Luke 7:18-23

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18 John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” 20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’” 21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 23 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” ~ Luke 7:18-23

Our text begins with "18 John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?"

We all understand believing doubt, or doubting belief. We all have said, "I believe but my faith is incomplete, my faith is challenged and battered by doubts."  Amazingly this is exactly where John the Baptist is in our text for today. This one of whom the Lord Jesus said, "The greatest prophet of all." Here is a prophet of God, the forerunner of the Messiah, the last of the Old Testament prophets and the greatest, who is struggling with doubt.

To date, there was plenty of reason to believe that the Lord Jesus was the Messiah.  Some believed, but most did not. Doubt plays a big role in whether we believe or not. John Drummond points out that the Lord Jesus consistently made a distinction between doubt and unbelief. “Doubt is can’t believe; unbelief is won’t believe. Doubt is honesty; unbelief is obstinacy. Doubt is looking for light; unbelief is content with darkness.”

We shouldn't be surprised to find a believer, John the Baptist, struggling with doubt.  If the greatest man who ever lived had doubts, then maybe it's understandable that we have some doubts as well.

Today, we find John in a prison. He's been in prison for many months. And his disciples, according to v.18, reported to him all the things the Lord Jesus was doing. For some time John had no firsthand information about the ministry of the Lord Jesus. He can't hear and he can't see the Lord Jesus. And doubt was growing on the edges of his faith.

So John sends his disciples back eighty miles to where the Lord Jesus was ministering in Galilee and says, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” Doubt comes from our inability to deal with negative circumstances when we perceive ourselves as being faithful people. Like John the Baptist, our doubts come when we are convinced that we belong to the Lord, we're loyal, we're faithful, we've lived and served Him and things aren't turning out the way we expected.

When we have illegitimate expectations, when we've bought false ideas about the way things should be and we think God doesn't deliver on His promises, we will have a problem with faith. This sentences us to a life of serious debilitating and discouraging doubt that robs us of our forward lean and our hopeful usefulness.

Honest doubt, is not bad. It could be a great starting point toward deeper faith in the Lord Jesus. Doubt is a bad finishing point because as a starting point doubt is connected to rationality. And part of rationality is to be able to discern what is true and what is not. One of the features of the sorting process is the skepticism that causes us to evaluate. Doubt is an essential part of faith.

Almost everything that John the Baptist expected to happen didn't. John grew up understanding when the Messiah comes redemption comes, salvation from all who hate the Jews will come. John believed that when Messiah comes, the Abrahamic Covenant will unfold, and the Davidic Covenant will be reality. John didn't understanding the time sequences in between.

When the Messiah came, it didn't happen. And John comes to this point and he's down in a prison, completely out of circulation and all he hears about is the Lord Jesus traveling around healing people, raising dead people, and casting out demons. And most of the people healed and delivered were not believers in the God of the Bible. So, he naturally struggles with doubt.

John suffered from incomplete revelation. When we, like John, lack enough information, we must go to the one who has the information. When we have doubts, we must go to the Word of God and get our doubt turned into faith.

We read in v. 21-22, "21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor." In response to John's disciples question, at an instant, the Lord Jesus responded by healing many.  

In His response the Lord Jesus said, “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” This was evidence that the kingdom had begun, even though the earthly fulfillment of that kingdom is yet future.

Then in v.23 we read, “Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” We are going to wrestle with understanding God's ways, that's ok. We must not let the lack of revelation and wrong expectations cause us to stumble out of our pursuit of the Lord Jesus. And, if this happens, if we end up believing a little more in the God of the Bible, we are blessed of God.

We know that later, Herod had John beheaded and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl who had danced for Herod on his birthday. John the Baptist was beheaded before the Lord Jesus died and rose from the dead. He never heard much of what the Lord taught and he never saw His power on display. And when he died, his disciples came to tell the Lord Jesus because He was John's Messiah.

Not all his questions were answered before John was murdered. The kingdom, however, had been previewed and John had gotten the message that all of this indicated that the kingdom had begun. Even though it's not yet in its final form, the kingdom is still in place and you and I are in it. And yet, we still struggle with our questions.

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Luke 7:11-17

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11 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. 16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country. ~Luke 7:11-17

The theme of the entire Bible is the Lord Jesus Christ. Today, we come to a story of a man being raised from the dead. But, this story isn't really about the man. No, this story is about his mother. This widow who had lost her only income maker was herself broken which is the true beginning place of a personal relationship with God.

In v.11 we read, "Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him."  This story took place soon after the healing of the Centurion's servant and it was witnessed by a large crowd who had made it their habit to follow the Lord Jesus around.

"Jesus went to a town called Nain" which is about twenty miles from Capernaum.  It would be a full day's walk to this city that was south of Capernaum. It was about six miles southwest of Nazareth so that Capernaum, Nazareth and Nain, kind of in a triangle. Nain means "green pastures."

Everything within the plan of God is guaranteed. In Jeremiah 29:11, we read, "I know the thoughts that I have toward you." There are no random thoughts in God's mind. He doesn't have to remember anything, nor does He forget anything except the believer's sin. Everything in our lives has purpose and is meaningful. 

In our text, we discover the Lord Jesus was not alone. His disciples were with Him. According to v.12, "As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her."  

