Story of Jesus, December 6th

Luke Chapter 6

One Sabbath day, Jesus was walking through some grain fields, and his disciples plucked some heads of grain, rubbed off the husks with their hands, and ate the grain. Some Pharisees said, “Why are you breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”

Jesus replied, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He went into the house of God and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests could eat. He also shared with his companions.” And Jesus added, “The Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath.”

On another Sabbath, Jesus was preaching in the synagogue and there was a man there with a deformed hand. The teachers and the Pharisees watched Jesus carefully, for if he would heal the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath. But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” So the man came forward.

Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil; to save life or to destroy it?”

He looked around at all of them, and then told the man to stretch out his hand. He did so, and his hand was completely restored. At this, the enemies of Jesus were furious and wild with rage, and they discussed what they should do with him.

Within a few days he went to the mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. When day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. There names were:

• Simon, whom he named Peter
• Andrew, Peter’s brother
• James
• John
• Philip
• Bartholomew
• Matthew
• Thomas
• James, the son of Alphaeus
• Simon, who he called Zealot
• Judas, the son of James
• Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor

When they came down from the mountain, the disciples stood with Jesus on a large, level area, with a great crowd of people from all over Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. They all came to hear him and be healed of their diseases, and those troubled with evil spirits were healed. Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.

Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said,

“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you shall be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. And remember their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way.
What sorrow awaits you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.
What sorrow awaits you who are well fed now, for a time of awful hunger awaits you.
What sorrow awaits you who laugh now, for your laughing will turn to mourning and weeping.
What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds, for their ancestors also praised false prophets.

But I say to you who are willing to listen, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on the cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone takes your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back.
Do to others as you would like them to do to you.
If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.
Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”

-Luke 6:20-38

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they both not fall in the pit? A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

And why worry about a speck in someone’s eye
when you have a log in your own?

How can you say, ‘Let me take the speck that is in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”

Jesus also said, “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorn bushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil person produces evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.”

Jesus asked, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ when you do not do what I say? I will show you what it is like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house right on the ground, without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.