What is Up and Down, Backwards and Forward?

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Good morning, Christchurch. My name is Suzy Shin,

and I'm part of the Wednesday Women's Group in Oakland,

and the monthly Friday Families Group, also in Oakland.

Today's scripture reading is from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 6, verses 17 to 36, as printed in your liturgy.

Luke 6:17–36

A reading from the Gospel according to Luke.

He went down with them and stood on a level place.

A large crowd of his disciples was there, and a great number of people from all over Judea,

from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon,

who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases.

Those troubled by impure spirits were cured,

and the people all tried to touch him because power was coming from him and healing them all.

Looking at his disciples, he said,

Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

Blessed are you when people hate you,

when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man.

Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven,

for that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.

But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.

Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.

Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.

Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,

for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.

But to you who are listening, I say,

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

bless those who curse you,

pray for those who mistreat you.

If someone slaps you on one cheek,

turn to them the other also.

If someone takes your coat,

do not withhold your shirt from them.

Give to everyone who asks you,

and if anyone takes what belongs to you,

do not demand it back.

Do to others as you would have them do to you.

If you love those who love you,

what credit is that to you?

Even sinners love those who love them.

And if you do good to those who are good to you,

what credit is that to you?

Even sinners do that.

And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment,

what credit is that to you?

Even sinners lend to sinners,

expecting to be repaid in full.

But love your enemies,

do good to them,

and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.

Then your reward will be great,

and you will be children of the Most High,

because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord.

Thank you, Susie, for that scripture reading.

Good morning, everyone.

My name's Andrew.

I'm one of the pastors here.

And I'm glad to open up God's Word with you.

Looking forward to diving into this text.

Let's go to the Lord in prayer

before we dive into His Word.

Father, we pray that as we give our attention to Your Word,

Your Spirit, which inspired this Word,

would convict our hearts.

That these familiar teachings of Jesus

that we will hear and discuss today

would strike us fresh and new,

and that You would get rid of that familiarity, Lord,

and bring conviction and concrete action

in Your church.

That we'd be a people of love.

That we'd be a people who are a countercultural force

in this broken world,

so dissatisfied with the status quo

and so longing to bear witness

to Your Son's better kingdom.

Make us that kind of a church, God.

In Jesus' name, amen.

This morning, we are opening up

chapter 6 of Luke's Gospel.

It's a pretty lengthy portion,

and some people like to call this,

you know, you've heard of the Sermon on the Mount

in Matthew chapter 5.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

Some people like to call this

the Sermon on the Plain, all right?

Because if you paid attention,

in verse 17, it says,

He went down with them and stood on a level place.

So they call this the Sermon on the Plain.

They're not sure if this is, you know,

combined instances or things like that.

But, you know, we're pretty sure Jesus probably preached

a lot of the same things,

just like Jonathan and me do all the time

in different places.

So that's why you have a lot of overlap here.

But we're gonna call this the Sermon on the Plain.

And how He opens the Sermon on the Plain

is with these two pretty famous

and radical teachings.

These might be some of the most famous

and radical teachings

that Jesus has given to us.

And it's definitely caught people's attention

over the past 2,000 plus years

because of how uniquely transformative

and world-altering they've been.

And if I could just summarize

these two teachings for us today,

it's Jesus' teachings

on whom He called blessed

and whom we're supposed to love.

Just two things,

whom He called blessed

and whom we're supposed to love.

And we're gonna look at these teachings today.

But before we dive in,

I wanted to share a story with you.

I was listening to the podcast,

The Voice of the Martyrs,

not that long ago.

And it was this YWAM missionary

who went out to Nigeria,

southern Nigeria,

to serve a bunch of

now single and widowed women.

About 100-something of these women

who had to leave

where they were from,

northern Nigeria,

because the Boko Haram

and other Islamic terrorists

had burned down their houses

and murdered their families

and they'd had to escape

and run down to southern Nigeria.

And so this YWAM missionary

is just kind of recounting

her experience there.

And she tells the story of

one evening,

it's about 2,

she says it's like 2.09 a.m.

and she hears this interesting sound,

this beautiful sound,

outside of where she's staying

and she gets a light

and she walks out

to see what's going on.

