Sunday School Lessons: Luke 6:23-end of chapter

Luke Chapter 6 continued

READ Matthew 5:1-2

17And 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, 18who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.

This is called the Sermon on the Plain and is very similar to the Sermon on the Mount. Some believe that it was the very same sermon, but there are enough differences that it is likely that there were two separate sermons given at about the same time. It would not be surprising that Jesus would say very similar things to the various crowds that were gathering to hear Him, because he was announcing the Kingdom of Heaven which was at hand.

After He named the men who would serve Him as apostles, He ‘came down with them and stood on a level place’ and a great crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all around came to hear him preach and to be healed. He preached and healed and cured those with unclean spirits. It is unlikely that all the crowd had a physical illness, but notice that all the crowd wanted to touch Him, and He healed them all. Not all illnesses are physical. Some are mental or emotional or relational, but Jesus heals them all.

20And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

21“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

22“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! 23Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.

Verses 20-22 are very similar to Jesus’ teaching at the Sermon on the Mount. They are called “beatitudes.” A Beatitude is a religious term that means more than just happy or blessed. It means to enjoy the favor of God. Happy is the man who knows he is poor, who knows he has nothing to offer God, but understands that he must rely upon God. The hunger that is mentioned in verse 21 is not a normal empty stomach. It means a hunger and thirst for righteousness and a desire to please God. Happy is the one who weeps and is hated and reviled and whose name is made evil?? How can that be blessed? If we are persecuted for His Name’s sake, then there will be great rewards in Heaven. Jesus is teaching the people that this life and this world is not the most important thing. He is teaching them about the Kingdom of God!

24“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.

25“Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.

(“Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

26“Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.)

The three underlined ‘woes’ are the opposite of the three beatitudes. (Read each beatitude followed by the corresponding woe and discuss)

READ Matthew 5:43-48

27“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.

Jesus begins in vs. 27 by saying, “But I say to you who hear.” He is teaching something different from the norm. He is calling his apostles and disciples to live a different way, to respond a different way. He is calling them to love in action.

READ Matthew 7:12 The Golden Rule

31And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

Many philosophers and religious leaders, like Socrates, Buddha, and Confucious, have said similar things, but they said it this way: Don’t do to others what you would not want done to you.” They made it a rule about ‘not doing’ instead of ‘doing.’ Jesus took it a step further and taught that we should do FOR others what we would like to have done for us. Rather than simply restraining ourselves from doing wrong, Jesus is teaching that we are to love and serve others and treat them with the respect that we desire for ourselves. Do you see the difference between the two phrases? Which one do you think is harder to do?

32“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

This is really amazing. Christ is teaching his disciples to be loving and merciful because God is loving and merciful. He tells them, and us!, to do good and expect nothing in return, but then goes on to say some amazing things: there will be great reward for those who do these things out of love for God and man. He says that they, and we!, will be sons of the Most High. He tells them that God is kind even to the ungrateful and the evil! Therefore, we must be merciful like he is. READ Colossians 3:12-17

READ Matthew 7:1-6

37“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

These verses do not mean that we are forbidden to judge another person, but rather that we are not to judge their inward motives to condemn them. Only God has all the information. We can think we have things figured out. We can think we know why someone did whatever they did by we do not know or understand. Jesus wants us to be forgiving and patient with other people, even when we think they have done wrong. That does not mean that we overlook wrongdoing, but that we should be willing and ready to forgive.

39He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. 41Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.

Jesus wants us to worry more about our own actions than finding fault with others. We all have much to confess and repent and rather than focus all our attentions about what we think other people are doing wrong, we should examine ourselves and confess and repent so that we can grow in grace and truth. Only then will we be able to help others.

43“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Our actions show what is in our hearts.

READ Matthew 7:24-29

46“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? 47Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

READ 1 Corinthians 3:9-16

The only foundation that we must build upon is Jesus Christ and his Gospel. He is that Rock that we must build our foundation upon.

*These lessons are written for use with elementary aged students. You can find lessons for previous chapters here . All scriptures are taken from the ESV.