EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries
Luke 6:1-49
Luke’s Good News
Luke
Hilda Bright
Chapter 6
How to use the *Sabbath 6:1-11
1. The *disciples in the fields of corn 6:1-5
v1 Jesus was walking through some fields of wheat on a *Sabbath. His *disciples picked some heads of wheat and rubbed them in their hands. Then they ate the grains. v2 Some *Pharisees said, ‘Why are you doing that? The law does not allow any work on the *Sabbath’. v3 Jesus answered, ‘Have you read what David did? He and his companions were hungry. v4 He went into the house of God. He took the special bread that only priests may eat. He ate some himself and gave some to his men as well’. v5 Then Jesus said, ‘The *Son of Man is *Lord of the *Sabbath’.
Verse 1 The *disciples were not stealing. It was legal for people to pick heads of grain (Deuteronomy 23:25).
Verse 2 The *Pharisees accused the *disciples that they were working on the *Sabbath. When they picked the grain, they were harvesting it. When they separated the grain from its outer cover, they were *winnowing it. They had prepared food. All these activities were work. Work was not legal on the *Sabbath.
Verses 3-4 Jesus reminded the *Pharisees of how David and his men went into God’s holy place at the town of Nob. David and the men with him were hungry. So, they ate the holy bread that only priests should eat (1 Samuel 21:1-6). David and his men were hungry and needed something. This was more important than the law of Moses.
Verse 5 ‘*Son of Man’ is Jesus’ special name for himself (see note on Luke 5:24). As the Christ (*Messiah), Jesus had the right to decide what should happen on the *Sabbath. He came from the family of King David. David could break a law, because people needed something. Therefore, Jesus could certainly take no notice of *Jewish traditions.
2. The man who could not use his hand 6:6-11
v6 On another *Sabbath, Jesus went to teach in a *synagogue. A man was there who could not use his stiff right hand. v7 The teachers of the law and the *Pharisees wanted to accuse Jesus because he did not obey the law. So they watched him to see if he would *heal on the *Sabbath. v8 But Jesus knew what they were thinking. He said to the man, ‘Stand up and come here to the front’. v9 Jesus said to them, ‘I ask you, what does the law allow us to do on the *Sabbath? May we do good things or evil things? Should we save life or to destroy it?’ v10 Jesus looked round at everyone. Then he turned to the man and said, ‘Stretch out your hand’. He did so, and at once, his bad hand became well and useful again. v11 The *Pharisees became extremely angry. They discussed with one another what they could do to Jesus.
Verse 7 The *religious leaders allowed people to *heal on the *Sabbath, if someone’s life was in danger. If there was no danger, they had to wait.
Verse 9 Jesus intended to do good as he *healed the man. Then this man would be able to work again. The *Pharisees wanted Jesus to leave him alone. That was like doing wrong. Jesus intended to save the man. The *Pharisees were plotting to kill Jesus.
Jesus calls the 12 *apostles 6:12-16
v12 At that time Jesus went up a hill to pray. He prayed to God during the whole night. v13 When day came, he called his *disciples to come to him. He chose 12 of them, whom he named *apostles. v14 He chose Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, v15-16 Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon, whom people called the *Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who later handed Jesus over to his enemies.
Verse 12 Jesus knew that more people were becoming his enemies. He had to decide how he should continue his work. He had many *disciples. So, he prayed all night about the ones whom he should choose. They were to be his special helpers.
Verse 13 The nation of *Israel grew from the 12 sons of Jacob (Genesis 35:10; Genesis 35:23-26). Jesus was beginning a new people of God. The 12 were to be *apostles, that is, men whom Jesus sent out. He gave them his authority to teach about him. The people whom he chose were not rich or important, but ordinary men.
Verse 14 Simon Peter always comes first in the lists of the *apostles. He and his brother Andrew were *fishermen. So too were James and John, the sons of Zebedee. James and John had fierce tempers. Jesus called them ‘Boanerges’, which means ‘sons of *thunder’. This meant that they were always ready to give their own opinion in a noisy and unpleasant way (Mark 3:17). Philip and Bartholomew came from the town of Bethsaida in Galilee and knew one another.
