Today we will finally get to finish
our study of the Sermon on the Mount as it is recorded in the Gospel of Luke. The
conclusion of the sermon gives a strong warning for all the disciples that are
listening. The conclusion can be boiled down to this simple statement: “If you
are truly a disciple of Christ, then you will obey His commandments.” I have
been making this point over and over again. There is no such thing as a
Christian that is not a disciple of Jesus Christ. You cannot be a believer in
Jesus’ work on the cross and resurrection as the only means necessary for
salvation, and then say that His commandments too heavy to bear (1 John 5:3). And
now Christ, God in flesh, is calling us to obey the commandment that He has
stated for us in this sermon. If we do not do them, they we cannot call
ourselves disciples.
Before we begin this conclusion, let us look at the commandments
that are stated in this sermon. (Words in the imperative voice are italicized.)
“Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold,
your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto
the prophets” (Lk 6:23). Then later,
27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, 28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. 29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. 30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. 31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise (Lk 6:27–31).
And again later,
35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. 36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. 37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: 38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; (Lk 6:35–38).
And finally, “Either how canst thou
say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine
eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou
hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt
thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye.” (Lk 6:42).
There is a total of 21 imperatives in this sermon. (There is some repetition.)
There are some commandments that are really hard to follow. It is not easy to
love one’s enemy, nor to pray for him. We would certainly want our possessions
back after they have been taken from us. However, I have said before that Jesus
is advocating a lifestyle that is contrary to the flesh. He calls us to display
the love of God and God has extended His love towards sinners. Therefore, we
must do the same. Also, I will emphasize that Christ is not giving simple
suggestions for the life of a believer. He is not persuading them to follow a
higher code of conduct. He is commanding them to do the impossible. He is
commanding them to display the love of God in the worst scenarios possible.
When everyone hates you for being a disciple of Jesus Christ, that is the
greatest moment in which the world needs to see the love of God. When the
courts call to impose fines, and seizure of property, that is when we need to
be ready the mercy of God. Do not be confused. Jesus is laying out
commandments. These words mentioned above are written in the imperative mood in
the Greek meaning they are not simple statements but commandments.
This a message for those who want to call themselves
disciples. The sermon provides a litmus test to show if one truly is a
Christian. If you look at the commandments of Christ and try to reinterpret
them to fit a more comfortable lifestyle for yourself, then you need to
reconsider if you are truly one of His disciples.
Lk 6:46. Jesus points out the need for obedience with
a very simple rhetorical question. It can be summed up as, “Why do you not do
what I say?” There should be a solid connection between hearing the Word of
God, recognizing its authority, and obeying its commandments. Even James, the
brother of Jesus, explains,
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing (Jas 1:22–25 ESV).
Hearing God’s word but not doing
God’s word is at best foolishness and at worst hypocrisy. What would be the
point of reading the instructions if they are only going to be ignored? What
would be the point of reading a book if it is only going to be ignored? God’s
commandments are meant for our good and God’s glory.
In the rhetorical question, Jesus asks what is the point of
calling Him “Lord, Lord?”. We are more familiar with using the word “Lord” as
equating to the Name of God in the Old Testament. Here, the title may only
simple mean one of authority.[1] The
word “lord” can also mean “master” which is more appropriate for this context.
A parallel example of this would be understanding our authority in the
workplace to be our boss or manager but never doing anything that the
boss/manager tell us to do. How do you think the boss will feel when he finds
out that you have not completed your assigned task but spent the whole shift in
the break room? What will the manager say? I would start to think that your
employment may be on the verge of termination with such behavior. Yet, how do
think our Savior would respond to such disobedience while we claim that we are
His disciples and He is our greatest Master? When we disobey a minor authority,
we will receive minor discipline. If we are to disobey our greatest authority,
then we will surely receive a greater discipline. Matthew Henry explained the
hypocrisy when we fail to do what He commands.
It is putting an affront upon him to call him Lord, Lord, as if we were wholly at his command, and had devoted ourselves to his service, if we do not make conscience of conforming to his will and serving the interests of his kingdom. We do but mock Christ, as they that in scorn said, Hail, King of the Jews, if we call him ever so often Lord, Lord, and yet walk in the way of our own hearts and in the sight of our own eyes.…It is putting a cheat upon ourselves if we think that a bare profession of religion will save us, that hearing the sayings of Christ will bring us to heaven, without doing them.[2]
Allow me to be blunt. If you call
Him Lord, then you must obey His commandments. Let me be more blunt, if you do
not obey His commandments, then you do not love God. John recorded the words of
Christ saying this same idea to His twelve disciples in the upper room.
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me (Jn 14:21–24 ESV).
We must understand that it is
hypocrisy to claim to be a Christian but never to follow any of the
commandments. The same phrase is used over in Matthew, “Not everyone who says
to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the
will of my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 7:21 ESV). The context centers on the
final day of judgment but the application is the same. Only those who do the
Word are truly the disciples of Jesus.
