Stories from the Bible - Ep 19 Jesus' Upside Down View of the World (Luke 6)

Episode Date: May 25, 2022

Last episode we heard how Jesus continued to move around northern Israel, making quite the impact with his astounding authority and outrageous statements. And Jesus certainly doesn’t have the same impact on everyone. Some are afraid, some are awestruck, some are healed, some simply obey, and some are made very very angry. In today's story Jesus teaches his disciples a radically different way of viewing themselves and the world.  The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved

Beauty, perfection, desire, deception, rebellion, judgment, hope. You're listening to Stories from the Bible. Bible stories told in order, using the words of the Bible, with introductions to give a recap and provide context. At the end of each story, you might want to pause and take a moment to reflect on what you noticed in the story. Things you liked or didn't like. Something the story showed you about God or about people. Don't worry if not everything makes sense. Keep listening to each episode and sit with the journey. I'm stoked to have you on the ride. Hello and so good to have you back for episode 19. To recap the stories from last time, we heard how Jesus continued to move around

northern Israel, making quite the impact with his astounding authority and outrageous statements. And Jesus certainly doesn't have the same impact on everyone. Some people are afraid, some are awestruck, some are healed, some simply obey, and some are made very, very angry. We heard how Simon Peter was overwhelmed by his sin and afraid of Jesus. When Peter witnessed Jesus' miraculous power that led to an immense catch of fish, Peter is so struck by Jesus that he falls on his knees and tells Jesus to go away. But instead of leaving him, Jesus tells Peter not to be afraid. And Jesus even wants Peter to come with him. So Peter, along with his fishing partners, James and John,

leave their boats and everything behind to follow Jesus. Then we saw how Jesus made a man with leprosy clean. In those times, having leprosy meant you were classed as unclean and cut off from the community. If anyone was so unfortunate as to touch you, your uncleanness would spread to them, and that person too would be unclean for a time and also cut off. So this guy with leprosy had a pretty sad time of it. And he comes to Jesus with desperation. He bows down with his face to the ground and begs Jesus to make him clean. And Jesus does the unthinkable. He touches him. And instead of the man's uncleanness spreading to Jesus, the opposite occurs. Jesus's cleanness spreads to him, and his leprosy is immediately

gone. Then we heard how Jesus offended the religious people. It happened when some friends of a paralyzed man let down his stretcher through some roof tiles so that the sick man would get seen by Jesus despite the crowds. When Jesus saw the trust that these guys had in him to be able to help their friend, Jesus makes a seemingly outrageous statement to the paralyzed man, Friend, your sins are forgiven. This makes the religious guys internally gasp with disapproval, because they know only God has the authority to pronounce a person's sins as forgiven. But Jesus reads their minds and asks them why they have a

problem. And to prove that he actually does have the authority of God to forgive sins, he tells the paralyzed man to stand up, pick up his stretcher, and walk home. And the man immediately does so. He goes home, glorifying God, and the crowds are amazed. After that, Jesus meets a tax collector called Levi. In his job, Levi would have had wealth and worldly security. When Jesus sees him at work, he simply tells him, follow me, and Levi leaves everything to go after Jesus.

Later on, Levi puts on a big banquet in his house for Jesus. Lots of other tax collectors and people with bad reputations are there, eating and drinking with Jesus. This again is something that myths the religious crowd, and they complain about Jesus hanging out with these kinds of people. Jesus' response is to answer them, Those who are well don't need a doctor, but those who are sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. The religious people, of course, are sick with sin too,

and not actually righteous. But they don't realise it, and thus they don't value Jesus like the bad people do. The tax collectors and sinners know they have a problem. The religious people think they are fine with God. In the next three interactions, the religious leaders become increasingly annoyed at Jesus. In the first interaction, they make a comment, which is really a criticism, that Jesus' disciples eat and drink instead of fasting and praying. Jesus comes back with the observation that it's silly to make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them. In saying this, Jesus points to himself as the source of all happiness. It is impossible for his friends not to enjoy themselves when they're with him. And then he tells a parable about how everyone knows it's silly to try and make old cloth and old wineskins go with new cloth and new wine. These examples make the point that

the old way, which the religious leaders represent, is not compatible with the new way, which Jesus is demonstrating by his actions and his teaching. The old way, which the religious leaders are very comfortable with, is about following rules and appearing morally righteous before others. The old way is about earning favour with God by being a self-reliant religious person. In contrast, the new way is not about rule-following in order to please God and look good in front of others. The new way begins with an acknowledgement of a sick heart that is unable to please God. The new way turns away from self-sufficiency and, like the man with leprosy, begs Jesus for help to be made clean. In the second interaction, the religious experts come straight out with it.

