Sons of the Most High God

Introduction

Despite the fact that we live in a culture where thousands of people claim to be Christians, it amazes me still how little familiarity there is with the actual words that Jesus spoke. And it’s really interesting if you’re ever watching the show Jeopardy, and they have the Bible column, or they call it ancient quotes. And if words of Jesus are involved in those ancient quotes, if it’s outside of John 3.16, it’s going to be pretty ippy. I mean, these are people that have studied books of all kinds and have all kinds of information, but how much biblical information do they possess in their knowledge? How many of the words of Jesus would we recognize? Again, if we’re claiming to be Christians, we should be familiar, should we not, with the words that Jesus spake.

Could we put quotation after quotation? I had this actually in another sermon where I put quotation after quotation of Jesus, and do we recognize these statements? And how important are the words of Jesus? I want to take you initially tonight to John chapter 6 and verse 63. I love this passage. This is right before many who are in the crowd or in the audience are going to turn away from Jesus. Withdraw themselves from him and not follow him anymore. And it’s amazing when you consider he makes this statement just prior to that. He has already said, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves. That is a great call to discipleship in verse 53.

And now in verse 63, he says, It is the Spirit who gives life. The Holy Spirit’s role in the redemption of man is to be a source of life through the word that is presented. It is the Spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and our life. That’s a pretty sweeping statement, isn’t it? The words that Jesus speaks during his ministry, they appeal to the spirit of man, they pertain to the spirit of man, and they are life-giving. Thus that should promote again our awareness of his words. What were the nature of his words? Jesus spoke of religion in terms of personal righteousness and holiness. Remember on the Sermon on the Mount, begins with all of those beatitudes.

And then he encourages his audience to be salt and light in the world. He then says, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. And so he has some very real expectations about our response to his message.

And so Jesus spoke in terms of personal righteousness and holiness, and in the process revealed the supreme motives of mind in relation to the right approach to God and the right treatment of one’s fellow man. Oh, to be like thee, we say. Stamp thine own image deep on my heart. If I could summarize in a statement what this lesson’s about, that’s it. What does that mean? Stamp his image deep on my heart. The teaching of Jesus continually challenged would be disciples to live above the ordinary plane of human existence. To live on a higher plane than ordinary individuals. And if anyone ever dispel the notion that attending assemblies where religious acts are done, that attending religious assemblies was all there was to religion. It was Jesus Himself who dispelled that notion.

I want to look with you at some challenging statements Jesus makes that are somewhat parallel to what we read in the Sermon on the Mount, but this is obviously a different occasion of his teaching. We are probably far more familiar with the material of Matthew chapter 5 and the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount than we are the material of Luke chapter 6. But it starts very similarly, but there are some notable differences. I want you to read these 18 verses with me. And turning his gaze on his disciples, he began to say, Blessed are you who are poor. Now remember, the Sermon on the Mount begins, blessed are you who are poor in spirit. But that’s not what it says here. He simply says, Blessed are you who are in poor.

Well, did he leave me in spirit part out? No, this is something different. He says, Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now. Well, didn’t he mean hunger and thirst after righteousness? No. He didn’t miss that. This is something different. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now. Well, that’s sort of like mourn of the Beatitudes of Matthew 5. For you shall laugh. Now that’s not like the Beatitudes at all. Blessed are you when men hate you and ostracize you and cast insults at you. Oh, now that’s familiar. And spurn your name as evil for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day.

And leap for joy. Now, again, that might not be the most natural response when people are insulting you. Because you are loyal to Jesus. But he says, leap for joy. Maybe when my team wins the big game. Or when that coveted thing that you’ve wanted for a long time, you finally receive. Or that new and shiny item comes into your possession. But here he’s talking about insults. And he says, leap for joy. For behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way, their fathers, those who are mistreating you, their fathers, their ancestors used to treat the prophets. You have a kinship with the prophets in this ill treatment. Now, in contrast to what we have seen about the poor and the hungry and the weeping, he says, But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.

Woe to you who are well fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the false prophets. But I say to you who hear, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. 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. Give to everyone who asks of you. And whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.

And just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way. And if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And 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. 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. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. And 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. Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure. Pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you in return. I want to suggest to you that these are some of the most challenging statements Jesus ever made to his would-be disciples. And I think they’re some of the hardest things that I’ve been asked to live as a disciple of Jesus. I want you to notice how this begins. When it says that he turned his gaze.

Interesting word, he turned his gaze to his disciples. He spoke to them intently about this. This was instruction that they needed. It is instruction that we need. It’s serious. If we would indeed be sons of the Most High.

