Bible Classes
Luke 5-6 : Speaking to God and to Neighbor at The Mountain and the Level Place
Series: The Jesus WayAfter the resolution to follow and share the good news of God’s salvation for all people, despite opposition at Nazareth, Jesus in Luke 5-6 calls his first disciples (5:1-11) to follow him into healing the sick, teaching disciples, and conflict with the religious authorities (e.g., the “fury” of the scribes and Pharisees over the Sabbath-day healing of a man with a withered hand in 6:6-11). Two themes of Jesus life are especially developed and located in these passages: communication to the father through prayer, and communication to people through teaching. Coming after a time of solitary recollection and resolution in the face of temptation and opposition, the places of Luke 5-6 are important reminders that Jesus and his followers are not solitary or silent travelers on the Way, but rather are constantly connecting through communication with God and those in need of the gospel. In Luke 5-6, the two places that show and symbolize the conversation of Christ and Christians are the mountain (6:12) and the level place (6:17).
Jesus often stops to pray in solitude. The first indication of such places of prayer comes after he begins to be known and sought by crowds for this teaching and healing: “But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray” (Luke 5:15-16). This is next repeated in the following chapter: “In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12). Here we see that the mountain is a place of prayer in the life of Jesus.
That Jesus goes onto a mountain to pray is both a historical fact and a symbolic expression of his closeness to his heavenly father. Mountains are symbolic spaces in Scripture. Mountains are places of divine purpose and power and approaching God, e.g., Mount Ararat (the place of Noah’s sacrifice); Mount Sinai (Ten Commandments); Jerusalem (the location of the Temple); Moriah (the place of Abraham’s sacrifice), Nebo, (where Moses was shown the promised land) Hermon (a place of divine blessing), Carmel (where Elijah sacrifice occurred), Tabor (where Jesus ascended to heaven). Heaven is itself symbolized as Mount Zion (Hebrews 12:22, Revelation 14:1). Given their historical and spiritual connection to God’s presence, mountains in the Bibles, are what some Christians have called “thin places.” Thin places are a place where the boundary between heaven and earth seems especially thin. It’s a place where we can sense the divine more readily. On mountains, God's presence seemed more accessible than elsewhere, places where heaven and earth seemed to touch. Jesus’ prayers on mountains exhibited an ongoing conversation he had with his heavenly father, and which disciples of Christ should have both in times for special prayer and a lifelong sustained dialogue with God. All the world is our thin place in prayer to God on the Way of Jesus.
It’s noteworthy that Jesus prays before and after important decisions, specially seeking God’s guidance. He was praying after His baptism when the heavens opened (Luke 3:21). As we’ve seen he prayed after the cure of the leper at the start of his ministry (5:16). Here in Luke 6, Jesus spent all night on the hills in prayer before He chose the twelve apostles (6:12-16). Looking ahead in the Gospel, we will see that Jesus was praying alone when He asked the disciples the pivotal question, “Who do the people say I am?” (9:18-22). The eight days after this event, he will take Peter, James and John and went up on the mountain to pray (9:28) and while praying He is transfigured (9:29) Just before his own temptation during prayer on the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:39-46), Jesus will pray for Peter that his faith might not fail (22:32). And at the end, Luke tells us that Jesus prayed for His crucifiers (23:34) and committed His spirit into the hands of Father (23:46). Beyond these pivotal moments in Jesus’ life, we will find that prayer is a common activity done by the main characters in Acts (e.g., Acts 1:14; 2:42; 3:1; etc.). We should pray always and especially at special times of decision and deliberation in our lives.
Taken with these other examples, the mountain in Luke 6:12 shows us that prayer is a "spiritual discipline" in Jesus' life. A “spiritual discipline” is a practice found in Scripture that promotes a closer relationship with God, helping them to serve and glorify God better through regular and deeper connection, e.g., through prayer, reading Scripture, meditation, fasting, solitude, and worship.
The way of living like Jesus follows him in this life of petition, praying to God first in all our actions, grateful for our life and relying on His guidance and protection.
What are different ways that you have regularly prayed to God? What do we learn about the spiritual discipline of prayer in the following passages?
Matthew 6:6;
1 Thessalonians 5:17
Acts 4:25 (Psalm 2); Matt 27:46 (Psalm 22)
Luke 6:17 – A Level Place
Jesus was known as “teacher” (Luke 22:11) and “rabbi” (e.g., John 1:38) for good reason: he was a teacher of others about the kingdom of God from the very beginning of his public ministry. Most relevant for us is that he calls his first and subsequent disciples (a disciple is a “learner”) to also be teachers. This is first seen in Luke 5 where he calls his disciples to be “fishers of men” (Luke 5:10). Jesus models this instruction in Luke 6 at a place described as a flat place, or a plain (Luke 6:17). Because of this location, the ensuing discourse in Luke 6 is often designated Jesus’ “sermon on the plain,” which is similar to, but distinct from his “sermon on the mount” (Matthew 5-7).
In both sermons Jesus teaches lengthy lessons full of brief, practical statements of divine revelation. Beyond these two teaching sessions, the Gospel of Matthew has the greatest number of these lengthy discourses with five major sermons spread throughout the Gospel. These sermons are Jesus’ wisdom, which like the “Wisdom Literature” in the Old Testament (Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon) offer practical advice about God and virtue, often drawing lessons from the organization of the world. As in the wisdom literature of the OT, the life and instructions of the teacher is meant for his followers to teach and exhibit in their own lives. For example, in the “Sermon on the Plain,” Jesus directly states that his followers should learn to live and teach like him: “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40).
Jesus’ wisdom healed ignorance and error though the insight and correction he proved. We see at least six examples of the healing power of his teaching in Luke 6:
He cuts out desire for worldly reward and acclaim, focusing us on our heavenly reward and being like God (vv. 20-36)
He remedies our judgmentalism, by teaching us to be compassionate and forgiving. (vv. 37-38)
He resets our understanding of leadership, by teaching us first to make the needed changes in our own life. (vv. 39-42)
He refocuses our desire to do good, by magnifying what we treasure in our hearts, so that we can do the good. (vv. 43-45)
He gives the antidote to falsely calling him "Lord," by teaching us to do what he commands. (vv. 46-49)
What we learn from these and other instances of his instruction, is that Jesus’ teaching was purposeful and designed both to change and transform his listeners, guiding them closer to an understanding of who they really were and who he was in order to know God and God’s will in their life. He used several pedagogical methods – stories, examples, questions, and slogans -- but we see his heart as a teacher most of all in the practical instruction he offered for kingdom living, i.e., behaviors that were obedient to the king and loving towards fellow citizens and neighbors.
What does this mean for us? Jesus’ teaching at Luke 6:17 shows us that we must find a level place where we can teach others the gospel: a passing comment, a prayer, an invitation to further study. This means we should fulfill the “great commission” in teaching others what Jesus commanded (Matt 28:19-20): “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” What do the following passages show us about the teaching that Christians should offer on the Way?
1 Thess 1:6-10; 2 Tim 2:2; Heb 5:12
- Luke5_6.mp3 (23.73 MB)