Lk 6:47. Jesus moves into a parable to illustrate
what the outcomes of obeying or disobeying the commandments of Christ. Matthew
makes a greater contrast by claiming that the doer of the word is the wise man
while the one who does not the words of Christ is a fool (Mt 7:24–26). Like He
did earlier, He communicates an important concept through simple illustration
that is familiar to the audience.
Lk 6:48. The first example is of the man that does
the sayings of Jesus Christ. He is likened to a man that built his house
correctly. Perhaps he was familiar with the trade. Perhaps he took the time to
ask how it should be properly done. Whatever manner his knowledge was acquired;
he did what was necessary in order to properly build his home.
Luke emphasizes the amount of work it took in order to build
the home. He does this with using three verbs to describe the work. He first
dug the ground (ἔσκαψεν),
then he dug deep (ἐβάθυνεν),
then he finally placed the foundation upon the rock (ἔθηκεν θεμέλιον ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν).[3] The builder
did it correctly. He listened and did it to how it was supposed to be done. It
takes a lot of work, as emphasized by Luke, but when he was done, the house was
properly laid upon a solid foundation. The sayings of Christ are not always the
easy way of getting things done. We would like to take the easy way—the way
that gets us out of our responsibilities. There are many times when it would be
easier to tell a lie or cheat so what we desire comes more quickly to us. But
God commands that things are done correctly, honestly, and without shortcuts.
For the disciples, it seems like would make more sense in their fleshly mind to
retaliate against their persecutors; to strike back when they have been
stricken for the Son of Man’s sake. But Christ commanded that we must be ready
to offer the other cheek also (Lk 6:29).
Then Jesus speaks of how the man’s house, that was built
correctly, stands strong against the flood. The imagery is of a single river
that has overflowed its banks. Matthew’s account speaks of when the rivers are
filled due to the rainy season.[4] The
description shows that the flood was not mild by any means. Luke’s record is
that the waters burst (προσέρηξεν)
upon the house. However, even though the flood was raging upon the house, the
river did not have the strength (ἴσχυσεν)
to break down the house. The builder’s hard work paid off. His correctly built
house was stronger than the floods that came up against it.
It is hard to say if Jesus is equating the flood in the
parable with difficulties that come in life or with the final judgment to come.
Either could fit. The application is still the same. Jesus never promised that
we not have any difficulties in this life. Jesus instead tells us that if we
follow His sayings then we will be prepared for the trials that come our way. We
must remember that the man’s house stood because it was laid upon a rock. God’s
laws are fixed, immutable, and steadfast. Trust and follow the Word of God.
Man’s advice is hollow and always changing. You will never find security in the
advice of the latest well-respected man.
Lk 6:49. The contrast is against the man that does
not do the sayings of Jesus Christ. You will see that the man took a shortcut.
His house is without a foundation because he never took the time to dig, then
dig deep, then lay the foundation upon a rock. The man cheated and simply laid
his house upon the earth. There is nothing solid about dirt. Sure, it can be
packed tightly and pressed into shape but it will not be able to hold up under
burden or stress. This is a man that is meant to look like a disciple but is
not. Both men have houses. They could both build a house so that the layout of
the rooms matches the other. The color of the exterior could match. The
shingles can match. Both could look equally appealing from the curb.
But then the flood comes and we see one house is better than
the other. Only one has a strong foundation. Jesus states for us that the
destruction of the house without a foundation is both immediate and great. The
house fell. Fell is from συμπίπτω
which means “to fall together in a heap, fall in, collapse.”[5] The
image is complete destruction. The house did not stand a chance to stand
against the flood and the ruin of the house was great. We will not see how
devastating the consequences can be of poor choices until it is too late.
This also helps to illustrate the point that God’s
commandments are not intended to keep us from having fun. They are made so that
we might continue to function properly. Jesus gives us His commandments because
He does not want our house to fall flat. He does not desire that undergo
destruction. One made was obedient to building codes and his house survived a
flood. The other man did not listen to building codes and the flood immediately
destroyed the house. God does not want to see your house collapse. God does not
want to see your family in ruins because they were not prepared in obedience to
His commandments. When judgment happens, everything will be revealed. It will
show if you truly believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus for salvation.
When trials hit, it will show whether you are a disciple. When persecution
comes, the real disciples will continue to love, continue to pray, and continue
bless them that curse them for the Son of Man’s sake.
[1] See
Darrell L. Bock, Luke 1:1–9:50, BECNT (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic,
1994), 618; I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on the
Greek Text, NIGTC (Exeter: Paternoster Press, 1978), 274; Robert H. Stein, Luke,
NAC 24 (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 215; BDAG 578.2.a.γ.ב.
[2] Matthew
Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and
Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 1844.
[3] Most
English translations have ἔσκαψεν καὶ ἐβάθυνεν as a
hendiadys and translate the phrase as simply “dug deep.” This misses the
original emphasis from the author.
[4] K. H.
Rengstorf, TDNT, 6:603; Marshall, Gospel of Luke, 275; Bock, Luke
1:1–9:50, 621–2; Stein, Luke, 215.
[5] BDAG,
959.1.
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