What Jesus Did

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[Jesus continued,]

"What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now, for a time of awful hunger awaits you.
What sorrow awaits you who laugh now, for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow."

—Luke 6:25 NLT

Key Thought​

Jesus sought contact with sinners. [1] He entered into a relationship with them to love, redeem, and then welcome them into God's family. Jesus knew how to enjoy a party! Remember the banquet that ### threw to introduce his...

 

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[Jesus continued,]

"What sorrow awaits you who are rich, for you have your only happiness now."

—Luke 6:24 NLT

Key Thought​

So often we let our treasure become the things that are stuck "in the here and now." They do not have the power to sustain us in the life to come and may not last even in this life. There is a very real sense that Christians should live "in the here and now" with a sense of urgency and awareness, but not focused on the material things...

 

[Jesus continued,] "What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way."

—Luke 6:22-23 NLT

Key Thought​

The New Testament writers operated under the recognition that Christianity would always be a rejected counter-culture. The values of...

 

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[Jesus continued,]

"God blesses you who weep now, for in due time you will laugh."

—Luke 6:21b NLT

Key Thought​

Sorrow is inescapable. Sooner or later, sorrow will touch each heart. Sorrow at the loss of a loved one, sorrow over the world's evil, sorrow at the gross inhumanity of people, sorrow at the world's rejection of God's grace, or sorrow because of persecution for righteousness' sake will not be forgotten. God will not allow a single teardrop to be...

 

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[Jesus continued,]

"God blesses you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied."

—Luke 6:21a NLT

Key Thought​

We all have hunger. Yes, we do have daily physical hunger, but that physical hunger should point us to a deeper hunger: We are hungry for God. Sometimes we try to find comfort in physical food to compensate for the hunger we feel in our souls. But, there is a place in each of us that longs for God, that hungers for his presence, and that yearns...

 

Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said,

"God blesses you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours."

—Luke 6:20 NLT

Key Thought​

Even though the crowds had mobbed around Jesus to be healed, [1] he uses this moment to teach his disciples. The words given here are not general promises to all people, but blessings given to those who surrender to the call of Jesus and follow him with all their hearts. The Kingdom, Jesus reminds the disciples, is for those who are...

 

[The crowds] had come to hear [Jesus] and to be healed of their diseases; and those troubled by evil spirits were healed. Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.

—Luke 6:18-19 NLT

Key Thought​

So often in ministry, we get to thinking that we have the power to make people better. Not only is this attitude arrogant, but it is also dangerously wrong. The best we can hope to be is a conduit of Jesus' grace. Jesus is the one who...

 

When [Jesus and his disciples] came down from the mountain [after Jesus prayed and then chose his apostles], the disciples stood with Jesus on a large, level area, surrounded by many of his followers and by the crowds. There were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon.

—Luke 6:17 NLT

Key Thought​

The twelve disciples Jesus chose to be his apostles didn't have to wait long to be overwhelmed with opportunity. After...

 

[The names of the apostles are]
Simon (whom [Jesus] named Peter),
Andrew (Peter's brother),
James,
John,
Philip,
Bartholomew,
Matthew,
Thomas,
James (son of Alphaeus),
Simon (who was called the zealot),
Judas (son of James),
Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed [Jesus]).

—Luke 6:14-16 NLT

Key Thought​

So often we forget that our Bible heroes were real people. They had names, but like many of us, their friends gave some of them nicknames. They had personal...

 

One day soon [after healing the man with the deformed hand,] Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names:...

—Luke 6:12-13 NLT

Key Thought​

Few events were more important in Jesus' ministry than his selection of apostles. How would Jesus select twelve from the mob that followed him? These men would have to be the initial leaders in a...