“They Came to Hear Him”

Luke 6:17-19

XXXVI. Expositions of the Gospel According to Luke

1.      Sermon on the Plain

January 22, 2012

Luke tells us that “a great crowd of His disciples” and “a great multitude of people” gathered from all throughout Palestine some traveling great distances “to hear Him, and to be healed” (vs 17, 18). We understand why these afflicted with “diseases” or “troubled with unclean spirits” might come for healing, and we’ll say more about that as we proceed. However, what we want to focus upon that which Luke focuses, that is, that they came to listen to Him.[1] What was it about Jesus’ teaching that was so compelling? What did He preach that attracted so many, who were so different from each other, and some, from so far away? After an extended account of conflict with the religious authorities, who came not to learn, but judge (5:17-6:11), we now encounter multitudes who came not to critique but to receive.

Setting

The section before us (6:17-49) traditionally has been called the “Sermon on the Plain” (from the KJV of 6:17, “He came down with them, and stood in the plain.”). It parallels the Gospel of Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount” with important differences. Whereas Matthew’s gospel records the “Sermon on the Mount” in three chapters (5-7), the “Sermon on the Plain” covers some of the same content but in less than a full chapter (6:17-44). Other portions of the Sermon on the Mount are scattered throughout Luke’s gospel. Often the wording in Luke differs from that of Matthew, at times significantly. For example, the “poor” in 6:20 are the “poor in spirit” in Matthew. Those who “hunger” in 6:21 are those who “hunger and thirst after righteousness” in Matthew. Are these contraditions, irreconciable differences in a New Testament that is hopelessly contradictory? Not at all. Morris gives the most likely explanation for the parallels as well as the differences─“Preachers usually make use of the same similar matter in different sermons, especially if they speak without a written script.”[2] This is particularly the case with itinerant preachers, who move relatively quickly from place to place. Each time they speak, they say many of the same things, but say them slightly differently, even nuanced according to the concerns and needs of each particular audience.

The point of the sermon is to teach His followers what it means to be a disciple. “It is not a matter of fine words alone” Morris explains, “but of a whole way of life.”[3] Luke presents us with a condensed version of the core of Jesus’ teaching on how His disciples are to live. Followers of Jesus are defined both by what they believe and how they live, by their doctrine as well as their ethics.

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. . . (v. 17)

What is translated “a level place” could refer to a plain as well as a mountain side. A “great multitude” had assembled, some having traveled great distances to hear Him. They gathered from Jerusalem, from all throughout Judea, from Tyre and Sidon, 30 – 35 miles to the north.[4]  This latter reference suggests that Gentiles as well as Jews were coming to hear Jesus.[5]

“who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.”

So again we ask, “What was it about His teaching that drew so many”?

Ideals

Jesus taught the highest ethical ideals. His “beatitudes” describe (6:20-23; Mt 5:3-12) what true virtue looks like, and by so doing, describe what is truly important and that which God favors and which He blesses (6:20-23). When Jesus says that God is pleased with poverty of spirit, with meekness, with purity of heart, it rings true. God is primarily concerned with the heart, not appearances. Jesus compellingly describes justice, when the great reversal will take place, the powerful oppressors humbled and the righteous poor and oppressed rewarded. In an unjust world, Jesus teaches that no one gets away with anything. Justice will prevail. (6:20-26). He teaches humanity to love, not just one’s neighbors, but one’s enemies (6:27-36). He teaches us to pray for those who mistreat us, to turn the other cheek and walk the extra mile, and give the coat off of our backs. He teaches us the “Golden Rule,” to treat others as we ourselves would like to be treated (6:31). 

He teaches us to be merciful to others and not to judge them lest we be judged, to clear the logs out of our own eyes before we worry about the speck in another’s. Give, He says, generously, that it might be given to us. (6:37-42). Jesus teaches us the sanctity of human life (Mt 5:21ff), the sanctity of marriage (16:18), respect for the property of others and the importance of speaking the truth (Mt 5:33-37; cf Lk 3:14). This all rings true. We are left saying, He is right. What Jesus says is surely good and right and true. He is identifying how we ought to live in the most simple yet profound ways. His teaching resonates with our consciences. It is self-authenticating and compelling.

As we proceed through Luke’s Gospel we’ll also see that Jesus teaches religious truths in the most convincing ways. He teaches us not to be anxious but to trust our Father in heaven and seek first the kingdom of God (12:22-34). He teaches us to pray, discouraging the vain repetitions and babbling of pagans while providing a model, the Lord’s Prayer (11:1-4). He uses parables to illustrate His lessons and clinch His arguments. For example. He tells the “Parable of the Sower” to describe the various responses of the heart to His word. (8:4-15); the “Good Samaritan” to teach what it means to love one’s neighbor (10:30-37); the “Rich Fool” to demonstrate the folly of greed (12:13-21); the “Prodigal Son” and “Lost Sheep” and “Lost Coin” to illustrate the lavishness of God’s love (15:1-32); the “Rich Man and Lazarus” to show the certainly of heaven and hell (16:19-31); the “Pharisee and Publican” to expose the error of self-righteousness (18:9-14) and so on.

