Bible Discussion — Luke 6

January 30, 2008, 12:30 pm; posted by
Filed under Bible, Chloe, David, Erin, Josh J, Steve  | No Comments

This week, Bweinh.com looks at the next chapter of Luke, Luke 6.

Genesis: 1-4 | 5-9 | 10-14 | 15-18 | 19-22 | 23-26
27-29 | 30-32 | 33-36 | 37-39 | 40-43 | 44-46 | 47-50
Exodus: 1-4 | 5-8 | 9-11 | 12-14 | 15-18
19-22 | 23-26 | 27-30 | 31-34 | 35-40
Romans: Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 | Ch. 5 | Ch. 6 | Ch. 7 | Ch. 8 (I)
Ch. 8 (II) | Ch. 9 | Ch. 10 | Ch. 11 | Ch. 12 | Ch. 13 | Ch. 14 | Ch. 15-16
Luke: 1:1-38 | 1:39-2:40 | 2:41-3:38 | 4 | 5

 
INTRODUCTION:
Steve:
Jesus’ sermon in this chapter will never cease to be countercultural, because at every turn it challenges the default setting of humanity, to seek selfishness and success.

David:
In the last chapter, Jesus scolded the people for trying to mix New Covenant and Old Covenant concepts in their question about fasting, likening it to placing new wine in old skins. Now He begins to use His teaching to turn the Jewish religion upside down, overturning their ideas about the Sabbath, wealth, popularity, judgment, mercy and what constitutes real righteousness.

 
SOMETHING YOU’D NEVER NOTICED BEFORE:
David:
After leaving the guy with the splinter alone, and pulling the beam out of my own eye, I am actually allowed to go back and say “OK, now about that splinter:”

Erin:
Before Jesus chose the twelve disciples, He spent an entire night praying. Talk about careful consideration! And yet, all of these men were flawed, said and did things that were less-than-upbuilding to Jesus or His ministry (Peter, etc.), and often seemed so dense when Jesus spoke to them that it is hard to understand why He chose them to be His “inner circle” of followers.

Chloe:
Jesus is talking to people from Judea and Jerusalem, which means He’s talking mostly to Jews. And yet He says, “For that is how their fathers treated the prophets,” ‘their’ referring to the ones who persecute ‘you.’ Already the believers have been set apart from the rest of the Jewish nation.

Steve:
I hadn’t noticed what Chloe just said until I read this discussion, so I’m going with that.

 
BEST BAND NAME FROM THE PASSAGE:
Josh: Blind Guide
David: Plankeye
Erin: Simon Called Peter
Chloe: False Prophets
Steve: Bramble Bush

 
STORY IT REMINDS YOU OF::
Steve:
Verses 34 and 35 (“If you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners’ . . .) remind me of a discussion I recently witnessed about a loan; I’m a bit ashamed to admit that they didn’t come to my mind at the time. I’m beginning to think it would be a good idea for me to re-read this chapter on a regular basis.

Josh:
I remember in college, my favorite Bible professor pointed out that Christians always claim all the blessings from the Old Testament, regardless of context, while ignoring all the curses. It’s important to note in this passage as well, that while we might take great comfort from the blessings, we cannot overlook the warnings of woe that immediately follow.

Chloe:
There’s a movement among psychologists to engage in what is called “moral responsibility” psychotherapy. Therapists are starting to focus their clients’ attention on how decisions affect everyone involved, where ten years ago therapy was entirely self-centered and individualistic. Therapists are attempting to teach selfish people how to be moral. Their motto? “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

David:
I remember Lon Kerry explaining all the Jewish laws that Jesus broke just by walking through the wheat field, eating grain with his disciples. For instance, “rubbing them with their hands” was considered milling the grain.

 
DEEP THEOLOGICAL MEANING:
Erin:
The section that talks about good and bad fruit from their respective trees is a small part of the chapter, but speaks powerfully to me. Often do I wish that I could “bear more fruit” for God, but forget that in order to do this, I have to be making inward changes to live in a more Christ-like way.

I have to honor the Son of Man as Lord on the Sabbath (v.5); to show love and mercy, not revenge or hatred, for my enemies (v.32-36); to not judge, lest I be judged (v.42); and to anchor myself in the teachings and faithful obedience to Christ (v. 49). And these practices are just the framework for the Christian life!

Bearing fruit is not just about me wanting to see “spiritual success,” but honoring God with my life and letting Him bring forth the results that fit His purposes.