It sounds like people are praying,

crying out to God.

It sounds like people are worshiping.

And what she finds is that

there are 100 women

in the tent right next to her

and they are worshiping

and they are crying out to God.

and what they're doing

is they are crying out to God

for the people

who murdered their families.

They're asking God

to forgive them,

to send His grace,

to transform them.

And the reason why they're praying

and crying out to God

at 2.08 a.m. at night

is because that's the time

when many of their families

are often attacked.

So they're also praying

against the darkness.

They're praying against

the evil forces

that would go and still attack

many of the other families

and villages there.

And, you know,

this YY missionary,

she couldn't understand

the language that they were speaking.

She couldn't understand

exactly what they were saying.

But she said that this was

the holiest moment

that she'd ever witnessed.

The most beautiful,

the most powerful,

the most sacred,

the holiest moment

that she'd ever witnessed

at these 100

widowed Nigerian women

that we will never know

or hear about otherwise, right?

And the question I want to ask is,

what can possess a person,

what can compel

hundreds of women

to do such a thing?

What would get us

to love our enemy

in such a way?

And what could create

that kind of community

where we could look at them

and say,

wow,

I'm sad for them,

but man,

these women

are special women.

Blessed are the poor.

What kind of truth,

what kind of reality

do we need to confess?

Do we need to believe in

that can do this

in this world?

That's the question

I want to ask this morning

as we open up

this radical,

truly radical teaching

of Jesus here

in Luke chapter 6.

Luke 6 · chapter mention

So I want us to be asking,

you know,

when Jesus is saying,

you know,

blessed are you who are poor,

and woe to you

who are rich.

I want us to be asking,

is this really right?

Is this really true?

Do I want this to be right?

Do I want this to be true?

And can I believe this?

Can I actually believe this

and live like this?

I want us to be asking

those questions.

So let's now dive

into our text.

I want to start us

in verse 20, actually.

We're going to talk about

whom Jesus calls blessed,

all right?

Luke 20,

Luke 6,

Luke 6:20

verse 20,

it says,

Looking at his disciples,

Jesus said,

blessed are you who are poor,

for yours is the kingdom of God.

Blessed are you who hunger now,

for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now,

for you will laugh.

Blessed are you

when people hate you,

when they exclude you

and insult you

and reject your name as evil

because of the Son of Man.

Now, I don't know about you,

but, you know,

I grew up in the church.

I've, you know,

read the Bible a handful,

many times,

and I've come across this verse

tons of times in my life

and, you know,

for many years,

I had a lot of trouble

with this text

because it seems super important.

It's like the beginning

of the Sermon on the Mount,

the beginning of the Sermon on the Plain,

everyone's memorizing it,

quoting it,

but I also had trouble

understanding

what this really means,

these blessed are statements.

Like,

what is Jesus trying to communicate?

Is he saying that,

you know,

we should try to be poor

and hungry

to be blessed?

Is that the requirement?

Only the poor

and the hungry

can be blessed?

Or is he saying

there's a special blessing

for those who are hated

and for those who weep?

Or is he just kind of

broad brush stroking this,

you know,

just speaking in generalities,

you know,

you're more susceptible

to be blessed

if you're poor

because you're more

desperate for God,

more open to Him,

more needy before Him?

What is going on here

in this text?

Why does Jesus lead

His most famous sermons

with these lines,

blessed are?

Oh,

in my,

you know,

in my studying,

I found that what helps

is if we actually notice

who Jesus is speaking to,

okay?

So look at verse 17

and I want you to try

to imagine this crowd

that Jesus is addressing.

It says,

a large crowd of His disciples

was there

and a great number of people,

listen,

from all over Judea,

from Jerusalem

and from the coastal region

around Tyre and Sidon.

We're talking

hundreds of miles apart.

Many of these people

probably traveled by foot,

right?

These people are desperate

for what it says

for healing.

It says,

who had come to hear Him

and to be healed

of their diseases,

right?