It just so happened as the Lord Jesus and His disciples arrived in Nain, a funeral procession was going by. Perfect timing. Providential timing. The man dies at the right moment. They get him ready for the funeral at the right moment. They have the funeral and the procession just so happens to intersect with the Creator of all worlds. From a human viewpoint, this is a coincidental event. From the viewpoint of God, it is exactly on schedule.

The funeral was over. The people were carrying the corpse of the once alive man on a stretcher through the gate of the city. The burial place was outside of town. The dead man was the only son of his mother. And, the one thing a mother in Israel wanted was a son. 

We read in v.13, "When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” In the funeral procession, the widowed mother was alone going ahead of the dead body of her son. She's leading the procession to the town's graveyard. The Lord Jesus recognizes that this is not just an only son, but that this woman is a helpless widow. God has always had a special spot in His heart for widows. She had lost her financial security, and hopelessness was winning the day. 

The experience of this woman breaks the heart of the Lord Jesus. Seeing her in such pain moves Him to act on her behalf. Her pain taps in to His compassion which drives Him to her tearful condition. 

In v.14, we read, "Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!"  He touched the dead body of the son of the widowed woman. But, He, according to the Old Testament scriptures was instructed to touch not a dead body. His compassion elevated the woman's value to such a place that the Lord Jesus valued her more than His teachings regarding protection from disease. 

After touching the dead young man, the Lord Jesus tells him to "get up.'" In a split second life surged into the corpse of the once dead man. And, no one asked the Lord Jesus to raise this man from the dead. No one knew He could do this. 

Faith is not always necessary for God to do His most powerful work. Many claim that the reason people don't get healed is that they don't have enough faith. It is never faith itself that activates God's power. He doesn't need our faith to do what He wants to do. There are times when the Lord Jesus responds to our faith, but it isn't always necessary, as illustrated in this story. In fact, in most of His healings that are recorded in the Gospels, no faith is indicated.

In v.15 we read, "The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother." The dead man sat up speaking. He didn't have to learn how to talk all over again, even though he had been dead for quite a bit of time. And then, the Lord Jesus "gave him back to his mother."  That was the point. The Lord Jesus was highlighting the broken heartedness of the mother. And, then, He did what was necessary.

In v.16, we read, "They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said."  The onlooking people were afraid because they knew they were in the presence of someone very special. There was no other explanation. Whenever God makes appearances in Scripture, you have this kind of reverential fear. When God's power is put on display like this, we come to see God in a new light, and we are filled with awe and praise. 

It had been four hundred years since there had been a visit from God. There had been no miracles. There hadn't been any words from heaven. God had been silent for centuries. And there was this longing for God to visit His people. The problem is this: for all of the places for Him to show up, Nain? Obscure Nain? Such are the ways of God to reveal Himself to the weak and insignificant.

In 1 Corinthians 1:28-29 we read, "God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important … so that no one can ever boast in the presence of God."

Those who witnessed this miracle were terrified, and it catapulted them into sharing this news about Jesus throughout Judea and the surrounding country. They had realized that God had visited them because there was no explanation for the dead man coming back to life, except that the Creator did it. And, this type of story spreads, it spreads rapidly and everywhere.

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Luke 7:1-10

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1 When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” 6 So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well. ~ Luke 7:1-10

Today's text took place during the fall of the year. The Galilean ministry of the Lord Jesus had begun in the summer of that year, so He's just been in His Galilean ministry a few months. By now the Lord Jesus had a huge crowd of people following Him. Today's story took place immediately after the Sermon on the Mount. This story is a perfect example of what the Lord Jesus had just preached, it illustrates that God is gracious to give a living, breathing example of the Sermon on the Mount.

Here, in v.2, we learn of a man with compassion: a Centurion who loves his servant.  In those days a slave was considered a tool to be discarded if it didn't function.  And, here is a a Centurion who loves his enemy. In fact, he not only loved the Jews but was generous enough that he built their synagogue.  

So, here is a Roman Centurion soldier who calls the Lord Jesus, "Lord." Everything the Lord Jesus had just taught in the Sermon on the Mount is manifest in this Centurion.

At the end of v.1 we learn that the Lord Jesus went to Capernaum, a city which was well aware of the Lord Jesus and His ministry at the time. The Sermon on the Mount was delivered on a hillside which was walking distance from Capernaum which was the main city on the north shore of the city of Galilee.

In v.2 we read, "There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die." Centurion is a title given to what was essentially a captain in the Roman army. They were the highest ranking officers. They received their rank by moving up through being battle tested. Before becoming an officer, this man was a soldier's soldier. He knew how to lead, he knew how to set an example, he knew how to fight, he knew how to command. At the same time, he knew what it was to be submissive to those that were over him. He was among the best of the best in the pagan environment.

Every time the New Testament mentions a Centurion, it does so with respect. Every time they appear on the pages of the New Testament, there is an affirmation of this kind of manhood, character, and integrity as a soldier. Three of the Centurions mentioned in the Bible are believers in the Lord Jesus. This Centurion is unnamed.  

So, the content of the Sermon on the Mount is being illustrated in this story that begins with a servant who was about to possibly die due to a sickness. 