They directly ask Jesus why he is breaking the law, that is, letting his disciples pick wheat on the Sabbath. Keeping the Sabbath as a day of rest, as a day of no work, was one of the Ten Commandments. But over time, the religious experts had buried the intent of God's command under a mountain of human rules and definitions. Picking grain, regardless of the context, was viewed as work and was therefore prohibited.

Jesus replies to their question with a, you should know better than this response, pointing them backwards to an example from Israel's history and forwards to the authority he holds as the Son of Man, a title Jesus frequently uses to refer to himself. And the third interaction also happens on a Sabbath. Jesus is teaching in another synagogue, and there's a man present with a shriveled hand. The religious leaders are watching Jesus like hawks to see if they can catch him working on the Sabbath, that is, healing the man's hand, and thus give them a reason to accuse him. But Jesus knows exactly what they're thinking, and plays right into it. Jesus gets the man with the shriveled hand to stand up, and Jesus directs a question at the experts.

He asks them, What is lawful on the Sabbath? To do good or evil? To save a life or to destroy it? Knowing the answer is obvious, Jesus does good and gives life by healing the man's hand. Thus Jesus humiliates the religious leaders by exposing their hypocrisy. He publicly shows that they are so intent on religious rule-keeping that they've missed the whole point of the law, which is to

do good to others. There is no rational argument against what Jesus did. And so, having trapped themselves in their own trap, they are filled with mindless rage, and the religious leaders start debating amongst themselves what to do about the Jesus problem. Today's story starts here. Now it was during this time that Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and he spent all night in prayer to God. When morning came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles. Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas,

James the son of Alphaeus, Simon, who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. Then he came down with them and stood on a level place. And a large number of his disciples had gathered along with a vast multitude from all over Judea, from Jerusalem and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. They came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases, and those who suffered from unclean spirits were cured. The whole crowd was trying to touch him because power was coming out from him and healing them all. Then he looked up at his disciples and said, Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God belongs to you.

Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject you as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and jump for joy, because your reward is great in heaven. For their ancestors did the same things to the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your comfort already. Woe to you who are well satisfied with food now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for their ancestors did the same things to the false prophets.

But I say to you who are listening, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other as well. And from the person who takes away your coat, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks you. And do not ask for your possessions back

from the person who takes them away. Treat others in the same way that you would want them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to be repaid, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners

so that they may be repaid in full. But love your enemies and do good and lend expecting nothing back. Then your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High because He is kind to ungrateful and evil people. Be merciful just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.

Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be poured into your lap. For the measure you use will be the measure you receive. He also told them a parable. Someone who is blind cannot lead another who is blind, can he? Won't they both fall into a pit? A disciple is not greater than his teacher,

but everyone when fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do you see the speck in your brother's eye, but fail to see the beam of wood in your own? How can you say to your brother, Brother, let me remove the speck from your eye, while you yourself don't see the beam in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye,

and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from brambles. The good person out of the good treasury of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasury produces evil, for his mouth speaks from what fills the heart. Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and don't do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what he is like. He is like a man building a house who dug down deep and laid

the foundation on bedrock. When a flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built. But the person who hears and does not put my words into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against that house, it collapsed immediately and was utterly destroyed. The story ends here. Thanks for joining us for today's story. You might like to take a moment to pause and think about what you noticed.

Things you liked. Things you didn't like. Something the story showed you about Jesus. To read it for yourself, it's in the book of Luke, chapter 6. If you can find someone willing to read it and talk about it with you, even better. You've been listening to Stories from the Bible. I'm Jen, and I look forward to sharing more stories with you.