So this is a large crowd,

people who are tired,

they've traveled a long way

and it's a bunch

of diseased people,

right?

And it says,

those troubled

by impure spirits

who were cured,

right?

So it's also

a bunch of people

who were maybe possessed

and attacked

and plagued

by evil spirits,

probably seen as crazy

and probably very isolated

in their communities.

Maybe there are even people

who feel very guilty

and ashamed

about how they let

the evil forces

into their lives,

maybe through wicked acts

or just poor decisions.

And then look at verse 19.

And the people all tried

to touch Him.

Okay?

So just think about this.

This is a group

of desperate people.

They've traveled

hundreds of miles

hoping against all hope

that by somehow touching

this rabbi from Nazareth,

they will somehow

have their lives changed.

This is kind of

a last ditch effort,

right?

Who would do that?

Who of us would do that?

Only the most desperate of us.

And so this was the audience

that Jesus had.

This is who He's speaking to.

He's not speaking to elites.

This isn't a rich,

well-fed,

laughter-filled crowd

full of beloved

and, you know,

admired influencers.

Jesus is addressing the poor,

the desperate,

the diseased,

the powerless,

the tormented,

the troubled,

the isolated,

and the weary.

People who couldn't

save themselves

and who knew that very well

and whose last hope

in the world

was some random rabbi

from Nazareth.

So this is a scene

that we need to have

in our minds.

And I want to make it clear

now what Jesus is not doing

when He's giving us

these blessed are you statements.

Okay?

When Jesus says blessed are you,

this actually isn't a blessing

that He's pronouncing.

Like, He's not calling

some divine favor

and divine blessing

upon people.

There's a different

and more specific Greek word

that would have been used

if He was doing that.

No.

Actually,

the Greek word here

for blessed

just means happy,

lucky,

fortunate.

You could even translate this

as you who are poor,

congratulations.

All right?

That's what this word

is kind of indicating.

So Jesus isn't performing

a speech act

of blessing upon these people.

No, Jesus isn't blessing anyone,

but rather,

He's making a statement.

He's making a comment

and a surprising one

at that about who

can be considered

as blessed

in His kingdom.

And apparently,

it's not the rich,

the well-fed,

those who laugh,

it's not those who are spoken well of,

but it's the poor,

the hungry,

the weeping,

and the hated.

So really,

this is more of an announcement

than a pronouncement.

All right?

It's not a promise,

it's not a proverb

or a formula.

He's not setting forth

a list of virtues

and ideals

for people to pursue

so that they can be blessed by God.

Jesus isn't saying,

thou shalt be poor

and persecuted,

hungry and weeping

in order to be blessed by God.

He's not telling people

to pursue poverty

and persecution.

Jesus never teaches us

to pursue suffering

just for the sake of suffering.

I think Stanley Hauerwas

says it really well

when he writes,

too often these descriptive statements

are turned into ideals

we must strive to attain.

As ideals,

they can become formulas

for power

rather than descriptions

of the kind of people

characteristic

of the new age

brought by Christ.

Thus,

Jesus does not tell us

that we should try

to become poor.

He simply says

that many who are called

into the kingdom

will find that,

hey,

a lot of us are poor.

So again,

Jesus' words here

aren't virtues,

proverbs,

or commands

or formulas

or pronouncements.

Jesus isn't telling people

to pursue poverty,

to mourn all the time

and to go and get persecuted.

No,

what he's really saying

is you can be

all these things,

poor,

hungry,

weepy,

hated,

excluded,

and at the same time

you can still be blessed

in his kingdom.

That's the kind of kingdom

he's here to bring.

He's here to open their eyes

and our eyes

to the kingdom's

radical reversal

of the world's values.

He's saying

everything you thought

about your worth

and your status

and your value,

everything you've been told

by all the empires

of this world

that the first

shall be first

and the last

shall be last,

my kingdom doesn't play

by those rules.

Their standards

are not my standards.

Their values

are not my values.

Thus saith the Lord

Jesus Christ.

You have heard

that it was said,

blessed are the rich,

but I say to you,

woe to you who are rich

and blessed are you

who are poor

for yours

is the kingdom of God.