1. The Virtues of Poverty, Hunger, and Weeping

Following Jesus’ example, being imitators of God as beloved children. But if we really want to accomplish that, we need to give heed to this kind of instruction. And I want to break this section of material in Luke chapter 6 down into four parts. The first part in this lesson, sons of the Most High, deals with the first six verses, the beatitudes and the woes of the first six verses as he extols the virtues of poverty, hunger, and weeping. Now, on the surface, these are not things that people relish or want. This is not generally a desirable state. When you think about putting your life together, let me see. What do I want out of life? I want to be poor. And I want to be hungry, and I want to hurt.

Can I please? Where do I sign up?

This is not inviting. When compared to the opposites, let’s see. Riches, a full stomach, and laughter. Sign me up for that. That’s what I want. There is something really strange here. Jesus pronounces a woe on the latter and extols the virtues of the former. Now, it’s obviously not Jesus’ intention here to say that some material possessions automatically a bad thing. Or that it’s wrong to eat a meal and to have a full stomach. Or that it’s never acceptable to laugh. No laughing please. Whatever you do tonight, if I say something funny, don’t laugh. No laughter aloud. Only weeping because you had to sit there and listen so long. Okay, no laughter. Don’t shake your head yet. That’s not the point. Jesus is encouraging here an attitude, a state of mind that is often more consistent with people who are experiencing poverty, who are hungry, who weep.

It is more commonly present in someone who experiences these things versus somebody who is rich or filled. Or laughing. And that’s why the wise writer said it is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting. And that the living take it to heart. The attitude that the disciple must cultivate is one of utter helplessness that places dependence beyond ourselves. That’s why the former is blessed and the latter is pronounced a woe. Because it is a person in this state, is one who recognized a need beyond himself or herself. You see, this is about the fact that we have a need that only God can fill. And we have to perceive that. And only he can fill the empty heart. The one who feels he has everything and needs nothing has no room in his heart for God.

And that’s why it is hard for the rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. We don’t see a lot of people obeying the gospel. Thankfully, some of our young people who have grown up in our number have recently done that. And I know that some churches are experiencing success in teaching the lost, but a lot of churches are like us. We’re not baptizing a lot of folks. Thankfully, we have had some who have obeyed the gospel in recent days. But that’s not going to happen. People are not going to sign on to this kingdom until they recognize I have a need.

And that I need him until they come to that point, they will not embrace the message of salvation. R. C. H. Linsky in his notes on this text says the latter, speaking of the poor, hungry, and weeping, are those who recognize their sad condition in true repentance. So the rich are those who imagine they have all that they need and can do without the kingdom of God. It’s pardon, sonship, and promise of heaven. They hold their head high, talk boldly and proudly, and are well satisfied with themselves. I think in that statement, Linsky has well summarized our culture. They have no need of God, no need of pardon, no need of sonship. They hold their head high and boldly go on. When people find themselves in a wretched spiritual condition, even after they have once obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ, this is the mindset that they develop.

Like the church at Laodicea. We are rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing. Remember that? That’s what they’re saying. And Jesus says of them, what? You are poor, miserable, wretched, and blind. They had no clue as to their condition. If we would be sons of the Most High, we must recognize our need.

2. Abnormal Advice for Dealing with Adversaries

Luke chapter 16 and verse 16. The second section that I want to look at is verses 26 through 30, where some abnormal advice is given for dealing with adversaries. Now, why do I use the word abnormal? Not because it is unwise to do so. Not because it is wrong advice. But because this isn’t the natural response of man’s wisdom. Now, what is he talking about here? When he says, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. That’s not the knee-jerk response to that. The knee-jerk response is the bumper sticker or the t-shirt that says, I don’t get mad, I get even. That’s the typical man wisdom response. You do unto me, I do unto you. You deserve it. You know, if there’s a phrase that doesn’t belong in Luke chapter 6, it’s you deserve it.

You give out what is deserved. You see, we won’t be like our father, and this really isn’t in my notes here, so I’m going to go on a tangent here. That doesn’t make us like our father. And the reason why is because if God did what we deserved, being here would render nothing for us tonight. There would be no way to avoid the sentence of eternal condemnation. And we need to keep that before our minds. Thank God that he doesn’t give us what we deserve. God is kind to evil men. He is kind to ungrateful men. God has been kind to us. We all deserve the sentence of eternal torment when we have sinned and transgressed the will of God. And thanks be to his mercy.

