Following Jesus In Our Relationships I - Luke 6:1-11
Text (Luke 6:12-49)
" 12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: 14 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. 17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all. 20 Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the
Introduction
Suggestions for sermon topics during July included several questions about relationships. I preached on both husbands and wives. Today, I want to talk more broadly about principles that apply to all of life’s relationships.
This section of Luke’s Gospel opens with Jesus formally establishing His closest and most intimate relationships. It shows us how important relationships were in the life of Jesus.
He could not become what the Father intended Him to be or do what the Father had called Him to do without coming into relationship with the right people and walking in right relationship with those people!
As I follow Jesus, He brings me into relationships with people who will help me become like Him and with people that He wants me to help to become like Him! (People I need and people that need me.)
· Jesus wants to help us choose our closest relationships (based on the promptings of the Holy Spirit). (“Show me your friends and I will show you your future…!)
· Jesus wants to help us prioritize our most important relationships. (“If you do not love me more than fathers, mothers, sisters, and brothers, you have no part in me.” Jesus did not say that we should not love our relatives at all, rather, He was saying that we must love Him more.
"34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn “ ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— 36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 37 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." (Matthew 10:34-39, NIV)
Why? Because sometimes our family will not want to follow God as much as we do and we must be willing to follow Him even if no one else around us does. (NOTE: This does not mean that a converted husband or wife can or should abandon the unconverted husband or wife…!)
"10 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. 11 But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife. 12 To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. 16 How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?" (1 Corinthians 7:10-16, NIV)
· Jesus wants to help us nourish and maintain the relationships in our life.
This does not mean that we will always experience what we want or hope for in relationships. Even Jesus did not always experience success in every relationship (His commitment to God did not violate or override the other person’s free choice, i.e., Peter’s failure, Judas’s betrayal, etc.) But, applying God’s principles to our relationships means that God’s purposes will be accomplished in our relationships and that we will experience God’s blessings and help in our relationships.
Even godly relationships involve risk. (Jesus took risks on relationships with people others were unwilling to take a chance on. Woman at the well, Mary Magdalene, etc.)
Jesus experienced disappointment and unmet needs in His relationships (“My soul is exceedingly sorrowful even unto death. Will you not watch with me one hour?” and “Will you also go away?”)
God-given relationships are not just about you (what you can receive), they are also about others (what you can give.) As I follow Jesus, He brings me into relationship with people I can help to become like Him. Through His relationships, Jesus impacted others and through those others, He impacted the world.
Other than our walk with Christ, there is perhaps nothing that will more impact your ability to live a healthy, meaningful life like your ability to walk in right relationship with other people.
People who have good relational skills and limited professional skills succeed far beyond people who have good professional skills and poor relational skills.
You may experience some level of success based on talent alone, but not matter how high you rise in your field of endeavor, you can always rise higher with good relational skills.
As we follow Him, He will transform the way that we approach relationships, He will change what we expect out of relationships, and He will help redeem the failure we may have experienced in relationships…! He will teach us to enter into relationships with open minds, open hearts, and open hands.
Let’s walk through this passage together…
1. Godly relationship are providential not accidental. (vs. 12-15)
Jesus chose His apostles after spending the night in prayer. These extremely important relationships were God-given, not man-made. The disciples chose Him, but He chose the apostles…!
· Terry Phillip’s advice before going to Export – “Choose your friends based on character qualities you see in their lives that you want in your life.”
· “Show me your friends and I will show you your future.
· Never, ever, ever marry someone to change them. It is much more likely that they will change you…!
The right life companion comes through praying, not partying…!
2. Godly relationships prioritize His purposes more than our comfort. (vs. 16-19)
After praying all night long, the Father let Jesus choose a Judas…!
NOTE: This was a God-given relationship with an ungodly individual…!
From a natural point of view, no one would want to have a relationship with a Judas…! No one would ever want to experience rejection and betrayal, but God allowed Jesus to experience this painful relationship so that His purposes could be established in the earth.
