THE GOSPELS: LESSON 32: THE SERMON ON THE PLAIN

Figure 1 Looking toward the Sea of Galilee from the top of the “Horns of Hattin.” The plain below is probably the site of the sermon in Luke 6.

TEXT: LUKE 6: 20 - 49.

The setting: on the Plain of Gennesaret, below the “mountain.”

Verse 12: “In these days he went out to the mountain to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God. Jesus gave the apostles miraculous powers: to cast out demons and heal every form of sickness.”

Verse 17: “And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him . . .”

          Clearly, we are not talking about just another version of the Sermon on the Mount as many claim. This is a different event at a different place. This sermon repeats many ideas from the Sermon on the Mount. The following chart correlates the two discourses.

VERSES 20 - 23: SIMPLIFIED BEATITUDES.

Verses 20, 21: The “revised” Beatitudes. Pretty much the same as in the Sermon on the mount, but fewer of them given. Why? Different audience, different needs. Notice that the “poor in spirit” of Matthew 5 is here rendered merely poor. Jesus seems to have simplified it for his second audience because the first ones probably did not understand the concept of “spiritual poverty.”

Verses 22, 23: When men hate us and revile us for our faith in Jesus, what is that a sign of? See II Tim. 3: 12.

VERSES 24 - 26: THE ANTI-BEATITUDES.

Verse 24: Rather than pronouncing a blessing on those who have little, Jesus pronounces a curse or warning on those who have too much. Woe is an “exclamation of grief and despair.” Sometimes it is translated “alas.”

The rich have already received their solace or comfort. They have made themselves a heaven on earth and so they will not find another. Why? They have trusted in their riches instead of God. See Matt. 6: 19 - 24. Can one be rich in this world and the next? Yes, but only if they count their riches as unimportant and their relationship to God as the truly important thing. How can we determine if this is so? If one is willing to give away all he has to benefit others. See Mark 10: 17 - 23.

Verse 25: Woe to the full and the happy: those who are sated and happy with their material goods, not with Godly things. They will be disappointed in the next life.

Verse 26: Popularity is a trap. We CANNOT speak the truth and have all men speak well of us.

VERSES 27 - 38: PRINCIPLES OF THE ACTIVE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 

Verses 27, 28: Love your enemies. Jesus was once asked, “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10: 29ff.) Maybe we should ask, “Who is my enemy?” Well . . .                                                                    

Verse 30: Is there any application here regarding our benevolence? If so, what?

Verse 31: The Golden Rule.

Verses 32, 33: Do good things even to those who will not or cannot return your favor.

Verse 34: Lend, even to those who may not be able to repay. NEVER give expecting it to be returned. (Especially with family.)

Verses 35, 36: If you do these things (doing good without expectation of reward) then you will be like God, for He gives even to the ungrateful and selfish. Such is the essence of mercy: to give good when bad is earned.

Verse 37: Do not condemn. Judge how? With mercy. Forgive and you will be forgiven.

Verse 38: Give always with liberality and it will be returned by God in like manner: more than we expect.

VERSES 39 - 45: BEARING GOOD FRUIT.

Verse 39: A parable. What is a parable? “An earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” In this case an aphorism with a spiritual moral. To whom is Jesus probably speaking here? What is the meaning of this proverb?

Verse 40: This is the companion proverb to the parable in the preceding verse. What is Jesus saying? See Matt. 23: 15, 16.

Verse 41, 42: What is a hypocrite? Literally, the Greek word means “[an actor] under an assumed (false) role.” It is one who condemns in others what he himself does. It is NOT one who repents of his sin and then points out to others the folly of such actions.

Verse 43, 44: What is fruit? How do we tell if it is good or bad?

Verse 45: Since it is true that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks,” then what must we do?

VERSES 46 - 49: THE PARABLE OF THE WISE AND FOOLISH BUILDERS.

          Giving reverence in words is not enough to please God. We must do what? In the parable, what is the foundation? See I Cor. 3: 10, 11; Eph. 2: 19 - 22; I Tim. 6: 18, 19.

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