Luke 6

1 And it came to pass on [the] second-first sabbath, that he went through cornfields, and his disciples were plucking the ears and eating [them], rubbing [them] in their hands.

2 But some of the Pharisees said to them, Why do ye what is not lawful to do on the sabbath?

3 And Jesus answering said to them, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did when he hungered, he and those who were with him,

4 how he entered into the house of God and took the shewbread and ate, and gave to those also who were with him, which it is not lawful that [any] eat, unless the priests alone?

5 And he said to them, The Son of man is Lord of the sabbath also.

6 And it came to pass on another sabbath also that he entered into the synagogue and taught; and there was a man there, and his right hand was withered.

7 And the scribes and the Pharisees were watching if he would heal on the sabbath, that they might find something of which to accuse him.

8 But *he* knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, Get up, and stand in the midst. And having risen up he stood [there].

9 Jesus therefore said to them, I will ask you if it is lawful on the sabbath to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy [it]?

10 And having looked around on them all, he said to him, Stretch out thy hand. And he did [so] and his hand was restored as the other.

11 But *they* were filled with madness, and they spoke together among themselves what they should do to Jesus.

12 And it came to pass in those days that he went out into the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.

13 And when it was day he called his disciples, and having chosen out twelve from them, whom also he named apostles:

14 Simon, to whom also he gave the name of Peter, and Andrew his brother, [and] James and John, [and] Philip and Bartholomew,

15 [and] Matthew and Thomas, James the [son] of Alphaeus and Simon who was called Zealot,

16 [and] Judas [brother] of James, and Judas Iscariote, who was also [his] betrayer;

17 and having descended with them, he stood on a level place, and a crowd of his disciples, and a great multitude of the people from all Judaea and Jerusalem, and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;

18 and those that were beset by unclean spirits were healed.

19 And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power went out from him and healed all.

20 And *he*, lifting up his eyes upon his disciples, said, Blessed [are] ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

21 Blessed ye that hunger now, for ye shall be filled. Blessed ye that weep now, for ye shall laugh.

22 Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you [from them], and shall reproach [you], and cast out your name as wicked, for the Son of man's sake:

23 rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in the heaven, for after this manner did their fathers act toward the prophets.

24 But woe to you rich, for ye have received your consolation.

25 Woe to you that are filled, for ye shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for ye shall mourn and weep.

26 Woe, when all men speak well of you, for after this manner did their fathers to the false prophets.

27 But to you that hear I say, Love your enemies; do good to those that hate you;

28 bless those that curse you; pray for those who use you despitefully.

29 To him that smites thee on the cheek, offer also the other; and from him that would take away thy garment, forbid not thy body-coat also.

30 To every one that asks of thee, give; and from him that takes away what is thine, ask it not back.

31 And as ye wish that men should do to you, do *ye* also to them in like manner.

32 And if ye love those that love you, what thank is it to you? for even sinners love those that love them.

33 And if ye do good to those that do good to you, what thank is it to you? for even sinners do the same.

34 And if ye lend to those from whom ye hope to receive, what thank is it to you? [for] even sinners lend to sinners that they may receive the like.

35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return, and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be sons of [the] Highest; for *he* is good to the unthankful and wicked.

36 Be ye therefore merciful, even as your Father also is merciful.

37 And judge not, and ye shall not be judged; condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned. Remit, and it shall be remitted to you.

38 Give, and it shall be given to you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall be given into your bosom: for with the same measure with which ye mete it shall be measured to you again.

39 And he spoke also a parable to them: Can a blind [man] lead a blind [man]? shall not both fall into [the] ditch?

40 The disciple is not above his teacher, but every one that is perfected shall be as his teacher.

41 But why lookest thou on the mote which is in the eye of thy brother, but perceivest not the beam which is in thine own eye?

42 or how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, allow [me], I will cast out the mote that is in thine eye, thyself not seeing the beam that is in thine eye? Hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine eye, and then thou shalt see clear to cast out the mote which is in the eye of thy brother.

43 For there is no good tree which produces corrupt fruit, nor a corrupt tree which produces good fruit;

44 for every tree is known by its own fruit, for figs are not gathered from thorns, nor grapes vintaged from a bramble.

45 The good man, out of the good treasure of his heart, brings forth good; and the wicked [man] out of the wicked, brings forth what is wicked: for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say?

47 Every one that comes to me, and hears my words and does them, I will shew you to whom he is like.

48 He is like a man building a house, who dug and went deep, and laid a foundation on the rock; but a great rain coming, the stream broke upon that house, and could not shake it, for it had been founded on the rock.

49 And he that has heard and not done, is like a man who has built a house on the ground without [a] foundation, on which the stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the breach of that house was great.