Sure, to be poor

is fundamentally

to lack

what your community values,

but in my kingdom

you can be poor

and yet you can have everything.

You can have the kingdom.

It can be yours.

In my kingdom,

Jesus says,

those who hunger

will be satisfied

at the end of the day.

Those who weep

will be laughing

at the end of the story.

And those who are hated

and excluded

and insulted

and rejected

on account of me,

they will one day

be vindicated

because of their association

with me.

Jesus is saying,

just because you're

on top of the world,

just because you're

an elite and a winner

and an achiever

and just because your life

is going well,

this may not mean

that you are actually

blessed.

You might be on the top

amongst the empires

of the world,

you can be

all the way at the top

and yet not at all

be a part of my

better kingdom,

Jesus says.

And then he points us

to the example

of the prophets

who many of them

were persecuted

and slaughtered

and insulted

and disregarded

in verse 24.

Even though they were

disregarded by many kings

and even if we may

be classified as lowly,

worthless,

and insignificant

by the kings

of this world today,

Jesus says we can rejoice.

We can leap for joy

because like the prophets,

our reward is safe

in heaven, he says.

And this is an established

pattern that he wants

us to see in our world

that's actually gone

upside down.

You know,

the only reason

the first shall be first

and the last shall be last

seems to make sense to us

is because we live

in a fallen world.

That's the only reason

that that makes sense to us.

When God blessed

our ancestors

and called them

to be fruitful

and to multiply

and to fill the earth,

he didn't intend

for there to be winners

and losers

in a zero-sum game.

Sure, he might have

endowed Adam

with certain unique gifts

and then Eve

with others,

but they were not

to compete with each other

for a limited amount

of resources

in order to live

and in order to thrive.

Their survival

and their success

weren't to be

at each other's expenses.

Their differences

weren't meant

for division

and mutual antagonism,

but for delight

and mutual advancement.

And any competition

that existed

was intended

to serve the whole community

and to help each other

break barriers

and further flourish.

There was no first

and there was no last,

but they were to acknowledge

and honor the image of God

in every single human being.

They were to live

by the self-giving spirit

of God.

This is what it was like

when the world

was truly right side up.

But see,

when sin entered the world,

when humanity

went our own way

rather than God's way,

and Adam set himself

in opposition to Eve,

and Cain set himself

against Abel,

and Cain and his descendants

built cities

and empires

not for human flourishing,

not for mutual generosity,

but for mere survival

and protection

from one another,

for building violent

and competitive advantages

against other tribes,

humanity has lived

in this fallen world

for so long,

and this is why

the first shall be first

and the last shall be last

seems right side up.

Because of sin

in this world,

and because of the pattern

of selfishness

and survival

by violent competition,

the spirit of self-protection

at all costs,

it's just permeated

all of our history,

all of our existence,

even if it means

obliterating others, right?

So they have no chance

of threatening us

or our survival anymore.

The spirit of self-protection

has ruled our world

ever since the fall,

and it's whispered

into our ears,

hate your neighbor.

Hate your neighbor

and seek their destruction,

and then and only then

will you survive and thrive.

And this has seemed right

to us in our sin

and in our blindness

and in our brokenness,

that this is just

how things are.

Dog eats dog.

Survival of the fittest.

Might makes right.

But Jesus,

Jesus came to reverse

the spirit

and to restore

his better,

purer,

righteous spirit.

So not only does he teach

that the poor

can be considered

as blessed citizens

in the kingdom of God,

but that citizens

in his kingdom

must also love

their enemies.

They must also

love their enemies.

Jesus comes in the power

and the authority

of a better spirit,

not the spirit

of self-protection,

but Jesus is restoring

the spirit

of a self-giving love.

Though now,

it's got an even

greater obstacle, right?

See, before the fall,

self-giving love,

that was natural,

and there were no enemies

to even hate.

But since the fall,

self-giving love

has only become

more difficult

because we are now

not just asked

to give ourselves

and our lives

in love to our neighbors,

but also to our enemies,

those who hate us,

those who threaten us.

