Luke 6

Revolution!

The essence of our Christian faith. At the heart of the gospel is a revolutionary message.

It is revolutionary because of the things Jesus did and who He claimed to be.

This chapter in Luke documents the momentum that Jesus' revolutionary movement began to gain. He had also began to gain opposition from the Jewish leaders. Jesus had been very clear that His message did not fit into their religious patterns.

A revolutionary leader and new King ?

Luke 6:1-11

Jesus' alternative view to the strict Sabbath rules of the Pharisees was that He was the Lord of the Sabbath, and that as the Lord of the Sabbath He was the Messiah. He could pronounce on the Sabbath, correctly interpreting it.

Jesus, by referencing David, was claiming to be King of Israel - a king in waiting who could free people from imprisoning Sabbath rules.

Similarly, Jesus exposes the fallacy of the law by healing the crippled man. If He didn't heal, He would be doing wrong. If He healed, He would break the law.

Bring on the revolution! Jesus'broke the law and healed the man to show that He blesses people with His message, rather than oppressing them with laws.

The Sabbath was always desired to rest in God and free them from the world. Yet the Pharisees had twisted it into a restricting day where people must forbid themselves basic needs to fulfill a rule God had not made.

The successful healing of the man proved that Jesus' claim was correct. The claim that He was the new King and Lord of the Sabbath, and the claim that a new law was in place here. A law of love.

A revolutionary community and new manifesto ?

Luke 6:12-26

As Jesus appointed His disciples, He was replacing the Pharisees as leaders of God's people. A people not just limited to Israel, but the world.

They were no scholars, but an unlikely group of misfits that lead Jesus' revolution. Yet they were all called to be with Jesus and given leadership responsibility.

Today, Jesus still calls the most unlikely people to do His revolutionary work. We do not have to be "anything" enough to answer His call. He uses us as we are. He begins with us in our weakness so that in our work we can be made whole.

The manifesto

After Jesus has chosen His leaders, He proclaims His manifesto (v20).

For Jesus, a blessed (or happy) life is the complete opposite of what the world tells us. Again with the revolution!

Things would change for those who considered themselves "top of the ladder". God's kingdom does not consider worldly success a real gain. Not that being rich or powerful is wrong, but that holds no value when it comes to someone's worth before God. Those who come before God, acknowledging that they are broken and need Him will be blessed.

A revolutionary message: A new law of love

Luke 6:27-49

The revolution in this law is not simply loving your friends: it is loving your enemies and doing good to them.

I think that out of all these things Jesus has said, this is the most revolutionary to us at a personal level. That we love everyone as children of God, even those we consider enemies.

Why? Why do good to these people?

Because that is exactly how God has loved us and acted towards us. We are enemies of Him through sin. We may as well have driven the nails into Jesus' arms on the cross, yet God loves us and Jesus died for us. That is why we do the same for everyone we meet, friend or enemy. We do this out of gratitude to Him for all His gracious goodness to us.

Do you love your enemies? Here lies a real test of faith in Jesus. Not do we do the church, the praying, the reading. It's what is your attitude to people? Do you forgive and give? God cares less about our religion and daily works and more about the love in our hearts for our fellow humans.

Jesus' two tests ??

Jesus uses two parables to test if we really are part of this revolution.

The fruit test is to check if our heart is good by looking at it's fruit - what it produces. If we produce good things, we have a good and faithful heart.

The test of the house shows we must build our life on Jesus as a foundation, and to prepare for storms. If we have secure foundations, we are secure in Jesus' revolution.