According to v.2, this Centurion looked at his slave who is about to die with high regard. The word "valued highly" is entimos in the Greek meaning “precious” or "honored." It is also used in Luke 14:8 describing the distinguished guest at a banquet. It is also used of Epaphroditus in Philippians 2:29 to refer to him as one who is held in the highest regard, with the greatest honor, very valuable.  So, this very valuable young boy is sick. He's the object of concern and affection by this rough, tough soldier.

Matthew fills in some information in the diagnosis in Matthew 8:6, "Lying paralyzed at home, suffering great pain." He is a paralytic. He is in severe pain and the agony causes the heart of the compassionate Centurion to help him. The Lord Jesus had taught, "Blessed are they who mourn..."

According to v.3, the extent of the Centurion's love takes him to the Lord Jesus. Somehow this man knew about the Lord Jesus. And Matthew says he asked Him to heal his servant. But, according to Luke 7:3, he didn't ask Him directly. "The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant." He didn't go himself to Jesus. We learn later that he didn't go himself because he felt unworthy.  

So, the Jews responded in v.4, "When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue." They don't say to this Roman, "Well, you know, we're going to go because if we don't go you're going to make it hard on us. You're going to raise our taxes or you're going to inflict some injury on us or you're going to...you're going to notch up the oppression."  

These Jews considered the man worthy. No animosity. And they say he is worthy for the way he has loved their nation. Herein, we see their bad theology which was to earn favor and to reward good behavior. By the way, this is the only time in the New Testament where any Jew advocates on behalf of a Roman soldier.

In v.5 we further understand why these Jews thought so much of this Centurion. We read, "because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue." This Centurion was wealthy and generous, but it was more than that. This man had a great desire for the truth. He wanted to know the Word of God. That's why he built a synagogue, because that's the place where the Word of God was taught. He had literally become a proselyte to Judaism. He built the synagogue where we can be certain he went to hear the Word of God. This is a man of great humility and great love and great faith.

The disposition of this centurion was magnanimous because between the Jews and the Romans there was great animosity. It wasn't that he loved a few Jews, he loved the people of God which means that he had come to understand not only the true and living God, but that he had come to understand that these were the people of the covenant of God.

By the way, the word "loves" is agapaō, the deepest word for love in the Greek language. He loved his servant and the nation with a God kind of love, the love of the will, commitment love. So, here is a man who, against the grain of normal Roman attitude, loves his slave and the Jewish nation. And, in a transcendent way, he loves his enemies which the Lord Jesus had just taught was a definitive mark of a child of God. 

Remember what the Sermon on the Mount begins with?  Blessed are the poor, and the meek, and the mourning, and the hungry. That's all talking about humility. People in the kingdom see their spiritual bankruptcy. This is the case of this man.  

In v.6-8 we read, "6 So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it."

The Jews said the Lord Jesus, "You've got to heal because this centurion is worthy." This is the typical self-righteous approach, isn't it? The Centurion's attitude was, "I'm not worthy." The contrast is clear. The system says, "You're worthy."  The Centurion says, "I'm not worthy." This is true humility. Self-righteous pride is not of God and humility marks one the son of God.

In Luke 7:9, we read, "When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel."  The Greek word used here for amazed is thaumazō meaning astonished. This Centurion's faith amazed the Lord Jesus. This Centurion is the only person who amazed the Lord Jesus with his faith. The Lord Jesus was amazed at people's unbelief, according to Mark 6:6, but only here was He actually astonished at someone's faith.

In v.10 we read, "Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well." The servant's paralysis and pain not only left, but the disease as well. Great faith in great promises lead to great results. If we want results, we first must know God's promises. Faith by itself does nothing. Faith must be based on the promises of God.

Luke 6:46-49

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46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. 48 They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” ~ Luke 6:46-49

Today, we come to the end of the Sermon on the Mount. We read in v.46, “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do what I say? The people gathered there at the Temple during that Feast of Tabernacles called the Lord Jesus, "Lord" which  means “master.” 

The people there that day admired the Lord, but admiration was not enough. Their problem was not their admiration, their problem was they did not believe the Lord Jesus to be the Messiah. Patronizing the Lord Jesus has never been His desire.  

This brings up a pertinent question, "How close do we have to be to get saved?" In John 1:12 we read, “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” If we want to be included in the family of God, we've got to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord over sin and death.  

In John 6:40 we read, “This is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life.” In Acts 4:12 we read, “And there is salvation in no one else; there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

In Romans 10:9-10, we read, “9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”  Believe in the Christ who is Lord, who overcame death. 

These people the Lord Jesus was addressing here were the most religious people, but the answer is not how good we can become. The Lord Jesus says, "we have to recognize our sin, we must see that we are so spiritually bankrupt, blind, and starving, that we are broken over our alienation from God." This is the word that He refers to in v.47.

In v.47, we read, "As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like." We come, we hear, and we put into practice. What they had come to hear that day was the Sermon on the Mount which was teaching about us coming to the end of our self-preservation, and coming to the One who would go to the cross to bridge the enormous gap between us and God created by our sinfulness.

In v.48, the Lord Jesus continues by saying, "They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built." 

