1 And it came to pass, on the second-first sabbath, as he is going through the corn fields, that his disciples were plucking the ears, and were eating, rubbing with the hands,
2 and certain of the Pharisees said to them, `Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbaths?'
3 And Jesus answering said unto them, `Did ye not read even this that David did, when he hungered, himself and those who are with him,
4 how he went into the house of God, and the loaves of the presentation did take, and did eat, and gave also to those with him, which it is not lawful to eat, except only to the priests?'
5 and he said to them, -- `The Son of Man is lord also of the sabbath.'
6 And it came to pass also, on another sabbath, that he goeth into the synagogue, and teacheth, and there was there a man, and his right hand was withered,
7 and the scribes and the Pharisees were watching him, if on the sabbath he will heal, that they might find an accusation against him.
8 And he himself had known their reasonings, and said to the man having the withered hand, `Rise, and stand in the midst;' and he having risen, stood.
9 Then said Jesus unto them, `I will question you something: Is it lawful on the sabbaths to do good, or to do evil? life to save or to kill?'
10 And having looked round on them all, he said to the man, `Stretch forth thy hand;' and he did so, and his hand was restored whole as the other;
11 and they were filled with madness, and were speaking with one another what they might do to Jesus.
12 And it came to pass in those days, he went forth to the mountain to pray, and was passing the night in the prayer of God,
13 and when it became day, he called near his disciples, and having chosen from them twelve, whom also he named apostles,
14 (Simon, whom also he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,
15 Matthew and Thomas, James of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,
16 Judas of James, and Judas Iscariot, who also became betrayer;)
17 and having come down with them, he stood upon a level spot, and a crowd of his disciples, and a great multitude of the people from all Judea, and Jerusalem, and the maritime Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him, and to be healed of their sicknesses,
18 and those harassed by unclean spirits, and they were healed,
19 and all the multitude were seeking to touch him, because power from him was going forth, and he was healing all.
20 And he, having lifted up his eyes to his disciples, said: `Happy the poor -- because yours is the reign of God.
21 `Happy those hungering now -- because ye shall be filled. `Happy those weeping now -- because ye shall laugh.
22 `Happy are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you, and shall reproach, and shall cast forth your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake --
23 rejoice in that day, and leap, for lo, your reward `is' great in the heaven, for according to these things were their fathers doing to the prophets.
24 `But wo to you -- the rich, because ye have got your comfort.
25 `Wo to you who have been filled -- because ye shall hunger. `Wo to you who are laughing now -- because ye shall mourn and weep.
26 `Wo to you when all men shall speak well of you -- for according to these things were their fathers doing to false prophets.
27 `But I say to you who are hearing, Love your enemies, do good to those hating you,
28 bless those cursing you, and pray for those accusing you falsely;
29 and to him smiting thee upon the cheek, give also the other, and from him taking away from thee the mantle, also the coat thou mayest not keep back.
30 `And to every one who is asking of thee, be giving; and from him who is taking away thy goods, be not asking again;
31 and as ye wish that men may do to you, do ye also to them in like manner;
32 and -- if ye love those loving you, what grace have ye? for also the sinful love those loving them;
33 and if ye do good to those doing good to you, what grace have ye? for also the sinful do the same;
34 and if ye lend `to those' of whom ye hope to receive back, what grace have ye? for also the sinful lend to sinners -- that they may receive again as much.
35 `But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again, and your reward will be great, and ye shall be sons of the Highest, because He is kind unto the ungracious and evil;
36 be ye therefore merciful, as also your Father is merciful.
37 `And judge not, and ye may not be judged; condemn not, and ye may not be condemned; release, and ye shall be released.
38 `Give, and it shall be given to you; good measure, pressed, and shaken, and running over, they shall give into your bosom; for with that measure with which ye measure, it shall be measured to you again.'
39 And he spake a simile to them, `Is blind able to lead blind? shall they not both fall into a pit?
40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but every one perfected shall be as his teacher.
41 `And why dost thou behold the mote that is in thy brother's eye, and the beam that `is' in thine own eye dost not consider?
42 or how art thou able to say to thy brother, Brother, suffer, I may take out the mote that `is' in thine eye -- thyself the beam in thine own eye not beholding? Hypocrite, take first the beam out of thine own eye, and then thou shalt see clearly to take out the mote that `is' in thy brother's eye.
43 `For there is not a good tree making bad fruit, nor a bad tree making good fruit;
44 for each tree from its own fruit is known, for not from thorns do they gather figs, nor from a bramble do they crop a grape.
45 `The good man out of the good treasure of his heart doth bring forth that which `is' good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart doth bring forth that which `is' evil; for out of the abounding of the heart doth his mouth speak.
46 `And why do ye call me, Lord, Lord, and do not what I say?
47 Every one who is coming unto me, and is hearing my words, and is doing them, I will shew you to whom he is like;
48 he is like to a man building a house, who did dig, and deepen, and laid a foundation upon the rock, and a flood having come, the stream broke forth on that house, and was not able to shake it, for it had been founded upon the rock.
49 `And he who heard and did not, is like to a man having builded a house upon the earth, without a foundation, against which the stream brake forth, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house became 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.)