Jesus was the consummate teacher, both in formal settings and in His circumstantial encounters with people, whether the centurion (7:1-10); the sinful woman who loved much because she was forgiven much (7:36-50); the Gerasenes demoniac, who was “clothed and in his right mind” after encountering Jesus (8:26-39); the Ten Lepers (17:11-21), and blind Bartimaeus (18:35-43); the Rich Young Ruler (18:18-27); Zaccheus (19:1-10) or His confrontations with His opponents and accusers (20:1-47).

Human Condition

Another way of saying what we are saying is that Jesus accurately described the human condition. In all His teaching and interaction with people, He upheld human dignity, as those made in the image of God, whose lives are sacred and to be honored. He treated rich and poor, healthy and unhealthy, sinner and religious alike with respect. Yet He called them all to repentance without distinction (13:1-5).

This is to say that Jesus understood both the greatness of humanity and the tragedy of humanity. He didn’t soft-pedal the terrible reality of hell, the certainty of judgment, and the need of repentance. He taught of a holy, righteous and just God as well as a kind and forgiving God. We are saying that all that Jesus taught rang true. He described with compelling accuracy the totality of the human condition and it rang true. There is a God in heaven who is infinite and personal and holy.  We are a race that is great but fallen.  This makes sense of a world that is characterized by order yet complexity, goodness yet cruelty.

Peter Kreeft says in his book on apologetics, “There is the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Therefore, there must be a God. You either see this one or you don’t.” [6] People have and do appeal to beautiful music and art, to natural beauty and order for God’s existence. “The heavens declare the glory of God.” (Ps 19:1). The difference is, we are inclined to say “Bach or Beethoven, or the sunset, or the rocky coastline, etc., prove there is a God.” However, when we encounter Jesus, we say not there is a God, but He is God. His words are divine. They correspond to reality. What He says rings true.  His ethical ideals ring true.  His religious instruction rings true.  He makes sense of our world in ways that atheistic naturalism cannot, and polytheism cannot, pantheism (eastern religions) cannot. 

So the crowds came because as Jesus described the true nature of the God who is there, and the way He would have us live, it was compelling – He was compelling. “Never did a man speak as this man spoke” (Jn. 7:46).

Be Healed

Because His teaching makes sense of our world, because it rings true, we are prepared to believe His claims and follow Him. If He is right, so completely right on so much, He must be speaking truthfully respecting who He is, what He came to do, and how we are to respond.

He says He is the Son of God and Son of Man (6:5). I’m prepared to believe Him. It must be so.  He said He came to die a death of atoning sacrifice for sin (Lk 22:18ff). I’m prepared to believe Him.  It must be so.  He claims to be the Bread of Life (Jn 6:35), the Resurrection and the Life (Jn 11:25), the Way, Truth and Life (Jn 14:6). It must be so. The one who taught with such insight, such depth, such clarity so compellingly cannot be dishonest when it comes to His identify and what He requires of us.

Yet Jesus didn’t leave it there. He verified or confirmed His claims with miracles. Those who encounter Jesus are healed.

… And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. (v. 18)

Some were healed of “diseases,” others of “unclean spirits” or demonically imposed afflictions.

And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all. (v. 19)

Encounters with Jesus were life transforming, so “all the multitude were trying to touch Him” and “power was coming from Him and healing them all”, whatever their needs were.

Healings, as we have said, are visual pointers to what Jesus is able to do for us spiritually. Talk is cheap, as it is said. Jesus says “rise up and walk,” and be healed of spiritual paralysis, so that we’ll know that He has the authority to say, “Your sins are forgiven you” (5:17-26). He heals the body to confirm that He is able to heal the soul.

Physical healings have slowed since Jesus’ day, but supernatural life-transforming encounters with Jesus have not. Multitudes have been born again (Jn 3:1 ff). Multitudes have had their since forgiven and been reconnected to God.  Multitudes have experienced the power of sin broken and experienced the liberty and freedom from bondage from the powers of darkness that comes through the gospel (Eph. 2:1 ff). Multitudes have become new creations in Christ, the old passing away and all things becoming new (2 Cor 5:17).

Jesus concludes the “Sermon on the Plain” with black and white alternatives (6:46-49). One either builds upon the unshakeable foundation of His words, or some other inevitably unstable foundation. We are all building a life and a destiny upon some philosophical or religious foundation. We may or may not be conscious of our foundation, but there is one. It may be merely a vague hedonistic “have fun” philosophy, or a “what’s best for me” or we may build on the words of Joseph Smith, or Muhammad, or the Buddha or Darwin, or Hugh Hefner. We all will live life for some purpose, to some end, for some reason. What will it be? The result of building on some other words than Jesus’ will be collapse and ruin.

Why did the crowds come and why do we still come today to hear Jesus teach and experience His power? Because we hear in Him the voice of God Himself. What He teaches is compelling. What He claims resonates. He is the One for whom we are going to live and His gospel the cause to which we are to devote our lives. In Jesus we can find no higher purpose, higher goal or greater end.