Have not received that condemnation. I think we lose sight of that. We talk about being Christ-like. Well, let me tell you, if we’re going to be Christ-like, then we’ve got to become merciful people. That’s what this whole context is about. Are you merciful? Or are you always dealing in what is deserved with people? You know, he cut me off in traffic. And the natural response is to give him a fist or worse. Or to give him an angry look. Like, what are you doing? I wonder if I’ve ever done the same thing that I got upset with them for doing. That’s a natural response. Give them what they deserve. He hit me, I’m going to get him. And that’s not what this passage says, is it?

Turn the other cheek. This is about mercy. I understand that there are limitations to some of these illustrations that Jesus uses. I don’t think they’re absolutes, and that’s maybe a discussion for another time. But what he is saying is that there needs to be a spirit about us where we give mercifully to others. Do not be overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Paul would mimic these very qualities in Romans chapter 12. And the Lord will reward you. That actually comes from Proverbs 25. Proverbs 25 and verse 21 actually quoted in Romans 12. If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat. If he’s thirsty, give him water to drink.

I don’t know who would you put on your enemy list? Maybe somebody you work with, possibly.

We don’t deal with that a lot. But if there is someone who gives you a hard time because of your righteous conduct and stand, give him some water. Give her some water. But what about if it’s even your brother in Christ? What does this suggest about our relationships with each other? In terms of someone who disappoints you or hurts you or inflicts some kind of wound on you in some way. How should you respond to that? Certainly, if we should do this in regard to our enemies, we should do this into those who are our friends most of the time. And our brothers who are brothers in Christ.

3. Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

Or mistreated me by my perception of things. Certainly these qualities apply across the board. And so we must be one who deals out mercy. And he goes on in the next section, which I call giving credit where credit is due. And the reason why is in verses 31 through 34, this question appears three times. What credit is that to you? And he starts all of that by saying, however you want people to treat you treat them in the same way. And so we need to do this, and the only way we’re going to learn to do this is when we look at a particular situation, this person, especially if they’re troubling me in some way or bothering me, I’ve got to look at them and say, if I were them, how would I want to be treated?

Now again, this could be your brother in Christ. It’s any person. Hard enough when it’s your enemy. But if I were them, how would I want to be treated? That’s why you don’t give what they deserve. Because that’s not what you want. You would want people to extend mercy to you. You would want people to do something to wake you up to your condition.

Jesus is challenging us to rise above the norm. And that’s why he keeps saying, what credit is that to you? If you love those who love you’re just like everybody else. People generally love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to the, you know, you invite me over to your house, then I’ll invite you over to my house. You do something good to me, I feel indebted. I’m going to try to do something good for you. That’s the way generally people operate. And if you lend money to someone whom you expect to receive what you have lended to them back, what credits that you’re just like everybody else. And what he’s saying here, rise above. The norm. Give and don’t expect anything in return.

Give regardless if they respond in a reciprocal way to you. And I’ll say this applies in all of our relationships. It’ll make our marriages better. You don’t keep score. My spouse did one good thing for me or two good or three in a row. Man, I’m way behind. I’ve got to catch up. Well, we don’t keep score. I’ve done 20 good things, and they’ve only done five in return. It’s not about that. We’re learning to be givers. Because that’s who God is. He doled out salvation and made it available to everyone. How many times have we said that? Even though only a very small percentage are going to embrace his gracious gift. And so we need to learn to be givers in our relationship. And so if we extend hospitality, we don’t make a list.

4. Be Merciful Just as Your Father Is Merciful

Well, I’ve invited this person over now. Let’s see when they’re going to invite me back. I’ll put the date over here when they’ve invited me back. Come to their house. When are they going to reciprocate? That’s not how it works. You give. And you give without expecting in return. And that makes us like our Father. What do you do? More than others. This will make us like our Father and sons of the Most High. And he concludes in verses 36 through 38 with again this important concept. Be merciful just as your father is merciful. And do not judge, and you will not be judged. And again, this passage is misunderstood, like Matthew chapter 7 and verse 1 in the Sermon on the Mount. Judge not that you be not judged.

And he’s not forbidding all kinds of judgment and determinations that we make of the conduct of others. If that’s the case, when we come to 1 Corinthians chapter 5, the church in Corinth has no business whatsoever withdrawing from that immoral person in their midst. They were told to make a judgment. And to render that one over to the dominion of Satan because that’s where he is.

And no condemnation ever. Or pardon everybody. You know, wouldn’t that be nice? Just everybody that has guilt on their hands. Everybody pardoned. You’re pardoned. Everybody’s pardoned. Because if I pardon everybody, then I get pardon. Again, this is not the point of the passage. Give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over. They will pour into your lap, for by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you in return. Let me tell you how this works. When you go and buy a quart of strawberries at the store.

