Even a slave during Bible times would have preferred to be whipped on the back rather than slapped in the face by their master. 

 

While we are on this sub jet let me say to parents and caregivers, please, don’t ever slap your children, it is a very demeaning and demoralizing injury that causes a wound to form in the heart of the one being slapped; if you have done this, you need to ask forgiveness from them.

    

I don’t believe this teaching in

 

Luke 6:29;

29 Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.

 

Matthew 5:39

39 But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

 

is advocating that we let some bully beat us up, this is not a physical attack — the back of the right hand across the right cheek of a person’s face, is clearly an act of contempt, this is about humiliating and degrading someone. 

    

As God’s children, we can expect to be ridiculed, even maliciously attacked, because of our relationship with the Lord; but we are never to retaliate when that happens, we are not to seek vengeance, but reconciliation

 

(Romans 12:21),

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

 

1Peter 2:21-24,

“For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”

 

Jesus went through five different insulting, degrading and injurious trials: He was spat on, beaten about the head and face with fists and sticks; all before He was handed over to be flogged, almost to death, and then He was mocked even more, prior to being made to walk to the site of His own execution; where He was nailed to a cross, after which He was continually insulted by those yelling up at Him to come down if He truly was the Son of God; and how did He respond?  “Father, forgive them,” and six hours later, He said, “It is finished!”

 

As a Christian, it is not about my rights, or the injustices done to me, nor is it about getting even; instead, it is about Him who died for me, that I might live for Him

 

(Hebrews 12:3),

“For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

 

We are redeemed by God through Jesus Christ for the ministry of reconciliation not retaliation; we are to be evangelists not executioners.

 

2Corinthians 5:14-21,

“For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

 

Galatians 2:20,

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

 

 

And all God’s people said, Amen!

 

Pastor Mike

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Bible Text: Luke 6:17-26 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above is the
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August 21, 2022
“Are You Blessed or Cursed?”
Luke 6:17-26

Last week we finished Luke’s narrative that closed with Jesus having gone up on the mountain to spend the night praying to the Father.  Jesus then called the Twelve to Himself, and afterward brought them down to a plateau on the side of the mountain.  This is where we pick up our study today.

 

Read Luke 6:17-19… 

17 Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon,

18 who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured.

19 And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all.

 

By this time in Jesus’ ministry, He is very popular, and wherever He went the crowds would follow Him, to listen to His marvelous words, and witness His healing of every kind of illness, disease, infirmity, and oppression.

 

Jesus finds a level place on the side of the mountain where He begins to preach and teach what is known as, the Sermon on the Mount.  Luke gives a shortened version in

29 verses (Luke 6:17-49), of what Matthew records in 3 full chapters (Matthew 5-7).

 

Luke mentions three separate groups of people: the Twelve Apostles; a large crowd of people who were regular followers of Jesus, some genuine, some not; and a great congregation of people from all Judea (all the people of Israel), Jerusalem (some of the religious leaders), along with people from Tyre and Sidon (prominent Gentile seaport cities, NW of Galilee) where some Jews lived.

 

Jesus is standing and hasn’t started teaching (rabbis normally sat down to teach).  He is healing those who are physically ill,

 

and (Luke 6:18)

18 who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured.

 

casting out demons.  Jesus is performing miracles among the people

 

(Luke 6:19),

“for power was coming from Him and healing them all”

 

(pp. Luke 5:17;

17 One day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing.

 

Luke 8:46)

46 But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me.”

 

Jesus was able to minister to the whole person, mind, body and soul; he taught God’s sovereign Truth, healed diseases, and cast demons out of the possessed.  But His main purpose was to preach the good news of salvation; to offer forgiveness for sins and eternal life

 

(see Luke 4:40-43).

40 While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them.

41 Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Christ.

42 When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them.

43 But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”

 

Everywhere Jesus went He preached how God would forgive and save those who were spiritually deaf, blind, and captive, to sin; if they would repent and believe the good news, and follow Him

 

(Mark 1:15),

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

 

(Mark 1:17),

“Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

 

Jesus spoke with supernatural wisdom, with complete and sovereign authority.

 

Jesus claimed absolute equality with the Father

 

(cf. John 10:30),

30 I and the Father are one.”

 

using the covenant name of God “I AM” for Himself

 

(John 8:24),

“unless you believe that I am He [Savior and Lord], you will die in your sins” [unforgiven, condemned to hell] to .”

 

(John 8:58),

“before Abraham was born, I am.”

 

Matthew 7:28-29,

“When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”

 

John 7:32,

“The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about Him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to seize Him.”

 

John 7:45-46,

“The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, [who] said to them, ‘Why did you not [arrest and] bring Him?’ The officers answered, ‘Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.’”

 

Jesus’ teaching is in opposition to that of the world system that rejects God’s Son, Lord and Savior, Crucified, Resurrected, Coming Again.  Jesus taught that He had “come from God” the Father

 

(cf. John 8:42),

42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.

 

was “going back to God”

 

(John 13:3),

3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God,

 

that He is

 

(cf. John 4:7-14)

“the living water,”

 

(John 6:35)

“the bread of life,”

 

(John 10:11)

“the good shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep,”

 

(John 11:25)

“the resurrection and the life,”

 

(John 12:46)

“the light of the world,”

 

and

 

(cf. John 14:6)

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

 

He is the only Way to the Father, only Truth from the Father, and only Life with the Father.      

 

Colossians 2:8-10,

“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority.”

 

Luke records, a shortened version of what is called the Beatitudes, from the Latin beati (blessed), Greek makarios (happy, fortunate, to be envied).  Jesus is declaring a state of being and heart attitude in the life of those who have received eternal forgiveness for sins and eternal life with God through belief in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior.  Saving belief brings genuine happiness and blessing; whereas, those who continue to reject Jesus Christ are unhappy and cursed.

 

Read Luke 6:20-23… 

20 And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

22 Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.

23 Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.

 

As Jesus begins to preach, He directs His attention to His  true disciples who are among this large crowd of mostly Jews, both the uneducated and religious scholars, the poor and the wealthy, the religious elite and the irreligious, all those who need healing of their mind, body, and soul.

 

What a way to start a sermon: happy are those who are poor, hungry, mournful, those who are hated, ostracized, insulted, and scorned because of Christ.  Wow! 

 

Jesus

 

(Luke 6:20)

20 And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

 

is not teaching that those who are economically poor or physically hungry are blessed.  Matthew’s recording of this event gives us more clarity

 

(Matthew 5:3),

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

 

Those who understand their spiritual poverty, realizing their greatest need, that apart from the merciful saving grace of God through Christ we cannot obtain God’s favor, nor be considered acceptable to the Holy and Righteous God of Creation, by anything we might personally acquire, obtain, or do

 

(see Luke 18:9-14).

9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:

10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

11 The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

12 I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’

13 But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’

14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

 

In His very first sermon, Jesus described the human condition apart from the saving knowledge and presence of God

 

(see Luke 4:14-21).

14 And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.

15 And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.

16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.

17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,

18 “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME,

BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR.

HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES,

AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND,

TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,

19 TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”

20 And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.

21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

 

Jesus is bringing the good news, the loving kindness of God poured out on mankind, so that those who confess their need to be made right with God will be received in the kingdom of heaven, immediately

 

(Romans 8:17)

“as heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,”

 

(Romans 14:17)

“the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

 

2Peter 1:3,

“His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”

 

Philippians 4:19,

“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

 

Jesus (Luke 6:21a)

21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

 

speaks of a hunger that has nothing to do with physical food

 

(Matthew 5:6),

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied”

 

[satisfied = unable to eat anymore, completely satiated], this is speaking of spiritual hunger that can only be satisfied with God’s provision.

 

Psalm 107:1,

a“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,”

 

Jeremiah 31:14,

“I will fill the soul of the priests with abundance,
and My people will be satisfied with My goodness,” declares the Lord.

 

Jesus goes on to say

 

(Luke 6:21b),

“blessed are those who weep now.”

 

This is speaking of deep sorrow of repentance, the realization that we have sinned against God

 

(Matthew 5:4),

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

 

James 4:9-10,

“Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

 

Isaiah 61:2,

“To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn.”

 

Isaiah 35:10,

“And the ransomed of the Lord will return and come with joyful shouting to Zion, with everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”

 

The first three Beatitudes are from the perspective of the repentant sinner, whereas the final Beatitude in Luke’s narrative

 

(Luke 6:22),

22 Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.

 

is from the perspective of how the world views a believer and follower of Christ.

 

Jesus uses four strong verbs (hate, ostracize, insult, scorn) to describe the way the unbelieving world views and responds to believers and followers of Christ.       

 

When a person genuinely repents of sin and believes in God’s Son to save him, that person becomes a member of God’s family, a Christian, who will demonstrate a changed life that seeks to obey God’s Word, while bringing honor and glory to God. 

 

Jesus told the Twelve

 

(cf. John 15:18-19),

18 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.

19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.

 

that the world would hate them and persecute them, just as it did Him.  But we have what we need to be victorious in this world

 

(1John 4:4),

“You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

 

How should we respond to a godless world when we are persecuted? 

Jesus says

 

(Luke 6:23)

“be glad in that day, leap for joy, for [our] reward is great win heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.”

 

As children of God, the world we see is not our home; we are citizens of God’s kingdom, a world we can’t yet see

 

(1Corinthians 2:9),

“which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.”

 

Whatever pain or sorrow or trouble we experience on this earth does not even begin to compare to the eternal joy that is ours

 

(2Corinthians 4:17-18),

“For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

 

Read Luke 6:24-26… 

24 But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.

25 Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.

 

Jesus now shifts from the blessings belonging to God’s children, to the “woes” or curses that belong to those who reject God’s salvation. 

