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Jesus' Thirteen Peace Protectors, Part 3
Jesus’s Thirteen Peace Protectors III
David W Palmer
(Luke 6:5 NKJV) And He said to them, “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
The “Lord of the Sabbath” (the controller of peace, wholeness, and rest) has given us his peace, and he told us to preserve it (John 14:27). To help us do this, he gives us divinely wise teaching and directives. This is because his ongoing role in our peace is “Lord.” To make obedience to what he says possible, Jesus has also hidden his grace—his ability to obey his directives—for us to find; it’s awaiting us at his throne of grace (See: Heb. 4:16).
Today, we are continuing Jesus’s list of Peace Protectors, which are found in Luke 6. His next peace protector is recorded in verse 32:
(Luke 6:32 NKJV) “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
This is an absorbing and interesting statement. In Greek, Jesus uses the word “agape” for the love with which the sinners love those who love them. We thought that this word was reserved exclusively for the love with which God loves. For example, “God so loved the world …” Agape is used in the gospels as the highest form of love. Yet, in the above statement, the Master says that “even sinners” love with this kind of love, so it is not exclusive to God or Christians. They love those who love them.
I believe that the ability of sinners to love with this highest and most noble form of love, underlines the truth that we are all created in God’s image. The difference in the commendable love that Jesus is looking for from us is that we are to “agape” those who do not reciprocate it; in fact, Jesus says that this is the way we should love our enemies (See: Luke 6:27). To fully understand his point here, we will look at it in a different translation:
(Luke 6:32 YLT) “And—if ye love those loving you, what grace have ye? For also the sinful love those loving them.” (Forgive the old English: ye = you.)
This is perhaps a better translation of the underlying language. Jesus asks, “If you love those who love you, what grace do you have?” Although this carries the meaning of what thanks or reward should you receive, it also implies that, to do what sinners do, you don’t need God’s gracious holy power. Whereas to love nobly and altruistically those who don’t love you, you do need God’s grace— “the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life” (Strongs G5463).
I’m not sure that Scripture promises to reward us for something God did in us or through us by his grace, but it definitely says that he cannot be pleased without faith. In other words, our faith will please him, and he will reward it:
(Hebrews 11:6 NLT) “And it is impossible to please God without faith. …”
(1 Peter 1:7 NLT) “… So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”
What has faith got to do with receiving God’s grace to love our enemies with the highest and most noble form of love? Everything:
(Romans 4:16 NKJV) “Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, …”
I believe Jesus is saying:
With this background, let’s read on to the conclusion of Jesus’s Thirteen Peace Protectors:
(Luke 6:33 NKJV) “And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
Jesus wants us to do “good” to those who hate us (Mat. 5:44). He knows that this will not only enable us to protect the peace he has given us, it will also position us to reap “good” eternally. But again, achieving this genuinely is not possible with natural human resolve; we need his help through his amazing grace—which is accessed by proven faith. The same idea is echoed in his next peace protecting principle:
(Luke 6:34 NKJV) “And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.
Jesus begins to conclude his “Peace Protectors” presentation, with the following summary:
(Luke 6:35 NKJV) “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.
In summation, Jesus clearly says that God has a “great” reward for us if we operate according to what he says here. What’s more, he gives us perhaps the noblest incentive possible for his devoted followers: “You will be sons of the Most High.” In their Eastern worldview, this equated to saying you will be imitating God.
Jesus claimed to be God’s son by virtue of the fact that he imitated God. For proof and undeniable evidence of this, He cited that he “did what he saw with his Father,” and that he “did the works of God.” For example:
(John 10:36–37 NKJV) “Do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? {37} If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me.”
When Jesus says that we will be “sons of the Most High,” this is the greatest assurance of God’s eternal acceptance, love, identification, and perpetual security. If for no other reason, this should be enough to inspire us to want to follow Jesus’s peace protectors and all of his other teachings, directives, assignments, and missions.
Years ago, I wrote a song titled: Jesus, I Want to Be Just Like You. The feeling behind it still moves me today.
In concluding his revelations that day, Jesus summed up his wisdom and vision for us in a few simple instructions:
(Luke 6:36 NKJV) “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
(Luke 6:37 NKJV) “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
The final point of Jesus’s training on peace-protection, draws again on the motivation that becomes obvious in light of the law of sowing and reaping, which is the master law of the spirit realm:
(Luke 6:38 ESV) “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
Jesus leaves us with the powerful thought: I have opened the way for you to have a great eternal future, to preserve the peace I’ve given you, and to be so much like God that he calls you his son or daughter.
Now the final part is up to you; and it depends on how much of this you rise to, by accessing his grace. Remember, he has made grace available but you have to find it at his throne of grace. Grace is accessed by faith; the growth of which depends on our diligence to feed it, exercise it, and use it to overcome storms, trials, tests, opposition, persecution, weeds, and afflictions. Jesus concludes with the ball firmly in our court: “With the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Today, I leave you with the simple challenge: “How much do you want it to be measured back to you?” Because what you sow is what you will reap—the “measure” is up to you.