Peter said in the Upper Room before Pentecost,
"15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus— 17 he was one of our number and shared in this ministry.” 18 (With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. 19 Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the book of Psalms, “ ‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and, “ ‘May another take his place of leadership.’ 21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”" (Acts 1:15-22, NIV)
Then, preaching on the Day of Pentecost,
"22 “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross." (Acts 2:22-23, NIV)
· Cf: The rich man with the beggar at his door; Paul’s counsel to godly individuals married to ungodly individuals; godly people working for ungodly bosses, etc.
It was not always easy for Jesus to have crowds of needy people chasing after Him…!
· He felt the power going out of Him…ministry took something out of Him…! (Woman with issue of blood.)
3. Godly relationships will always be at odds with an ungodly world. (vs. 20-26)
· His ideas are different than our ideas…!
· Notice He said, “Blessed are the poor, the hungry, those who weep, the hated, the excluded, and the rejected…!”
Life was difficult for the people of that day and there was not much hope their circumstances would be improved. Like people today, many of them thought that happiness came from having great possessions, or holding an exalted position, or enjoying the pleasures and popularity that money can buy. Imagine how surprised they were when they heard Jesus describe happiness in terms just the opposite of what they expected! They discovered that what they needed most was not a change in circumstances but a change in their relationship to God and in their outlook on life.
Jesus was not teaching that poverty, hunger, persecution, and tears were blessings in themselves. If that were true, He would never have done all He did to alleviate the sufferings of others. Rather, Jesus was describing the inner attitudes we must have if we are to experience the blessedness of the Christian life. We should certainly do what we can to help others in a material way (James 2:15–17; 1 John 3:16–18), but we must remember that no amount of “things” can substitute for a personal relationship with God.[1]
H.H. Farmer wrote that “to Jesus the terrible thing about having wrong values in life and pursuing wrong things is not that you are doomed to bitter disappointment, but that you are not; not that you do not achieve what you want, but that you do” (Things Not Seen, Nishbet [London], p. 96). When people are satisfied with the lesser things of life, the good instead of the best, then their successes add up only as failures. These people are spiritually bankrupt and do not realize it. [2]
· The life of Jesus Christ broke some of the laws popular speakers and books lay down about how to get what you want out of relationships. Beware many of these writings, for they are ultimately selfish in their motives and purposes and this is contrary to the life we are called to live in God’s Word as a follower of Jesus!
For instance, Jesus never flattered His subordinates. He never fawned over the powerful. He never glossed over unrepentant sin and He always spoke truth to everyone in perfect love with redemptive, not selfish, motives.
Eleven out of the twelve most important relationships in Jesus’s life turned out so strong that those people literally laid down their lives for Him and His vision…!
Walking out our relationship His way really is better than walking out relationships our way!
Notes
· Judas did not really care about the poor, but he helped himself to some of the money from time to time.
Luke’s “Beatitudes” is quite similar to the “Sermon on the Mount” recorded by Matthew (Matt. 5–7). However, they are located at different times in Jesus’ life chronologically, and Matthew’s account was considerably longer than Luke’s (107 verses in contrast to 30). It is probable that Jesus repeated the essential message of the Sermon on the Mount several times during his ministry. Luke recorded a similar sermon but with more brevity and slightly different language and phraseology. Luke’s use of the phrase “
Jesus came down to “a level place” (NKJV) (“plain,” KJV) on the side of the mountain, and there He preached the apostles’ “ordination sermon.” In his report of what we call “The Sermon on the Mount” (Matt. 5–7), Luke eliminated the “Jewish sections” that would not pertain to his audience of Gentiles. Jesus preached this sermon to the multitudes as well as to His apostles, and its message applies to us today. Nobody is saved by “keeping the Sermon on the Mount,” because salvation comes only through faith in Jesus Christ.