In Israel during the summer, many of the rivers dry up, leaving a sandy bed empty of water. But in winter, after the September rains had come, the empty river bed became a raging torrent. Many, looking for a site for a house, found an inviting stretch of sand there, only to discover when the winter came, that they had built their house in the middle of a raging river which would sweep their house away. 

On the other hand, the wise man searched for rock which would provide a much better foundation. When the winter weather came their house stood strong and firm and secure. In both cases the parable teaches the importance of laying the right foundation for life; the only true foundation is placed in the teachings of the Lord Jesus. When a flood came the deep foundation endured the torrential rains. 

In v.49 we read, “But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” The words heard here were the words describing us coming to the end of ourselves and depending upon our Savior's ability to preserve us and make choices for us as we bow our will to Him and His definition of all things.

God has provided for us in the Lord Jesus Christ what God He from us in the Old Testament Law. The good news is that Christ is not only our pardon, He is also our perfection. He measured up to the truth and substantiated it. Being made right in God's eyes and living a life the Lord Jesus died to give us could not be produced by our efforts. In His mercy, God has provided His Son as a substitute for us. Christ’s substitution is crucial for us becoming right with God and to live the life the Lord Jesus died to give us now. 

This has made it possible for you and me to have a personal relationship with God. The foundation to this relationship is the Lord Jesus Himself. He is also the foundation to our ability to learn from God the wisdom we need in order to make wise decisions.

Many have attempted to make Christianity about us either earning and/or maintaining God's favor. This is impossible. I like the way Max Lucado describes Christianity when he says, "It is easier to raise your sail than it is to row your boat."

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Luke 6:39-45

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39 He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher. 41 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. 43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. ~ Luke 6:39-45

The Lord Jesus is teaching the twelve disciples the Sermon on the Mount. In today's portion of it, He is making a distinction between His teaching and the teachings of the religious leaders of Israel. The teaching of the religious leaders produces fear, bondage and death, and His teachings produce hope, trust and life. 

In our text today, the Lord Jesus is teaching His disciples four marks of false teachers. The first is found in v.39: "Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit?" The religious leaders were separated from God because they did not have a personal relationship with Him. And, as a result, they lacked true spiritual guidance and direction.

If we follow the teacher who doesn’t know the way to God, we will end up in hell. That’s the pit the Lord Jesus is referencing here in v.39. On the other hand, when we follow the One from God, we will end up with Him in heaven.

Throughout the Bible, blindness is metaphorically used for being void of truth, for not having any spiritual insight. This is caused by being spiritually dead to God. It is our sinfulness that has separated us from God.

In Psalm 82:5 we read, “The wicked do not know, nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness.” In 2 Corinthians 4:4 we read, “The god of this world has blinded their minds.” People who don’t know God are blind to truth and if you follow them, you’re going to end up in Hell. 

The Lord Jesus taught of hell often. Thirteen percent of his teachings refer to eternal judgment and hell. Two-thirds of His parables relate to resurrection and judgment. The Lord Jesus wasn’t cruel or capricious, but He was truthful. His honesty stuns us. Had He not spoken truthfully to us, you and I would still be dead to God because our sin would not have been atoned for and we would not be redeemed.

The second mark of false teachers is they are limited by the realm of time. They’re not of God for their sin separates them from a personal relationship with God. In v.40 we read, “The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.” The Lord Jesus has access to eternal life and transcendence. All we can know is what we have been taught by the one we follow. And, we can’t get above the Lord Jesus. The view of the Jewish religious leaders was myopic because they had no connection with and to God.

In v.40, we read, “everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.” If we apply everything our teacher gives us, we’re going to be just like him. That’s the most we can do. We can only know what our teacher tells us. If our teacher doesn’t know the truth, we’re not going to know it, either.

The third mark of false teachers is found in v.41-42, which reads, "41 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." 

The Jewish religious leaders were hypocritical. They could not fix anyone else because they could not fix themselves. They could not solve anyones problem because they had a massive problem of their own. The problem was the large beam in their eyes. This beam was the main beam in a building. These false teachers were blinded by their beam of self-righteousness. These false teachers were trying to deal with the people's sin and they had the most massive of all sins, the carefully crafted beam of self-righteousness, the worst of all sins. 

Self righteousness is the sin that the Lord Jesus repeatedly condemned. It is a sin of blindness, it puts a beam in one's eye so that reality can't be seen. It distorts vision of everything real. It tells us that we do not need a Savior.  It tells us that we do not need God's grace, because we see not any need for forgiveness. 

The fourth mark of the false teacher is they are evil. In v.43 we read, “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.” The fruit of a tree is an unfailing indicator of the health of the tree. If we have good fruit on the tree, we’ve got a good, healthy tree. If we have a bad tree, we’re going to get bad fruit. If the tree is toxic, the fruit is toxic. 

The Lord Jesus expands on his analogy in v.44, by saying, “Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers..” If we’re looking for figs, don’t look for a thorn bush. We get thorns from a thorn bush. Trees produce what is normal for their nature. They produce what is good or bad based on their nature. 

In v.45, the Lord Jesus concludes this passage by saying, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” 

A good man has a changed heart, and an evil man does not. The good man here, then, represents the one having believed in the Lord Jesus. And because he has been reconnected with God, he brings forth what is good. Anyone is good because of God's presence in him.

