Luke 6:17–36
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 coastal region around Tyre and Sidon,
18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure 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 kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when people hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them.30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Familiar, but not Comfortable
Can I make a confession?
I don’t really like the Sermon on the Mount.
Yes, I know it’s the core foundational teaching of Jesus. Yes, I know it outlines what the life of a disciple of Jesus should look like. And yes, I know I’m a pastor and should deeply love these passages as they point us right to the heart of God. But I don’t. Not really.
It’s not that I disagree with what Jesus is saying. It’s just that, if I’m being honest, Jesus makes me uncomfortable with his words in Luke 6. And I don’t like being uncomfortable.
This teaching from Jesus is one of the most well-known pieces of scripture. As followers of Jesus we read it frequently. As pastors we come back to it and teach it constantly. These verses are familiar.
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.”
“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy,
because great is your reward in heaven.”
Luke 6:20-21; 23a
These early verses in the Sermon on the Mount do bring us comfort. When we are struggling financially, when our world is at unrest, when it feels like the cards are stacked against us, these verses let us know that we are going to be okay. There is comfort here. Real, true, and good comfort.
But I think when I become comfortable with the teaching of Jesus, his work in my life loses its potency.
Immediately after this first section of the beatitudes, Jesus turns to a list of woes. These verses serve as a condemnation of the rich, religious elite who leveraged their privilege and power to benefit themselves. Jesus turns their value system upside down and says that this way of life is going to actually bring us harm. He says that the vain, power-hungry, oppressive patterns we fall into will not only harm others but will ruin our souls. This is the point where I start to dislike the Sermon on the Mount.
All those things Jesus describes as the true source of pain for us, are things that I want.
I want to have the financial resources I need to be comfortable and provide for my family.
I want to not have to worry about food scarcity in my own social circle.
I want to laugh and have fun, without experiencing pain and grief.
I want everyone to like me.
But somehow, Jesus turns those things on their head and pities me for wanting them.
I don’t like that.
As he continues in verse 27 through 36, things admittedly don’t get better. Again, his teaching on love for our enemies is a truly foundational teaching for the Christian life. I usually take it as a given that the upside-down way Jesus shows us in these verses are the way I should live. And truthfully, when I read these passages, I do want to. I want to give freely. I want to forgive without hesitation. I want to be kind to people to whom it makes no sense to be kind. But I really don’t know how to do that on my own. And in a way, I don’t know how to want that on my own.
Let’s say, for example, someone stole my child’s bike. From Jesus’ teaching I know I should forgive that person and be okay with the reality that for whatever reason that person needed the bike more than we did in that moment. I want to be gracious and kind and forgiving in my response.
But the tension inside me is that I still want revenge. I want that person to pay for what they did. I want justice for my son who loves his bike. I want financial compensation so I can get a new bike for my kid. I want the police to do a better job patrolling and keeping a lookout for moments like this. I want our local government to do more about crime rates. I want to protect what’s mine. I want to live in that old way of thinking.
All these wants are totally contrary to what Jesus teaches in this passage.
When I look at these familiar verses, I am reminded of my total and entire dependance on Jesus to do this work in me. I simply can’t do it alone.
This teaching of Jesus is difficult. We can’t follow it in our own strength. A while ago my friend Parker Friesen said, “There is incredible power in kindness.” He’s right. It takes incredible power to live out the kindness of Jesus.
We can’t live this radical life of kindness and mercy on our own.
We need his love to empower us to love others.
We need the Holy Spirit to indwell and equip us to pursue reconciliation and forgiveness.
We need to be deeply rooted in the love of our heavenly Father, so his love will flow through us to the world around us.
I’d encourage you to take a moment and read Luke 6:17-36, maybe for the hundredth time. But don’t skim through it with familiarity. Take your time. Sit with these teachings of Jesus and let the weight of them rest heavy on you. Then ask yourself and the Holy Spirit a few questions:
- What part of these teachings resonates the most?
- What verse produced an anxious reaction in my soul?
- How do I try to live these verses out through my own strength?
- Where can I invite the Holy Spirit to empower me further through these verses?
- Who do I need to show mercy and kindness to today?
Author Bio
Owen Scott co-pastors the Dauphin campus of
Prairie Alliance Church with his wife Amanda. They have 3 kids, a cat, and a moderately neurotic dog. Owen enjoys playing card games, spending time with his family in our beautiful national park, and getting said neurotic dog to pull a sled in the winter.
Luke and Acts taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
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