Luke 6:17-20
The Gospel of Luke • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction:
-We’re going to begin reading in Luke 6:17 this morning.
It does appear (here) that Luke is continuing to...
…record this series of events:
In chronological order...
And with a thematic connectedness.
To see that, we’ll need to be reminded of...
...what we’ve been looking at the past two weeks.
In short, it was Jesus’ appointment of 12 of his disciples...
…to the apostolic office.
Now, In studying that out, we learned that:
Apostles were authoritative messengers
They would speak:
On the King’s behalf...
With the King’s authority...
And in so doing...
...They would lay down a deposit of truth...
…that would serve as the foundation...
…upon which the King would build His theocratic Kingdom!
Last week, we looked at the particular men whom He had chosen...
…and what the Bible tells us about:
Who they were...
What they brought to the table...
…prior to their being selected.
We were almost forced to conclude...
(after having done that)
…that Christ didn’t choose them...
...because He needed what they had to offer.
We were forced to conclude along with Paul, that:
1 Corinthians 1:27–29 (ESV)
27...God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,
29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
And also:
1 Corinthians 2:5 (ESV)
5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
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And it is this “power of God” that we see...
…being displayed in our opening verses this morning.
And here too, it is a means to an end.
And we see that end coming into clearer focus...
…as this demonstration of divine power...
…testifies to the veracity (truthfulness)...
…of what most would call:
The greatest sermon ever preached!
Let’s read how it all begins:
Luke 6:17–20 (ESV)
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,
18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.
19 And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.
20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
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(5 minutes)
Verse 17:
-If you’ve never studied out this text...
…then it may come as a surprise to you, that...
…that first clause in verse 17...
…is laden with interpretive difficulties.
Look at it with me again:
Luke 6:17 (ESV)
17 And he came down with them and stood on a level place...
Now, you may say:
“I don’t see what’s so difficult about that”
“That’s about a fourth grade reading level”
“It’s easily understood:”
Jesus comes down the mountain with His apostles...
…and comes to a stop on a level place.
What’s so difficult about that, right?
Maybe the Old King James rendering will enlighten a bit:
Luke 6:17 (KJV)
17 And he came down with them, and stood in the plain...
That’s a little different, right?
But still no major exegetical dilemmas.
Well, the difficulties come when we...
…try to harmonize it with:
Matthew 5:1 (ESV)
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
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You see, Both of these introductions are...
...followed by very, very similar sermons.
-So, the apparent difficulties are:
Is this the same event?
If so, did it occur:
On a mountain?
“In the Plain?”
On a level place?
-Let me say at the outset, that:
Solid commentators disagree on this.
It ISN’T a matter of orthodoxy.
The only heretical position to take here...
…is to say:
Well, it’s a contradiction
The Bible contains errors.
Indeed not, brethren!
We must always approach our study of ANY TEXT...
with a believing disposition...
from the starting point of faith!
We must never approach the Scriptures...
…with a sense of arrogant skepticism...
…or wicked unbelief.
The fear of the Lord MUST be foremost.
It MUST always lead the way!
-Why take the time to deal with this?
You’re preaching to the choir, here.
Because it is our duty as elders:
Ephesians 4:12 (ESV)
12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry...
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You need to be aware of issues like this...
…and know how to handle them...
For your own sake!
For the sake of your ministry to others!
-Now, there are two possible scenarios...
…that would easily harmonize these texts.
The first is to say that you have simply:
The same (or a very similar sermon)...
Being preached on separate occasions.
Advocates of this position point to things like:
Issue of the “Mountain/Plain”
The length of the sermons
(Luke’s is much shorter: 1/4th)
And the fact that Luke places it after the calling of the apostles...
…and Matthew doesn’t specify that.
Nothing unorthodox whatsoever about that position!
Preachers often preach similar sermons...
…while making minor additions/subtractions for various reasons.
Jesus was certainly within his rights to do so, too!
Plus, as Pastor David always says:
“This DEFINITELY bears repeating”
As we’ll see in the weeks to come, the content of this sermon...
is golden!
