Luke 6

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

1 ¹Now it happened that He was passing through some grainfields on a Sabbath; and His disciples ²were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating the grain.

2 But some of the Pharisees said, "Why do you do what ³is not lawful on the Sabbath?"

3 And Jesus answering them said, "Have you not even read ⁴what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him,

4 how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the consecrated bread which ⁵is not lawful for any to eat except the priests alone, and gave it to his companions *?"

5 And He was saying to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

6 ⁶On another Sabbath He entered ⁷the synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there whose * right hand was withered.

7 The scribes and the Pharisees ⁸were watching Him closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him.

8 But He ⁹knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, "Get up and come forward *!" And he got up and came forward.

9 And Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?"

10 After ¹⁰looking around at them all, He said to him, "Stretch out your hand!" And he did so; and his hand was restored.

11 But they themselves were filled with rage, and discussed together * what * they might do to Jesus.

Choosing the Twelve

12 It was at this time that He went off to ¹¹the mountain to ¹²pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.

13 And when day came, ¹³He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as ¹⁴apostles:

14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew;

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

16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

17 Jesus ¹⁶came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was ¹⁷a large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of ¹⁸Tyre and Sidon,

18 who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured.

19 And all the people were trying to ¹⁹touch Him, for ²⁰power was coming from Him and healing them all.

The Beatitudes

20 And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, "²¹Blessed are you who are poor, for ²²yours is the kingdom of God.

21 "Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

22 "²³Blessed are you when men hate you, and ²⁴ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.

23 "Be glad in that day and ²⁵leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For ²⁶in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.

24 "But woe to ²⁷you who are rich, for ²⁸you are receiving your comfort in full.

25 "Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

26 "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the ²⁹false prophets in the same way.

27 "But I say to you who hear, ³⁰love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

28 bless those who curse you, ³¹pray for those who mistreat you.

29 "³²Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.

30 "Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.

31 "³³Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.

32 "³⁴If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

33 "If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

34 "³⁵If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.

35 "But ³⁶love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be ³⁷sons of ³⁸the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

36 "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

37 "³⁹Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; ⁴⁰pardon, and you will be pardoned.

38 "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour ⁴¹into your lap a ⁴²good measure -pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."

39 And He also spoke a parable to them: "⁴³A blind man cannot * guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?

40 "⁴⁴A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.

41 "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

42 "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.

43 "⁴⁵For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.

44 "⁴⁶For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.

45 "⁴⁷The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; ⁴⁸for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

Builders and Foundations

46 "⁴⁹Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?

47 "⁵⁰Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like:

48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

49 "But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great."

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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.