Verse 27 says,

but to you who are listening,

I say,

love your enemies.

That is,

love those who are

the objects of your hate.

That's what that word

enemy means.

Those who are the objects

of your enmity

and your hostility.

And this is a radical

and seemingly unnatural

and impossible command.

But wait,

there's more.

Do good to those

who hate you.

Meaning,

actively work for the wellness

and the wholeness

and health.

Not just passively,

don't attack your enemies

anymore,

but spend your energy

to move toward them

and to lift them up.

Verse 28,

bless those who curse you.

Now this word for bless,

this is the Greek word

of speaking God's

divine favor

and abundance

and generous blessing

and shalom

upon someone.

Jesus saying,

do that

for the person

who hates you.

Do that for the person

who's done the exact opposite

to you

by cursing you.

And pray for those

who mistreat you,

Jesus says.

This word mistreat

can be translated

even threaten

or abuse.

Pray for them,

he says.

Jesus is commanding

something these people

would never have heard of.

Sure,

in the Torah,

you have commandments

like love your neighbor

as yourself,

but now Jesus

is radically expanding

the definition

of who our neighbors are.

Even the most hostile,

even the most dangerous

personal,

political,

and religious enemies,

he calls us to love.

And yet Jesus

has even more to say

to elaborate

on what this kind of love

for enemies looks like.

Look at verse 29.

If someone slaps you

on one cheek,

it's one of the most

shameful,

disrespectful things

you could do

to a Jewish man.

Jesus says,

turn the other

also.

And this doesn't just mean

let him hit you twice

before you retaliate.

In that culture,

if you offered

your cheek to someone,

you were being vulnerable

to them.

And you were posturing

yourself toward them

to receive a kiss.

You were posturing

yourself toward them

as a friend,

desiring a certain level

of intimacy

with that person.

Jesus is saying,

treat your enemies

as friends

and give them

another chance

for friendship.

Pursue friendship

with them,

invulnerability,

even when you have

no expectation

that they will

receive you

as a friend,

even after they've

massively disrespected

you and hurt you.

He continues,

if someone takes

your coat,

do not withhold

your shirt from them.

So he's saying,

also be generous

with your belongings

toward those

who dispossess you.

And listen,

he was talking to people

right at the poor

who might have only

had one coat.

When he's saying,

do not withhold

your shirt from others,

he's saying,

we love

by becoming vulnerable

and opening ourselves

up to embarrassment

and shame

even to the point

of being shirtless

or perhaps even naked.

Give to everyone

who asks you,

he says in verse 30,

and if anyone takes

what belongs to you,

do not demand it back.

Do to others

as you would have them

do to you.

You know,

I think for many of us,

whether Christians

or not,

the shock of this teaching,

it may have worn off on us.

Like, of course.

Yeah, okay, Jesus.

I'll try to love more

this Sunday.

Of course Andrew

is going to say that.

I'll try to be more selfless.

I'll try to be more sacrificial.

I know.

I love Gandhi.

I admire Dr. King.

You know.

But I want to challenge us

to marinate in these words,

to linger on these words

and what they really mean

concretely

an hour later today.

Tomorrow.

In your workplaces.

In your schools.

What does this mean?

In your family rooms.

In the places

where you encounter

people that you hate.

Or people that hate you.

Imagine how this crowd

would have received

the words of Jesus

as they're being challenged

to love their enemies.

These are the poor

and the lowly.

Maybe they've been thrown out

by their families,

deemed as too sickly,

too challenging to care for.

These are the people

who maybe have been

looked down upon

their whole lives

by the Pharisees

and self-righteousness.

Been told that they're

inferior in the eyes of God.

Maybe they're thinking

about the Romans

who occupied their streets

and dominated them

with an iron will.

Or maybe the tax collectors

who cheated them

and put more and more money

into the Romans' pockets.

These are the people

that came to mind.

Who is it that comes

to mind for you?

Who is it in your life

that God is bringing

to your mind right now

as He's challenging

all of us

to love our enemies?

Who do you hate?

Let's be honest.

Who do you hate?

Or maybe who are you

simply so indifferent toward

that you never even

considered them

as someone that God

wanted you to love?

