Luke 6- Andy's thoughts

I am amazed at how good of a speaker Jesus is. His rhetorical powers are astounding. As Steve pointed out, he out “lawyers” the lawyers. And they knew it too. All through this chapter Jesus is rewriting the rules that people had set up in order to justify themselves. He shows them that their rules regarding the Sabbath were so tightly constructed that those rules had ruled out God.

I think that there is an ever present danger to all of us who set out to study and understand the Bible better. It will be so easy for us to try to construct a system for understanding God that we don’t leave room for mystery and uncertainty. To trust in God and to believe in His Word does not imply that we will have an absolute answer for every question. I think that the imagery that Jesus used in the end of chapter 6 about the new wine requiring new cloth is being played out in these scenes of chapter 7.

Looking back it seems so obvious that it is right to do good on the Sabbath. Yet these teachers of the Law thought they had God so figured out that they had become blinded to such obvious truths. At first, I am astonished at the wild rage that fills them when they see the kindness of God displayed. After further thought, I wonder if I would have done the same. So as a caution to us all as we read on- it will be wonderful for us to have our eyes opened to understanding God better, but at the same time- let us take caution to guard against a pride that leads us to think that we will have it all figured out.

Kim, I also really like Yancy’s books. The Jesus I Never Knew and What’s So Amazing About Grace have spoken a lot to me about who Jesus really was. The beatitudes listed here show the contrast between the goals we might set up for ourselves and the goals that we ought to have. Who would go to college with the mindset that it is good to be poor and hungry and that it is good to weep? From our earliest years we are taught to “succeed.” Yet Jesus rewrites what true success is.

What is most striking about this section is Jesus’ call to radical love. “Love your enemies.” I know that in church settings we hear this often, but how often do I put this into practice? I not only think about “bumper sticker theology” with phrases like “God bless America” and how small minded that is; I think about how many of my prayers would be something like “God bless me.”

I don’t believe that it is wrong to seek God’s blessing for our nation or for ourselves. I do think that it is wrong to seek God’s blessing at the expense of others. If my desire for God to bless America includes the death of non-Americans- I would completely fail to obey what Jesus so plainly teaches here. And the same is true on a personal level.

Understanding what Jesus is very important. Yet even more important is to put that into practice. That is the point of the end of this chapter. So perhaps it would be good to have a few ideas and questions for application.

Application-
*Who is God calling us to love?
*What is a concrete way that we can show love to that person this week?
*How would we define success? What would it mean to be successful in our situation in life?
*Does this success involve a measure of self-sacrifice and service?

If some of you also have thoughts or ideas for application of what we read, please feel free to start adding them to your comments.