This sermon is very similar to what we call "The
Sermon on the Mount" that we find recorded in Matthew 5-7. Some fine
evangelical scholars believe these were two different events while others think
that they are the same message just recorded in a shorter version here in
Luke’s Gospel. Jesus went "into the hill country" with His disciples.
After a night of prayer, He came down to a level place, ordained the Twelve,
ministered to the sick, and then preached this sermon. It was His description
of what it means to have a life of "blessing."
To most Jewish people, the word "blessing" evoked
images of a long life, wealth, a large, healthy family, a full barn, and
defeated enemies. God's covenant with Israel did include such material and
physical blessings (Deut. 28; Job 1:1-12; Prov. 3:1-10), for this was how God
taught and disciplined them. After all, they were "little children"
in the faith, and we teach children by means of rewards and punishments. With
the coming of Jesus, Israel's childhood period ended, and the people had to
mature in their understanding of God's ways (Gal. 4:1-6).
Verse 20 tells us that “Jesus lifted up His eyes to His
disciples, and said:” which indicates that Jesus was preaching primarily to
His disciples, but we can assume that He intended for the multitudes that were
present to listen and learn from it also. (Luke 6:27, 47). As you study all
four of the Gospels it is also obvious that the Twelve had to unlearn many
things before they could effectively serve Him. Furthermore, they had left
everything to follow Jesus (Luke 5:11, 28), and no doubt were asking themselves,
"What is in store for us?" (see Matt. 19:27)
The Lord explained in this sermon that the truly blessed
life comes not from getting, or from doing, but from being. The emphasis is on
Godlike character. Our “being” should always precede our doing. We are told
often in the Scriptures that God looks on the attitude of the heart more than
what appears on the outside. Remember what the Lord told Samuel when he was
anointing David to become the next king of Israel in 1 Samuel 16:7.
In Matthew 15:18-19 Jesus said, “But those things which
proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of
the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts,
false witness, blasphemies.” And later in closing this message in Luke 6,
Jesus illustrates the difference between a good heart and an evil heart, with
these words: "For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad
tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not
gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of
his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his
heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth
speaks” (Luke 6:43-45).
Now we need to be clear that this sermon is not "the
Gospel" and nobody goes to heaven by "following the Sermon on the
Mount." Dead sinners cannot obey the living God; they must first be born
again and receive God's life (John 3:1-7, 36).
Nor is this sermon a "constitution" for the
kingdom God will one day establish on earth (Matt. 20:21; Luke 22:30). The
Sermon on the Mount applies to life today and describes the kind of godly
character we should have as believers in this world. Certainly, our Lord
describes a life situation today that includes hunger, tears, persecution, and
false teachers, quite unlike that of the glorious kingdom that is to come!
In this wonderful message what the Lord Jesus did was to
focus on at least four attitudes: our attitude toward circumstances (Luke
6:20-26), our attitudes toward people (Luke 6:27-38), our attitudes toward ourselves
(Luke 6:39-45), and our attitudes toward God (Luke 6:46-49). He emphasized four
essentials for true happiness: faith in God, love toward others, honesty with
ourselves, and obedience toward God.