David:
Matthew Henry says that the sign of God’s blessing in the Old Testament was prosperity, but that in the New Testament, it’s adversity. Jesus made this pretty plain in 6:20-29. It is not the rich and powerful who have God’s ear, but those who are poor and suffering, living for the next world, not this present evil age.

Josh:
I think vv. 41-42 are often misunderstood to mean that we cannot offer one another correction. On the contrary, Christ does not tell us to leave the speck in our brother’s eye, but merely to deal with our own issue first, then offer help to our brother when we are free from hindrance. The very next passage affirms that we can recognize right from wrong in one another, just as a tree is recognized by its fruit.

Chloe:
In a chapel a couple of weeks ago, the speaker talked about how, in history, churches in the West seem to grow stagnant and elitist after about 50 years, building up rules like silt or dust. I don’t think it’s a danger for every church in its 49th year, but I’ve certainly seen that happen. So what did Jesus do when faced with the aristocrats of the Jewish nation? He didn’t bitterly or self-righteously leave the church or talk about them behind their back. He broke their laws, right in front of their faces. And then He explained why.

 
RANDOM THOUGHT:
David:
Have you ever noticed that when people say “adult humor,” they really mean the most juvenile form of humor that we were first exposed to in middle school?

Chloe:
I’d love to hear the reaction of the crowd to verses 27-30.

Steve:
That story Jesus references at the start of the chapter didn’t have such a great ending for the priests who helped feed David. As I recall, they were all slaughtered by King Saul.

Erin:
I wonder what Jesus’ voice sounded like.

 
VERSE TO REMEMBER:
Erin:
6:37-38 — “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

David:
6:20 — “Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: ‘Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.’ ”

Steve:
6:46 — “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

Chloe:
6:36 — “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”

Josh:
6:45 — “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

 
PORTION YOU WOULD MOST LIKE EXPLAINED IN HEAVEN:
Josh:
“Woe to you who laugh now.”

Is it really that terrible to laugh now? I laugh a lot.

Steve:
How, how, how do we properly “put into practice” the requirements of verses 27 to 36?

Erin:
How does the role of correcting one another spiritually — speaking the truth in love — correspond to the constant mercy and forgiveness that we must show to others?

David:
They were “filled with madness” or “wild with rage” over a healing. I have seen so much of this, and still I will never understand it. I’ve seen people get up and storm out of church, too angry to speak, over God moving in a powerful way and setting people free.

 
LESSON TO TAKE AWAY:
Steve:
Jesus’ parable at the end of this chapter is a very powerful one. The more we put His words into practice in our lives, the less likely we are to be shaken by trials. But if we simply pay Him lip service, building a nice-looking house without a foundation, we shouldn’t be surprised when an actual torrent causes a complete collapse.

Chloe:
Jesus’ teachings can be summed up in verse 31, which can be summed up with one word –empathy.

Erin:
Good and evil are not two static halves of a person to be drawn from whenever we feel like it — searching constantly for the truth of God through His revelation brings us to a place where we can act in a “good” way toward everyone and everything around us. Evil butts in when we neglect this search.

David:
Jesus did not come to reform Judaism, but to replace it with a covenant of freedom and blessing, as opposed to bondage and cursing. Paul compared the two covenants to Sarah and Hagar in Galatians 4:22-31.

Josh:
Love your enemies. It’s one of the lessons my mother would hammer into me as a child. Every time I had a problem with someone at school, she would tell me to pray for them. Every time I wanted to retaliate, she would remind me to do to others as I wanted done to me. Not easy to hear as a child. Not easy to hear as an adult, but easier after a lifetime of reminders.

 
GENERAL RESPONSE TO THE PASSAGE:
Steve:
I think many American Christians forget all about this chapter and these profoundly counter-cultural teachings of Jesus. Forget for a minute the easy targets of churches that preach that God wants us all to be rich, or that He hates gays or some other such group, and think about how foreign it would truly be in this culture to literally turn the other cheek to an assailant. To literally lend money to your enemies with no hope of repayment. To literally put into practice the teachings of the One who promised that the rich, well-fed, happy and popular would soon face a rude awakening.

 
CONCLUSION:
David:
It’s quite an accomplishment to surprise God — or make him marvel — but it happened twice that I’m aware of. Once in Nazareth over their unbelief, and then in the next chapter, over a Gentile’s faith. We’ll meet him next.


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