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By DAVID W. PALMERJesus’s Thirteen Peace Protectors III
David W Palmer
(Luke 6:5 NKJV) And He said to them, “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
The “Lord of the Sabbath” (the controller of peace, wholeness, and rest) has given us his peace, and he told us to preserve it (John 14:27). To help us do this, he gives us divinely wise teaching and directives. This is because his ongoing role in our peace is “Lord.” To make obedience to what he says possible, Jesus has also hidden his grace—his ability to obey his directives—for us to find; it’s awaiting us at his throne of grace (See: Heb. 4:16).
Today, we are continuing Jesus’s list of Peace Protectors, which are found in Luke 6. His next peace protector is recorded in verse 32:
(Luke 6:32 NKJV) “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
This is an absorbing and interesting statement. In Greek, Jesus uses the word “agape” for the love with which the sinners love those who love them. We thought that this word was reserved exclusively for the love with which God loves. For example, “God so loved the world …” Agape is used in the gospels as the highest form of love. Yet, in the above statement, the Master says that “even sinners” love with this kind of love, so it is not exclusive to God or Christians. They love those who love them.
I believe that the ability of sinners to love with this highest and most noble form of love, underlines the truth that we are all created in God’s image. The difference in the commendable love that Jesus is looking for from us is that we are to “agape” those who do not reciprocate it; in fact, Jesus says that this is the way we should love our enemies (See: Luke 6:27). To fully understand his point here, we will look at it in a different translation:
(Luke 6:32 YLT) “And—if ye love those loving you, what grace have ye? For also the sinful love those loving them.” (Forgive the old English: ye = you.)
This is perhaps a better translation of the underlying language. Jesus asks, “If you love those who love you, what grace do you have?” Although this carries the meaning of what thanks or reward should you receive, it also implies that, to do what sinners do, you don’t need God’s gracious holy power. Whereas to love nobly and altruistically those who don’t love you, you do need God’s grace— “the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life” (Strongs G5463).
I’m not sure that Scripture promises to reward us for something God did in us or through us by his grace, but it definitely says that he cannot be pleased without faith. In other words, our faith will please him, and he will reward it:
(Hebrews 11:6 NLT) “And it is impossible to please God without faith. …”
(1 Peter 1:7 NLT) “… So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”
What has faith got to do with receiving God’s grace to love our enemies with the highest and most noble form of love? Everything:
(Romans 4:16 NKJV) “Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, …”
I believe Jesus is saying:
With this background, let’s read on to the conclusion of Jesus’s Thirteen Peace Protectors:
(Luke 6:33 NKJV) “And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
Jesus wants us to do “good” to those who hate us (Mat. 5:44). He knows that this will not only enable us to protect the peace he has given us, it will also position us to reap “good” eternally. But again, achieving this genuinely is not possible with natural human resolve; we need his help through his amazing grace—which is accessed by proven faith. The same idea is echoed in his next peace protecting principle:
(Luke 6:34 NKJV) “And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.
Jesus begins to conclude his “Peace Protectors” presentation, with the following summary:
(Luke 6:35 NKJV) “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.
In summation, Jesus clearly says that God has a “great” reward for us if we operate according to what he says here. What’s more, he gives us perhaps the noblest incentive possible for his devoted followers: “You will be sons of the Most High.” In their Eastern worldview, this equated to saying you will be imitating God.
Jesus claimed to be God’s son by virtue of the fact that he imitated God. For proof and undeniable evidence of this, He cited that he “did what he saw with his Father,” and that he “did the works of God.” For example:
(John 10:36–37 NKJV) “Do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? {37} If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me.”
When Jesus says that we will be “sons of the Most High,” this is the greatest assurance of God’s eternal acceptance, love, identification, and perpetual security. If for no other reason, this should be enough to inspire us to want to follow Jesus’s peace protectors and all of his other teachings, directives, assignments, and missions.
Years ago, I wrote a song titled: Jesus, I Want to Be Just Like You. The feeling behind it still moves me today.
In concluding his revelations that day, Jesus summed up his wisdom and vision for us in a few simple instructions:
(Luke 6:36 NKJV) “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
(Luke 6:37 NKJV) “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
The final point of Jesus’s training on peace-protection, draws again on the motivation that becomes obvious in light of the law of sowing and reaping, which is the master law of the spirit realm:
(Luke 6:38 ESV) “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
Jesus leaves us with the powerful thought: I have opened the way for you to have a great eternal future, to preserve the peace I’ve given you, and to be so much like God that he calls you his son or daughter.
Now the final part is up to you; and it depends on how much of this you rise to, by accessing his grace. Remember, he has made grace available but you have to find it at his throne of grace. Grace is accessed by faith; the growth of which depends on our diligence to feed it, exercise it, and use it to overcome storms, trials, tests, opposition, persecution, weeds, and afflictions. Jesus concludes with the ball firmly in our court: “With the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Today, I leave you with the simple challenge: “How much do you want it to be measured back to you?” Because what you sow is what you will reap—the “measure” is up to you.