You never considered them

as someone that God

wanted you to pray for

and actively work

for their well-being

because you didn't even

have time of day

to hate them.

They might as well

be non-existent to you.

Who is that person

to you?

In what ways is God

wanting to enlarge

our hearts?

To mold them

to be more like

the heart of Jesus?

Because Jesus says

if we only love our family

and our friends,

we aren't living

in the supernatural,

world-transforming love

of Christ's kingdom,

but only in the natural love

that simply preserves

our world's

broken status quo.

Verse 32,

if you love those

who love you,

what credit is that to you?

Even sinners love

those who love them.

And if you do good

to those who are good

to you,

what credit is that to you?

Even sinners do that.

And if you lend to those

from whom you expect

repayment,

what credit is that to you?

Even sinners lend

to sinners,

expecting to be repaid

in full.

But love your enemies,

do good to them,

and lend to them

without expecting

to get anything back.

Then your reward

will be great.

And,

listen to this,

and you will be

children of the Most High

because He is kind

to the ungrateful

and the wicked.

You see,

when we love,

especially when we love

our enemies

and those who don't

or can't repay

or even acknowledge

our love toward them,

that is when

we are most human.

And that is when

we are most like God.

That is when

we are most like

our Father,

closely identifying

with Him

as His image bearers,

as His children.

It's when we

are being merciful

just as our Father

is merciful.

That is His heart.

And that is His heart

for who He wants us

to be.

In this world

that says that mercy

is unnatural

and even contrary

to justice,

when we live in mercy,

when we live in Jesus'

upside-down kingdom

as if it were

the right-side-up

way to live,

we are illustrating

and sharing God's

supernatural love

and exercising

our highest calling

as His children.

We are being

our truest

and most righteous

selves in the presence

of God

as He intended.

And listen,

this is not saying

just be a doormat,

let people just

walk all over you.

This will look differently

in people's personal lives

and there are lots

of different applications

of this in corporate context,

communal context,

at the state level,

at national levels,

and unfortunately,

you know,

we don't have time

to talk about

political theology

or, you know,

a theology of passivism

or just war theory

or anything like that

today,

but,

listen,

we can get into

these complex particulars.

We can talk about those,

we can distract ourselves

with those,

we can talk about

just war theory

and passivism

and self-defense,

and we can let ourselves

get distracted

by all these complex

applications of this passage,

or,

or we can admit

that whatever loving

our enemies might look like,

none of us has arrived

in doing that.

None of us.

Like,

whatever you think

about what this looks like

and how to concretely,

practically apply

Jesus' words

in the most complex situations,

what is absolutely clear

is that we're to love

our enemies

with a clear conscience

before God

and with sacrificial

selflessness.

the question

that will most honor God

in response to this teaching

this morning

is not,

when is self-defense okay?

And when,

you know,

how does this work

for whole nations?

How far can they go

preemptively in self-defense?

No,

the question that will most

honor God

in response to Jesus' teaching here

is,

in the eyes of the Lord,

am I loving my enemies

with my heart

and with my hands?

Am I acting

for the good

and the best interests

of the people

that I cannot stand?

Am I pursuing

their shalom?

Or am I acting

as if

they are beyond redemption?

There are only two ways.

You either believe

that they

are beyond redemption

or you are acting

in love

for your enemies.

And this is a word for us.

When we are so tempted

to believe

that so many people

and institutions

and things

in this world

are beyond redemption

and when we are

so tempted

to categorize others

as deplorable

and forever enemies

and always wrong

and without a trace

of the image of God

in them.

But what if we had

the eyes of Jesus?

What if we had eyes

to see as Jesus saw?

Eyes for the poor,

eyes for the hungry,

eyes for the weeping,

eyes for the hated,

and eyes for our most

vile enemies?

Or if we can't even

think of these enemies,

what if we had eyes

for the people

who are practically

and virtually invisible

to us?

You know,

something that's

super interesting to me

is that these two

famous radical teachings

from Jesus

in the abstract

as ideas,

as ideals,

man,

people love Jesus'

teaching about this,

right?