On the other hand, the evil man has an evil heart, and so what comes out of him is only evil. Not only out of his mouth but in his conduct. The mouth is just sort of the first place that evil shows up. And, the destiny of those who die in their sin is Hell.

A glimpse into Hell will not brighten our day, but it will enlighten our understanding of the Lord Jesus. He didn’t avoid the discussion. He planted a one-word caution sign between you and hell’s path: perish. “Whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

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Luke 6:37-38

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37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”  ~ Luke 6:37-38

The Sermon on the Mount is not for all people, it is only for the believer in Christ. The Sermon on the Mount is not about getting us into heaven, it is about getting heaven into us, now. The goal is our sanctification which is the process whereby our minds snd wills are being changed by God. The goal of our sanctification is God's influence in the lives of the unbelieving world through our broken lives.

In v.37-38 the Lord Jesus gives the persecuted believer four commands which facilitates the practical expression of His love to the unbeliever. Nobody gets saved by being loved. But, through love, a platform is created which gives the believer the opportunity to represent the love of the Lord Jesus to their unbelieving enemies. 

These four actions make it easier for the believer to earn a hearing with the unbeliever. These four are: don't judge, don't condemn, forgive and give. Note that the first two of these are negative and the last two are positive. We are to do these four things to our enemies for their eternal benefit.

The first of these four is, "Do not judge." This doesn’t forbid exercising our discernment, conviction, rightly assessing someone's sinful actions. This command forbids harsh, hard, critical, heartless hostility toward our enemies who treat us badly. The Lord Jesus is telling us to not pronounce judgment on our enemies, those who treat us poorly. We are to speak blessing into their lives. We are to not pass sentence on them. We are to love them mercifully.

And the response from them is a reward for us: "we will not be judged" by them. We must remember this is not justification teaching, this is sanctification teaching. Sinners will always give us back what we give them, and if we are not judgmental, harsh, cold, and condemning, they will return to us the favor. Unbelievers are good to those who do good to them. And, when we treat them this way, the potential of the door opening to share the good news with them will be more likely to open.

The next command in v.37 is, “Do not condemn.” The Lord Jesus is telling us to not put ourselves in the place of the judge. This happens when we feel that our country is going down the tubes, and all of a sudden we identify the people who are leading this parade as the enemy, and we pronounce damnation upon them.

Next, on the positive side, in v.37, we read, “Forgive.” We are never more like God than when we forgive somebody. If we are merciful like God, if we are kind and compassionate, tender-hearted, forgiving, we are representing Him to them.

According to v.38 we are to, “Give.” And, as we give, and give, and give, it will be given to us. The Lord Jesus says, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” 

If we do not judge them, they won’t judge us. If we do not condemn them, they won’t condemn us. And if we forgive them, they will tend to forgive us. And if we give to them, they will tend to give to us. That is the common human way to love.  But for us, it has to start with loving those who hate us before they can see that His way is the best.

In v.38, we read, “and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” In order to understand these words, we must understand the practice known as “gleaning.” When harvest time came, the wealthy landowners would hire workers to come and help them bring it in. By custom and practice, they would also allow the poor and the widows and orphans to come and “glean” or pick up the grain or produce that the workers spilled, missed or otherwise left behind. This was how the poor were taken care of in biblical times.

The workers job was fill their baskets and take them to the barn and come back out to the field and start the process again until the day was over or the harvest was complete. Since they were paid by the hour, they had little incentive to fill their baskets to the brim. Both in terms of lighter loads and extending the work day, it wasn’t in their best interests to completely fill their baskets. 

Not so with the gleaners. The gleaners would fill their baskets to the brim and then they would shake them so that the grain would settle further down — as far down as possible. After that, they would press the grain down even more to take advantage of every available iota of space until the basket was overflowing. To them, it was literally a matter of life or death. 

A full basket meant that their families would eat one more meal or two and a partially full basket meant that they might not. Pressing down the grain then, might make the difference between surviving the winter or starving. When the Lord Jesus spoke these words about a good measure being pressed down, the folks hearing them would have immediately understood the implied illustration.

The goal, then, is to have sinners not judge us, not condemn us, forgive us for the offense against them, and be generous with us. And, if that’s the case, that would indicate that they have accepted us. It will be at this point that we will have the best opportunity to share the gospel with them. Once we have earned the right to tell them about God's love as demonstrated at the cross of the Lord Jesus, they will be more likely to listen and believe.

I close with a question given by President Abraham Lincoln. “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”

Luke 6:31-36

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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 6:31-36

The Lord Jesus has now separated the twelve disciples from the rest and He is now teaching them about His love, the kind of love that loves enemies. In Luke 6 we have the Sermon on the Mount. It is a sermon about discipleship. Therein, we learn that the distinguishing mark of the disciple of the Lord Jesus is His love for His enemies.

In v.31, we know it as the golden rule, “And just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way.”  Just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way.

The Golden Rule is singularly a Christian concept. Every other religion in the world teaches a form of the Golden Rule, but it is exclusively Christian.

In v.32-34, the Lord Jesus says, “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.”

