SCRIPTURE: Luke 6:12-26

OBSERVATION:
1. “Spent the night praying to God” – Can I imagine spending a WHOLE night praying to God? Though this kind of prayer may not be a command for us to follow, the example of dependence and priority on prayer certainly is stressed.
2. “Chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles” – Jesus is choosing the leaders of His movement (including Judas, whose role is not so positive, but still necessary). With such an important step, its no wonder He prayed all night.
3. “Large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people” – Many people were drawn to Jesus (a) as disciples, wanting to follow, learn from and become like Him, and (b) as recipients of His healing and blessing. Is it any different today, some claim Jesus as their Master, others use Him for His blessing.
4. “Power was coming from him and healing them all” – An interesting phrase, “power was coming from Him”, instead of saying the power of the Spirit. But, described in the simplest way, this is exactly what was happening, there was energy or power flowing from and through Him, to others.
5. “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” – One of the many contradictions that goes against what we normally think. In this world it is the rich who receive the advantages, not the poor. But God’s world (kingdom) operates differently. The poor, hungry, sorrowful and oppressed are #1 in God’s books.
6. “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort” – Luke adds the opposite woes, whereas Matthew does not mention them (Matthew 5). It is not that Luke added to Jesus’ words, but more likely that Matthew assumed the opposites, implied in the positive statements, and just quoted the positives.

APPLICATION:
Jesus came to form a movement (not a church), a community of Christ-followers committed to loving and serving Him, committed to the poor, the hungry, the sorrowful and the oppressed. Some people got this, but others just came to Jesus for the perks. Am I committed to what Jesus was committed to, or am I just following Jesus for the perks? Those in it for the perks eventually fall away, because sticking close to Jesus eventually leads to suffering, sacrifice, self-denial. Unless the way of Jesus is redefined, as it has so often been, and the rich, the well-fed, the happy and popular identify themselves as the true Jesus people. I would say this is the problem today, that ‘church’ (the Jesus movement) has been redefined into a system of perks for the privileged, or a means to prosperity and health, or a guarantee of forgiveness and heaven. The church does not seem to prioritize the poor, hungry, sorrowful and oppressed (except as charity cases, and to ease our conscience).

PRAYER:
Lord, help me to decide whether I want to follow You, or just cling to You for the perks. Help me to see that if I am just in it for the perks, I am not worthy of being Your disciple. Amen.