Bartholomew is probably the same person as Nathanael (John 12:43-49).
Verse 15 Matthew was a *tax-collector. Thomas was a *twin (John 11:16). Another Simon (not Peter) belonged to a party of *Jews who wanted to fight the *Romans and force them out of their country. So Simon was in the same group as Matthew, who had worked for the *Romans. Most people hated the *Romans. Jesus can unite people who used to be enemies.
Verse 16 Judas, who was the son of James, is probably the same person as Thaddaeus in Matthew 10:3 and Mark 3:18. ‘Iscariot’ may mean ‘man from Kerioth’, a place in Judea. So, Judas Iscariot was the only one of the group of 12 men who did not come from Galilee.
Jesus teaches 6:17-49
1. The crowds and the *disciples 6:17-19
v17 Jesus went down from the hill with these 12 men. He stood on a level place with a large number of his *disciples. There was also a large crowd of people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem. They came from the north too, from the region of Tyre and Sidon on the coast. They came to listen to him and they wanted him to *heal their diseases. v18 Jesus also cured those who had wicked *demons troubling them. v19 All the people in the crowd tried to touch Jesus. This was because power went out from him and *healed them all.
2. *Blessings and troubles 6:20-26
v20 Jesus looked at his *disciples and said, ‘How happy you are if you possess nothing! The *kingdom of God is yours. v21 How happy you are if you are hungry now! God will completely satisfy you. How happy you are if you are crying now! You will laugh with joy.
v22 How happy you are, when people hate you! They cut you off from their company. They will say wicked things about you. This is all because you follow the *Son of Man. v23 Be glad when these things happen. Be full of joy, because God has a great reward for you in heaven. The *ancestors of such people behaved in the same way towards the *prophets.
v24 But how miserable for you who are rich now! You have already had your good time. v25 How miserable for you who have all you want now! For you will be hungry. How miserable for you who are laughing now! For you will be unhappy and cry. v26 How miserable for you when everyone praises you! That is how your *ancestors acted towards the false *prophets’.
Verse 20 Poor people have so little in this world. But they can know God’s secret. God’s *kingdom belongs to them! Jesus said that the *kingdom is theirs. It is theirs, not only in the future, but here and now. They can know God’s rule in their lives. He will guide them. He will care for them.
Verse 21 God will *bless those who are hungry now. They will have plenty to eat. God will supply everything that they need. God will *bless those who are sad now. They will be able to laugh again. They see that many people and organisations in the world are wicked and unjust. They will be full of joy when they see that goodness overcomes evil.
Verse 22 Jesus spoke about the future when he warned his *disciples. But his words were already coming true. The *Pharisees hated Jesus and were plotting to kill him. They shut a blind man out of the *synagogue. Jesus had *healed him so that he could see (John 9:20-34).
Verse 23 ‘Their *ancestors’ means the *ancestors of people like the *Pharisees. They had hated and insulted the *prophets. People will hate and insult the *disciples. This is the evidence that they are being loyal to Jesus.
In verses 21-23, all these *blessings are very different from the way in which the world thinks of happiness.
Next come 4 ‘woes’ which are the opposite of the 4 *blessings. ‘Woe to you!’ is an expression of regret, meaning ‘How miserable for you!’ It is also a warning that God’s judgement is to come.
Verse 24 Rich people have a comfortable life. These people think only about what they own. They do not think about what follows this life. They may enjoy their present life, but they have nothing else to come (1 Timothy 6:7).
Verse 25 Some people only think about what they own and enjoy in this world. But they will never find true satisfaction. When this life ends, they are going to cry (Isaiah 65:13-14).
Verse 26 People will be miserable if they just live to be popular with other people. In *Old Testament days many people praised the false *prophets. These false *prophets pretended that their messages came from God. But their messages were not true. They had invented them. There will still be false *prophets in the future (2 Peter 2:1).