People love these

teachings from Jesus.

Most people love

this idea of the underdog.

They love this idea

of blessed are the poor

and the hungry

and the excluded.

I love that they can be

part of the kingdom.

Most people,

even atheists,

love the idea

of loving our enemies.

They would condemn

religious people like us

for doing the opposite.

They condemn us

by our own standards,

right?

Which they've just

kind of selectively

adopted for themselves.

But if you look at the way

most of us human beings

concretely and practically

live and arrange our lives

and express our values,

none of us,

even us Christians

who preach this,

none of us lives

as though Jesus' words

were good and true

and good news

for the world.

Very few of us

practically

and functionally

believe

Jesus

when he said,

blessed are you

who are poor

or that loving

our enemies

is a good way

to go about living

in this dangerous world.

Most of us,

most of,

most all of us,

we tend to see the world

how Cain saw it.

And we're all trying

to build our cities,

build up our numbers,

wield various techniques

and technologies

to prolong our survival

with no regard

for how it affects others

because that's our vision

of the world

right side up.

But what if Jesus'

seemingly upside down kingdom

is actually truer

and more righteous,

a better vision

of the world?

My question for you

is don't you want

that to be true?

Don't you believe

it's better?

Can you believe

it's better?

And might God's spirit

be challenging you

to live as a citizen

in his righteous

and true kingdom

even if it costs you

like it costed Jesus?

You know, I get it.

It makes sense

to have trouble

with these radical teachings.

Blessed is the poor

is only true

if we can count

on a new economy

eventually coming.

Blessed are the hungry

is only true

if a feast really is

on its way.

Weeping can only be blessed

if we know

that every tear

will one day

be wiped away.

And blessed are you

when people speak badly

of you only

if you can be sure

that there's gonna be

a final vindication

and justification.

These statements

by Jesus

if they are not true

if he is not Lord

they are wildly irresponsible

and he's a lunatic

or a liar

or you know

a con man

a wicked con man.

So the question is though

is he?

Who is Jesus

to you?

And can you see him

as the God

that he's revealed

himself to be

to us

in the scriptures?

As the man

he came to be

sent from heaven.

If we don't have eyes

to see that

blessed are the poor

and that we should

love our enemies

it's because we don't

have eyes

to see Jesus.

Jesus was poor

born in a manger

Jesus was hungry

in the wilderness

Jesus wept

for Lazarus

and Jerusalem

and Jesus was hated

and excluded

and mistreated

as the son of God

who stood for

a different set

of kingdom values.

but is he not

also

the most blessed

one we've ever

seen?

The one who for the

joy set before him

endured the cross

for us and out of

love for his father

to save the world

do we not believe

that he is risen

in power

and joy

and glory

and do we not

see the beauty

of how he is the

embodiment

of God's love

for enemies?