 

Jesus (Luke 6:24)

24 But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.

 

is not speaking of those who are materially rich; but of those who presume they are rich in a spiritual sense, through their works, rituals, or ancestry, through which they have obtained a righteousness that can save them from sin’s condemnation.

 

Jesus says they have received their reward in full, the comfort in which they have lived their life on earth; whereas, their eternity will be spent in a place of torment, and gnashing of teeth, where they will receive absolutely no comfort at.

 

Next (Luke 6:25a)

25 Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry.

Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

 

Jesus speaks to the curse that belongs to those “who are well-fed now,” i.e., those who are full of themselves, totally satiated with their own self-imposed righteousness.  This is in contrast to those

 

(Luke 6:21a)

21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

 

who hunger for the righteousness and are blessed; these so-called “well-fed” hypocrites believe they lack nothing and have attained righteousness based on their own merits.

 

Jesus says to those who are cursed

 

(Luke 6:25b),

25 Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry.

Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

 

those who are laughing now, actually thinking they have “made it,” maybe even contemplating what it is going to be like in heaven, perhaps even better than they are experiencing on earth. 

 

In Matthew 8 Jesus gives a reality check to those righteous Jews who think they are going to heaven just because they belong to Israel…

 

Matthew 8 11-12,

“I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the [earthly] kingdom will be cast into the outer darkness; [and] in that place [the Lake of Fire] there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” forever and ever.

 

The final “woe”

 

(Luke 6:26),

26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.

 

speaks to the self-centeredness of the wicked unbelieving. 

 

Back in Luke 6:23,

23 Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.

 

Jesus spoke of how those who believe in and live for Him will be mistreated and scorned, just like people treated God’s prophets.

 

Those who reject God’s Word, God’s Son, gladly receive others of the same mindset, i.e., those who are dead in their sins, unwilling to acknowledge their need to repent and believe in Christ; therefore, there is no hope for them, only an expectation of judgement

 

(Hebrews 10:26-27),

“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries” [of God].

 

There are only two types of people on this planet:

 

The Blessed – True followers of Christ who have repented of their sins and believed in Jesus alone for salvation.
The Cursed, Unbelievers who reject Christ, trusting in their self-righteous works and/or other human acquisitions, or attributes to save them.

 

Whether you are blessed or cursed for eternity, depends solely upon what you do with Jesus Christ while you are alive. 

 

Matthew 16:13-16,

“When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’”

 

The question is, Who do you believe Jesus to be?

 

1John 5:4-5,

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

 

1John 5:11-13,

“And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.“

 

Everyone who repents of their sins, believing in Jesus Christ for salvation, will be saved. 

 

 

 

 
Pastor Mike
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Bible Text: Luke 6:12-16 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above is the
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August 14, 2022
“Jesus Calls the Twelve: Part Three”
Luke 6:12-16

 

     Today we come to the final name in the list of the Disciples, Judas Iscariot, who is always recorded last among the Twelve: (Luke 6:16b) “Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor,” (Matthew 10:4) “Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed [Jesus],” (Mark 3:19), “Judas Iscariot, who betrayed [Jesus].”

Judas’ surname Iscariot, “is most likely the Greek translation of a Hebrew phrase meaning, “man of Kerioth,” telling us that Judas came from Kerioth, a group of villages about 20 miles south of Jerusalem [John MacArthur Commentary (Luke 6-10), pg. 75].

Judas was not a Galilean like the rest of the disciples, but instead a Judaean, and so, he probably never really fit in with the other eleven, and was seen as an outsider.

Judas’s call by Jesus is not recorded in the Scriptures; but Jesus clearly knew Judas would betray Him, and that is why he was chosen (John 6:70-71), speaking to the twelve Jesus says, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil.”

The OT predicted this betrayal (Psalm 41:9), “Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared My bread, has lifted up his heel against me.”  God chose Judas to help fulfill God’s plan, that the Son of God would die for our sins; but He wouldn’t stay dead, because, as God, He has power over sin and death.

1Corinthians 15:1-4, “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

Notice that Paul says, “of first importance” is the simple yet sovereign truth that Jesus Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, was buried, and on the third day He  came out of the grave alive [demonstrating eternal life], and all of this was according to the Scriptures (2Timothy 3:16-17), “All Scripture is inspired by God [God-breathed, originating from God] and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

Repeatedly in the OT (Micah 5:2; Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; 52:13-53:12) the birth, ministry, death, burial and resurrection of God’s Son, the Messiah is foretold.  No orthodox Jew should be unaware that the Messiah was Immanuel [God in the flesh], named Yeshua [Hebrew], Jesus [Greek], meaning God’s Salvation, or Savior, just as the OT declares.

In the NT, Jesus, Paul, and Peter, quote from the OT passages foretelling the birth, ministry, betrayal, death, burial and resurrection of God’s Son; but the specific event of Jesus’ betrayal is recorded in Matthew 26:23-24; Mark 14:1-2, 10-11, 17-21; Luke 22:20-22; and John 13:12-30.

Let’s take a look at the narrative in John’s Gospel account.

     See John 13:12-20…  Jesus provides an example of humble service for the Twelve.  Jesus the Lord and Savior, washed the feet of His disciples [foot washing was the menial work of a slave].  Jesus even washed the feet of His betrayer, Judas Iscariot; if God in the flesh was willing to do this humble service to His disciples, one of whom was a traitor, should they not also be willing to serve others in this way, with the same attitude?

What attitude is he talking about?

Philippians 2:5-8, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

     Jesus is telling His disciples that Judas is going to betray Him, and He is going to be taken from them; He tells them now so that when it happens they will know that Jesus is God, for He divinely knows what will happen in the future.

Jesus is reassuring the apostles that He is going to send them out as His messengers in this world, and neither Judas’ betrayal or even His own death will alter that.

See John 13:21-25…  Jesus becomes troubled in His spirit, thinking about Judas’ treachery, the cross on which He will bear our sin, being separated from the Father.

The disciples look around at one another, trying to figure out who Jesus is talking about, who would dare betray the Lord?  Which one of them could do such a thing?

They all want to know who the betrayer is, but it is Peter who finally acts, he gets John’s attention, since John is sitting up against Jesus at the table; and Peter asks John to find out who the betrayer is, and so, John asks Him, “Lord, who is it?”

See John 13:26-27…  From the context, it seems that Jesus quietly told John, “the one whom I give the morsel [the dipped bread], is the betrayer.”  The unleavened bread would have been dipped into a mixture of bitter herbs, vinegar, salt, water, along with crushed dates, figs, and raisins.  Note: For the host [Jesus] to single out anyone at the table by offering them drink or food from His own hand, was a special honor.

Even here, near the end of Passion Week, Jesus is showing loving kindness toward Judas, His betrayer, by washing his feet, then honoring him at the table.

It would seem that John didn’t have time to tell Peter who the betrayer was, for Jesus immediately dipped the bread and gave it to Judas.  As soon as Judas took the bread (verse 27), “Satan then entered into him.”

It would seem Judas’ heart was now hardened and there was no turning back; He had crossed the line and was willfully going to serve the Devil; so Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.”

See John 13:28-30…  John wrote this account of the Last Supper, some 50 years after Christ’s death and resurrection;  in verses 28-29, John is looking back, giving an account of what the disciples thought at the time.  They didn’t know what was meant by Jesus saying, “What you do, do quickly.”  Perhaps Judas, as the money keeper, was going out to get something else for the dinner, or to give money to the poor (which would traditionally happen at Passover; like we often do at Thanksgiving and Christmas).

John 13:30 tells us that after receiving the dipped bread, Judas “went out immediately, and it was night,” darkness had definitely come into Judas’ heart.

Acts 1:18, “Now this man [Judas Iscariot] acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out.

See Matthew 27:1-10…  Judas betrayed Jesus, knowing He was innocent, and so, Judas’ felt guilty for handing over an innocent man to be executed; but his remorse (verse 3) was not repentance; the word used here means to regret something you have done, but this is far from being repentant for sins against God..

Judas never sought Christ’s forgiveness, nor did he come to Jesus’s defense, but instead, Judas served his master, Satan himself; and in the end Judas killed himself and was buried in a field bought with the 30 pieces of silver he was paid for betraying Jesus.

The chief priests knew the money paid to Judas was “blood” money (money used to wrongly convict an innocent man); it was unlawful to put this in the Temple treasury, so they used it to purchase a plot of land that was to be used for burying the indigent, i.e., those without family, friends, or the resources necessary for a proper burial.

Could Judas have repented of his sins, believed in Christ like the other disciples, and been saved, yes!  But he didn’t!  Like many orthodox Jews, he believed the Messiah was going to set Israel free from Roman oppression and set His Kingdom up on earth; but when that didn’t happen, Judas chose to get out of it what he could.

Matthew 26:16; Mark 14:11; Luke 22:6, tell us Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver ($10-20).

Judas lived for three years with Jesus, the Son of God; traveling with Him, listening, watching, being trained to be a witness of Christ to the rest of the world; but instead, Judas sold out His own master, the Savior of the world, for 30 pieces of silver, the price of a slave; and for that reason he is the most notorious traitor in all of history.

Judas is also an example of God’s gracious and unending love; for Christ knew all along that Judas would betray Him, yet He loved him; at the very end, Christ washed Judas’ feet along with the feet of those who would believe in Him.  And at the Last Supper Jesus offered him the honor of the dipped bread; and the next morning even called him “friend,” in the garden when Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss.

Judas’ hardened his heart toward God’s Son and he died apart from the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, who loved Him deeply and was heavily burdened in His heart that Judas chose to serve God’s enemy, the devil.

It is said, the same sun that melts the wax, hardens the clay; and while the other disciples were being softened toward the Lord, Judas was clearly being hardened.

