Scripture: St. Luke 6:1-38 (NKJV)
1 Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through
the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them,
rubbing them in their hands. 2 And some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are
you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” 3 But Jesus answering them
said, “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and
those who were with him: 4 how he went into the house of God, took and ate the
showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any
but the priests to eat?” 5 And He said to them, “The Son of Man is also Lord of
the Sabbath.”
6 Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and
taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 So the scribes and
Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they
might find an accusation against Him. 8 But He knew their thoughts, and said to
the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and
stood. 9 Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on
the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?” 10 And when
He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”
And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 11 But they
were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to
Jesus.
12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray,
and continued all night in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, He called His
disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named
apostles: 14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and
John; Philip and Bartholomew; 15 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus,
and Simon called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who
also became a traitor. 17 And He came down with them and stood on a level place
with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea
and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him
and be healed of their diseases, 18 as well as those who were tormented with
unclean spirits. And they were healed. 19 And the whole multitude sought to
touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.
20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: “Blessed are you
poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for
you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. 22
Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you,
and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake. 23 Rejoice in that
day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like
manner their fathers 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, for you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you
shall mourn and weep. 26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did
their fathers to the false prophets.
27 “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate
you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.
29 To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him
who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to
everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask
them back. 31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them
likewise. 32 But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?
For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who
do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34
And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is
that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 35 But
love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your
reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to
the unthankful and evil. 36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is
merciful.
37 “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be
condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to
you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put
into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured
back to you.”
Devotion
The wisdom of God is very different from the wisdom of false teachers. False
teachers take the Word and abuse it, resisting the Holy Spirit and His guidance
in faithfully applying the Word. However, because they use parts of the Word
they manage to fool some into thinking that they are teaching a faithful
message. This is why false teachers must always be marked and avoided. They
play dangerous games that can result in the damnation of others.
False teachers are also quick to try and protect themselves by hiding behind
misapplied verses like “Judge not, and you shall not be judged.” But if their
teaching is faithful and their use of God’s Word is according to the Holy
Spirit, then they have no need to worry about being judged. Our Lord’s point is
that man should not judge according to himself or his own wisdom. That does not
mean no one shall be judged, or marked as false, or avoided for their dangerous
lies. Such Pharisaical teachers are not judged according to men or their
wisdom, but according to the Word of God. Their lies are exposed by the very
Word that they mishandle, and they are judged by it, not by any man.
The holy Word judges all of us and exposes our sins. But by the grace of God
and the power of His Spirit we are made able to repent of those sins, not hide
them or make excuses. Then the Gospel of our Lord is applied to teach us that
those same sins are forgiven in Jesus Christ!
We pray: Lord God, Your Word judges righteously; keep us steadfast in Christ so
that we may not be judged according to our sins, but declared faithful and
righteous in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
The Lutheran Herald is a publication of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of
North America. These daily devotions are authored by the bishop, pastors, and
deacons of the diocese. Daily posts are provided by The Reverend Jeffrey A.
Ahonen.
_______________________________________________
Sermons mailing list
[email protected]
http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
