Sermon Tone Analysis

*/Luke 6/*

 

*/v.2/*

*…what is not lawful…*

·         The disciples were offending the Pharisees’ hangups

o        There was nothing wrong with what they were doing, according to Deuteronomy 23:25.

*/vv.3-4/*

*David and the showbread*

·         This event: I Samuel 21.

·         Legitimate human need is more important than mere religious ritual

o        Hosea tells us: “For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”

[Hosea 6:6]

o        /{{Isaiah 58:1-12}}/

·         That’s one of the biggest problems with religion, though; for the religious, */what/* someone’s doing is vastly more important than */how/* they’re doing or */where/* they’re at

o        But with God, */how/* you’re doing is a deeper concern than */what/* you’re doing.

·         Now, all that being said, I need to point out that this only applies to /legitimate/ human need – sin is still sin.

o        It’s never justifiable to murder someone.

o        It’s never justifiable to sleep around and cheat on your wife

o        It’s never justifiable to lie and cheat and steal

o        It’s never justifiable to turn your back on God

·         */Legitimate/* human need is more important than mere religious principle – */legitimate/* human need.

*/v.7/*

*…the scribes and the Pharisees watched Him closely…*

·         The religious leaders watched Jesus closely, but with no heart of love for Him.

We can watch Jesus, but still be far from our hearts from Him.

o        What is more, they knew Jesus would do something when He saw this man in need.

In this sense, /the Pharisees had more faith than many of us/, because we often doubt Jesus’ desire to meet the needs of others.

*/v.10/*

*Stretch out your hand.*

·         An impossible request; the man’s hand was */withered/*.

Muscles atrophied, nerve endings probably long dead, bones likely brittle.

o        But Jesus requested him to trust that He would do for him what he couldn’t do for himself, if he would step out in faith and do what he /could/ do

§         And in this case, all he could do was */want/* to want to obey.

*/v.11/*

*…they were filled with rage…*

·         Sooooooo…it’s okay to be murderously furious against someone who went around doing good for people, but it’s */bad/* to actually go around doing good for people…

o        That’s the insanity of religion.

*/v.12/*

*Prayer for the selection of the Apostles*

·         In a very real sense, the selection of the Twelve Apostles was one of the most important and long-reaching decisions that Jesus would make during the three years of His public ministry before the cross

o        The twelve men He was about to select would follow Him, catch His vision, carry on His work, and without them the message of what He was about to do for mankind would never extend beyond the borders of Judea to the rest of the world.

§         And so He, the perfect Son of God, spends all night in prayer

·         Now, that being said, when we read the next few verses and learn about the men He chose for this all-important calling, we can only come to one of two very, very different conclusions:

o        Either He blew the prayer, or

o        the Father led Jesus to choose these specific men.

*/vv.13-16/*

*the twelve*

·         Now */this/* is an interesting, wacked-out group of guys.

o        On the one hand, you have a pro-Roman tax collector (Matthew Levi), and on the other, an anti-Rome Zealot (Simon)

o        On the one hand, you have the Apostle Jesus loved (John), and on the other hand, you have the Apostle who would betray Him (Judas)

·         Someone once asked a wise man why Jesus chose Judas Iscariot as a disciple.

The wise man replied, “I don’t know.

But I have an even harder question: why did Jesus choose */me/*…?”

 

*Memo*

To:  Jesus, Son of Joseph, Woodcrafter's Shop, Nazareth

From:  Jordan Management Consultants, Jerusalem

Subject:  Staff Aptitude Evaluation

 

Thank you for submitting the resumes of the 12 men you have picked for management positions in your new organization.

All of them have now taken our battery of tests, and we have not only run the results through our computer but also have arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant.

It is the opinion of the staff that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education, and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking.

They do not have the team concept.

We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability.

Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper.

Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership.

The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty.

Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale.

We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau.

James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus definitely have radical leanings, and they both register a high score on the manic depressive scale.

One of the candidates, however, shows great potential.

He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind and has contacts in high places.

He is highly motivated, ambitious and innovative.

We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man.

All other profiles are self-explanatory.

We wish you every success in your new venture.

·         [I Cor.

1] But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty

o        Jesus chose these twelve men specifically because they were the least qualified for the mission, so that the whole world would know, when they against all odds wind up turning the Roman Empire on its head, that it had to be God.

·         Jesus still chooses unqualified people, cracked pots, just like you & me, today.

·         And I think that part of why Jesus chose these twelve specifically, is because they represent the kind of people Jesus always chooses – they represent you & me.

o        The Apostles were conflicted, with divided loyalties – the tax collector and the zealot

§         We (*/I/*) are often conflicted, with divided loyalties.

o        They loved Him, and yet they had within their own number the capacity to betray Him in the worst of possible ways

§         We (*/I/*) love Him, but there is a constant war in my flesh that would betray Him at the first possible opportunity.

o        They were mostly clueless, often blew it, usually made a real mess of things that Jesus then had to fix

§         …the parallel with us (with */me/*) is all too painfully clear…

o        And the Apostles, messed up as they were, spent time with Jesus

§         The betrayer was dealt with

§         The love of the Apostles for Jesus grew, and though they were weak and inconsistent, He still loved them and entrusted the keys of the Kingdom to them, and never gave up on them, and baptized them with His Holy Spirit – and used them */powerfully/*, then received them up to glory.

·         All by grace.

*/All/* by grace.

·         What a mighty God we serve!

*/vv.20-49/*

*the Sermon on the Mount*

·         Just like it can be said that the Ten Commandments are the summary of the entire Law of God in the OT, the Sermon on the Mount is often regarded as the summary of Jesus’ teaching on Kingdom Living

o        Think of it as a “Manifesto of the Kingdom”

o        Keep in mind – it’s written /to believers/ – to those who will be living in the Kingdom.

§         Specifically, it’s addressed /to disciples/.

o        *[adapted from Guzik]* it’s often referred to as the "‘Agenda of God’s Kingdom."

It’s not about salvation, but lays out for the disciple and the potential disciple how having Jesus as your King translates into how you live every day life.

·         *[Guzik]* It has been said if you took all the good advice for how to live ever uttered by any philosopher or psychiatrist or counselor, took out the foolishness and boiled it all down to the real essentials, you would be left with a poor imitation of this great sermon.

*/v.20/*