Luke 6 Commentary

Chapter 6

The disciples pluck corn on the sabbath. (1-5) Works of mercy suitable to the sabbath day. (6-11) The apostles chosen. (12-19) Blessings and woes declared. (20-26) Christ exhorts to mercy. (27-36) And to justice and sincerity. (37-49)

Verses 1-5 Christ justifies his disciples in a work of necessity for themselves on the sabbath day, and that was plucking the ears of corn when they were hungry. But we must take heed that we mistake not this liberty for leave to commit sin. Christ will have us to know and remember that it is his day, therefore to be spent in his service, and to his honour.

Verses 6-11 Christ was neither ashamed nor afraid to own the purposes of his grace. He healed the poor man, though he knew that his enemies would take advantage against him for it. Let us not be drawn either from our duty or from our usefulness by any opposition. We may well be amazed, that the sons of men should be so wicked.

Verses 12-19 We often think one half hour a great deal to spend in meditation and secret prayer, but Christ was whole nights engaged in these duties. In serving God, our great care should be not to lose time, but to make the end of one good duty the beginning of another. The twelve apostles are here named; never were men so privileged, yet one of them had a devil, and proved a traitor. Those who have not faithful preaching near them, had better travel far than be without it. It is indeed worth while to go a great way to hear the word of Christ, and to go out of the way of other business for it. They came to be cured by him, and he healed them. There is a fulness of grace in Christ, and healing virtue in him, ready to go out from him, that is enough for all, enough for each. Men regard the diseases of the body as greater evils than those of their souls; but the Scripture teaches us differently.

Verses 20-26 Here begins a discourse of Christ, most of which is also found in ( Matthew 5 , Matthew 7 ) . But some think that this was preached at another time and place. All believers that take the precepts of the gospel to themselves, and live by them, may take the promises of the gospel to themselves, and live upon them. Woes are denounced against prosperous sinners as miserable people, though the world envies them. Those are blessed indeed whom Christ blesses, but those must be dreadfully miserable who fall under his woe and curse! What a vast advantage will the saint have over the sinner in the other world! and what a wide difference will there be in their rewards, how much soever the sinner may prosper, and the saint be afflicted here!

Verses 27-36 These are hard lessons to flesh and blood. But if we are thoroughly grounded in the faith of Christ's love, this will make his commands easy to us. Every one that comes to him for washing in his blood, and knows the greatness of the mercy and the love there is in him, can say, in truth and sincerity, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Let us then aim to be merciful, even according to the mercy of our heavenly Father to us.

Verses 37-49 All these sayings Christ often used; it was easy to apply them. We ought to be very careful when we blame others; for we need allowance ourselves. If we are of a giving and a forgiving spirit, we shall ourselves reap the benefit. Though full and exact returns are made in another world, not in this world, yet Providence does what should encourage us in doing good. Those who follow the multitude to do evil, follow in the broad way that leads to destruction. The tree is known by its fruits; may the word of Christ be so grafted in our hearts, that we may be fruitful in every good word and work. And what the mouth commonly speaks, generally agrees with what is most in the heart. Those only make sure work for their souls and eternity, and take the course that will profit in a trying time, who think, speak, and act according to the words of Christ. Those who take pains in religion, found their hope upon Christ, who is the Rock of Ages, and other foundation can no man lay. In death and judgment they are safe, being kept by the power of Christ through faith unto salvation, and they shall never perish.

Footnotes

• [a]. The expression 'second-first sabbath' is explained thus: The year, as regards the worship of God amongst the Jews, began with the month Abib (Heb. 'green corn'), which lasted from the middle of March to the middle of April. In Leviticus 23, in which we find the Jewish feasts described, we may observe that in addition to the general and weekly recurring feasts of the sabbath, the chief feasts begin with the passover (the 14th of Abib), and that, in immediate connexion with it, it was ordained that on the day after the following sabbath the first-fruits of the corn should be offered in the ear, a foreshadowing of the resurrection of Jesus which took place on the morrow after the sabbath of the passover week, or feast of unleavened bread. The sabbath immediately following the passover was therefore the 'first' or great sabbath, and after the offering of the first-fruits on the morrow after the sabbath, the first day of the week, the harvest might be commenced, and the new corn eaten, which was not permitted before, even though corn stood ripe in the fields. On the following sabbath, the 'second' after the 'first' or great sabbath, we see that the disciples ate ears of corn on the way, for the offering of the first-fruits had already taken place on the first day of the week; and, as seven weeks or sabbaths were counted from this day to the feast of Pentecost, it was therefore the 'first' of these seven sabbaths, or the 'second' with reference to the great sabbath of the Passover.
• [b]. A strong negative: 'in no wise.'
• [c]. Lit. 'they shall give:' in ver. 44, 'they gather not' and 'they vintage not.' An example of Luke's use of the third person active of a verb impersonally with a passive sense. Also chs. 12.20; 14.35; 16.4,9; 23.31.