The sermon deals with the disciples’ relationships to possessions (vv. 20–26), people (vv. 27–45), and the Lord (vv. 46–49). In the section on people, Jesus tells us how to get along with our enemies (vv. 27–36) and our brothers (vv. 37–45). You can summarize the sermon in four words: being (vv. 20–26), loving (vv. 27–36), forgiving (vv. 37–45), and obeying (vv. 46–49).[4]
The people who followed Jesus were, for the most part, poor people who lived from hand to mouth, a day at a time. They envied the rich and longed to be like them. The Bible does not teach that poverty is a blessing, for it tells us to take care of the poor and needy, but that poverty need not rob us of blessing. It has well been said that many people know the price of everything but the value of nothing. It is not a sin to be rich, but it is a sin to trust riches and think you are a special person in God’s sight because of[5]
The four striking figures in this section teach us some important lessons about ministry. To begin with, as His disciples, we must be sure that we see clearly enough to guide others in their spiritual walk. While there are blind people who have a keen sense of direction, it is not likely any of them will be hired as airplane pilots or wilderness guides. Jesus was referring primarily to the Pharisees who were leading the people astray (Matt. 15:14; 23:16). If we see ourselves as excellent guides, but do not realize our blindness, we will only lead people into the ditch (see Rom. 2:17–22).
Luke 6:40 reminds us that we cannot lead others where we have not been ourselves, nor can we be all that our Master is. In fact, the more we strive to be like Him, the more we realize how far short we fall. This is a warning against pride, for nothing blinds a person like pride.
Continuing the image of “the eye,” Jesus taught that we must be able to see clearly enough to help our brother see better. It certainly is not wrong to help a brother get a painful speck of dirt out of his eye, provided we can see what we are doing. The crowd must have laughed out loud when Jesus described an “eye doctor” with a plank in his eye, performing surgery on a patient with a speck in his eye!
The emphasis here is on being honest with ourselves and not becoming hypocrites. It is easy to try to help a brother with his faults just so we can cover up our own sins! People who are constantly criticizing others are usually guilty of something worse in their own lives.[6]
6:27-38. Jesus mentioned seven aspects of unconditional love. These actions, not done naturally by human nature, require supernatural enabling—and are thus proof of true righteousness:
(1) Love your enemies.
(2) Do good to those who hate you.
(3) Bless those who curse you.
(4) Pray for those who mistreat you.
(5) Do not retaliate (v. 29a).
(6) Give freely (vv. 29b-30).
(7) Treat others the way you want to be treated (v. 31).
This kind of love marks one off as distinctive (vv. 32-34), and as having the same characteristics as the heavenly Father (v. 35).
Jesus then taught His followers a fundamental principle of the universe—what one sows he will reap (vv. 36-38; cf. Gal. 6:7). Jesus outlined five areas which were proof of the sowing and reaping theme, mentioned so often in Scripture: (1) Mercy will lead to mercy (Luke 6:36). The disciples were exhorted to have the same merciful attitude God displayed toward them.
(2) Judgment will lead to judgment (v. 37a).
(3) Condemnation will lead to condemnation (v. 37b).
(4) Pardon will lead to pardon (v. 37c).
(5) Giving will lead to giving (v. 38). It is simply a fact of life that certain attitudes and actions often reflect back on the individual.[7]
[1]Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, "An Exposition of the New Testament Comprising the Entire 'BE' Series"--Jkt. (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996, c1989), Lk 6:20.
[2]Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, "An Exposition of the New Testament Comprising the Entire 'BE' Series"--Jkt. (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996, c1989), Lk 6:20.
[3]Robert B. Hughes, J. Carl Laney and Robert B. Hughes, Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary, Rev. Ed. of: New Bible Companion. 1990.; Includes Index., The Tyndale reference library (
[4]Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the New Testament (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1997, c1992), 161.
[5]Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the New Testament (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1997, c1992), 161.
[6]Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, "An Exposition of the New Testament Comprising the Entire 'BE' Series"--Jkt. (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996, c1989), Lk 6:20.
[7]John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983-c1985), 2:220.
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