The Greatest Commandment Luke 6: Lesson for March 31- April 1 st. Pam Dollins

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1 The Greatest Commandment Luke 6:27-49 Lesson for March 31- April 1 st Pam Dollins Introduction There is nothing more humanly innate in us than the desire for justice and balance. As a society we demand that this take place in effort to keep order and civilization so that, at the very least, people can get along enough to function and be productive at a very basic level. You don t even have to teach this concept to young children. Even at a very early age they can understand injustice. As a mom, I know this all to well. I m always surprised when one of my children s first words is always mine! I spend a great deal of time refereeing and trying to maintain peace between miniature justice-seeking prosecutors. I had that first! Tell him to give it back He took that from MY room! Well, she hit me first! Every parent has heard these phrases, perhaps on a more frequent basis than we would care to admit. But what is a parent s ultimate desire? To maintain perfect justice and order in their household, making sure that every toy remain in the hands of its rightful owner and every act of violence receive its rightful consequence? No, parents desire something much greater, though it s not always so easy to cultivate. We desire our kids to love each other, to get along selflessly. When they put each other s needs ahead of their own its melts our hearts and turns heads on the playground. This is what our Heavenly Father desires from His children as well. Let s take a look at His commandments to us this week This section is Luke s version of the Sermon on the Mount. Early in the passage He lays out the expectation, and in the second passage He provides motivation. Then finally, in the third passage He lays out the potential blessings and consequences. Passage 1 - Luke 6:27-34 The Commandments 27 But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away

2 what is yours, do not demand it back. 31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. 32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. Comments: Jesus really raises the bar for us as Christians in this passage. As humans we can accept consequences that should be dealt to people justly. When someone borrows something they should give it back. If they don t, it should be required of them. If someone mistreats someone else it seems only natural that the victim would not be a big fan of the perpetrator. However, Jesus is calling us to do the unnatural or better yet, to allow Him to do the SUPER-natural through us. He can overcome our innate desire for balance, to accomplish what seems to us as foreign and it s with a purpose. It draws men to Himself. It catches attention when we as humans are able to demonstrate this elevation of love and compassion toward one another. The simple act of forgiving a debt, loving an enemy, returning a blessing from a curse, and offering kindness to group of hecklers is so anti-humanity that it perplexes the souls of the lost and brings pause to the universe. This is where Christ begins to draw men to Himself. There should be a distinction when people see Christians at work. Cross-reference John 13:35 "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." 1 Corinthians 13:13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. Galatians 5:14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this,that one lay down his life for his friends.

3 Laying down your life means laying down more than just physically perishing. It s laying down what only benefits you your pride, your possessions, your time on behalf of someone that will benefit from the sacrifice. When we become selfless, the gospel can be irresistible to others. It s a beautiful picture of the love the Christ has for us and is a demonstration of the cross in a modern day application for the unbeliever. APPLICATION In what ways are you willing to do this for others? Has God provided opportunities for you to be selfless? Are you looking for opportunities? God has put work before all of us where we can walk in obedience to this calling. We all have difficult people that can benefit from our forgiveness and kindness. Are you up for the challenge? Pray for the courage and strength to lay down your pride and display love to your enemies that deserve justice recognizing that this is what Christ did for you. Out of love and obedience, and as presentation of the sanctification taking place in our lives we should be learning to do this. Passage 2 - Luke 6:35-45 The Motivation 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 37 Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. They pour into your lap a good measure pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return. 39 And He also spoke a parable to them: A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher. 41 Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your brother, Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye, when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your

4 brother s eye. 43 For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. 44 For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. 45 The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart. Comments: When we are able, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to lay down our natural instincts to require justice there is reward in store for us. When we give on the Lord s behalf to magnify His name He will repay us. God s economy says that we will be measured in return by how we measure. This should inspire mercy, kindness, and generosity in all of us. The true evidence of Christ in our lives transforming us is this exhibition of love. As we become more Christ-like this love will become more apparent in our every day walk. We can expect to receive hateful behavior from the world. What they don t expect is love in return. Cross-reference: 1 John 3:13-16 Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. We know love by this,that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. APPLICATION: Have you checked your eye lately? Is it full of logs? Pray and ask the Lord to cleanse your heart and to identify the key areas where you may be lacking in the demonstration of love. Pray that out of His mercy you can become merciful. Passage 3 - Luke 6:46-49 The Blessings and Consequences 46 Why do you call Me, Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? 47 Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and

5 acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great. Comments: We all know that we are to love our enemies. But this is not a request, it s a commandment. Jesus is throwing down the gauntlet hearing and requiring obedience. He expects us to do it! This love concept is big one for Him. He called it the greatest commandment and we should therefore not take these words lightly. Cross-reference 1 John 2:4-6 The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. APPLICATION: What kind of hearer are you? Are you the one who hears and walks away or the one who hears and obeys? The Lord describes the end of both in LUKE 6:46-49 and it couldn t be more clear what we are to be. Examine your heart today to determine if you are walking in obedience. Then challenge your class to do this in a practical way. Are they being counter-cultural? If we find that we are not, then we must change or our ruin will be as great as the man who built his house on the sand. Conclusion We know that God s love is astounding. We have seen it played out in our lives time and again. We are thankful for His grace and mercy and the love displayed for us on the cross. However, when this same type of love is required of us even to a much less degree we fail at delivery. Only through Christ will we be able to do what is unnatural and love our enemies. We have the promise that if we can lay down our lives for one another in the same manner in which we have received love that the reward will be great. We need now to only walk in obedience. He will be faithful to complete the transformation when we bend ourselves to His will.

6 Phillippians 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.