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.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Luke 6
Commentary on Luke 6 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 6
Lu 6:1-5. Plucking Corn-ears on the Sabbath.
(See on Mt 12:1-8 and Mr 2:23-28.)
1. second sabbath after the first—an obscure expression, occurring here only, generally understood to mean, the first sabbath after the second day of unleavened bread. The reasons cannot be stated here, nor is the opinion itself quite free from difficulty.
5. Lord also—rather "even" (as in Mt 12:8).
of the sabbath—as naked a claim to all the authority of Him who gave the law at Mount Sinai as could possibly be made; that is, "I have said enough to vindicate the men ye carp at on My account: but in this place is the Lord of the law, and they have His sanction." (See Mr 2:28.)
Lu 6:6-11. Withered Hand Healed.
(See on Mt 12:9-15 and Mr 3:1-7.)
7. watched whether, &c.—In Matthew (Mt 12:9) this is put as an ensnaring question of theirs to our Lord, who accordingly speaks to the state of their hearts (Lu 6:9), just as if they had spoken it out.
9. good, or … evil, save … or destroy—By this novel way of putting His case, our Lord teaches the great ethical principle, that to neglect any opportunity of doing good is to incur the guilt of doing evil; and by this law He bound His own spirit. (See Mr 3:4.)
11. filled with madness—The word denotes senseless rage at the confusion to which our Lord had put them, both by word and deed.
what … do to Jesus—not so much whether to get rid of Him, but how to compass it. (See on Mt 3:6.)
Lu 6:12-49. The Twelve Apostles Chosen—Gathering Multitudes—Glorious Healing.
12, 13. went out—probably from Capernaum.
all night in prayer … and when … day, he called, &c.—The work with which the next day began shows what had been the burden of this night's devotions. As He directed His disciples to pray for "laborers" just before sending themselves forth (see on Mt 9:37; Mt 10:1), so here we find the Lord Himself in prolonged communion with His Father in preparation for the solemn appointment of those men who were to give birth to His Church, and from whom the world in all time was to take a new mould. How instructive is this!
13-16. (See on Mt 10:2-4.)
17. in the plain—by some rendered "on a level place," that is, a piece of high tableland, by which they understand the same thing, as "on the mountain," where our Lord delivered the sermon recorded by Matthew (Mt 5:1), of which they take this following discourse of Luke to be but an abridged form. But as the sense given in our version is the more accurate, so there are weighty reasons for considering the discourses different. This one contains little more than a fourth of the other; it has woes of its own, as well as the beatitudes common to both; but above all, that of Matthew was plainly delivered a good while before, while this was spoken after the choice of the twelve; and as we know that our Lord delivered some of His weightiest sayings more than once, there is no difficulty in supposing this to be one of His more extended repetitions; nor could anything be more worthy of it.
19. healed—kept healing, denoting successive acts of mercy till it went over "all" that needed. There is something unusually grand and pictorial in this touch of description.
20, 21. In the Sermon on the Mount the benediction is pronounced upon the "poor in spirit" and those who "hunger and thirst after righteousness" (Mt 5:3, 6). Here it is simply on the "poor" and the "hungry now." In this form of the discourse, then, our Lord seems to have had in view "the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which God hath promised to them that love Him," as these very beatitudes are paraphrased by James (Jas 2:5).
21. laugh—How charming is the liveliness of this word, to express what in Matthew is called being "comforted!"
22. separate you—whether from their Church, by excommunication, or from their society; both hard to flesh and blood.
for the Son of man's sake—Compare Mt 5:11, "for My sake"; and immediately before, "for righteousness' sake" (Lu 6:10). Christ thus binds up the cause of righteousness in the world with the reception of Himself.
23. leap for joy—a livelier word than "be exceeding glad" of "exult" (Mt 5:12).
24, 25. rich … full … laugh—who have all their good things and joyous feelings here and now, in perishable objects.
received your consolation—(see on Lu 16:25).
shall hunger—their inward craving strong as ever, but the materials of satisfaction forever gone.
26. all … speak well of you—alluding to the court paid to the false prophets of old (Mic 2:11). For the principle of this woe, and its proper limits, see Joh 15:19.
27-36. (See on Mt 5:44-48; Mt 7:12; and Mt 14:12-14.)
37, 38. See on Mt 7:1, 2; but this is much fuller and more graphic.
39. Can the blind, &c.—not in the Sermon on the Mount, but recorded by Matthew in another and very striking connection (Mt 15:14).
40. The disciple, &c.—that is, "The disciple aims to come up to his master, and he thinks himself complete when he does so: if you then be blind leaders of the blind, the perfection of one's training under you will only land him the more certainly in one common ruin with yourselves."
41-49. (See on Mt 7:3-5, Mt 7:16-27.)