Pictures of Jesus Teacher - Jesus for Everyone: Luke 6:17-26 Jesus’s confrontation with the teachers of the law over breaking the Sabbath Law. Jesus had allowed his disciples to pluck corn and eat the grains as they walked through a cornfield on the Sabbath. Jesus compounds matters when He enters a synagogue and heals a man with a withered hand.

Prayer -the secret to power after praying all night , Jesus comes to a level plain where there was a large crowd of people from far and wide He taught them all

The Beatitudes ;Blessings not simply offering a list of the people who will be blessed, but he is announcing the coming in of the new covenant through His death on the Cross It is an upside down way of life This is countercultural

Jesus’s Inaugural Statement In Luke 4 as Jesus inaugurated his ministry , he announced-‘ The Spirit of the Lord is on me,     because he has anointed me     to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners     and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour

In Luke’s shortened version of the beatitudes, Jesus sets out the character , values, and attitudes his followers are to live by a radical way of living, an upside down way of doing life

1 Those who are poor in spirit Those with destitute hearts, t sense their spiritual need ,and seek after God ; Psalm34 .18 The Lord is close to the broken-hearted     and saves those who are crushed in spirit. They are blessed.

2 Those who mourn This is a step beyond being poor in spirit, it is a state of utter brokenness at the awareness of one’s sin and the sin of the world in the face of God’s Holiness, God’s mercy & grace . Isaiah wept ‘Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.’

3 The Hungry and thirsty It’s not the person who is satisfied with their own righteousness , but one who hungers and thirsts for a righteousness that they do not have, a righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees Psalm 42. As the deer pants for streams of water,    so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God

4 Those who suffer Persecution suffering for doing right, being persecuted for your faith suffering is not pleasant, but those who remain faithful to Christ through it all, are truly blessed.

How is it possible to live this way By the indwelling Spirit of God .This is why Jesus said in Luke 24: 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.’

Jesus’s teaching is a summons to live in the present, a way that reflects the future glory , Jesus’ teaching on the plain is a great place to revisit, to find encouragement to press on, no matter the cost. It’s a great place to start