Luke 6 and Jesus' Defining of a New World I

"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, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

20 Then he looked up at 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 will be filled.
‘Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 ‘Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
24 ‘But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
25 ‘Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
‘Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 ‘Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets."

This is the Lucan version of the Sermon on the Mount. It differs from Matthew's version (Mt. 5-7) in several particulars, some of which I will mention below. My purpose in this essay is to lay out three structural or theological features of the text's background, while the next essay looks at some of the particular blessings and woes spoken by Jesus. The three important features for this essay are: (1) Jesus' Definition of a New World; (2) The Centrality of Prayer in Jesus' Ministry; and (3) The Way this Passage "Fits" into the Flow of Luke.

I. Jesus--Creating a New World through Words

When we think of the "builders" of the modern world, we usually emphasize people who have left visible traces behind them, such as buildings, medicines, computers or other things that define how we live our lives. In contrast to these, Jesus builds his new world and new community in this passage by his teaching, preaching and healing. But whenever someone builds a new world, there is an old world that already is in place, and those who benefit from the structure of that old world will not yield to the new without a fight. In Luke 5 and 6, leading up to our passage for the day, Jesus encounters four manifestations of the "old world" which he will bring into question. He will oppose these traces of the old before he expresses his understanding of the new world in 6:17-26. First, he claims to be able to forgive sins (5:23) when only God, through the work of the religious leaders, can forgive sin. Second, he associates with the "wrong" people by "eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners" (5:30). Third, he seemed to ignore the religious teachings about fasting. His opponents say: "John's disciples, like the disciples of the Pharisees, frequently fast and pray, but your disciples eat and drink" (5:33). Finally, he ignores the religious teachings about sabbath by healing a person with the withered hand on that day (6:6-11). Indeed, every story that precedes the passage for today and follows Peter's call (5:1-11) demonstrates how Jesus calls into question the dominant values of his day. And, when he builds his new world, he will do it through words--the subject of the next essay.

II. The Centrality of Prayer for Jesus

In three places before we get to 6:17-26 Jesus prays. In each instance Luke, uniquely among the Evangelists, emphasizes either the fact or duration of Jesus' prayers. Jesus had and cultivated a living connection with God, and this was never so evident as when he had to make important decisions about his future. First, when Jesus was baptized, Luke reports it as follows: "when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had ben baptized and was praying, the heavens opened..." (3:21). Then, after Jesus had healed a man with leprosy and the crowds were thronging him, he retreated for prayer. "But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray" (5:16). Then, just before his "Sermon" today, he made the important decision of choosing the Twelve. Note what the text says: "Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God" (6:12). The Greek phrase "en tay proseuche" (lit. "in the the praying") is unique in the NT, and it emphasizes not just the fact of prayer but the process of prayer, too. The verb for "spend the night" is in the present participle, suggesting the ongoing activity throughout the night. The essence of Jesus' ministry is defined by prayer; it is rooted in and grows out of prayer. Interestingly enough, when he chooses the Twelve in 6:12-16, they really have little to do for several chapters. It is enough to be with Jesus and to understand and listen as this new world opened.

III. Honing in on the Sermon

We know that this passage, though it is only 1/10 as long as the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, is centrally important for Luke because of how he structures his story. In three instances he does the following: he mentions an important feature of Jesus' ministry with what one might call a "global description," and then he lasers in on that feature with a story or teaching. Let me illustrate. The three central aspects of Jesus' ministry are teaching, preaching and healing. (1) In 4:14-15 the word about Jesus begins to spread through all the surrounding country. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. After this general statement Jesus goes into the synagogue and reads the important passage from Isaiah 61. Luke has Jesus, as it were, give an important example of teaching--which emphasizes Jesus' ministry of "release" (4:18). (2) Then, a little later, crowds seek him out again, and Luke adds that he continued to proclaim the message in the synagogues of Judea (4:43-44). After this general statement follows the story of Peter's call in 5:1-11. Peter is the "fruit" of Jesus' preaching ministry. (3) In our passage for today, Jesus comes down from the mountain and teaes a great crowd of people. They came to hear him and be healed of their diseases (6:18). Jesus healed them, and then gives them an "earful" in our text.

Thus, we are prepared to recognize 6:20-26 as a foundational text for Luke (and Jesus) in the Gospel. If in 4:16-30 Jesus laid out his basic principle of ministry (release); if in 5:1-11 Jesus showed how his ministry would be accomplished (through call of disciples), in 6:20-26 he will explain how the basic principle of release actually works in the life of the world. Now we are ready to hear his words in 6:20-26. I consider them in the next essay.

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