No wonder Hebrews 4:7 declares, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden

your hearts.”  The truth is, Christ only reveals Himself to those who will believe in and follow Him, for He knows who they are.  It is by God’s plan, purpose, and power that we are eternally saved.

Romans 8:28-30, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” 35, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” No!  37-39, “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

If you love the Lord, you will seek to obey His commands (John 14:15), “If you love me, you will obey what I command,” 21, “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” 23-24, “If anyone loves me, he will obey My teaching. He who does not love Me will not obey my teaching.”

Ephesians 2:8-10, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

In the church we celebrate the Lord’s victory over sin and death, not just on Good Friday or Easter Sunday, but every time someone receives salvation through Jesus Christ; every time a believer is baptized, every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper; every time we come together to pray, study God’s Word, and to worship and praise the Lord.  

We are saved by faith and we live out our faith, by obeying God’s Word.

James 2:14-18, “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,’ and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, ‘You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.’” 26, “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”

 

Our faith is based in our belief that Jesus not only died as full payment to God for all our sins, but He also rose from the grave to demonstrate eternal life (Romans 3:10-12, 23-24; 6:23; 5:8; 8:1; 10:9-10, 13; John 14:6).

 

     God turns no one away, He accepts everyone who repents of their sins and believes that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, is both Lord and Savior: Crucified, Resurrected, and Coming again, to take all those who belong to Him to live with Him in heaven, forever.

 

It just doesn’t get any better than the Good News of the Gospel of Christ.  Amen?

 

 

Pastor Mike

    >’(((><

Bible Text: Luke 8:40-48 | Speaker: Jim Shepherd | Above is the
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August 7, 2022
“Forgiveness”
Luke 8:40-48

1. Conditional Nature of Forgiveness

Luke 8:40-48
40 And as Jesus returned, the people welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him.
41 And there came a man named Jairus, and he was an official of the synagogue; and he fell
at Jesus’ feet, and began to implore Him to come to his house;
42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went,
the crowds were pressing against Him.
43 And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone,
44 came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage
stopped.
45 And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it,
Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You.”
46 But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me.”
47 When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down
before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him,
and how she had been immediately healed.
48 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

2. Biblical Support for God’s Forgiveness of Our Sins.

Psalms 130:3-4
3 If You, LORD, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with You,
That You may be feared.

Luke 1:77
77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins,

Matthew 26:28
28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness
of sins.

Luke 24:47
47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the
nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

3. Biblical Support for God’s Forgiveness of Others.

Matthew 6:12
12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Matthew 6:14-15
14 For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will
also forgive you.
15 But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your
transgressions.

Mark 11:25
25 Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your
Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.

Ephesians 4:32
32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also
has forgiven you.

4. Major Points

a) Forgiveness is a Christian Virtue.
b) God has only one solution to the problem of human sin.
c) God has shown how we are to forgive.
d) Connection between spiritual health and willingness to forgive.

5. Parable of Unforgiving Servant

Matt. 18:21-35
21 Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and
I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle
accounts with his slaves.
24 When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought
to him.
25 But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along
with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made.
26 So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience
with me and I will repay you everything.’
27 And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.
28 But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii;
and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’
29 So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with
me and I will repay you.’
30 But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed.
31 So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported
to their lord all that had happened.
32 Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because
you pleaded with me.
33 Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’
34 And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that
was owed him.
35 My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from
your heart.”

6. Five Truths from Parable

a) The greatness of God’s forgiveness.
b) The enormity of out own sin debt.
c) The relative lightness of the sins of others against us.
d) The simplicity of forgiveness.
e)The danger of an unforgiving spirit.

 

Jim Shepherd

 

Bible Text: Luke 6:12-16 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke, Luke | Above is the
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July 31, 2022
“Jesus Calls the Twelve: Part Two”
Luke 6:12-16

 

Last week we studied about six of the Twelve Disciples, whom
Jesus named as apostles: Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, and
Bartholomew. Today we will study about five more of the Twelve
Disciples: Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who
is called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.

 

Next time we will study about Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.

 

Read Luke 6:15-16…

15 and Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and
Simon who was called the Zealot;

16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a
traitor.

 

The first apostle in our list today is Matthew.  We read about his calling in

 

Luke 5:27,

27 After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi
sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow Me.”

 

where he is called Levi, using his Hebrew name, as does

 

Mark 2:14;

14 As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in
the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up
and followed Him.

 

but here in

 

Luke 6:15

15 and Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and
Simon who was called the Zealot;

 

he is called Matthew, his Greek name.  Several of the
Twelve had two names, e.g., Simon>Peter;
Bartholomew>Nathanael; Judas, the son of
James>Thaddaeus; Thomas>Didymus.

 

Matthew, as a tax collector, would have been hated by his
own countrymen the Jews, who would have considered
him an enemy of Judaism; tax collectors weren’t allowed to
worship in the Temple or synagogue, nor were they
permitted to testify in court, for the Jews considered them
to be liars, swindlers, and traitors.

 

See Luke 3:12-13,

12 And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they
said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”

13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have
been ordered to.”

 

where people were coming out to John the Baptizer at the
Jordan River, “And some tax collectors also came to be
baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall we
do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you
have been ordered to.”  You see, Tax collectors bought a
franchise from the Roman Governor, in order to collect
certain taxes (for many different things) for Rome.
Anything the tax collector was able to get above what was
required to be paid to Rome, he could keep for himself;
therefore tax collectors practiced extortion, larceny, and
loan sharking (loaning out money with very high interest
rates), of which nonpayment ended with prison.

    

When Jesus called Matthew, he obeyed and followed Him;
in fact, Matthew was so excited to follow Christ that

 

(cf. Luke 5:29)

29 And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there
was a great crowd of tax collectors and other people who were
reclining at the table with them.

 

he held a special dinner at his house and invited his friends
to come and meet Jesus.  There were many tax collectors
and “other people” at that dinner, to which the Pharisees
and scribers complained to Jesus’ disciples

 

(Luke 5:30),

30 The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His
disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax
collectors and sinners?”

 

30 Why does your teacher [Jesus] eat with tax collectors and
‘sinners’?

 

The word “sinner” is used by the Pharisees of anyone who
refuses to follow the Mosaic Law as it was interpreted by
the Pharisees, and for Jesus to sit at a table (in the ancient
world a sign of intimacy) with such “sinners” was too
much for the Pharisees (the teachers of the law) to keep
quiet about.

    

Jesus responds to them

 

(Luke 5:31-32),

31 And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are
well who need a physician, but those who are sick.

32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to
repentance.”

 

In Luke 18, Jesus told the people a parable that illustrates what
He means in

 

Luke 5:31-32

31 And Jesus answered and said to them, “It is not those who are
well who need a physician, but those who are sick.

32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to
repentance.”

 

means

 

(Luke 18:10-11,

10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and
the other a tax collector.

11 The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I
thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust,
adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

 

Luke 18:13-15),

13 But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even
unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast,
saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’

14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the
other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he
who humbles himself will be exalted.”

15 And they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He
would touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they began
rebuking them.

 

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and
the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this
to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people:
swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.”  “But
the tax collector, standing some distance away, was [not] even
[willing] to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast,
saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’”

    

When Matthew left his profession to follow Christ, unlike
the other disciples who could have returned to fishing or
farming, Matthew could never return to tax collecting, for
Rome would never allow it, and most likely, Matthew
would be arrested and sent to prison for abandoning his
post as a Tax Collector for Rome.

    

Matthew believed in Jesus as the Messiah and followed
Him for three years; and then after receiving the Holy
Spirit at Pentecost, Matthew was sovereignly equipped and
moved to write twenty-eight chapters about the King of
Kings and Lord of Lords, this is the Good News of Jesus
Christ according to Matthew.

 

 

Next in this list is Thomas,

who it is often called the “doubting” disciple; but honestly, that is
just not true

 

(see John 10:22-33;

22 At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at
Jerusalem;

23 it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the
portico of Solomon.

24 The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him,
“How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell
us plainly.”

25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the
works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me.

26 But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.

27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow
Me;

28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and
no one will snatch them out of My hand.

29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and
no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

30 I and the Father are one.”

31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him.

32 Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from
the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?”

33 The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone
You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make
Yourself out to be God.”

 

John 11:1-16).

1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of
Mary and her sister Martha.

2 It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and
wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

3 So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he
whom You love is sick.”

4 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end
in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be
glorified by it.”

5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

6 So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days
longer in the place where He was.

7 Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea
again.”

8 The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now
seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?”

9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If
anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees
the light of this world.

10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the
light is not in him.”

11 This He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend
Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out
of sleep.”

12 The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep,
he will recover.”

13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He
was speaking of literal sleep.

14 So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,

15 and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you
may believe; but let us go to him.”

16 Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow
disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”

 

Bethany was near Jerusalem, a dangerous place for Jesus
to be at that time, nearing His final entry into Jerusalem,
when He would be arrested and crucified.  Thomas (called
Didymus, meaning twin) understood the danger, and yet
he was willing to go with Jesus even if it meant his own
death, he was not a coward!

    

When the disciples were in the upper room, that last night
with Jesus, before His arrest and crucifixion, Jesus
explained that He was going to leave them

 

(John 14:1-7);

1 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also
in Me.

2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not
so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.

3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and
receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

4 And you know the way where I am going.”

5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are
going, how do we know the way?”

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no
one comes to the Father but through Me.

7 If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also;
from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

 

Thomas feared he would not be able to go where Jesus
was going, and he did not want to be separated from the
Lord. 

    

Just before going to Bethany (as we read earlier), Thomas
declared he was willing to die with Jesus, he doesn’t want
to consider being without Him; but Thomas, like the other
disciples, didn’t understand about Jesus‘ death and
resurrection, let alone His return to the Father in heaven.

