THE PREACHING OF JESUS
Scripture Luke 6:39-49 NIV Orig. July 4, 1985
Passage: 39 He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher. 41 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. 43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. 48 They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
Purpose: Continuing a Wednesday night series from Luke emphasizing the preaching of Jesus
Keywords: Luke, Christ, Preaching
Timeline/Series: Luke
Introduction
From the preaching of Jesus we have an example of preaching in the mold of Hebrew preaching in that day. It not only helps us to understand the context of preaching in the way that He experienced it, but it also shows the variances that He added to for others to follow.
Our text contains eleven verses. There are at least six distinct ideas contained therein. The themes are: Following those who don’t know where they are going; relationship of teacher and pupil; reality therapy; a tree and its fruit; good and evil persons; and building a house.
Herein is the essence of Hebrew preaching. The Jews had a word for it: charaz, meaning “stringing beads.” The preacher, in order to maintain interest, was taught to hurry from topic to topic. The Book of Proverbs is a fairly good example of such preaching.
Here, we have an example of using this kind of contemporary communication. But He was not limited to this. We find Him broadening the base of preaching by using it to convey specific truth through teaching. He controlled the manner of His preaching as surely as He did the message.
Rule #1—We can Share Effectively Only What We have Come to Grasp Sufficiently. V39 “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?” The blind person is totally helpless with anything he has not experienced. The blind person is helpless. It is remarkable what some have achieved within their limitations. There are golf tournaments for the blind. A blind woman named Vera painted her house in New Orleans. To try to take another where we have not been is a risk. There are compensations for sighted persons, such as maps, aids.
There is room for consideration of both literal and metaphorical blindness. The Greek word tuphlos refers to either kind of blindness. Its use here seems to suggest a literal blindness (physical).
There are variances of blindness. Some don’t see; some won’t see; some can’t see. Helen Kellen spoke at Southern Seminary and said, “The worst thing is to have eyes and not be able to see.” V40 “A disciple is not above his, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. Perfect/perfected—katertismenos in the Greek—suggests mending torn or broken nets. In Matthew 4:21, “He saw James and John, . . . mending their nets.” Galatians 6:1 “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in a trespass (fault), you who are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness.”
There are compensations for blindness whether literal or otherwise. If literal, there is a cane, guide dog, surgery, miracle; if none of these work, there is always the arm of a friend. It is so for metaphorical blindness, but the helper must first be able to see.
The Golden Rules of Teaching
- A teacher is a hinge on which one’s future swings.
- We teach more by our walk than by our talk.
- Sometimes, an ounce of Christian living before a pupil is worth a ton of talk.
- It is not what the pupils remember that constitutes knowledge, but what they cannot forget.
Rule #2—Misshapen Attitudes Affect Us both as Teachers and Learners. V41 “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?” There is another consideration of “don’t, won’t, can’t.” What these two have in common: Both have been rendered incapable of sight; both have seemingly correctible conditions. Now, a look at the ways they differ: a speck v. a plank or sawdust v. a saw log; accident v. carelessness; knowledge v. ignorance; beyond control v. self-control.
Dr. Criswell told about preaching in an Oklahoma revival. Members came, but a wife and husband went to sleep. When the power suddenly failed, the husband woke up in the dark. “Dr. Criswell,” he shouted, “Stop preaching and pray for me! I’ve gone stark blind!”
Don’t work to change others until you’ve made room for change in your own life. A psychiatrist is an M.D. who goes through psychoanalysis himself. As Edward Wallis Hoch wrote, “There is so much bad in the best of us, and so much good in the worst of us, that it hardly behooves any of us to talk about the rest of us.”
Rule #3—Good and Evil are Alike Products of Human Personality. V 45 “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of the heart brings forth evil.” Obedience to the highest good we know is the final test. Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of my Father in heaven.” Psalm 1:2 “His delight is in the law of the Lord.”
The tree is known by what it produces. I have two plums in my yard. One is surrounded by little plums from last year’s fallen plums. The other I race the birds to them. My tomato plants are not producing. In the same way, the human heart produces what it is. Does God see the maliciously evil differently from the ignorantly evil? The evil done in the name of religion? The hostages! [1979-81]
Rule #4—What is in the Human Heart is Given Expression with What We Say. V45 “Out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” What does one say under pressure? What does one habitually say? What do we say when no one hears?
Rule #5—They Are Happy Who do not Exchange Future Advantage for Present Pleasure. V48 “He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.” The house builder is a useful illustration. He built his house during the dry season in the river bed. When the rains came it was more difficult and more expensive.
We often have a choice between immediate convenience and long-term good. Many people have trouble choosing what can’t be seen, such as the essence of spiritual decision. Let us rebuke carelessness of spirit, as the University President whose goal was to raise a Christian family. Let us require steadfastness; 1 Timothy 6:19, “Storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” Let us restore hope. Storms do come.
***THE REMAINDER OF THIS SERMON HAS BEEN LOST***