For while we were

still weak

Christ died

for the ungodly

for no one

scarcely

for one will scarcely

die for a righteous

person

though perhaps

for a good person

one would dare

to die

but God

demonstrates his love

for us in Jesus

in that while we

were yet sinners

Christ died

for us

he gave up his cloak

he gave up his tunic

even his seamless

undergarment

he was stripped

naked by his enemies

to save his enemies

father forgive them

he cried

Jesus sought the good

of those who sought

his destruction

and death

and he wants to

raise up citizens

who will do

the same

even if it costs us

even if it costs us

in the courts

of the temporary

judges of this world

so might God

be calling us

to be citizens

of Christ's kingdom

and aliens

in the empires

of this world

do you have eyes

to see

as King Jesus

sees

whether you're

the poor

or the rich

whether you're

the hater

or the hated

or maybe you're

both

right

God wants you

to see what he sees

and he wants you

to hear what his son

has to say to you

so if you're here

today

for those of you

who are here

and feeling down

and out

poor

and hungry

and you're feeding

on your own tears

and you're either

detested by those

whose opinions

really seem to matter

or they have no idea

who you are

and they don't even

care to know

maybe this is a word

for you

I love how

Pastor Tyler Staten

says

Jesus has this habit

everywhere he goes

of picking out

the objectively

least likely person

and saying

my kingdom

belongs

to you

might this be

God's word

to you today

in your shame

and in your sense

of worthlessness

and unworthiness

and insignificance

might Jesus

be crying out

to you

my kingdom

belongs

to you

to people

just like you

Jesus' blessed

statements here

are a word

of welcome

and promise

you are welcome

into the kingdom

and I promise you

that you can belong here

apart from your achievements

apart from any of the

achievements

that you thought

you needed

to get

to the table

so if you're here today

and you feel

unaccomplished

and unimportant

virtually invisible

if you feel like

you have nothing

to offer

and far more

need

than contribution

Jesus' word

to people like you

is that the kingdom

can be yours

too

if you just come

close to him

you'll seek to touch him

like the people

at the sermon

on the plane

there's a seat

for you

at his table

the place

of highest

honor

even when all

the other seats

of power

and privilege

in this world

seem off limits

to you

there's a better

seat for you

at Jesus' table

but now

maybe some of you

are the very ones

sitting at these

privileged seats

in the world

you're at the top

of your industries

your workplace ladders

you're the highest performers

you've got the biggest

bank accounts

you've got the most

accomplishments

the most acclaim

and affirmation

from all your peers

well thank God

for your success

sure

for sure

but have you also

considered the value

and worth

of all your accomplishments

and attainments

in the light

of God's kingdom

in the light

of Jesus'

radically

alternative economy

in which the poor

are blessed

might Jesus

be calling you

to reassess

and recalibrate

your value system

to better match

his own

might you

live out

blessed are the poor

woe is the rich

in your workplace

in your spheres

of influence

do you live

to bless the poor

as Jesus did

are the poor

flocking to you

is your presence

in your community

a sign

of the healing

and compassionate

kingdom of God

I'm not just

speaking to you

I'm speaking

to myself

do we use

our resources

and our abundance

and whatever gifts

God has given us

to bear witness

to Jesus'

way better kingdom

and its alternative

set of values

Jesus' kingdom

is unlike

any other kingdom

and the lives

of its citizens

will seem radically

upside down

and backward

to the watching world

but this is precisely

this is precisely

how we will win

people over

not through power

but through love

you know

I can't verify this

with 100% certainty

but a handful

of historians

have quoted

Napoleon Bonaparte

by quoting

something that he said

to the effect of

Alexander

Caesar

Charlemagne

and I

have founded

great empires

but on what

did we rest

the creation

of our genius

upon force

Jesus Christ

alone

founded his empire

upon love

and at this hour

millions of men

would die for him

it's really

an undeniable fact

the love of God

displayed in Jesus Christ

crucified

and risen

to put sin

to death

and death

to death

though neither

that sin

nor that death

belonged to him

this is what

underlies all

of our longings

to believe

in the power

and the beauty

of sacrificial

unconditional love

even for our enemies

it's only the love

of Jesus

that can

transform this world

that has transformed

this world

that will

transform

this world

you know

in the 4th century

the anti-Christian

emperor of Rome

Julian

he tried to win

Rome back

to the pagan gods

but he angrily

marveled

at the Christians

and their

ethic of love

and he wrote this

for it is disgraceful

that when the

impious Galileans

the Christians

support not only

their own poor

but ours as well

all men see

that our people

lack aid from us

and the Christian

origin scholar

Gerald Sitzer writes

that Julian

complained about

exactly this kind

of Christian service

in spite of the

loftiness of Julian's

position and the

vast resources

of his empire

he could not

motivate his

priests to follow

the same way

of life

nor replicate

the church's

ministry to the

needy

but the difference

went deeper

than ethics

Christians worshipped

a God who loved

humanity in and

through his son

Jesus Christ

this Jesus

son of God

lord of lords

king of kings

had given his

life as a ransom

for many

and this is the

power that would

change the world

the love of Christ

in our lives

compelling us

to love like he

did as a light

in the darkness

let's pray

oh lord would you

make us that kind

of loving community

to the glory of

Christ and for the

good of this

broken world

we pray in Jesus

name

amen

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