    

After Jesus’ death, Thomas was broken hearted and
probably feeling abandoned, because His Lord was gone.
When 10 of the Twelve (Judas being dead) told Thomas
that the Lord had appeared to them it was probably more
than he could bear; he said he wouldn’t believe it until he
saw the Lord for himself. 

    

One week later Jesus again appeared to the 10, and this
time Thomas was present and he genuinely believed that
the Lord had risen from the dead

 

(see John 20:19-29).

19 So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week,
and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear
of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to
them, “Peace be with you.”

20 And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands
and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father
has sent Me, I also send you.”

22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to
them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

23 If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven
them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”

24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with
them when Jesus came.

25 So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the
Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint
of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put
my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

26 After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas
with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in
their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”

27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and
see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side;
and do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

28 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you
believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

 

Without the resurrection we would have no hope for
salvation, but He did rise from the dead, as Paul repeatedly
declares

 

(see 1Corinthians 15:17-20).

are still in your sins.

18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have
perished.

19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men
most to be pitied.

20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits
of those who are asleep.

 

Next in our list is James, son of Alphaeus,

who never said anything or wrote anything, that is
recorded in the Bible.

 

In Mark 15:40

40 There were also some women looking on from a distance,
among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of
James the Less and Joses, and Salome.

 

he is called James the less [mikros, i.e., smaller or minimal
in stature, age or influence].  This reminds us that Jesus
didn’t call prominent, prestigious, or powerful men to
serve Him, He chose those who would follow; and so James
the less will sit on a throne reigning over one of the tribes
of Israel in the millennium, just as the other Apostles will;
not because of who they were but because of who called
them and set them apart: Jesus Christ the Lord Who uses
ordinary people to do extraordinary things

(cf. Hebrews 11:1-40, Hall of Faith).

 

 

Next in this list is Simon, the Zealot…

Simon is only mentioned in the New Testament, where the names
of the disciples are listed, other than the, there is no information
given about him.

 

We do know that, as a Zealot, he was an activist and militant
extremist who was passionate and zealous for the Law of God for
Israel, until he met and followed Jesus Christ, God’s Son.

 

There were several dominant groups within Judaism at the
time of Christ:

 

The Pharisees [separated ones], were religiously pious
fundamentalists, legalistic separatists, keeping strict observance
to the traditional and written law

 

The Herodians were mostly a political group that supported King
Herod Antipas, the Roman Empire’s ruler over much of the land of
the Jews from 4 B.C. to A.D. 39.

 

The Sadducees, were a powerful religious-political group in
Israel; they confronted Jesus, and later opposed the preaching of
the apostles.

 

The Essenes were mystics, who lived in caves and practiced
severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence.

 

The Zealots [like Simon] were anti-Rome terrorists; in fact, one
group of zealots was known as the Sicarii [sword]; they were
assassins who didn’t give a thought to murdering a Roman, or
any Jew who sided with Rome.

 

The Zealots held up in a an almost impenetrable fortress
called Masada, situated on top of an isolated rock plateau
overlooking the Dead Sea.  From there they deployed their
guerrilla-warfare against Rome, until the Romans
conquered Masada in 73 A.D., only to find that the Zealots
had killed their wives, children, and then themselves, so as
not to become slaves to Rome (960 died, and it is said that
two women and five children escaped by hiding in a cave). 

 

 

Next in our list is Judas, the son of James… 

Depending on the translation you are using, it may say
Thaddaeus, Lebbaeus, Lebbaeus called Thaddaeus, or Judas, son
of James.   Let’s refer to him as Thaddaeus, from here on out, so
as not to confuse him with the other Judas who betrayed Jesus.

 

We don’t know much about Thaddaeus, but we do know he
asked a great question

 

(John 14:22),

22 Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose
Yourself to us and not to the world?

 

In other words, why are you showing Yourself to us and
not to the rest of the world?  Why aren’t they able to see
and to know that You are the Messiah?

 

The Bible records

 

(John 1:10-11),

10 He [Jesus, the Messiah] was in the world, and though the
world was made by Him, the world didn’t know Him.

 

11 He came to His own [the Jews], and those who were His own
did not receive Him [i.e., they rejected Him].

 

 

Jesus only reveals Himself to those who believe in and
receive Him; only those who are willing to repent, believe,
and follow Him

 

(Mark 1:14-15),

14Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into
Galilee, preaching the gospel of God,

15 and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at
hand; repent and believe in the gospel [the good news].’ [and
then come]

 

Mark 1:17,

“Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

 

What is the good news?  Please turn in your Bible to

 

1Corinthians 15:1-4,

1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I
preached to you, which also you received, in which also you
stand,

2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I
preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also
received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day
according to the Scriptures,

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important
event in all of Christianity, without it Christianity is nothing
more than just one of the many religious programs or
organizations that are based on human philosophy and
tradition.

 

1Corinthians 15:17,

17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you
are still in your sins.

 

1Corinthians 15:20,

20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits
of those who are asleep.

 

“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you
are still in your sins,”

 

1Corinthians 15:19-20,

19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men
most to be pitied.

20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits
of those who are asleep.

 

Jesus repeatedly taught His disciples about His coming
death and resurrection,

 

(Mark 8:31-32),

31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer
many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests
and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

32 And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him
aside and began to rebuke Him.

 

Peter’s first sermon was about the death and resurrection
of God’s Son

 

(Acts 2:21-24,

21 ‘AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME
OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’

22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a
man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs
which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you
yourselves know–

23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and
foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of
godless men and put Him to death.

24 But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of
death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

 

Acts 2:32-34,

32 This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.

33 Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and
having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He
has poured forth this which you both see and hear.

34 For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself
says:

‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD,

“SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,

 

Acts 2:36).

36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God
has made Him both Lord and Christ–this Jesus whom you
crucified.”

 

Without Christ’s death (full payment for all our sins), and
His resurrection (demonstration of eternal life), we have
no hope of forgiveness or eternal life. 

 

Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the grave to set us
free from sins’s curse and condemnation, apart from that
there is no salvation

 

(John 14:6),

6 Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one
comes to the Father but through Me,”

 

(John 3:16),

16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have
eternal life.

 

Acts 4:12,

12 There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name
under heaven that has been given among men by which we must
be saved.

 

Romans 10:9-10,

9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe
in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be
saved;

10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in
righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in
salvation.

 

We are all sinners, but only those who trust in the saving
work of Christ on the Cross and the evidence of the empty
tomb, are forgiven sinners.  Like the men we have studied
these past two Sunday’s, the Apostles of Christ, what you
are before coming to God is not important, for God makes
you a new creation when you trust and believe in Jesus
Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior. 

 

God takes the weak, foolish, dull-minded, intelligent,
apathetic, zealous, and the seemingly insignificant from
among mankind, and turns them into willing workers,
supernatural servants who bring the light and the salt of
the gospel of God into this darkening and decaying world.

 

2Corinthians 5:17,

17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old
things passed away; behold, new things have come.

 

Galatians 2:20,

20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live,
but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I
live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up
for me.

 

1John 5:1-5,

1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and
whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.

2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love
God and observe His commandments.

3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments;
and His commandments are not burdensome.

4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is
the victory that has overcome the world–our faith.

5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes
that Jesus is the Son of God?

 

 

 

Pastor Mike

>’(((><

Bible Text: Luke 6:12-16 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke | Above is the
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July 24, 2022
“Jesus Calls the Twelve: Part One”
Luke 6:12-15

 

Last week we ended our study in Luke 6:11, where the
Pharisees were angered by Jesus healing a man on the
Sabbath and rebuking them for not knowing that it was okay
to do so; Jesus even cited an event from the Old Testament
when David and his men broke Sabbath laws by eating the
consecrated bread.  Jesus made it clear that breaking Sabbath
rules was permitted for acts of mercy and necessity for the
Sabbath was made for man to pause and worship God; man
wasn’t made for the Sabbath in order to keep rules and
perform rituals.

 

Today we pick up with the Lord calling twelve specific men out
of all those who were following Him, to become apostles.

    

Read Luke 6:12-13… 

12 It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to
pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.

13 And when day came, He called His disciples to Him
and
chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles:

 

After the interactions with the Pharisees in chapter 6, Jesus
goes off to have some quiet time with the Father, as was His
normal practice.

 

In the morning He called His disciples to Himself.

 

It was never Jesus’ intent to proclaim the kingdom of God by
Himself.  He only ministered for three years and never
traveled outside of Palestine.  Jesus, from the very beginning,
began training the men who would continue His work.  The
men He chose were the committed few among the unbelieving
many.

 

Multitudes were able to hear Jesus speak and to see Him heal
and perform wondrous signs.  Jesus had an audience wherever
He went, to the point where He had a hard time being alone
with the Twelve, let alone with the Father for prayer.

 

The crowds flocked to experience the authority of His voice,
the unique message He brought, the miracles He performed,
and His expressed love for the common people who were sick,
diseased, demon possessed, sinful.

 

Out of all the crowds who followed Him, Jesus chose to Himself
twelve common men as His apostles; men who would take
God’s message of salvation to a lost world.  The apostles were
ordinary men, and as far as we know only one of them was
materially prosperous (Matthew, the tax collector).  None of
the Twelve was highly educated or had prominent social,
political, or religious status.

 

Details about some of these men remain unknown because
neither Scripture nor secular history records about them.  And
yet, the apostles, through the power of the Holy Spirit,
received God’s divine revelation and were responsible for
writing most of the New Testament.

 

Read Luke 6:14a… 

14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew
his
brother; and James and John; and Philip and
Bartholomew;

 

Jesus had previously called these men to follow Him, now He
sets them apart as apostles [apostolos, lit. messenger, sent
out].