You know, it’s like, is that is that plastic container really full? Like it should be. Has somebody taken one or two out of there? There’s a lot of empty space in there. And have you ever noticed that they leave the green stuff on the top of the strawberries? That just adds more weight. So they say that’s a pound. So, but have you ever gone out to the strawberry patch and picked your own strawberries and they give you the container? What do you do? Let’s mound it up. Let’s see. And you get it, you’ve got them all mounded up in this container. And they let you do that. You mound it up. Because we want to get our money’s worth, right? Well, that’s sort of the idea of this illustration.

It’s the bushel in the marketplace. Our bushel that we give to others is packed down. You know when you shake something, how it settles down? You shake it and it settles down, you can get more in. So you shake it and get more in, shake it and get more in. That’s the attitude that we have in dealing with other people. We’re givers. We want to be lavish in our giving toward others. And so it says, if at all possible, you can refrain from judging, do so. If at all possible, you can refrain from condemning, do so. Please don’t judge and condemn out of turn or unnecessarily. And pardoning. When you can pardon, you pardon. Because listen. Whatever measure you use in relation to others, that’s what’s coming back to you.

Now, this isn’t saying, obviously, this is not saying, compromise with sin and transgression. That’s not what it’s saying. And it’s not saying, you know, if I just pardon everybody, then God’s going to pardon me. No, if there’s sin on your account, there’s sin on your account. That’s not what it’s saying. It is speaking to a spirit of generosity and fairness in dealing with other people, just like you want God to deal with you. How many times have you sinned against God since you became a Christian?

We might say, I can’t count them all. And yet we have every prospect that God is merciful to us and he forgives us. So that’s why Jesus says, if a brother sins against you seven times in a day and comes to you and says, I repent, forgive it. We need to be that generous with our forgiveness toward others. Now, obviously, there are some other factors involved in even that verse in terms of do we believe this person is genuine in making this request? Are they evidencing their genuineness in making this request? But the idea is, even if I’ve been sinned against seven times in a day, I am willing and ready to forgive if a person comes to me sincerely and genuinely as I perceive it and asks for my forgiveness.

What about the way we dole out criticisms of other people? We have pretty high expectations of the behavior of people.

Things we don’t like. But if you think about that for a minute, what if everybody was dealing with me like that? And started criticizing things they don’t like. I guess as time has gone on, I just I just think you could have a field day with me, probably. Things we don’t like about Tony. You know, stand in line. And we could just have a big criticism party with that. And maybe rightfully so. We can find something about people we don’t like. And I really don’t enjoy that very much, amazingly. You know? And if I don’t enjoy that very much, this passage would tell me, you know, then you shouldn’t look at other people that way. And always being so critical of everything that they do that sort of doesn’t sit well with you.

And even in marriage, this principle applies. How you give. Look, the way we regard others, the way we treat others on the day of judgment is going to play a big part in how God sentences us. One way or the other. That’s what this passage is telling us. Whatever standard you use, and the Matthew 7 account is saying this as well. Whatever standards you use, that’s the standard that will be used on you. These are some challenging thoughts. Do we have the generous spirit that these passages encourage us to possess? Well, you know it’s interesting. There’s no mention of baptism for the remission of sins in Luke chapter 6 or in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus hadn’t died yet for the sins of man, nor was he raised from the dead, so that wasn’t taught yet.

Conclusion

But it occurs to me that our baptism into Christ, that’s just the beginning. Where we sign on to be like our Lord. And we’ve got a lot more to learn. To be like him in our thinking and our character and our actions. So that we can truly be sons of the Most High God. That’s our pursuit. Passages like this are challenging us as we go out there to not be like everybody else. To have a different operating standard than everybody else. This section concludes in Luke 6 with this statement. And why do you call me Lord and do not do what I say? Verse 46. Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and acts upon them, I will show you whom he is like.

He is like a man building a house who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock, and when a flood rose, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it because it had been well built. But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly is like a man who built a house upon the ground without any foundation, like the sand of Matthew 7, similar analogy. And the torrent burst against it and immediately collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great. That story, that illustration is about hearing the words of Jesus and acting upon them. Why do you call me Lord, and do not the things which I say? I wanted to give you something tonight that you could take with you tomorrow and throughout the week.

In things that are going to happen tomorrow as you interact with other people. And you need to think about Am I responding as a son of the Most High God? Am I giving people what they deserve? Or am I showing mercy and compassion? Am I displaying a generous spirit? What credit is that to us if we act just like everybody else? What do you do more than others? Baptism is just the beginning, but it is the place where we must begin. Our conversion to the risen king. Is there someone in this audience tonight who needs to have the conviction to sign on to the blessed life that Jesus tells us about? Won’t you come while we stand and see?