excuse me, but your meanness is showing - luke 6.1-11

Luke 6:1-11

Pages 861-862 in our guest Bibles.

Today’s Scripture:

Have you noticedthat we live in a MEAN world?

image: MyNameHere

=

image: stefeliximage: cattias.photos

What was

JESUSknown for

?

“Excuse Me, ButYour MEANNESS

Is Showing”

The Gospel of Luke6:1-11

image: Ramon Snellink

image: Ramon Snellink

1 a SCARY THING about HUMAN BEINGS

a NEW WAY of BEING HUMAN2

“Excuse Me, ButYour MEANNESS

Is Showing”

The Gospel of Luke6:1-11

SCENE #1

Luke 6:1-5

On a Sabbath, while he was going

LUKE 6:1

through the grainfields, his disciplesplucked and ate some heads ofgrain, rubbing them in their hands...

But some of the Pharisees said,

LUKE 6:2

“Why are you doing what isnot lawful on the Sabbath...?”

And Jesus answered them, “Have

LUKE 6:3-4

you not read what David did whenhe was hungry, he and those whowere with him....

...how he entered the the house of

LUKE 6:3-4

God and took and ate the breadof the Presence which is not lawful

also gave it to those who were withfor any but the priests to eat, and

with him...?

Matthew 12:7

[ And if you had known what

sacrifice,’ you would not have this means, ‘I desire mercy, not

condemned the guiltless...” ]

And he said to them, “The Son of

LUKE 6:5

Man is Lord of the Sabbath....”

SCENE #2

Luke 6:6-11

On another Sabbath, he entered

LUKE 6:6-7

the synagogue and was teaching,and a man was there whose right

and the Pharisees watched him, tohand was withered. And the scribes

the Sabbath, so that they might

LUKE 6:6-7

find a reason to accuse him....

see whether he would heal on

But he knew their thoughts, and

LUKE 6:8

he said to the man with the witheredhand, “Come and stand here....”

And Jesus said to them, “I ask you,

LUKE 6:9

is it lawful on the Sabbath to dogood or to do harm, to save life orto destroy it...?”

“Their HEARTS are as SHRIVELED

as the man’s hand….

They’re TRIBAL, JUDGMENTAL, and

SELF-OBSESSED

instead of caring

about the man.”

“If anyone...sees his brother in need, yet CLOSES HIS HEART

against him,how does

GOD’S LOVE ABIDEin him?

~ 1 John 3:17

around at them all he said to him,

LUKE 6:10

“Stretch out your hand.” And he didso, and his hand was restored....

[ And he looked around at them withanger, grieved at their hardness ofheart. - Mark 3:5 ] And after looking

But they were filled with fury and

LUKE 6:11

discussed with one another whatthey might do to Jesus....

It was partly because

JESUS BROKE ONE

of their

PRECIOUS RULES,

but it was more because

he EXPOSED their

LACK OF LOVE

for people in need.

They were using the

very law of God

AS AN EXCUSE

for not showing mercy.

Mark 3:6

The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

Why does Luke include thesestories in his historical biography of Jesus?

Important Question

Jesus redefines our humanity for usso that we will want to relate to others

less by lists of silly rules and more by

LOVE and COMPASSION

Don’t just be a fan.1

image: wvs

“…in the end you can’t simply like anybody who makes claims like those of Jesus. Either he’s a WICKED LIAR or a CRAZY PERSON and you should have nothing to do with him, or he is who he says heis and your WHOLE LIFE has toREVOLVE around him and youhave to throw everything at his feet and say,‘COMMAND ME.’”

~ Tim Keller, The King’s Cross

Admit something scary about yourself.

2

image: Anders Andermark

Change your clothing.3

image: Ricky Romero

PUT ON then, as God’s

chosen ones, holy and

beloved, COMPASSION,

KINDNESS, HUMILITY,

MEEKNESS, and

PATIENCE....

~ Colossians 3:12, 14

And above all these PUT ON LOVE,

which bind everything together in

PERFECT HARMONY.~ Colossians 3:12, 14

“PUT ON the Lord

Jesus Christ...”

~ Romans 13:14

image: Alan

Ramon Snellink: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcsnellink/461915089/

MyNameHere: http://www.flickr.com/photos/13890252@N05/2946463887/

cattias.photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/58891361@N00/6113249955/

stefelix: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stefelix/5680815350/lightbox/

wvs: http://www.flickr.com/photos/78436447@N00/2831916359/

Anders Andermark: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cmbellman/3021939420/

flickr images courtesy of:

Ricky Romero: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rickyromero/4534051026/

Alan: http://www.flickr.com/photos/95492938@N00/6930870617/