 

These men had left their homes, families, and occupations
(fishermen, farmers, tax collector) to follow and live with
Christ for three years, in order to learn from His words and His
actions; being sovereignly chosen by God for just this purpose

 

16 You did not choose Me but I chose you, and
appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that
your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the
Father in My name He may give to you.

 

These men were personally taught by God the Son, that they
would realize the presence, provision, pleasure, and power of
God, even so, it appears they constantly were found lacking in
their spiritual understanding of who He was, why He had
come, and what they would be called to do on His behalf.
They didn’t understand His teachings anymore than the rest of
those who followed Jesus.

 

There are several lists of the apostles in the NT

 

(Matthew 10:2-4;

2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The
first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother;
and James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax
collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;

4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who
betrayed Him

 

Mark 3:16-19;

16 And He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He
gave
the name Peter),

17 and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother
of
James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which
means, “Sons of Thunder”);

18 and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and
Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus,
and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot;

19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.

 

Luke 6:14-16;

14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his
brother; and James and John; and Philip and
Bartholomew;

15 and Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus,
and Simon who was called the Zealot;

16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who
became a traitor.

 

 

Acts 1:13,

13 When they had entered the city, they went up to the
upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and
John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas,
Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus,
and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.

 

Matthias added

 

Acts 1:26

26 And they drew lots for them, and the lot fell to
Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.

 

Peter is always listed first, and was clearly the leader of the
Twelve, with whom Jesus spent more time than with any of
the others.

 

What do we know about Peter?

 

No other name, apart from Jesus, is mentioned more often in
the NT than that of Peter. And no other person in the NT
speaks as often or is spoken to as often as Peter; and no other
disciple is as severely rebuked by the Lord in the Scriptures.

 

Peter always wanted to be close to the Lord: walking on water
(cf. Matthew 14:25-31); in the Garden falling asleep while
praying, then later swinging his knife at the high priest’s
servant (cf. Matthew 26:36-51); Peter told the Lord

(cf. Matthew 26:35), he would die before disowning Him; but

after His arrest (cf. Matthew 26:69-75) Peter denied even

knowing Jesus.  And yet, God used this imperfect and
impetuous man mightily for the cause of Christ.

 

The next three names in that first group are Andrew, James,
and John; and in the other lists of these men they alternate in
their order, with James or Andrew always being listed second
in the group; however, Peter, James and John formed the
inner, inner circle of Christ’s men, and were often singled out
from the other nine during special events: Transfiguration,
Raising the dead back to life, Praying in the Garden.

 

What do we know of Andrew?

 

He is not mentioned anywhere in the synoptic gospels except
where the lists of the Twelve are given. We know he left
following John the Baptizer to follow Christ.  He confessed
Jesus as the Messiah and shared that with Peter, introducing
his brother to the Lord

(cf. John 1:37-42).

 

Andrew loved to bring people to the Lord: when Jesus was
feeding the 5,000

(cf. John 6:5) and asked, “where bread might be acquired so
that these people could eat,” Andrew answered (cf. John 6:9)
by bringing a boy to Jesus who had five barley loaves and two
fish. Jesus took that small portion of food and feed everyone.

In another situation when some God-fearing Gentiles asked
Philip if they could meet Jesus, Philip went and told Andrew,
and Andrew took these Gentiles along with Philip to see the
Lord (cf. John 12:20-22).

 

Andrew was not well-known like Peter, James, or John; but
Andrew was often referred to as Peter’s brother.  He is an
example of those who humbly work quietly behind the scenes,
not needing the limelight or recognition, but willing to be the
support person in ministry so that others could do what they
had been called to do.

 

What do we know about James?

 

James is never really separate from his brother John during
the three years of following Jesus.  They left their father’s boat
to follow Jesus at the same time (cf. Mark 1:20), and their
father had hired servants there with him, evidently he was
well off, it is possible that James and John were in the fishing
business together with their father .

 

James was the first of the Twelve to die for the sake of Christ;
and is the only one of the Twelve whose death is recorded in
the Scriptures

 

(Acts 12:1-2),

1 Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on
some
who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them.

2 And he had James the brother of John put to death
with
a sword.

 

What do we know about John? 

 

Like his brother James, early in their ministry, he was zealous
and wanted to call down fire upon the Samaritans

 

(Luke 9:52-54);

52 and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they
went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make
arrangements for Him.

53 But they did not receive Him, because He was
traveling
toward Jerusalem.

54 When His disciples James and John saw this, they
said,
“Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down
from
heaven and consume them?”

 

on another occasion John reports to Jesus that he and some of
the disciples saw a man driving out demons who wasn’t one of
the Twelve

 

(Mark 9:38),

38 John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting
out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him
because he was not following us.”

 

so “we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”  And
of course, Jesus rebuked John, telling His disciples to let the
man do whatever brings glory and honor to the Father.

 

God’s Word is very clear that we are not to break fellowship
with people because of their race, gender, status, appearance,
culture, etc.

 

(Galatians 3:28);

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor
free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one
in Christ Jesus.

 

but we are not to be in fellowship with those who teach false
doctrine or continue living unrepentant immoral lives
(cf. Romans 16:17-18; 1Corinthians 5:9-11).

 

John’s transformation is seen in his love for the believers and
his desire for unbelievers to know the truth that it might set
them free now and forever in Jesus.

 

John was a recipient and proponent of the love of God, which
permeates all his writings: The Gospel According to John,
123John, Revelation of Jesus Christ to John.

 

 

John taught on God’s love more than any other writer in the
NT, that: God is love

(cf. 1John 4:8, 16); God loves His Son

(cf. John 3:35; 5:20); God is loved by His Son

(cf. John 14:31); God loved the disciples

(cf. John 13:35; 16:27; 17:23); God loves all of humanity

(cf. John 3:16); God has a special love for all believers

(cf. 1John 3:1); believers are commanded to love one
another

(cf. John 13:34; 1John 4:11), and to love our neighbors as
our self, for this fulfills all the commandments

 

(John 14:23;

23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he
will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will
come to him and make Our abode with him.

 

1John 4:11-21

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one
another.
12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another,
God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us,
because He has given us of His Spirit.
14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the
Son to be the Savior of the world.
15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God
abides in him, and he in God.
16 We have come to know and have believed the love which
God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love
abides in God, and God abides in him.
17 By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have
confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also
are we in this world.
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear,
because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is
not perfected in love.
19 We love, because He first loved us.
20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is
a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has
seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.
21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one
who loves God should love his brother also.

 

1John 5:1-5

1 After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus
went up to Jerusalem.

2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is
called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes.

3 In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame,
and withered, [waiting for the moving of the waters;

4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into
the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the
stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from
whatever disease with which he was afflicted.]

5 A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.

 

1John 4:11-13).

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one
another.

12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another,
God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.

13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us,
because He has given us of His Spirit.

 

John so closely identified with Christ’s love that he referred to
himself multiple times as the disciple whom Jesus loved
(cf. John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20).

 

John was banished to the island of Patmos where he died in
the service of His Lord, as the last of the apostles, after
receiving the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

 

Jesus called James and John “Sons of thunder,” i.e., they had
zeal, passion, and were most likely aggressive in their
character.  This is expressed well in several passages

 

(Matthew 20:17-28;

17 As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the
twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said
to them,

18 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man
will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will
condemn Him to death,

19 and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge
and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.”

20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with
her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him.

21 And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him,
“Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may
sit one on Your right and one on Your left.”

22 But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are
asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to
drink?” They said to Him, “We are able.”

23 He said to them, “My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My
right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those
for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”

24 And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two
brothers.

25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that
the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great
men exercise authority over them.

26 It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to
become great among you shall be your servant,

27 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your
slave;

28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to
serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

 

Luke 9:52-56).

52 and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went
and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements
for Him.

53 But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling
toward Jerusalem.

54 When His disciples James and John saw this, they said,
“Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from
heaven and consume them?”

55 But He turned and rebuked them, [and said, “You do not
know what kind of spirit you are of;

56 for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but
to save them.”] And they went on to another village.

 

Philip is the next disciple mentioned here, and he is always
listed first in the second four-man grouping of the Twelve.

 

What do we know about Philip?

 

Philip lived in the same hometown [Bethsaida] as Peter and
Andrew; they were all fisherman and probably knew each
other long before Jesus called them.

 

From the synoptics [Matthew, Mark, Luke] we don’t learn
much about Philip, but John gives us some insight

 

(John 1:43),

43 The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found
Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.”

 

Philip is the first person to whom Jesus says directly, “Follow
Me.”

 

The first thing Philip does after meeting Christ, is to go find his
friend Bartholomew [also known as Nathanael] and tell him

 

(John 1:45), “

We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and
about whom the prophets also wrote — Jesus of Nazareth, the
son of Joseph.”

 

It would seem that Philip studied the Old Testament, for he
immediately knew this was the Christ, and he went to share
this good news with his friend.

 

We learn more about Philip from John’s account

 

(see John 6:5-7).

5 Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large
crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy
bread, so that these may eat?”

6 This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He
was intending to do.

7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is
not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.”

 

Philip seems to be the bread buyer of the twelve; he knew
how much they normally needed and how much it cost.  200
denarii equals about 8 month’s wages; one denarius equalled
one days wage for common labor (cf. Matthew 20:2), and
there are 24 work days in a month (4 weeks, 6 days a week) X
8 months = 192 denarii].  But Philip clearly didn’t understand
the supernatural nature of Jesus, as perhaps Andrew did

 

(see John 6:8-14).

8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to
Him,

9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?”

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was
much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number
about five thousand.

11 Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He
distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish
as much as they wanted.

12 When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up
the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.”

13 So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with
fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by
those who had eaten.

