By Tyshawn Gardner, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biblical and Religious Studies, Samford University
The Ministry of Jesus
Luke 6:17–23, 27–31
Through His miracles and teaching, Jesus pointed us to a relationship with God. Many people assume Jesus was a good, moral teacher, but that misses a far greater truth. Jesus’ teaching is not meant to make us good, moral citizens; His teaching is meant to bring us to God.
Jesus gave credence to the authority by which He taught as He performed miracles. Every aspect of Jesus’ ministry — His teaching and miracles — leads us to identify Him as the Messiah and Son of God.
Jesus brings healing to our lives. (17–19)
Sin has left our world and the people in it hurting. Because of sin, humanity suffers disease, various traumas, poverty, deprivation and even natural disasters.
All these things impact the lives of those who encounter them. To add to these unfortunate calamities, we also live in a highly individualistic world where people are detached from each other and show little concern for the hurts around them.
Where can we run and to whom can we run when there is hurt? This passage teaches us that Jesus healed those who came to Him for help. He still heals today.
People came to Jesus from various communities, bringing to Him a multitude of hurts and problems and He healed them. Some of our hurts are not visible to the human eye. Some of your hurts are internal; they affect the soul and the mind.
Jesus, who knows us because He shares our humanity, can also heal our heartbreaks and our mental anxieties.
Jesus taught us the path to joy and favor with God. (20–23)
Jesus taught His disciples the path to joy and favor with God. The Beatitudes encourage the downcast and the outcast.
These beautiful blessings are reminders to us that the poor matter to God. Who are the poor among us? Do we notice them?
Jesus is teaching His disciples to have a keen eye toward those whom society has forsaken and despised, sending a clear message to us as His contemporary disciples to do likewise.
Jesus identified with the poor and the rejected, with those who were discriminated against and pushed to the margins.
In this passage, Jesus says, “Blessed are you.” Underneath the Beatitudes is a humility before God and a dependence upon Him.
Jesus taught us to love as He loves. (27–31)
Jesus taught His disciples the way they were to treat others. It is easy to like and love those with whom we agree. It is easy to love those who share the same ideals and beliefs as we do.
Jesus commands us to love our enemies. He also shows us that love is best reflected in actions. When we love people, we will refrain from doing anything that may hurt them.
In addition, we are taught to be proactive by doing to them as we would have them do to us. This is the love of Christ.
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