Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 6:12-19 "AFTER AN ALL-NIGHT PRAYER"
Day 71 – Luke 6
Text: Luke 6:12-19
AFTER AN ALL-NIGHT PRAYER
What are the effects of an all-night prayer vigil? For Jesus, the next day saw Him engaged in the following activities:-
1. He selected 12 men to become His Apostles out of the group of Disciples who followed Him faithfully (Luke 6:13 . Those not chosen did not express “hurt or disappointment”. Spiritual maturity would enable them to rejoice with those who were chosen. Those not chosen at that point of time would continue to train as Disciples. Perhaps, there would be other opportunities to serve at a higher level in the future).
2. A “great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon” (Luke 6:17) flocked around Him.
a) They came to hear Him. Luke 6:17
b) They also came because they wanted to be healed by their diseases. Luke 6:17</h5>
c) Then there were those who were tormented with unclean spirits. Luke 6:18
d) The multitudes just wanted to be able to touch Jesus. Luke 6:19
Great power was given to Jesus to minister to the multitudes! All who came to Him were healed! Did prayer play an important role in the life and ministry of Jesus? The question seems rhetorical, and the answer obvious!
SERMON TO HIS DISCIPLES
Luke 6 is very similar to Matthew 5-7. However, Luke says that Jesus “stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of people…” (Luke 6:17). Commentators call Jesus’ sermon in Matthew, “Sermon on the Mount” because of a phrase found in Matthew 5:1, “And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain…”
Some commentators point to a phrase in Luke 6:17, “And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His Disciples…” Thus Luke 6 is sometimes called, “Sermon on the Plain”.
How do we reconcile such statements? We must never be afraid of “difficulties” that will crop up from time to time as we read the Scriptures. Let us be assured that we are not looking at “error”. Let us learn how to read the Scriptures, especially the Gospels with great confidence.
Most commentators agree, however, that the focus of this sermon was the Disciples of the Lord Jesus. Both Matthew and Luke agree that while there were many who thronged Jesus, this set of teaching was directed at the Disciples!
RECONCILING “DIFFERENCES”
Here are some ways in which we can reconcile the texts of Matthew and Luke:-
1. Let us remember that both Gospel writers selected what they believed would help them in the writing of their gospel narratives. It is quite likely that Jesus taught much more than what has been written up in both Matthew and Luke.
2. Matthew and Luke wrote to different sets of people, and of course they would select their material wisely, according to the needs of their readers.
3. There is no conflict in doctrine at all in both records.
4. Read the accounts, seeking reconciliation rather than discrepancies.
a) Matthew wrote that Jesus went up to a mountain. However, He omitted the fact that Jesus went up to pray. Luke added this information.
b) Matthew focused his thoughts on the fact that Jesus was up in the mountain. However, this does not mean that Jesus was at the pinnacle of the mountain. We must not allow our imagination to run away from us.
c) Luke mentioned that Jesus came to “an even place”, that is a “plateau” or a “plain”. There is no discrepancy here at all. Jesus went up to the mountain to pray. Of course, He came down to a lower level, a plain or a plateau. There He chose and ordained 12 men to become His Apostles. He could still be said to be on the mountain, even though He was now at a lower portion of the same mountain.
d) Each writer had his own perspective, and both described different parts of a whole picture. Surely we can understand that one can describe two different aspects of the same mountain, without concluding that we are speaking of two different localities!
LET’S NOT MISS THE POINT!
The theological point of the writer is however the most important thing. Let’s not get so caught up with the minutiae and miss the point of Luke’s recording of Luke 6.
Luke sought to capture the fact that Jesus continued to set aside time to instruct His Disciples. He mentioned that there was a “crowd of His disciples” with Jesus at that point of time. The multitudes were probably scattered and dotted on the mountain. There were some who found themselves within earshot, as Jesus taught His Disciples, which would comprise both the Apostles and those who were not chosen as apostles.
The need to spend time training Disciples was fully understood by the Lord Jesus. Those not chosen by Jesus as Apostles must realize that He had not rejected them. They must desire to continue to learn and keep learning. He would continue to teach all who were at heart true Disciples. People who formed the multitudes could also leave the crowds, and become Disciples.
However, they must be prepared to learn some very challenging lessons the Lord Jesus sought to impart to His disciples. Each lesson may be learned at different levels, but they must be learned!
The lessons Jesus taught were not academic and theoretical doctrines. He never taught that way. To Jesus, doctrine and life were inseparable! To speak of believing in God and having faith in Him without making that faith real in life was unthinkable.
To believe in Jesus must result in being challenged to follow Him as His Disciples, even if one is not chosen to be an apostle! One must be challenged to leave the ranks of the multitudes!
Are our hearts challenged to leave the multitudes and to follow Jesus as His Disciples?