14 Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had
performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come
into the world.”

 

Bartholomew [Jewish/English] was likely his surname
[Aramaic, Bar means son of + Aramaic, Tolomai ]; Nathanael
was his first name.     So he was Nathanael, son of Tholomew.

 

We only know of him from the four lists of the twelve

 

(Matthew 10:3;

3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax
collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;

 

Mark 3:18;

18 and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and
Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus,
and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot;

 

Luke 6:14;

14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his
brother; and James and John; and Philip and
Bartholomew;

 

Acts 1:13),

13 When they had entered the city, they went up to the
upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and
John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas,
Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus,
and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.

 

and from John’s account.  Nathanael was from from Cana, it
would seem he was prejudiced against Nazareth, as were most
Jews, considering it a place for uneducated, uncouth, near-do-
wells

 

(John 1:46).

46 Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out
of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

 

Our preconceived notions often blind us to the truth, our
prejudices can keep us from experiencing God’s presence,
pleasure and power; but Nathanael’s desire to know God’s
truth seemed to override his societal and cultural prejudice
against Nazareth

 

(John 1:45-49).

45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have
found
Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets
wrote–Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

46 Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out
of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him,
“Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”

48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus
answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when
you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

49 Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of
God; You are the King of Israel.”

 

Jesus looked into Nathanael’s heart and saw an honest and
true descendant of Abraham, spiritually as well as physically;
for he was not a hypocrite nor deceitful, like the Scribes,
Pharisees, and religious leaders of the day; he was a genuine
Israelite by Abraham’s standard; in fact all the true disciples of
Jesus Christ are what is in mind in

 

Galatians 3:26-29,

26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ
Jesus.

27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have
clothed yourselves with Christ.

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave
nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you
are
all one in Christ Jesus.

29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s
descendants, heirs according to promise.

 

The question is, are you a spiritual descendant of Abraham,
and an heir according to promise giving to him, concerning the
eternal blessing that comes to all who are children of God
through faith in Jesus Christ?

 

2Corinthians 13:5,

5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine
yourselves!  Or do you not recognize this about
yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you
fail the test?

 

1Timothy 2:3-4,

3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,

4 who desires all men [women, and children of age] to be
saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

 

What truth? 

 

Jesus said (John 14:6),

“I am the [only] way [to God], the [only] truth [of God], and
the [only] life [with God]; and no one comes to the Father [i.e,
no one is acceptable to God; no one is considered righteous,;
no one gets into heaven except through Me [God’s Son].”

 

Still not sure?  Ask God to forgive your sins and to save you.

God turns no one away

(cf. Romans 3:10-12; 23-24; 6:23; 5:8; 8:1; 10:13).

 

Acts 4:12,

“There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name
under heaven that has been given among mankind by which
we must be saved.”

 

1John 5:11-13,

“And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life,
and this life is in His Son. The one who has the Son has the
life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have
the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the
name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have
eternal life.

 

 

 

 

Pastor Mike

>’(((><

 

 

 

Bible Text: Luke 6:1-11 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke, Luke | Above is the
Sunday AM video
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July 17, 2022
“Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath”
Luke 6:1-11

    

Read Luke 6:1-5… 

1 Now it happened that He was passing through some grainfields on a
Sabbath; and His disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing
them in their hands, and eating the grain.

2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why do you do what is not lawful
on the Sabbath?”

3 And Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read what
David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him,

4 how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the consecrated
bread which is not lawful for any to eat except the priests alone, and
gave it to his companions?”

5 And He was saying to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the
Sabbath.”

 

The Pharisees are accusing Jesus of breaking the law.  First, let’s have
a short refresher on the Law of God that was given to Moses.  There
were ten commands given to Moses in

 

Exodus 20:1-17.

1 Then God spoke all these words, saying,

2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of slavery.

3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.

4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in
heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.

5 You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God,
am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children,
on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,

6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and
keep My commandments.

7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the
LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

8 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you
shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or
your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with
you.

11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea
and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the
LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be
prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.

13 “You shall not murder.

14 “You shall not commit adultery.

15 “You shall not steal.

16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet
your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his
ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

 

Eight of the Ten Commandments are NOT TO DO Something:

 

Don’t have other Gods.
Don’t serve idols.
Don’t misuse God’s name.
Don’t commit murder.
Don’t commit adultery.
Don’t steal.
Don’t lie.
Don’t covet;

 

One of Ten Commandments is TO DO Something:

 

Honor your parents.

 

One of the Ten Commandments is purely ceremonial:

 

Remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy. Sabbath
commemorated God’s rest after creation

 

(Exodus 20:9-11),

“Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is
a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or
your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your
cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord
made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and
rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day
and made it holy.”

 

Sabbath observance was specifically given to Israel.  Sabbath
observance is never commanded or even recommended to Christians;
and it is the only one of the Ten Commandments that is not repeated
in the New Testament.

 

God did not require Adam, Noah, or even Abraham to observe the
Sabbath.  Keeping the Sabbath was a binding ceremonial obligation for
Israel that didn’t even begin until Moses brought them out of Egypt.

    

In our reading today

 

(Luke 6:1-5),

1 Now it happened that He was passing through some grainfields on a
Sabbath; and His disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing
them in their hands, and eating the grain.

2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why do you do what is not lawful
on the Sabbath?”

3 And Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read what
David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him,

4 how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the consecrated
bread which is not lawful for any to eat except the priests alone, and
gave it to his companions?”

5 And He was saying to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the
Sabbath.”

 

Jesus reminds the Pharisees of what David did (a story they knew very
well); David and his men broke ceremonial law in order to meet their
physical needs, but God did not discipline the priests, David, or his
men, for eating the sacred bread meant only for the priests.

 

Jesus’ disciples were hungry on a Sabbath, so they picked grain to eat;
this didn’t violate God’s Law; however, the Pharisees taught that
although eating grain on the Sabbath was lawful, but rubbing the
heads of grain between your hands was considered work, and
therefore was unlawful.

 

In Matthew’s narrative of this event he records Jesus as saying

 

(Matthew 12:5),

“Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in
the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent?”

 

They killed animals for sacrifice.
They touched [lifted the] dead animals up onto the alter.
They offered double sacrifices for the Sabbath [twice as many
animals].

 

Even the most orthodox and legalistic Pharisee would not consider the
priests guilty of violating the Sabbath, for doing the work of the
priesthood.  Similar to pastors, Sunday school teachers, singers,
musicians, ushers, refreshment servers, etc., who “work” on Sundays.

 

Sacrifices offered at the Temple were symbols of the debt owed to God
for sin; these looked forward to the time when the eternal sacrifice
(the Lamb of God) would be offered.  Sabbath observance was a time
to remember God’s finished work at creation, to pause and reflect
(Selah) on what God had done.

 

Sacrifices and Sabbath rituals were never meant to supersede God’s
merciful plan to offer forgiveness and eternal life to everyone who
trusts in God’s plan, purpose, and provision, fulfilled in and through
God’s own Son.

 

To the Jews, the Temple (the ultimate place of worship) was second
only to God Himself (Who alone was worthy of worship).  Jesus tells
them

 

(Matthew 12:6),

“That something greater than the temple is here,” i.e., He is Messiah,
Immanuel [God in the flesh].

 

Even so, Jesus kept all of the Law of Moses, commanding others to do
the same.  He attended Jewish festivals and He ate the Passover lamb;
but all of these were purely ceremonial, they had no lasting value
toward righteousness.

 

Matthew 5:17-18,

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I
have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth,
until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least
stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until
everything is accomplished.”

 

See Matthew 12:7-8,

7 But if you had known what this means, ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION,
AND NOT A SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

 

Matthew 12:11-13…     

11 And He said to them, “What man is there among you who has a
sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of
it and lift it out?

12 How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is
lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

13 Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” He stretched it
out, and it was restored to normal, like the other.

 

Deeds of mercy and necessity were permitted on the Sabbath even in
the OT, and so Jesus made it very clear

 

(Mark 2:27-28),

“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. So the
Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

 

Jesus, the Son of God was not the servant of the Sabbath, He was the
Lord of it; in fact, He made it and could use it for whatever He desired.

 

Read Luke 6:6-11… 

6 On another Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching;
and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.

7 The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He
healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him.

8 But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with
the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” And he got up and
came forward.

9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do
harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?”

10 After looking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your
hand!” And he did so; and his hand was restored.

11 But they themselves were filled with rage, and discussed together
what they might do to Jesus.

 

Man-made Sabbath laws were many: one stated if a person became ill
on the Sabbath, only enough treatment could be given to keep him
alive; to help him improve was declared work and was therefore
forbidden.

 

Not only did Jesus continually break Jewish laws concerning “Sabbath
keeping” but His own disciples (those who repented, believed in and
followed Him) made Sunday, instead of Saturday, their corporate day
of worship and offering giving: Christ’s Resurrection, His appearance
to the Disciples two weeks in a row , and His Ascension, all occurred
on a Sunday, the first day of the week.  Pentecost, the birth day of the
church, occurred on a Sunday.

 

The earliest Christians worshiped on Sunday in honor and celebration
of the Lord’s victory over sin, death and judgment; God’s free gift of
Salvation.

 

Prior to Christ’s advent, the law brought only judgment and death, for
no one has ever been justified by keeping the Law.

 

The New Testament does not require Sabbath observance; nor are we
ever commanded to worship on any certain day, for ritualistic worship
and work based religion is not pleasing or honoring to God: The
Pharisees gave to the poor (for all to see), prayed (out loud, as if
giving a convincing speech), and fasted (twice a week); but Jesus
made it quite clear that their religious acts were without value in the
eyes of God.

 

Matthew 5:20,

“I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the
Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the
kingdom of heaven.”

