Luke 6:20-26 The Sermon on the Plain Begins
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: July 18, 2018 Luke 6:20-26
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.
(Understanding the Text) First, Jesus heals the people’s physical needs. Then, He pronounces the blessings and cursings. I read that this is a sign of covenant. Is Jesus here making a covenant with His disciples? Then, He gives two related commands: Love your enemies and don’t judge others. After that, He tells them that they will produce the fruit that comes from inside. Finally, He says that obeying Him is their only safety. Obeying Jesus in what? In loving our enemies and not judging others.
Luke says that these words of wisdom and covenant were said specifically to Jesus’ disciples, not the general population. He told them that they might seem to be poor, but in reality they had the kingdom of heaven. Guzik says that the word for poor here is poverty, being totally poor. He applies this to “poor in spirit” based on the Sermon of the Mount, but I wonder if Jesus was not speaking of physical poverty since none of the translations actually say “poor in spirit” here. We may not have money when we follow Jesus, but we have been given the whole kingdom of heaven, so we are very rich. In the beatitudes, Jesus was telling us not to look to our present situation, but to lift our eyes higher to the future. We will have a whole kingdom where we are princes, our bodies will be satisfied with food, and our lives will be full of joy. Jesus was promising His disciples that even though they suffered in this world, God knew and had a reward for them so much greater than any suffering here that the suffering here should be considered a blessing.
Jesus was predicting that His disciples would suffer economically, physically, and socially. They would hunger, cry, be hated, be excluded, and have their reputations suffer because they followed Jesus. Basically, Jesus was warning them that He was calling them for service that would lead to a host of horrible results. Then, He told them to rejoice in those terrible circumstances because this world was not the end result, but rather the beginning that they had to strive through in order to reach the end destination where they would be rich in ways they could not imagine, never hungry in any way, and never sad.
It occurs to me that much of the Christian message is negative in the short term. This world is a horrible place, you’re a terrible sinner, and if you follow Jesus, you’ll have to give up stuff and be persecuted. However, this message attracts people. Why? It can only be because it is truth. This world is horrible and those who don’t know that either have not experienced much yet or they are delusional. When we acknowledge the truth of the ugliness in this world, it’s a relief for those who sensed it but didn’t admit it and a vindication for those who already admitted it. All of us are broken and sense that we are corrupt, so again it’s a relief to admit the secret that we already know. Giving up stuff is a lot easier when you admit how meaningless the stuff was. Being persecuted isn’t fun, but when you know it’s for a greater cause and will not last forever and might lead to something better for someone else, it’s okay, maybe even a triumph. If we weren’t already in a war, the Christian message would be repellent, but since we are, it’s a statement of reality of the present and hope for the future. It provides meaning to the senseless evil, violence, and inanity that surrounds us. Seen in this light the blessings make sense.
Jesus was telling the disciples that they were the new prophets and should expect the same treatment as the old prophets had received. Then, using God’s logic, Jesus told them to be happy when they received that persecution as a result of serving Him because it meant that they had greater rewards in heaven. Jesus tells us to leap for joy when we are hurt for His sake. This was why Paul and Silas were singing in prison.
Then, Jesus seems to be looking past His disciples to the Pharisees and scribes that seemed to constantly follow Him watching everything He did without having their hearts opened by what they saw. Jesus tells them that they should not be happy to be rich, full, and well-respected here in the world as they have already received a worldly reward and have none in heaven. Jesus told them that they were false prophets and received the high respect that false prophets always received.
Also, Jesus is saying that when we feel satisfied with life because we rely on wealth, satisfaction with the pleasures of food, laughter because of pleasure, and the reliance on society for validation of ourselves while ignoring the realities, we are delusional false prophets. Eventually, we will have to face poverty, hunger, sorrow, and rejection of others. Eventually, we will have to see through our delusions to the reality that is in this world and the necessity for the kingdom of heaven.
(Understanding the Text / Application) Here Jesus is contrasting true prophets (His disciples) with false prophets (the Pharisees and religious leaders of His day who refused to believe). He was contrasting their lifestyles and rewards. He was showing where His disciples’ focus should be and where the Pharisees’ focus was. I should beware of anyone who is focused on the rewards of this world and find more trust in anyone who is focused on serving God regardless of the hardship it causes.
(Application / Revelation of God) My application for myself is not to feel discouraged that the world follows and respects false teachers. This is normal. Instead, I should be happy that I have a reward in heaven. I should tell others about the truths of Jesus, but I should not be discouraged if they would rather follow their own worldly ways or some false prophet. Instead, I should count it as joy that I have the opportunity to serve Jesus. It is not logical, but it’s God’s way of thinking. Jesus did not shirk from the horror of this world because He knew that there was a greater reward at the end. He tells us to think the same way as He does.
Guzik calls this the Sermon on the Plain. It is similar to Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. There is division about whether this is describing the same incident. Guzik suggests that it was a different circumstance but a similar sermon. Jesus probably gave similar talks to different groups. They all needed to know this information, so Jesus may have had to repeat it several times. One big difference that I see is that there are no woes in the Sermon on the Mount. That makes me think that in the Sermon on the Plain there were a lot of Pharisees hanging around with the disciples that Jesus needed to deal with. This was soon after the choosing of the twelve so the purpose here may have been to prepare the disciples for the fact that they were not going to be ruling on earth, but in heaven. I think that the Sermon on the Plain was Jesus establishing His covenant relationship with His disciples.
Jesus’ brother James seems to be paraphrasing and enlarging on this sermon in his epistle, so James may have heard similar words as Jesus was growing up. “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him” (Jas 1:2-12). The message is that the believer who suffers is better off than the rich who do not believe because the permanent rewards of heaven are better than a few temporary rewards of earth.
(Prayer) Teach me to rejoice and leap for joy. All too often, all I can see is the pain and cruelty. Teach me to look up to You and rejoice.