Luke 6

Even though Jesus provided evidence to the Pharisees and Scribes that He was Who He said He was - the Messiah, the Son of Man, and God; but, they were hard-hearted and started "looking for a reason to accuse Jesus", especially related to the Sabbath.    Jesus taught them through reference to an example from the OT on the life of King David; and also through the healing of the man with the withered hand, that He is "Lord of the Sabbath" and that doing good supercedes the extraneous restrictions imposed by the religious leaders.  The Sabbath was to be holy, set apart for the Lord, for HIM; yet, the religious leaders turned it into a legalistic burden to observe, and the true meaning and purpose for the Sabbath was overshadowed by this.

Then, when Jesus called the twelve apostles, He spent the whole night prior to that in prayer to God.   What a reminder of how essential prayer is.  And when we look at the twelve, not one of them were theologically trained like a Pharisee or Scribe; yet, we know that they become the leaders of the Early Church and carried on the message and authority of the gospel as Apostles.  We have the benefit of knowing the role the twelve played and will play (prophesied to sit on the throne to judge the 12 tribes; and to have their names on the foundation of the walls of New Jerusalem); yet, I wonder whether these twelve, at the time they were called, could've imagined how God would use them.  It reminds me that when God calls me, I need to just follow and allow Him to use me as He Wills.

He then preaches what is commonly called the "Sermon on the Plain" or "Sermon on the Plateau".   It is similar to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5; so, could either be Luke's condensed version; or that Jesus taught the similar message at different places and different times.   In this passage, He talked about 4 Blessings in parallel with 4 Woes, contrasting those blessed with eternal rewards from the Kingdom of God versus those who are content with their earthly rewards already received.

This passage is a reminder to keep our focus on God and on the eternal perspective; and not to be distracted by man-made restrictions or earthly things.

It is clear that what Christ is teaching in the sermon is not common to human nature and is likely different from what was typically taught.  Loving enemies, Blessing those who curse, Turning the other cheek, etc.  Yet, we do it because as sons of the Most High, we are to reflect the character of our Father in Heaven; and we have Jesus's example of doing these things in the events surrounding His crucifixion.   Also the section was summarized with the Golden Rule, which was once again different from other philosophies and religions, in that this was not expecting anything in return nor trying to prevent anything negative coming back. 

The verses on not judging or condemning, but forgiving and giving could refer to either response from others or from God in return.   And that section is a reminder that the spiritually blind cannot teach the blind, and that we must address the sins in our lives first and to bear good fruit, before we can effective speak.

Jesus concludes the sermon with an illustration that those who hear and obey are like the man who built his house on a strong foundation so that it would stand through the storms; but, those who hear and do not obey are like the man who built his house without a foundation so that it collapsed when the torrents hit.   What a reminder, that the Word of God is our foundation to help us to stand firm in the midst of the storms of life, if we hear and obey.

We are able to live contrary to our sinful natures when we are living as sons of the Most High. 

Also, as we've been studying through these passages on Christ's Ministry, there are several verses and examples that show that when the Truth is spoken, it will offend those who are comfortable with the lies of the Enemy.  It is like the demon who could not stand it when Christ was teaching authoritatively in the synagogue, or when Christ warned them that they will be hated and persecuted just like the prophets before them.  With my critics, I am coming to think that if they are not offended, then maybe I'm not teaching the truth strongly enough.