 

Sabbath keeping, sacrifices, rituals and ceremonies, were only a
“shadow” of what [WHO] was to come.

 

Colossians 2:8,

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive
philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles
of this world rather than on Christ.”

 

Colossians 2:16-17,

“Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or
with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a
Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the
reality, however, is found in Christ.”

 

Romans 14:5-6,

“One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man
considers every day alike.  Each one should be fully convinced in his
own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord.  He
who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he
who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.”

 

The Ten Commandments (the Law) were written on stone; our
relationship with God is through Grace, written upon our hearts by the
Holy Spirit.

 

The content of each of the Ten Commandments is restated in another
context in the New Testament; that is, every one except keeping the
Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, holy.   That command was for
Israel alone, under the Law, not for the Bride of Christ, the Body of
Believers called Christians, who live under Grace.

 

The Pharisees were legalists, strict law keepers who refused to accept
the Grace of God that comes by Faith, not by works.  The Pharisees
trusted in their own traditions and their own works, rather than God’s
Son Jesus Who came to save us.

 

Jesus

 

(Luke 6:10)

10 After looking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your
hand!” And he did so; and his hand was restored.

 

healing this man on the Sabbath, hadn’t broken any of God’s Laws, but
to the Pharisees, He was guilty of breaking Jewish law and tradition, as
recorded in the Talmud [Israel’s sacred book of do’s and don’ts]; and
so, the Jesus hating Pharisees wanted to kill Him

 

(Matthew 12:14),

“But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they
might destroy Him,”

 

(Luke 6:11),

“But they themselves were filled with rage, and discussed together
what they might do to Jesus.”

    

They Pharisees wanted to kill Him, for He was an obstacle to their
control over orthodox Judaism, and He had defied their man-made
rules in front of the people.

 

Trusting in tradition, religious works, or ancestral heritage rather than
in Christ, will leave you separated from life with God.

 

Matthew 7:13-14,

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is
broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through
it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and
there are few who find it.”

 

Luke 13:23-24,

“And someone said to Him, ‘Lord, are there just a few who are being
saved?’ And He said to them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow door;
for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.’”

 

John 10:9,

“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved.”

 

John 14:6,

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father
but through Me.

 

Hebrews 9:27-28,

“And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this
comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the
sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference
to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”

 

Hebrews 10:10,

“We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all,”

 

Hebrews 10:12,

“He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the
right hand of God,”

 

Hebrews 10:14,

“For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are
sanctified.”

 

Hebrews 10:16-18,

“‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says
the Lord: I will put My laws upon their heart, and on their mind I will
write them.’ He then says, ‘And their sins and their lawless deeds I will
remember no more.’ Now where there is forgiveness of these things,
there is no longer any offering for sin.”

 

Jesus Christ took our punishment, paying the full and final price for
our sins on the cross, validating His authority by the empty tomb.
Jesus is not only the Lord of the Sabbath, He is Almighty God, the
Creator, Sustainer and Judge over all, Who put on flesh and gave up
His own life for you and for me; so that we might know Him now and
live with Him forever.

 

John 11:25-26,

“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even
if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.

John 14:1-3,

“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I
would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself,
that where I am, there you may be also.”

 

Revelation 1:8,

“‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who
was and who is to come, the Almighty.’”

 

Revelation 1:17-18,

“I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and
behold, I am alive forevermore.”

 

And what should be our response to this wonderful and glorious truth?

 

Revelation 4:11,

“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor
and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they
existed, and were created,”

 

Revelation 5:12-13,

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and
wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. And every
created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth
and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, ‘To Him who
sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory
and dominion forever and ever.’”

 

 

 

                                   Pastor Mike Hale

Bible Text: Luke 5:27-39 | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale | Series: book study of Luke, Luke | Above is the
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July 10, 2022
“Jesus Came to Save Repentant Sinners”
Luke 5:27-39

 

Read Luke 5:27-29…
27 After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow Me.”

28 And he left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him.

29 And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a great crowd of tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them.

 

Jesus says to Levi [“united” or “joined,” the original Levi was the son of Jacob and Leah, from whom came the Levites or Priesthood]; he is also called Levi in

Mark 2:14 [Levi son of Alphaeus].

 

Jesus says to him, “Follow me” and he leaves the tax collector’s booth and everything behind.  We know Levi better as Matthew, the name the Lord gave him, perhaps to separate him from his old life [Matthew 9:9, “Matthew” means, gift of God].  Matthew was a tax collector, despised by the Jews as a traitor.

 

(Matthew 9:9).

9 As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.

 

When Jesus called him, he obeyed; in fact, Matthew was so excited to follow Christ that he (cf. Luke 5:29) held a special dinner at his house and invited his friends to come and meet Jesus.  Perhaps this was a farewell dinner, for Levi, now Matthew would be leaving his job in order to follow Jesus.

 

There were many tax collectors and “other people” at this dinner.  In Luke 5:30, the Pharisees and scribers were grumbling at Jesus’ disciples, “Why does your teacher [Jesus] eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”  So, we learn that the “other people” in verse 29 are “sinners”.

 

The word “sinner” is used by the Pharisees of people who refuse to follow the Mosaic Law as it is interpreted by the Pharisees, and for Jesus to sit at a table (in the ancient world a sign of intimacy) with such “sinners” was too much for the Pharisees (the teachers of the law) to keep quiet about.

 

Jesus responds (Luke 5:31-32) to the very heart of why He has come, “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners.

In Matthew 9:13, concerning this same event, Matthew adds Jesus’ words, “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

 

The self-righteous Pharisees were unwilling to admit their need for forgiveness

 

John 5:39-40,

39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;

40 and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.

 

Jesus came to save all who genuinely acknowledge their need for the Savior, for everyone is alienated from life with God because of sin (cf. Romans 3:23; 6:23)!

 

What separates Christ’s teaching from the Judaism taught by the Pharisees is the alarming doctrine that God saves sinners as sinners, not after they attain some level of righteousness or acceptance by religiously keeping the law and/or traditions of men (cf.Romans 5:8).

 

When Jesus said to Matthew, “follow me,” there wasn’t any hesitation; in fact, Matthew brought all his sinning friends together for a special dinner, so that they could be exposed to the Savior who had come not to the healthy, but to the sick; not to the righteous, but to sinners.

 

Is there anyone who is not a sinner?  NO!

 

Romans 3:10-12,

10 as it is written,

“THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;

11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,

THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;

12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;

THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,

THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

 

In other words, there is no one who is considered righteous by God, apart from the salvation that comes to those who repent and believe in Jesus Christ.

 

Is there anyone who, if they asked God to forgive them, He would turn away? NO!

 

(Acts 2:21;

21 ‘AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’

 

Romans 10:13).

13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

 

quoted from Joel 2:32, c. 500 B.C.).

 

We are all sinners, but only those who come to God through Christ have their sins forgiven; all sins, past, present, and future.

 

Jesus (cf. John 14:6) is the only way to, the only truth from, and the only life with, God; when we repent of our sins, we receive forgiveness, being granted eternal life, as a child in the family of God!

 

If you know you are a sinner, and you want to be right with God, there is indeed hope for you, because Jesus came to save repentant sinners.  However, the only way to be healed of sin’s penalty is to personally call upon Jesus Christ, by faith, repenting of your sins, believing in and trusting Him to save you.

 

Jesus came that we might be saved and called by His name [Christians = adherents of Christ; those who believe in and follow].  As Christians, our purpose is to bring other sinners, like yourself, to the Savior, where they might repent and believe in God’s Son for the forgiveness of their sins and eternal life.

 

Matthew 28:18-20,

18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

 

Read Luke 5:33-35… 

33 And they said to Him, “The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers, the disciples of the Pharisees also do the same, but Yours eat and drink.”

34 And Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you?

35 But the days will come; and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.”

 

The Pharisees fasted twice a week, with false humiliation and contrition, not that it impressed God’s Son, as His words express:

 

Matthew 6:16-18,

16 “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face

18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

 

The Pharisees were the greatest of hypocrites.

Jesus confronted them

 

(Matthew 23:25-28),

25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.

26 You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.

28 So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

 

 

Luke 18:9-14,

9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:

10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

11 The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

12 I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’

13 But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’

14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

 

The OT Law, given through Moses, only required religious fasting one day of the year, on the Day of Atonement.  The NT does not teach fasting for religious purposes as a doctrine to be followed or an act to be practiced.

 

Although Jesus doesn’t state any disapproval of the practice of fasting, neither does He say anything to commend its practice.  The main point here being the true reason for fasting.  The Pharisees fasted religiously, to be showy and bring attention to themselves, for all to see; However, John’s disciples (Luke 5:33) were fasting as they mourned John’s arrest, imprisonment, and subsequent execution.

 

Fasting for the purpose of seeking God’s will is definitely recorded in the Scriptures

 

(Acts 13:2-3),

2 While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

3 Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

 

(Acts 14:23),

23 When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

 

Jesus changes the subject (cf. Luke 5:34) but continues to rebuke the Pharisees likens Himself to a bridegroom and His followers to that of the attendants or guests of the bridegroom, at a wedding party.  Why would the guests [His disciples] be mourning, when in fact it should be a time of celebration.

 

The Pharisees had let their religion get in the way of receiving God’s blessings through Christ.  The Pharisees practiced ritual without reason; for them, everything was a matter of law keeping and rule following, they lived for the letter of the Law, unable to comprehend the Spirit of the Law, because they didn’t believe Jesus was God.

 

Read Luke 5:36-38…

36 And He was also telling them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.

37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined.

38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.

 

The old covenant (Law) and the new covenant (Grace) can’t be combined or merged: i.e., a patch of new cloth must be shrunk before use, so that it won’t shrink and tear away from the old garment; likewise, new wine can’t be placed in old wineskins, for it will ferment, expand, and cause the skins to burst.