Notice the word “sinners.” This is a technical term for an unbeliever. It’s a word referring to those who are outside the family of God and are therefore wicked. When Paul says, “I am the chief of sinners,” he’s using the term to define all sinners. It can also be used to speak of people who are particularly sinful because they have no connection with God. The term "sinners" is used both in the Old Testament and the New Testament to define people who do not belong to God.

Sinners have a certain kind of love, and here it’s laid out.  Sinners, v.32, love those who love them. Sinners, v.33, do good to those who do good to them. Sinners, v.34, lend to sinners in order to receive back the same. Sinners have reciprocal love. Their love is conditioned by how they are treated.

But God's kind of love is very different than that. In fact, “if you love,” v.32 says, “those who love you, what credit is that to you?”  That’s the way sinners love.  And “if you do good only to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? And if you lend to those who from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you?”  The word used for "credit" here is the Greek word "charis." 

What grace do you demonstrate when you love like sinners love? It is the grace of God that sets Him and His followers apart. 

God is kind and merciful, kind in v.35, merciful in v.36. Kind is positive and merciful is negative. Kind means “I give you what you don’t deserve.” Merciful means “I withhold what you do.” The active love of God is kind. He makes the sun rise on the just and the unjust. He makes the rain fall on them.  That’s kindness. He’s kind toward all of us with His compassion, goodness, patience, forbearance, and invitations. And there’s a passive kind of kindness. He’s passive in the sense of His mercy. He withholds judgment. He withholds condemnation. He withholds damnation.

In v.35 the Lord Jesus repeats again this command, “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.”  The very three things He mentions in v.32-34, the Lord Jesus picks back up in v.35. And, if we love His enemies, according to v.35, “Then our reward will be great.”  

Back in v.23, the Lord Jesus brought attention to the fact that there will be a reward. When we love sinners the way sinners are not used to being loved, asking no love in return, we are showing them a love that is God's love, and our reward will be great.

That reward is discovered in v.35, “and you will be children of the Most High.” This means those being loved are going to conclude you’re a child of God. He’s not talking about what God is going to give us. He’s talking about what men are going to think about us. They’re going to say, “He or she is godlike."

The words “Most High,” in v.35, is the New Testament equivalent to the Hebrew El Elyon, or God Most High which means “You’re the sovereign ruler.” Interestingly, the Lord Jesus is called the “Son of the Most High” in Luke 1:32,76.

Further, in v.36 the Lord Jesus added, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”  When we love like God, we adorn the gospel of God. We demonstrate that the life of God is in us, and His supernatural ability to love is shown through us.  

So when we are kind, and being good toward our enemies, and being merciful, and withholding judgment from our enemies, we are being like God. As a result, we are identified by them as the children of the Most High God. 

Finally, those who taste God’s grace but refuse to share it are tortured by anger, bitterness and revenge.  But for the one who tastes God’s mercy and gives it to others, the reward is a blessed liberation. The prison door is thrown open and the prisoner is set free. We find the face of God who forgave us in the face of our enemy. Then, our enemy and ourselves are set free.

Luke 6:29-30

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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. ~ Luke 6:29-30

In today's text, the Lord Jesus makes His love the major distinctive that sets His followers apart from everybody else.  
We discovered four commands in v.27-28. Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you and pray for those who mistreat you. These are things that we initiate with those who treat us unkindly.

Never in the Old Testament did God sanction the idea that people outside the religion of Judaism should be hated. This idea came out of the heretical teachings of the Jewish religious leaders. It didn’t come from God’s Word.

According to Luke 6:29, “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.” This is how the Lord Jesus leads us to demonstrate His love. In fact, if we have not experienced His love for ourselves, we will be unable to fulfill this calling. If we have not gone through the process described in the Beatitudes mentioned in Luke 6:23-26, we will have no proclivity toward this type of behavior. 

In v.29, we read, “If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also.” In their culture, one was dishonored by being slapped across the face. This was a symbolic humiliation done in front of the synagogue congregation. One of the officials would slap the person across the face as a symbolic action causing humiliation. 

“To turn the other cheek” simply means when you have been humiliated, you must look at it as an opportunity to grow in humility which is highly looked upon by God. When we have been treated with shame, when we have been despised, ridiculed and rejected, this is a great opportunity to be reminded of God's love which broke through our hostility. And, when we are being treated this way, we draw on the Lord's ability to keep on loving those who treat us badly. The M.O. is to not retaliate in like manner, for when we do, we are being defined by the lesser instead of the Lord Himself.  

It was 1982 and I was working in a Jewish owned Pawn Shop in Savannah, Georgia. I had spent the better part of the year making friends with my Jewish coworkers and sharing my faith in the Lord Jesus with them. One man in particular who had worked there for forty years approached me. He did not like the fact that I enjoyed listening to a famous Christian teacher on one of the radios in the pawn shop. When he approached me he slapped me in the face. I must admit, it infuriated me. I was so mad. In my heart I did not react well. I wanted to punch him in his healthy gut but I turned away.

Once we have experienced the love of the Lord Jesus, we will want to be the conduits of His love. We will want to allow the Lord to show His love to our enemies because He cares about the their souls. His love makes us vulnerable, and by its constant availability, His love maintains a constant vulnerability. 

