Luke 6:46-49 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? 47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: 48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

There was a song Andy Williams sang years ago that just came into my mind:

Love is a many splendored thing
It’s the April rose that only grows in the early Spring
Love is nature’s way of giving a reason to be living
The golden crown that makes a man a king
Once on a high and windy hill, In the morning mist
Two lovers kissed and the world stood still
Then your fingers touched my silent heart and taught it how to sing
Yes, true love’s a many splendored thing!

I’m not really sure why that popped in my head. The song accompanied a movie of the same name based on a book written by Dr. Han Suyin. The movie starred Jennifer Jones and William Holden. In the movie Jones plays the Eurasian Doctor Suyin who falls in love with an American married man named Mark Elliot (Holden). Doctor Suyin is ostracized by the Chinese community for dating the American, and loses her position at the hospital. Yes, it’s a tear jerker.

This was one of Hollywood’s earliest attempts to romanticize
what the Bible defines as “adultery”.

Any relationship built on that which God has forbidden will not stand the test of time. The devil and this fallen world is continually enticing people to build on poor foundations. America was originally built on a great foundation, but over time Progressive Liberalism has crept in and replaced the foundation with foolishness and feelings. Jesus loves His Church, His people, and wants our foundation to be solid.

Jesus Asked Interesting Questions.
His TENTH Question In This Chapter Asks …

Luke 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Jesus loved to ask questions when He taught. By asking questions, He made His hearers THINK about their response before they answered. Jesus asked, according to the website Red Letter Challenge, 305 questions throughout the Gospels.

In this chapter alone Jesus asked 10 questions when being challenged and when teaching. This is His 10^th Question.

People came to Jesus, crying out “Lord, Lord”. They wanted Jesus to do something for them. Jesus healed the lepers, the blind, the sick. But Jesus had something greater to give to those in need.

Jesus offered Himself as King of our lives.

Jesus IS Lord. When John the Baptist preached, his message was “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). When Jesus preached, His message was “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent and believe the gospel.” (Mark 1:15). The Gospel includes the “Kingdom of God”. Jesus is the King of the Kingdom. He “came to save HIS PEOPLE from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

Jesus IS Lord. He cannot be anything less. Scripture is clear that “without holiness, no one shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Pastor Stephen J. Cole notes:

“Genuine saving faith always results in a life of progressive godliness. If a person claims to be saved, but has no hunger for God’s Word, no growing hatred of sin, and no growth in godly living, he needs to examine whether he is truly in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5).”

The proof of salvation is that you want to please your Lord. John 3:16 – perhaps the most quoted text of Scripture in the Bible – says –

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

It is true that salvation is a free gift of God. But once saved, you are brought into the Kingdom of God, and Christ is your King. Pastor John MacArthur wrote in his book The Gospel According to Jesus:

“The gospel call to faith presupposes that sinners must repent of their sin and yield to Christ’s authority”.

In our focal text Jesus shows us what genuine salvation is.

Luke 6:47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:

Salvation can only be achieved by first coming to Jesus. There is no other way a person can be saved. Jesus Himself said:

John 14:6 I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus was chosen by God to be the Savior (1 Peter 2:4). To be saved you must come to Jesus, willingly trusting your life to His.

Self Righteousness Always Gets God Wrong

The Pharisees would not come to Jesus because they felt that the Law would save them. In fact, they often attacked Jesus for not keeping the Law as they thought it should be kept. Look at the beginning of this chapter:

Luke 6:1-5 And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that {Jesus} went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. 2 And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days? 3 And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him; 4 How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone? 5 And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

The Pharisees chastised Jesus and His disciples for threshing corn on the Sabbath Day. The text tells us that this is “the second sabbath after the first”, or literally en sabbato deuteroproto or “on the second-first Sabbath”. The Jews had a weekly Sabbath, but during special holidays (like the Passover) the first Sabbath was the first day of the feast and the second Sabbath was at the end of the feast. So this was at the end of a special Sabbath festival that the Pharisees attacked Jesus.

The Pharisees should have known better. Our Lord Jesus is the fulfiller of the Law. He said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). The Law was given by God to lead us to Christ. Only in Jesus do we come to understand the Law. The intent of the Law was not to save us, but to show us that we needed to be saved. Keeping the Law cannot save a person – but only show us the Savior.

Challenged for allowing His disciples to “thresh corn” on the Sabbath, Jesus quotes Scripture to them.

Jesus quotes 1 Samuel 21:3-6, when David, on the run from Saul’s attempts to kill him, came to the Temple looking for something to eat.

The only bread the Priests had was the shewbread. When God gave the Law to Israel, He said:

Exodus 25:30 Thou shalt set upon the Table shewbread before Me always

The shewbread was to be kept fresh. These twelve loaves of bread (Leviticus 24:5-6) stood for the twelve tribes of Israel in the presence of God. The bread was left on the table, and changed out every Sabbath with fresh loaves. Only the priests were to eat the loaves. When David came to the Temple on the Sabbath, the only bread there was the twelve loaves of shewbread that were going to be exchanged for fresh bread. The Priests allowed David and his ragged band to eat of the shewbread. Their actions saved David’s life.

