Nineteen Days before Christmas!

Have you ever thought about what it was like to hear the greatest sermon ever preached? What is the title of that sermon you may ask? I have been in church all my life, a Christian for twenty one years and have never known or heard a more countercultural sermon than the Sermon on the Mount, namely the Beatitude. The Beatitude is found in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Luke.

Preamble to the Sermon

Luke begins his writing of this text with an emphasis upon Jesus as the ideal Man; He recorded Jesus’ encounter with the religious leaders of His day, where Jesus also identified Himself as “…Lord of the Sabbath” (Luke 6:5). Jesus’ willingness to go against the old legalistic system established by the Pharisees and religious leaders was the beginning of a new way of life for those who would follow Christ. Luke reveals the controversies that arose earlier over Jesus’ association with sinners (5:27-32), the failure of Jesus’ disciples to follow Pharisaic guidelines for fasting (33-39), and now the Sabbath (6:1-5).
His lordship is made evident by His healing of the man with the withered hand in the synagogue on the Sabbath day (Luke 6:6-11). Interestingly, the narrative continues with Jesus appointing the twelve disciples (Luke 6:12-16). As a fitting follow-up to the call of the twelve, Luke presents Jesus’ hallmark teaching about discipleship, it is known today as the Beatitude (Luke 6:17-49).

The Greatest Sermon Ever Preached

In the early days of Jesus’ Galilean ministry, He preached a message that was contrary to popular opinion, it was a message that dealt with and confronted every human tendency to become self sufficient and self-aggrandized. As noted earlier this was a sermon on discipleship. Oh, how we need to hear more messages on discipleship today. This message was so powerful that it is worthy to mention its content:

20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:
“Blessed are you poor,
For yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
For you shall be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now,
For you shall laugh.
22 Blessed are you when men hate you,
And when they exclude you,
And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,
For the Son of Man’s sake.
23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
For indeed your reward is great in heaven,
For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

This Christmas season is a great time to remember the coming of our Lord in the manger, but let us not forget the reason for His incarnation. He came not “to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32). He came to preach the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, so that those who believe in Him would become His disciples. A disciple is one who follows His master with discipline. Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ? If not you can become a follower of the master today, and know that “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). This Christmas choose whom you will serve.