It’s foundational!
What it provides in the way of understanding:
God
His Kingdom...
…is simply irreplaceable!
There would have been no impropriety...
…if He had preached it a thousand times!
-Now, the other (also orthodox) position is that...
…this does refer to the same event.
Proponents of this position, explain the apparent differences by pointing out that:
1.) in the original, Luke doesn’t actually say that Jesus…
…came down from the mountain...
...”and stood in the plain”...
(as though an entirely new location is in view)
...but rather, that:
Luke 6:17 (ESV)
17...he came down with them and stood on a level place...
literally:
“upon a place of level”
This commentary explains:
Luke’s “level place” (Gk pedinos) can refer to a flat spot in the mountains and is so taken in this latter view. - Apologetics Study Bible
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So, in other words...
Jesus isn’t leaving the mountain outright...
He’s descending to a place that was:
Open enough,
Level enough...
…to facilitate his receiving of that larger group of followers.
Advocates of this position explain the differences in length...
…by recognizing that Luke gave only a summary of it...
…and that gospel writers were often inspired to record...
...different aspects of the same events...
…with different audiences in mind.
Some surmise here that Luke omits much of what is...
…of primarily Jewish concern...
…for his gentile audience (Theophilus).
-They also point to the:
relative similarities of the introductory statements...
(we’ll look at those in a moment)
The fact that both follow it with the...
…healing of the centurion’s servant...
...And, of course, the obvious similarities in the content of the sermons.
-Now, these details are important!
You need to be aware of them.
But, as Sproul reminds us:
Whatever the occasion, wherever the setting, the most important thing for us is the content of the message. - R.C. Sproul
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-Now, before we get to the content (proper)...
…let’s explore the context it was given in...
…a little more deeply.
(9 minutes, 15 total)
If this is the same event, then Matthew sets the scene like this:
He doesn’t place it within a particular sequence of events, per se...
Rather, he simply places it within the broader context...
…of Jesus’ Great Galilean Ministry.
He summarized:
Matthew 4:23–5:1 (ESV)
23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.
24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them.
25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
Matthew 5:2 (ESV)
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them...
-Luke, if you’ll remember, gave more details...
…about why Jesus had left the crowds...
…and gone up on the mountain.
It was to get alone… and pray...
…over the selection of His apostles.
Apart from this additional detail...
…the two settings are very similar.
Matthew had said:
Matthew 5:1 (ESV)
1...when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
Luke tells us:
Luke 6:17 (ESV)
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,
Notice that Luke makes specific mention of those gentile regions of:
Tyre and Sidon!
The point in the two narratives appears to be the same:
Jesus was immensely popular at this point...
…and had a vast and diverse following:
Some following Him as their Rabbi
Some in order to get healed
Some (perhaps) out of simple curiosity.
We see those first two motivations...
…explicitly stated in verse 18:
Luke 6:18 (ESV)
18 ...came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.
(root of our English word: Therapy)
(imperfect tense: “being cured”)
Indicating something of an ongoing process.
The verbs in verse 19 are in the same tense:
The NASB better captures the sense of the original:
Luke 6:19 (NASB95)
19 And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all.
-Now, what do these miracles have to do with the Sermon on the Mount?
Why does Luke record them here (yet again)?
(He’s already told us such things before)
Well, I found a...
surprisingly old
surprisingly good (for the time)...
…quote from Cyril of Alexandria (4th-5th century)...
…that explains it beautifully.
He wrote:
When he had appointed the holy apostles, he performed very many wonderful miracles, rebuking demons, delivering from incurable diseases whoever drew near to him, and displaying his own most divine power.
He did these works so that both the Jews, who had run together to him, and those from the country of the Greeks might know that Christ was not some ordinary man of those in our degree but, on the contrary, God.
He was the Word that was made man but retained nevertheless his own glory. “For power went forth from him and healed all.”
