In His visit to Nazareth described in Luke 4, Jesus the “hometown boy” was ignored, ridiculed, chastised and dragged out of His familiar synagogue to be thrown off a cliff.  His appointment with death was not to occur at the rocky bottom of a ravine in Galilee.  He had an appointment to give His life willingly on a cross in Jerusalem.  God preserved the life of Jesus as He walked right out danger in Nazareth that day.  The angry, shouting crowd didn’t even notice as Jesus slipped away.  His mission continued… 

Jesus spent time in Luke 5 with the fishing boys on the Sea of Galilee, Peter and Andrew and James and John.  He taught them to not just stand in the shallows cleaning and mending nets but to move through the shallows and on out into the deep waters of ministry.  He was gathering those who would learn to fish for PEOPLE.  That was the mission and ministry of Jesus. 

Doctor Luke highlights the prayer life of Jesus in several places in his account of the gospel. Luke 5:16 is one of those passages, “…but Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.”  In Luke 6:12, we also read, “…and it was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.”  Jesus knew every step of His journey and what was about to occur.  Still, He walked on.  Still, He stopped and spent time communing with His Father about these events.  Prayer was His lifeline to the Father.  

At daybreak, Jesus chose and called out the 12 disciples.  The word “disciple” means learner.  These would be the men who would walk the ministry road with him.  Three of those—Peter, James and John—would form an “inner circle” that would be included in several special moments with Jesus.  I call them the three closer walkers. 

As Jesus descended from the mountain of prayer, He began to address His disciples and the people who were also gathered there.  Some commentators have called Luke’s account the sermon “on the plain” as opposed to the sermon “on the mount” as recorded by Matthew.  Genuine, credible, bible scholars spend time discussing whether or not these were the same events.  Never forget that the Holy Spirit was the author and word weaver of all 66 books of the Bible. 

Here’s my plain ole bible student take on that:  There was a mountain involved but no one knows exactly which mountain.  There were disciples there.  A crowd was gathered (every day around Jesus!).  Jesus was the Teacher.  Matthew would have been right there listening and taking the precise notes in the habit of an accountant.  Luke was not there, but his methodical “doctor mind” research would later give us the gospel according to Luke and the book of Acts.  Thank the Lord for giving us BOTH Matthew AND Luke.  There is a location by the Sea of Galilee thought to be the site of this message.  I have stood there several times and wished I could have been in the audience. 

We spend way too much time determining the location of the sermon and way too little time ingesting and taking responsibility for living out the message.  Jesus said that He was talking to those who had ears to hear with the intention of obedience. 

Our lessons are pointing us the the ministry and mission of Jesus.  He came to HEAL PEOPLE from the inside out!  They all wanted to touch Him and be healed immediately.  They were “pressing” into Jesus from every conceivable direction at every location as soon as He arrived.  His posture of separation in prayer and sitting in boats to teach and surrounding Himself with the few He poured His life into—all these proved that His face was set toward Jerusalem.  He kept all of His God-ordained appointments. 

Luke 6:20 describes Jesus as turning His gaze on His disciples as He begins to speak.  What a moment.  I know His eyes must have been loving and piercing and searching and dripping with compassion—all at the same time.  I’m not sure I could have kept from dropping my eyes away from His! 

Jesus began by reaching out to the poor, the hungry, the grieving and the rejected.  He gave them the promise of hope and joy for eternity.  For those who were looking for rewards on earth, Jesus lifted their eyes and their hopes toward a spiritual reward.  

Most folks loved their friends.  Jesus said they were rot also love their enemies.  Cheers and fist bumps in the air were relaxed into, “Oh, really?  HMMmmmm…”.  Most folks said they should bless those who do good to you.  Jesus said to bless those who curse you and pray for those who mistreat you. 

The ministry of Jesus was to turn us inside, outside and upside down with His loving correction.  He re-set our spiritual clock.  He re-calibrated our spiritual compass.  He put the earth on His timetable and His terms.  We do what He says to do when and according to His plan and direction. 

We are to be ready to turn the other cheek when struck by those who hate us.  We are to give away our coat on demand and also offer our shirt as an additional blessing without even being asked.  Such reactions to injuries and personal attacks could cause the “wound-er” to pause and “wonder” why we didn’t lash back and reciprocate their behavior.  Doors open at moments like that for people to meet the Master. 

The Mission of Jesus (last week’s lesson):  He came for you, and He came for me. 
The Ministry of Jesus (this week’s lesson):  He is still standing on that unknown mountain reaching out for those who will look into His eyes and respond to His call.