The Rev. Dr. Robert Hurst, Pastor

The Rev. John Barber, Minister of Music

Bible Study for Jan 3, 6 & 9
To Be Used In Worship Jan 16

Luke 6:12-36
Choosing Disciples & the Toughest Sermon

Luke 6: 12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God.
        13 And when it was day, he called his disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles;
        14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew,
        15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot,
        16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
        17 And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases;
        18 and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.
        19 And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came forth from him and healed them all.
        20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
        21 "Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. "Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh.
        22 "Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man!
        23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
        24 "But woe to you that are rich, for you have received your consolation.
        25 "Woe to you that are full now, for you shall hunger. "Woe to you that laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
        26 "Woe to you, when all men speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.
        27 "But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
        28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
        29 To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.
        30 Give to every one who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again.
        31 And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.
        32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
        33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
        34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
        35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish.
        36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

 

COMMENTARY

        This scripture passage begins with the calling of the twelve disciples. Before making his selection Luke reported, Jesus prayed alone at night. The gospel of Luke mentions Jesus praying alone at least five times. Like Matthew and Mark, Luke designated the twelve as apostles so as to distinguish them from the larger group of “disciples.” Apostle was a term adapted from the Greek meaning one who is sent as in an ambassador. Matthew used “apostle” once and Mark only twice. Luke used the term in his gospel 6 times and in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles 33 times. Like the other synoptic gospels Luke names Peter first in his list and Judas Iscariot last. There are some differences between the lists of apostles reflecting the concerns of the authors.

        Verse 19 suggests that literally some kind of spiritual power radiated from the person of Jesus. Neither Matthew or John have a parallel to verse 19, but Mark 5:30 and the parallel passage in Luke 8:46 both communicate a similar concept to verse 19.

        After Jesus chose the apostles Luke presented his version of the “Sermon on the Mount,” although we should take note that Luke’s version occurred “on a level place.” Luke’s version of Jesus’ words was very much more difficult than Matthew’s version. Matthew’s beatitudes “spiritualized” the teaching of Jesus. Luke’s hard hitting words were very concrete and uncompromising: "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” In addition to Jesus siding with the poor in Luke’s version of the beatitudes, Jesus is presented as being over against the rich: "But woe to you that are rich, for you have received your consolation.”

        In addition to very concrete blessings of the poor, hungry and persecuted, and very specific woes for the rich, well fed and adulated, Jesus presented an uncompromising doctrine of the love of enemies, even including “turning the other cheek” and “walking the second mile.” Verses 27 to 35 set Jesus’ message apart from the other teachers of rabbinic Judaism. Ghandi adopted this message of Jesus and turned it into a powerful non-violent movement that won freedom for India. Martin Luther King adapted Ghandi’s insight into the message of Jesus to the civil rights movement in the United States. And Nelson Mandela and Bishop Tutu successfully applied these principles in freeing South Africa from the tyranny of apartheid. Some would claim that the fall of communism in Eastern Europe was also inspired by the non-violent love of enemy advocated by Jesus. While many people label the admonitions of Jesus in this passage impractical, it would appear that the principles of non-violent direct action have been successfully applied several times in modern history, perhaps most recently in Ukraine.

        The doctrine of non-violent direct action is not a meek and mild form of confrontation. In fact the admonition to “turn the other cheek,” was a rather “in your face gesture.” In the ancient world, when a social superior struck a social inferior, he did so using the back of his hand. Using the front of the hand was reserved for offering insult, when striking a social equal. If a Roman back handed some poor Jew, and the Jew turned his other cheek, he was forcing the Roman to use the front of his hand, rather than the back of his hand in order to strike him again. Thus, by turning the other cheek the Jew was saying, I am your equal. Time and again during the Indian freedom movement, during the America Civil Rights Movement, during the struggle with apartheid, the oppressed established moral superiority in relationship to their oppressors by being willing to suffer the violence of their oppressors without striking back. The message of Jesus as presented by Luke is radical and practical.