The other cheek simply means we’re going to be humiliated again and again, and we will continue to keep loving our enemies in this way. No matter how many times they hit, we will keep loving them because it’s His love that on display. His love demonstrated in this way speaks of His work being accomplished in our hearts.

Once experienced, His love begins to frame up life for us. We discover a reality that others know nothing of, especially those who know not Him. It is His love that frames up reality in such a way that we increasingly see that the ways of this world are not substantive and real.

By the way, the elderly Jewish man who slapped me came back to me about thirty minutes later and apologized. That was huge for him to do for he was a very proud man. I only hope my actions that day, to resist reacting to his hatred, drove home the message of Christ that I was known to share with him up to that point. He has since passed away. I only hope to see him in heaven.

In the remainder of v.29 we read, “If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them." Many in that day were not wealthy. It was common that people had one outer coat to keep themselves warm and even to use as a blanket at night. 

These early believers were persecuted when their enemies would take their cloak so that they were left without something to warn themselves. The Lord Jesus is saying, "when this happens, do not withhold your shirt from them." It was not their enemies who needed their coat or the shirt. No, they were just trying the reality of the believers beliefs. Often this is why the world treats us wrongly, trying to poke holes in that which we call reality.

We will be able to do these types of things when we remember that they were never really are our enemies. In fact, they are always our mission field. And, like us before we came to the Lord Jesus, they must be loved into His kingdom. Once His love speaks truth into their lives, the type of truth that frees them from themselves and this world, hopefully they will open up to Him.

In v.30 we read, “Give to everyone who asks you." As with all of the previous instructions in the Sermon on the Mount, this is another example of self-denial. Someone approaches you who apparently has a real need, but they’re going to take advantage of your generosity. The Lord Jesus is not describing a professional beggar which we have seen on the dramatic rise in this country over the past few years. The Lord Jesus says, “Give to everyone who asks you."

And then He closes v.30 with, “and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.” The world doesn’t know anything about this kind of love. Worldly love says, “I’m going to love you as long as you love me or you don’t harm me. I will love you, but, the day you abuse me, you’re done.” 

His is an astonishing kind of love which is not possible for those person not walking with Him. When we come to the place where we embrace Him through our brokenness, love like this, becomes possible. And, when we experience it, there is no explanation except for the Lord Jesus.

I close with a quote from Tim Keller, "Religion says earn your life. Secular society says create your life. Jesus says, 'My life for your life." 

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Luke 6:27-28

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27 “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.  ~ Luke 6:27-28

Today, we continue our study of the Lord Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Luke’s record of what Jesus said that day near the Sea of Galilee is the same as recorded in Matthew 5-7 which is a much longer treatment of the sermon.

In Luke 6:27 we read, "But to you who are listening I say." Here, the Lord Jesus is addressing those with the ability to hear the voice of God and respond and are subsequently defined by Him. It is the Holy Spirit who gives us ears to hear God, however we can quench His influence.

In Luke 6:27, The Lord Jesus says, “Love your enemies.” People outside the influence of God don’t love their enemies. They hate their enemies. The Jews hated the Romans because the Romans were ungodly. The Romans hated the Jews because they were largely arrogant. The Romans were ungodly because they violated the law and the traditions of Judaism. The Jews were arrogant because they had no personal relationship with God.

The Lord Jesus uses this opportunity to challenge the misinterpretation of the law as it was taught by the Jewish religious leaders. In Matthew 6:44, he said: "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor' (found in Leviticus 19:18 among many other OT passages) and hate your enemies'" (found no where in the OT). The Jewish religious leaders took the OT verses out of context to argue that they could join God in his hatred of sinners.

There are Christians today who think their responsibility is to hate abortionists, or to hate Muslims, or to hate homosexuals or anyone who perverts any definition of God. Like the Jews of the Lord Jesus' day, hate today has become a virtue for many who think they are doing the will of God by hating sinners.

Studies have shown that anger causes our blood pressure to rise, and our breathing rate to increase. As a result, this causes a strain on our heart making us more susceptible to a heart attack or to a stroke. It can also trigger headaches and lead to abusive behavior. It can break down our immune system and cause us to be more susceptible to various diseases. Hate destroys us.

Nelson Mandela said it well when he said, "Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies."

But here, in v.27, the Lord Jesus says, “Love your enemies.” He is saying, "Do not be defined by the evil people do. Do not be defined by your evil responses to the evil of your enemies. Do not allow them to pull you down to their level and allow sin to win."

This kind of love can only be demonstrated when we declare our spiritual bankruptcy and trust the Lord to love our enemies through us. The way to love an enemy is not to rely on ourselves, but acknowledge that we cannot do it. No, having come to an end of ourselves, we ask Him to love our enemies through us.

Agape love can only be produced by God as He expresses it in our hearts. It is not a matter of feeling, but a matter of the will. This kind of love is based more on actions than words.

Agape was developed almost exclusively in Christian literature to refer to the kind of love that doesn't serve itself, but extends itself for the sake of another. Agape love is really a different category of love that the world has not seen in action until the Lord Jesus came along and infected His followers with it.

The difference between agape and all the other types of loves is agape must be willed. We decide to love. Agape is a non-self-serving love. It’s willing to love someone not deserving or asking for it. It’s a non-emotional love. We do it because it’s the right thing to do, not because it feels good.

