Take a pre-teaching break!

The Christian life is not too hard to figure out. Be like Jesus. That whole rabbinic thing...

Luke 6: “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Luke 6: “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ~~~~~~~~~~ God loved/loves us while we were his enemies. Romans 5:6-8; Colossians 1:21-22; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:16 “enemies” ~ those who are active in their despisal of you Love (agape) is intentional. If there is no action, there is no love.

Luke 6: “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ~~~~~~~~~~ Love is the primary means of communicating God. We have tried exhibiting the moral superiority of Christianity intellectual merits political clout I Corinthians 13 Be intentionally good to your haters. This is the track record of God.

Luke 6: “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ~~~~~~~~~~ It is not just that thee folks hate you, they are calling the various deities to inflict harm on you. Do the opposite with the real God. (God has been good to us)

Luke 6: “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ~~~~~~~~~~ “mistreat” ~ accusing, insulting and/or harassing, to an extent, for the sheer sport of it. (bullying) Plead for mercy for them. (God has been merciful to us)

Luke 6: “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. ~~~~~~~~~~ “slap” here is weak. The idea is a cheap shot to the jaw. Turning the other side of one’s face shows forgiveness or even not taking offense. Jesus did that: “Father, forgive them...”

Luke 6: “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. ~~~~~~~~~~ What about justice? Perhaps the Lake of Fire is adequate... Do you want justice for you as well?

Luke 6: “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. ~~~~~~~~~~ The manner of taking deals with some level of hostility. If someone takes your coat, they might need your shirt as well. In so doing, you have covered the first offense entirely, making the first taking a giving instead. Does God take the initiative to cover our offenses?

Luke 6: “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ~~~~~~~~~~ The asking here is out of legitimate need as opposed to greed. “takes” is probably the idea of soft theft or “borrowing” without asking permission. How much are we to value material posessions. Is there a limit to the giving? Is this hyperbole?

Luke 6: “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. ~~~~~~~~~~ Two commands sum up everything

Luke 6: “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. ~~~~~~~~~~ Does Jesus love those who don’t love him? Is Jesus good to those who aren’t good to him?

Luke 6: “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. ~~~~~~~~~~ Does Jesus give to us without expecting repayment?

Luke 6: “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ~~~~~~~~~~ So if the one who is working dirt against me, who calls upon the gods to bring me down needs money, I am supposed to flat out give it to him/her? Has God ever done anything like that for us?

Luke 6: “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ~~~~~~~~~~ Have you ever been ungrateful and wicked?

Luke 6: “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. ~~~~~~~~~~ Story of the unmerciful servant...

Luke 6:27-36 Go back to the Garden where Eve was told that being like God is merely a matter of what you know. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Being like God is a matter of what you are doing in terms of loving. You don’t need to know a lot to be loving.

Luke 6:27-36 What is the greatest thing that God has ever done?

Luke 6:27-36 ~ Take homes Be like Jesus.