 

Jesus is talking about much more than repairing garments and bursting wineskins.  He is teaching about the difference between the gift of Grace He brought and the burden of the Law taught by the Pharisees.

 

New wine must be poured into new wineskins, i.e., Christ’s teachings on Grace must be placed in new hearts and minds in order to be accepted.  Unsaved hearts and minds cannot contain the truth.  Jesus uses the metaphor of a new patch being sewn on an old garment, and of new wine being poured into old wineskins, to illustrate how any attempt at a relationship with God apart from the Gospel [to repent, believe, and follow Christ] will leave your heart, mind, and soul torn and empty, instead of healed, and filled with life from God.

 

Read Luke 5:39…

39 And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, ‘The old is good enough.’”

 

The Pharisees’ hearts were hardened by their own ritualistic observance of manmade religious law (diet, dress, behavior, rituals of worship, etc.) that was expressed in every aspect of Jewish life.

 

Jesus came offering for anyone and everyone to become a child of God

(Mark 1:15, 17) to repent of sin, believe in Him, and be saved; for salvation cannot be attained through ancestral heritage, works, law-keeping, rituals, sacrifices, or religion.

 

(Mark 1:15,

15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

 

Mark 1:17)

17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

 

Jesus fulfilled all of the requirements of the Law, all the teachings of the Prophets; God’s plan, purpose, and provision was made complete in Him.

 

It is belief in Jesus Christ alone that brings salvation

 

(Ephesians 2:8-10),

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

 

The proof of salvation is displayed through a new life in Christ

(cf. 2Corinthians 5:17).

 

The Pharisees were comfortable with Judaism’s religious adherence to the Law, so they rejected Christ’s authority and His offer of forgiveness by God’s grace through faith in God’s Son.  Don’t be like them!  We are all sinners, but only sinners who repent and believe in Jesus Christ to forgive their sins, will be saved.

 

1John 5:11-13,

11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

 

 

 
Pastor Mike
>‘(((><
 

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July 3, 2022
“America Began as a Nation Under God”

On July 4, 1776, the final wording for the Declaration of Independence was agreed upon, but not until August 2 was it signed by a group of fifty-six courageous men, sometimes referred to as our “founding fathers”.  The closing words of that document read, “With a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”

 

These men counted the cost of freedom and liberty: Five were captured and tortured to death. Twelve had their homes robbed, occupied and then burned to the ground. Nine died in the war. Two lost their sons in the war.

 

The founding fathers of America were guided and strengthened by Biblical principles and precepts, for example:

 

In 1787, when representatives from the thirteen colonies met in Philadelphia to write the Constitution of the United States, Benjamin Franklin, 81 years of age, addressed the convention: “I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: that God governs in the affairs of man.  And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?  We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build a house, they labor in vain that build it.  I firmly believe this.  I, therefore, beg leave to move that, henceforth, prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven and its blessing on our deliberation be held in this assembly every morning.”

 

In 1789, President George Washington addressed Congress, saying: “No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency. We ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of heaven cannot be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which heaven itself has ordained.”

 

In 1816, John Jay, Chief Justice of U.S. Supreme Court declared: “Providence has given our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, privilege, and interest of a Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”

    

In 1828, Noah Webster, in the preface to The American Dictionary of the English Language, wrote: “In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government, ought to be instructed…No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.”

 

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln set aside April 30, as a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer: “It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.”

    

Woodrow Wilson (President 1913-1921) said: “When you have read the Bible, you know it is the word of God, because it is the key to your heart, your own happiness and your own duty.”  President Wilson read his Bible every day, meditated on what he read, and sought to obey the teachings of the Scripture.

 

Did you know the Pledge of Allegiance was written in August 1892 by a socialist minister, Francis Bellamy.  In its original form it read: “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”  It was meant to be used by any citizen of any country.

 

In 1923, the words, “the Flag of the United States of America” were added, so that it read: “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

 

In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower addressed Congress saying, “Without God there could be no American form of government, nor an American way of life.  Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first–the most basic–expression of Americanism. Thus, the founding fathers of America saw it, and thus with God’s help, it will continue to be.”  He then exhorted Congress to add the words “under God,” to the Pledge of Allegiance, to which they did, so that it would remain as we say it today: “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

 

America’s greatness parallels her acknowledgement, application, and adherence to certain basic principles of the Christian Faith.  The philosophy and practice of our founding fathers was guided by Biblical principles, here are five of those principles:

 

Heterosexual monogamous marriages and traditional families…
God ordained that the covenant of marriage should be between one man and one woman (cf. Genesis 2:22-24). This couple is to be committed to God and to each other (cf. Ephesians 5:21-33), for the purpose of raising children (cf. Genesis 4:1-2a) in accordance with the principles and precepts revealed in God’s Word (cf. Ephesians 6:1-3)

 

Divergent family forms such as common law marriages, same-sex unions, polygamy, and  the notion that it takes a village to raise a child, are an abomination to God and a detriment to society.

 

Dignity of human life… All human life is sacred, and life begins at conception (Psalm 139:13-16); therefore, the Bible forbids murder and considers abortion to be a capitol crime deserving a death sentence (cf. Genesis 9:6; Exodus 21:12, 22-25; Leviticus 24:17; Matthew 5:21).

 

Common decency… Common decency begins with the covering of the human body parts that are associated with specific male or female sexuality, as was exemplified in the story of Creation (cf. Genesis 2:25; 3:7-11, 21-24), when God covered Adam and Eve’s nakedness with animal hide.

 

The loss of innocence, the lack of morality, and the increase in decadence, is clearly being exhibited in America today: Pornography is a multi-billion dollar business; our news stands, television shows, theaters, and internet are filled with vulgarity, profanity, nudity, and obscenity.

 

Work ethic… The Bible says a man must earn his food and keep by the work of his hands and the sweat of his brow (cf. Genesis 3:17-19).  It also tells us that even life’s most mundane tasks and simplest pleasures can bring great joy and fulfillment to a thankful person who is in a right relationship with God (cf. Ecclesiastes 2:22-25).

 

There is a dignity in hard work, but the welfare system in America has stripped that dignity from millions of people

 

(cf. 2Thessalonians 3:6,

 

2Thessalonians 3:10).

 

The free enterprise system in America was meant to encourage ambition, incentive, competition, and hard work; but without God’s blessing no one will find satisfaction.

 

God ordained the Home, the Church, and the State.

The Home is the basic unit of society

 

(Ephesians 5:21-23;

 

Ephesians 6:1)

 

and a society is only as strong as the individual families within that society.

The Church was established, so God’s people might serve Him individually, yet corporately

 

(John 14:15-20;

 

Ephesians 2:19-22);

 

and although the church is under direct attack by Satan, the world system, and all those who reject Christ, the church will succeed in carrying out God’s plan, purpose, and provision in and through Jesus Christ.

The State (civil government) established human, civil government

 

(Romans 13:1;

 

1Peter 2:13-17);

 

therefore, we must pray for our leaders and demonstrate respect for positions of authority placed over us; but, we must obey God’s Word first and foremost.

 

Jesus said (Mark 12:17),

“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s but give to God what is God’s”.

Homes, churches, and governments will cease to sufficiently provide for those within them, when God’s sovereign Word is not acknowledged, applied, and adhered to!  America began as a nation looking to God for protection, purpose, and provision; governed by leaders who recognized and revered God’s authority; but over the past four hundred years, God’s Word in America has become marginalized in our government, mocked in our culture, minimized in the workplace, maligned by public education, and misrepresented by the media,  

 

Future generations will indeed be more hostile toward Christianity than this present one, because we live in a post-Christian America, and we, as Christians, need to turn to God and His Word like never before in the history of America.

 

God’s Word is the sovereign authority in all things Life, Death, Marriage, Family, Culture, Education, Religion, Government, and Eternity; but the truth is, America no longer references, respects, or reveres, God’s Word, for America has ceased to be

One Nation UNDER GOD.

 

2Timothy 3:1-5,

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God–  having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.”

 

2Timothy 3:12-13,

“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”

 

The Constitution of the US was meant to perpetuate a Christian order; America’s founding fathers desired America to be the political expression of Christian ideas, it was never intended that there would be an absence of God in America’s government, because America began as One Nation Under God!

 

Peter Marshall, a Scottish-American Preacher, was twice appointed Chaplain to the US Senate (1947-1949); he died in 1949 at the age of 46. Peter Marshall profoundly understood what was needed if America was to continue as One Nation Under God, “The choice before us is plain, Christ or chaos, conviction or compromise, discipline or disintegration.  I am rather tired of hearing about our rights and privileges as American citizens.  The time is come, it now is, when we ought to hear about the duties and responsibilities of our citizenship.  America’s future depends upon her accepting and demonstrating God’s government.”

 

The majority of America’s government is spiritually deaf, dumb, and blind; and America’s people for the most part, are spiritually deceived and have been taken captive by the the evil one, the father of lies, Satan himself

 

(2Corinthians 4:4, 6),

“The god of this world [who] has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” “For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

 

John 1:1-4, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.” 14, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

 

John 8:12,

Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

 

John 10:10,

“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

 

Although it is very unlikely that America will ever again be One Nation Under God, the truth is, God’s Word tells us that all Christians from every nation, tongue, tribe, and culture, throughout all history (past, present and future), are the Bride of Christ, members of God’s Church, the Family of God; and we are One People Under God

 

(1Peter 2:9), “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that [we] may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called [us] out of darkness into His marvelous light,” indivisible, with liberty and justice for all, through Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior, crucified, resurrected, and coming again.

 

 

 

 
Pastor Mike
>’(((><