In v.27, the Lord Jesus said our enemies are “those who hate you.” It’s not those we hate. It is those who hate us. We are not to hate anyone.

Then in v.27, the Lord Jesus says, "do good to those who hate you." The language here means to continue to do good or to have a lifestyle of doing good to others. It is easier to do this when we act and live as if we are going to die. And, if we die, everything will be better.

In the beginning of v.28 we read, “Bless those who curse you.” To bless is to speak goodness into their lives, even though the system they had grown up in told them to hate those who hated them.

In the second half of v.28 we read, "pray for those who mistreat you." When we pray for anyone who has hurt us in some way, we discover it is hard to stay angry at them. Prayer leaves the consequences, revenge, and complete justice to God. It’s a transference of our will into God’s hands. By praying for our enemies, God’s Spirit can supernaturally show love and kindness through us that may ultimately change them. That process can also eradicate our fear of our enemies because perfect love casts out fear.

Finally, one of my all time favorite authors, Watchman Nee, tells a story about a Christian who owned a rice paddy next to that of a Communist. The Christian irrigated his rice paddy by pumping water out of a canal. Every day, after the Christian had pumped enough water to fill his paddy, the Communist would come out, remove the boards that kept the water in his neighbor’s paddy, and allow the water to drain into his paddy so he wouldn’t have to pump the water. This continued for some time, until the Christian could not take it any more. He prayed, “Lord, if this keeps up I’m going to lose all my rice, maybe even my field. What can I do?” The Lord began by putting this thought in his mind. The next morning the Christian got up early and started pumping water into his neighbor’s paddy first. Then he replaced the boards and pumped water into his own rice paddy. The result was that both rice paddies became productive and the Communist was softened by his neighbor’s generosity. The two men became friends and eventually the Communist became a believer in Jesus.

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Luke 6:24-26

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23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets. 24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. 25 Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. 26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets. ~ Luke 6:23-26

When rebellion entered mankind's existence, all of mankind became sinners separated from God, alienated from God. We, by nature, have been placed outside of what is really real. We deal with this unreality, this fallen default mode by either resorting to being religious or to continue in our rebellion. In both cases, we are self dependent, and this is at the root of our problem.

Knowing we can not remedy our condition, the Lord Jesus agreed to come to earth to buy mankind back into a personal relationship with God through His death on the cross. When the Lord Jesus came and squared off with death at His cross, He devastated the illusion that we have to perform to gain a personal relationship with God. Through His sacrifice, those who enter into a relationship with God are the people who are overwhelmed with their sinfulness and who cry out to Him for help and believe on the Lord Jesus' sacrifice for God's forgiveness. Those who eventuate in heaven are those who are broken by the reality of their fallen condition, and inability to remedy our spiritual problem.

We learned in Luke 6:20-23 that poverty, hunger, sorrow, and rejection all are blessings in disguise because they all potentially lead us to the blessing of a personal relationship with God. 

In today's text, we learn that one's trust in riches, religion and popularity all lead to a cursed disposition that leads one further and further away from God. Need is not something we would naturally prescribe for ourselves, yet it is our need that causes us to entertain the real questions of our existence.

In Luke 6:20-26, the Lord Jesus provides a paradox, a paradox between blessing and cursing. In v.23, we read, “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.” For those who embrace their brokenness and the gospel of Jesus Christ, there is reason to leap for joy because we will be on the winning side in the end, despite the fact that for some time we will be hated by the world.

The four blessings in v.20-23 are contrasted with the four woes in v.24-26. If our lives are filled with just hoarding wealth and going from one entertainment thing to another entertainment thing, and it's all about pleasure and entertainment, these woes will be our experience.

On the other hand, in v.24-26, for those who resist the gospel of Jesus Christ, for those who reject the free gift of God of forgiveness, for those being defined by the blessings of this world, there awaits a series of woes.

In v.24 we read, "But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort." The religious leaders who hounded the Lord Jesus were all rich and their sole ambition was to attain status, fame and riches. They received what they went after and were now experiencing its comfort in full. Unfortunately, their comfort produced an emptiness of soul and spirit, with no hope of hope. 

In v.25 we read, "Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry." The gluttons of the day will be so filled that all desire for food will be lost. They will spend eternity hungering for satisfaction and meaning, but will remain in a state of spiritual starvation.

In v.26 we read, "Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets." The assumption in this verse is speaking what the crowds want to hear in contrast to the truth. We should be forewarned that the crowds need to hear the truth and sometimes they will not like us for that message. 

In Luke 6:20-26 we are given a contrast between self dependence and God dependence. The rich have a tendency to trust in their money and its influence to solve their problems. They also can "enjoy" the worldly pleasures at their leisure, and often do. God is not usually in their thinking. When this is the case, they have been dumped by a false narrative which does not deliver in the end.

The poor have no such options, thus they are more likely to seek out God and His provision. Of course, there is no guarantee here. Money comes and goes but God's love and His provision is there at all times, and in all places! Depending on Him to provide in this world is a means to an end, and the end is realizing a personal relationship with the God of all creation. In fact, the only life worth living is found in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

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