The Law established standards – but those standards could only be properly understood through Jesus. Jesus told the Pharisees:

Luke 6:5 the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath

“Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for Himself while He walked this earth in His first coming. Jesus is Lord! Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath! The Law of God was not given to strange humans, but to drive us to Jesus where we can properly fulfill the Law. Right after this Sabbath, we read of Jesus doing good on another Sabbath:

Luke 6:6-10 And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that {Jesus} entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him. 8 But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth. 9 Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it? 10 And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

Jesus knows the hearts of the Pharisees. They are not in Synagogue to worship God, but to judge Jesus. Jesus just rubbed them the wrong way! Jesus asked His second question of this chapter:

Luke 6:9 Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil?
to save life, or to destroy it?

The answer should be simple. It is NEVER lawful to do evil or harmful things on the Sabbath. If this man with the withered hand is not healed, it will be the same as doing evil to him. Our God is love (1 John 4:8). God never gave the Law, and within the Law the Sabbath, to Israel in order to do evil. The Law was a schoolmaster to lead us to Christ (Galatians 3:24) that we might be saved by faith in Him. The Law cannot save, but can only diagnose. We see this in how the Pharisees responded to Jesus’ healing of this man:

Luke 6:11 And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.

The Love Of God Is The Foundation Our Lives Are To Built On

Luke 6:46-47 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? 47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them

The way to the blessed life that God wants us to have is threefold. We must first come to Jesus. We come surrendered to Him as Lord of our lives. Second, we are to hear His sayings. The word “hear” is the Greek ἀκούω akoúō, {pronounced ak-oo’-o}, which means “to give an audience to. To hear carefully so as to perceive”. That which Jesus tells us, He tells us because HE IS GOOD. Jesus is the GOOD SHEPHERD WHO GIVES HIS LIFE FOR HIS SHEEP. He died for our sins, and rose from the grave so as to call us to His side. Jesus said,

John 10:8, 16, 27-28 All that ever came before Me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear (akoúō) them. … 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear (akoúō) My voice; and there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd. … 27 My sheep hear (akoúō) My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

What does Jesus tell His sheep? HIS SHEEP FOLLOW HIM. We do not follow a sanitized Law, but we follow the Royal Law of Christ. The Royal Law demands that we love as we have been loved. Just as …

Luke 6:19 … the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.

The day we were saved VIRTUE WENT OUT OF JESUS AND INTO US. We are not as we were. We are His Children. We are His sheep. What does Christ require of us?

Luke 6:27-36 I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, 28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. 29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also. 30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. 31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. 32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? {this is the third question Jesus asks} for sinners also love those that love them. 33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? {this is the fourth question Jesus asks} for sinners also do even the same. 34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? {this is the fifth question Jesus asks} for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. 36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

As God is merciful to us, we are merciful to others. As God shows love to we who do not deserve it, we show love to those who do not deserve it. The Pharisees saw the Law of God and, embracing that Law, despised any who would not keep the Law as purely as they did. But keeping they Law, they missed the whole point of the Law.

Love is the fulfillment of the Law. To love God, to love others. We who are saved are to be doers of the Law of Love. The Apostle Paul said:

Romans 13:8-10 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

We are not commanded in the Royal Law to keep feasts or to do or not do certain things. We are not commanded to love ourselves. We are commanded to sacrificially love God and to sacrificially love others, just as God the Son sacrificially loved us. When you receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, He writes His Law – His Royal Law of love – in our hearts.

We are to leave all vengeance and judging into God’s hands.

If God has said it is wrong, it is wrong. If God has said it is right, then it is right. It is God Who – through His Word – sets the standards of good and evil, God Who determines gravity in the Kingdom of God.

Examine Ourselves To See If We Are Where We Need To Be

The Pharisees loved examining and judging others. When we examine and judge others without first judging ourselves we confuse ourselves. So often we allow peer pressure to influence us to do that which we think is right. Jesus said:

Luke 6:39-40 Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? 40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect {καταρτίζω katartízō, [pronounced kat-ar-tid’-z] sound or complete} shall be as his master.

If we are going to master the Christian way of life, we need to follow our Master. We need to imitate Jesus. Are we where we need to be? Jesus said:

Luke 6:42-45 how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye. 43 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

If you are a “good tree” then the output of your life will be to the glory of God. You will have an output that blesses those around you. You need to keep yourself close to Jesus, close to the Great Shepherd.

There is a passage in Mark chapter 4 that talks about Jesus crossing the Sea of Galilee. The text states:

Mark 4:35-37 … when the even was come, {Jesus} saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. 36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. 37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

We all know the story. Jesus was sleeping in the bow of the ship when the storm arose. The disciples, frightened by the storm, woke Jesus up. “Master, don’t You care that we are perishing (Mark 4:38). Jesus rose up and said, “Why are you so fearful? Don’t you have faith?” (vs 40). Jesus rebuked the wind, and it ceased to blow.

The disciples had NOTHING to fear, for Jesus was on the boat with them. The closer you are to Jesus, the better off you are when you are tried by the trials of life. Something in this text catches my eyes. It is verse 36, “And there were also with him other little ships”. Those who followed Jesus in “other little ships” are believers following Jesus from a distance.

Are you on the ship with Jesus, or is the Lord in the distance and you are following from that distance?

Your lives will withstand the tests of faith only if you are on the boat with Jesus. If we as believers have drifted from Jesus, let us do as the Psalmist did:

Psalm 32:5-7 I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. 6 For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him. 7 Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.

SELAH. Rest. We have rest in Christ. Jesus told us plainly:

Luke 6:47-49 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: 48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

You can HEAR the Word of God, and DO IT NOT, and you will NOT be blessed. The blessings of life only come when we live reliant upon our Lord. Let us live for Him, doing that which He has called us to do.

May God be glorified by His Word. Amen and Amen.