Christ did not borrow strength from some other person, but being himself God by nature, even though he had become flesh, he healed them all, by the demonstration of power over the sick. COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 25.1
Lange adds the application of this principle:
The might of deed must support the might of the word. So is the faith of the just-chosen ones strengthened and the people prepared for hearing. - Lange’s Commentary
In a very real sense, this was a preemptive attestation...
…of the message that was soon to follow.
Peter would later say at Pentecost, that Jesus was:
Acts 2:22 (ESV)
22 ...a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—
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(8 minutes, 23 total)
You see, this is How verses 17-19 serve as a transition...
…from the appointing of the Twelve...
(Who were to lay the foundation for Christ’s Kingdom)
…to the actual giving of the instruction that would serve as the basis for it.
What that means is...
…that we should understand the overarching theme of the S.O.M...
…to be The Kingdom of God!
-Certainly this was the way Matthew had built up to it too:
In Chapter 4:17 he described the launch of Jesus’ public ministry this way:
Matthew 4:17 (ESV)
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Then, as we read before, he said that:
Matthew 4:23 (NASB95)
23 Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.
It shouldn’t surprise us, then, that this is the very first thing He speaks to.
Luke 6:20 (ESV)
20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples...
He’s narrowing his focus to his religious followers.
The very first thing He tells them about the Kingdom of God is...
Who its citizens/subjects will be!
He says:
Luke 6:20 (ESV)
20 . . .“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
What?!?
Is this the same Messianic Kingdom that we saw before?
The one that was foretold in Daniel 7?
Daniel 7:14 (ESV)
14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
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Yep! The very same one!
How could that be?
How could that omnipotent Kingdom be filled with the impoverished?
(More on this first beatitude next week)...
but, let me give you a teaser now:
The poverty (just like the Kingdom)...
…isn’t primarily physical.
It’s spiritual!
Matthew’s account specifies that:
Matthew 5:3 (ESV)
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Notice also:
Kingdom of God/Kingdom of Heaven used synonymously
They’re the same thing
Only one true theocratic kingdom!
But… What does this mean?
What is spiritual poverty?
Well, Isaiah 66 helps us to understand:
What it is
Why it is that it is requisite for citizenship in God’s Kingdom
Isaiah 66:1–2 (ESV)
1 Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?
2 All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.
That is what spiritual poverty looks like.
That’s the heart in which God “rests,” rules, and reigns!
Isaiah 57:15 (ESV)
15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
James puts it this way:
James 4:10 (ESV)
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
How do you do that?
You agree with His decree about who you are apart from His grace:
Romans 3:9–10 (ESV)
9…all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin,
10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;
Romans 3:23 (ESV)
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
What next?
You respond appropriately:
You mourn
You grieve...
…over the fact of your sinful condition.
Here’s why:
2 Corinthians 7:10 (ESV)
10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
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And please understand that this is all predicated upon faith!
-You agree with God’s diagnosis of your sinful condition...
By Faith!
-You mourn over your plight...
Only because you believe it to be true!
Again, faith!
You turn from:
All other pleasures
All other masters
Any other hope of righteousness...
BY FAITH!
(What you believe to be true...
…will determine how you respond).
The one upon whom God has poured out His grace...
…will (as a consequence of it):
Confess God’s standards of sin and righteousness
Recognize their inability to fulfill that standard on their own
Will recognize Christ to be the only possibility of achieving that righteousness
Will trust in:
The life He lived in obedience to God
The death He died as payment for sin...
…As their only hope!
And they’ll come to him...
…crawling if necessary...
Beating their breasts...
Kissing the Son...
Prostrating themselves before Him...
In humble, but hopeful submission.
-That is what spiritual poverty looks like.
-These are the ones whom God will exalt.
-Thus will be the nature of those who constitute:
The Kingdom of God...
...That kingdom which started out like a mustard seed...
…yet is sure to become the largest tree in the whole cosmos.
-Will you implore his grace today?
Will you entreat his help?
Will you ask him to:
give you eyes to see (faith)?
give you the want to, where it’s lacking?
I pray that you will...
And that He will lift you out of spiritual poverty...
…and lavish the riches of his grace upon you
Let’s pray
(11 minutes, 34 total)