King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Monday, October 09, 2023
Chapters: LUKE 6, MATTHEW 5
Message: A Chosen Generation
Hello My Friend,
I have always been known as the black sheep, with family, what little friends that I did have in school and even as a working adult I am still seen the same way. So, you can imagine that it does get a little discouraging when it seems like I am expected to be the sensible one yet am the first one to get accused. I can definitely relate to the way Jesus felt when He had all eyes on Him, not only those who were for Him, but against Him as well. While we as saved, born again Christians are the black sheep of Christianity we are reminded that we are a peculiar people and ought to remain that way, [1 Peter 2:9-10 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.]
Not everyone who calls themselves a Christian is a people of God, likewise, not everyone who calls themselves a Christian is a believer of Christ. Believe it or not, religion that is associated with God is automatically categorized as a Christian based religion, whether or not it has anything to do with Christ. And if they think that Jesus does not know who are true, they are only deceiving themselves. As we continue in the reading of the Gospels, Luke, also gives the account of Jesus going into the temple on a Sabbath and healing the man with a crippled hand.
[Luke 6:7-11 And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him. 8 But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth. 9 Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it? 10 And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other. 11 And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.]
[And looking round about upon them all,] Jesus, looking around that room, felt both anger and sadness over the fact that these so called worshipers of God were not only waiting to accuse Him of some sin, but also with their distorting the Law. There is only so much that God is going to take of these religious cults distorting His Word before He comes after them, [Ezekiel 34:10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.]
I get it, we have all been unknowledgeable in the Word of God, and God knows this, in fact, He designed His Word for it to be read daily so that we can become more knowledgeable of it as we ready, study, and apply it to our walk with Christ. Since we are saved by grace through our faith alone in Christ, that does not mean that we are not to set some moral standards while we await Christ’s return or He brings us home. While Jesus did have quite a few followers, He chose twelve men that served with Him the entire time during the three and a half years of His ministry. They would be the ones who would learn by His example and teach others once He left the earth. He also knew that one of them would betray Him and yet each person was chosen for a reason.
[Luke 6:13-17,20 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; 14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, 15 Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, 16 And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor. 17 And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; 20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.]
[And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples,] Jesus, is looking at this crowd of people, many of them already making false accusations and judgments about Him, starts to speak to the disciples who were about to get the same treatment. They are called the Beatitudes, in other words, “The Blessed Attitude”, and both Matthew and Luke record these, although Matthew recorded quite a few more.
[Matthew 5:3-11 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.]
[Blessed are the peacemakers:] [Blessed; Happy; prosperous in worldly affairs; enjoying spiritual happiness and the favor of God; To set apart or consecrate to holy purposes; to make and pronounce holy.] Let me tell you, when Jesus chooses you we may enjoy some spiritual happiness and the favor of God, but it does come with some challenges that we are not often aware of, [1 Peter 3:13-15 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? 14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; 15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:]
[and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely,] I never thought about it this way before, but the entire sermon that Jesus gave was stemmed from the way the religious cults were treating Him. These people were trying to say that they knew the Law of Moses and followed it religiously, swearing on oaths that they were following the Scriptures. Now, Jesus, goes on to remind them of the danger of this.
[Matthew 5:33-37 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: 34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: 35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. 36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.]
[But I say unto you, Swear not at all;] It is here added that the commandment does not only forbid false swearing, but all rash, unnecessary swearing of oaths. Those who are sworn in their faith in having Christ as their Saviour must believe that it is only by the grace of God that they are saved, if anything else is added or questioned then there is no salvation, [Ephesians 2:4-5,7-9 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.]
[because thou canst not make one hair white or black.] People might be able to die their hair, but we were only born with the color hair that we were given. Our hair may turn white on its own as we age, but there is nothing that we can do to change what is naturally there from the beginning. Which brings up another point, one may be able to remove body parts to give themselves the illusion that they are a different gender than what they are born, but that does not change the fact that they were born a male or female. God, made no mistake when He created each and every one of us, every hair on our head is numbered, even the ones that fell out, [Luke 12:6-7 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? 7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.]
When Jesus promised that our soul would be saved through our faith alone in His Gospel, He did not promise that everything would be hunky dory. In fact, He even warns us that we will be hated because of our faith in Him. Nevertheless, we have nothing to fear, and we actually ought to be rejoicing over the fact that our reward is great in heaven.
[Luke 6:22-28 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. 23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. 24 But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. 25 Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. 26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets. 27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, 28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.]
[But woe unto you that are rich!] Those who are too rich to see how poor they are in the Spirit, and those who are too full to see how much their soul is starving in the Spirit, have already received their reward. Unless we humble ourselves to mourn and weep for our soul we will not see the need for salvation, [James 4:7-10 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.]
[and pray for them which despitefully use you.] Say what? The love Jesus speaks of here is something that can only be done through Him. We have to understand that this is not about us, it is about Jesus and souls that are headed for hell. We are going to be hated because we choose Him, and sometimes the best thing to do is lay low. There is a time to fight, but we fight Christ’s way and not ours, and besides, the best way that we can fight our enemies is to actually be kind to them. Jesus explains.
[Luke 6:32-36 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. 33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. 34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. 36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.]
[for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.] This goes without says, that quite frankly, we rarely receive thanks and praise by those we know and love for the things we do for them. To love our enemy, that is a great task, and something that only by the power and grace of God that we can even achieve. In doing so we might just lead a soul to Christ, [1 Peter 2:11-12 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.]
These were the richest, most religious, and influential men in all of Israel, who prided themselves on their good works. What Jesus is saying here is that there is no amount of righteousness that can save us on our own. Serving God and following a bunch of religious rules has nothing to do with our salvation, we must receive Christ as our Saviour for that. Our good works have nothing to do with our salvation, but has everything to do with our thankfulness and gratitude for the sacrifice Jesus made in giving His life to save us.
[Luke 6:39-42 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? 40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. 41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye.]
[Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye,] This is why Jesus made such an appoint to show people exactly what they were doing by falsely accusing Him. An evil and corrupt society wants to paint Christians and the world against each other, the blind leading blind through exposing everyone’s, but their own sin, but we do not have to stoop to their level or be bullied into taking their side. God, gives us one of two options, You either accept Christ or reject Him. If you accept Him, then He expects you to be faithful to Him and commit to Him, if you reject Him, then at least you were not lying to anyone, especially God. Well, Jesus knew exactly who His true friends and enemies were, even though many called Him Lord. He has a question for them, and He has the same question for all call Him Lord, but do not do the things He says.
[Luke 6:46-49 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? 47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: 48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.]
[and do not the things which I say?] You see, they had no intention of believing on Him, and they did not want the people believing on Him either, if they did, then they would lose out on all that fame and fortune. We cannot have it both ways, in order to walk with Christ it does take a sacrifice. Simply put, if we want to be blessed by God, then we need to prove it by becoming a living sacrifice, [Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, You know my heart, my thoughts, and even my actions before I do them. I know that I am who I am today because of what You did on Calvary. I am not the same creature I was when You picked me up out of the hole I was in, but You are not done with me yet. You have much work more for me to do, not that I might keep my salvation, but that You might be seen through me. Forgive me for neglecting You when life gets so busy sometimes, that is when I need to draw near to You more. Lord, lead me and guide me, give me the strength that only You can give me to be more like You. Let me be the disciple You need me to be, to be a witness and testimony for those who need You, and even those who have lost their way. Show me how to love my enemy and do good to those who hate me, for I know that my reward is great. I pray this in Your name, Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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