It is no accident that Jesus stood on a level place as he addressed the people who were following him. If you will recall, this is how Luke 6:17 reports Jesus standing a level place:
He came down with them and stood on a level place with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon.
In the prophetic tradition of the Old Testament, a level place could be symbol of one of two realities. The first reality that a level place proclaims is a reality that is void of hope. Five of the Old Testament prophets (Jeremiah, Daniel, Joel, Habakkuk, and Zechariah) referred to a level place when they prophesied about death, disgrace, idolatry, suffering, misery, hunger, annihilation, and mourning. (Jeremiah 9:22; 14:18; 30:4; Daniel 3:1; Joel 1:10, 20; 2: 22; 3:19; Habakkuk 3:17; Zechariah 12:11).
Two other Old Testament prophets (Isaiah and Ezekiel) prophesied that level places can be places and times in life where the hope of God’s presence is realized even in life situations that may be considered as being void of hope. Isaiah and Ezekiel prophesied a message of hope that God can bring life from death even in the hopelessness of level places (Isaiah 40:4; Ezekiel 3:22, 23; 8:4).
Working Preacher.org Feb. 17, 2019, Ronald J. Allen
It is no mistake that Jesus is standing on a level place as he preaches the good news of God’s kingdom through the blessings and woes found in today’s scripture reading. It is no mistake that Jesus is standing on a level place as he looks upon the crowd at people who are searching for a word of hope as they stand in the level places of their lives. It is in the level places of life where Jesus’ message of hope is spoken and lived as Jesus pronounces both blessings and woes that are found in the level places of our lives.
In pronouncing these blessings and woes, Jesus employing two other traditions that were practiced by the biblical prophets. The first tradition was to compare and contrast the values of God’s kingdom with the current values of the world’s kingdoms. The goal of this prophetic tradition was to help people hear the message of a prophet with fresh ears as they considered the values that define their lives.
It is in the prophetic tradition of comparison and contrast that Jesus began his Sermon on the Plain by proclaiming four blessings for people whose only hope is God as they stand in the level places of their lives.
Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man.
It was also in the prophetic tradition of comparison and contrast that Jesus proclaimed four woes for people whose values will lead them to level places where their only hope is found in themselves.
But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false
prophets.
The Wesley Study Bible describes the blessings and woes of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain in this way:
In a world where wealth and prosperity were often presumed to indicate divine favor, Luke records words which teach exactly the opposite. The “poor,” the “hungry,” and the weeping are blessed along with the hated, reviled, defamed, and excluded. The “rich,” the “full,” and the jovial are subjected to woes and impending trauma. The four blessings and the four woes here reflect a divine value system in which the privileged no longer exploit their privileges for their own benefit, but instead share their privileges with those without privilege: and in which those without privilege become blessed.”
- 1248-1249, The Wesley Study Bible, Abingdon Press, Nashville
Rev. Jo Anne Taylor defines Jesus’ prophetic message of blessings and woes in the Sermon on the Plain in this way:
We are blessed when we are God-centered, regardless of our earthly circumstances, and we find woe whenever we are self-centered.
A Pastor Sings.org, Rev. Jo Anne Taylor
Jesus stood on a level place as he compared the blessings of a God centered life with the woes of a self-centered life. As you hear Jesus proclaim the blessings and woes of God’s kingdom, where are you standing?
A Level Place
by Pastor Marc Brown
November 10th, 2024
Accompanying Scriptures: Luke 6: 17-26
Fort Hill United Methodist Church
Order of Worship for November 10th, 2024
Scripture Lesson Luke 6: 17-26
The Good News “A Level Place”
Prayer
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