3. Christian love 6:27-36
v27 ‘But I say to all who will listen to me: Love your enemies. Be good to those people who hate you. v28 Ask God to *bless those people who curse you. Pray for those people who insult and hurt you. v29 If anyone hits you on one cheek, offer him the other cheek as well. If someone takes your coat, let him have your shirt too. v30 Give to everyone who asks you for something. When someone takes away your goods, do not ask for them back again. v31 Do to other people what you would like them to do to you’.
v32 ‘You can not expect praise because you love the people who love you. Even *sinners love the people who love them! v33 You should not expect God to *bless you because you are kind to those who will be kind to you. Even *sinners do that. v34 You do not deserve honour, if you lend money and expect to get it back again. Even *sinners lend to *sinners, if they expect to get back the same amount. v35 But love your enemies and do good to them. Lend to them but do not expect to get anything back again. You will then have a great reward. You will be sons of the most high God. God is kind to people who are not grateful to him. He is kind to people who are wicked. v36 Be kind and generous like your Father’.
Verse 27 The *Jews knew God’s *commandment to love their neighbours (Leviticus 18:18). Their teachers had added the words ‘and hate your enemy’. But those words are not in the Bible. Instead, Jesus said that they must love their enemies. He was not asking them to like their enemies. This love was not like the natural emotion that they had towards their own family. Christian love means that you act for the benefit of the other person. It may be difficult, but God will help us. It is not a matter of the emotions, but we should do what God wants.
Verse 28 If someone hits you, you probably want to hit them back, perhaps twice as hard. This is a natural way to behave. The people who follow Jesus should behave in a different way. They must not do something evil to the person who does something evil to them.
Verses 29-30 Jesus did not mean that all Christians must give everything away and become very poor. But Christians must act with love. They must be generous to other people and not be selfish about their possessions.
Verse 31 Jesus gave this rule for the whole of life. There were many examples of the negative attitude, ‘Do not do to other people what you do not like’ (*Tobit 4:15). But Jesus said that those who follow him must be active and do good things. ‘Do to other people what you would want them to do to you’.
Verse 32 ‘*Sinners’ need not mean very wicked people. They are those who are not very *religious. They are not aware of God’s laws. Yet, even these people love the people who love them.
Verse 35 God is kind to everyone. This does not depend on people’s attitude to God, or how they behave. He is the Father whose children must behave in the same way as he does. The way that they behave will show whether they are God’s true children.
4. To judge is God’s work 6:37
v37 ‘Do not *judge other people, and God will not *judge you. Do not be severe with other people. Then God will not be severe with you. Forgive other people and God will forgive you’.
Verse 37 Jesus is not forbidding Christians to have an opinion about other people. He is saying that it is wrong to judge people if you do not know all the facts about their actions. A person, who remembers how much God has *forgiven him, will be generous to other people.
5. Be generous 6:38
v38 ‘Give to other people, and God will give to you. You will receive a full measure, a generous amount poured into your ‘pocket’. You will receive the kind of measure that you give to other people’.
Verse 38 People pulled part of their long clothing up over their belt to make a large pocket. People could fill this pocket with a large amount of grain. This is a picture of how people can be generous when they give. The reward from God will be even more generous.
6. The responsibilities of *disciples 6:39-42
v39 Jesus told them this *parable. ‘One blind man cannot lead another blind man. They will both fall into the ditch. v40 A student does not know as much as his teacher. But when he has learned enough, he will be like his teacher. v41 You look at the bit of dust in your brother’s eye but you do not notice the beam of wood in your own eye! v42 You should not say to your brother, “Brother, let me remove that tiny bit of dust from your eye”. You *hypocrite! First, take the large beam out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly so that you can remove the bit of dust from your brother’s eye’.
Verse 39 Perhaps this *parable was a warning so that people would not follow what the *Pharisees taught. Before a *disciple can teach other people to speak the truth and to love people, he must behave like that himself.
Verse 40 The *disciples needed to be humble so that they could learn from Jesus, their teacher. Then they would be able to help other people.
Verses 41-42 ‘Brother’ here does not mean a close relative. It means another member of the Christian family of God’s children.
A man cannot see if he has a big piece of wood that sticks out of his eye. His offer to remove the tiny bit of dust from his brother’s eye is stupid. Jesus’ humorous picture showed that it is impossible to correct another person’s mistake before one has corrected one’s own. The other person’s wrong actions may be very small when compared with one’s own.
The word ‘*hypocrite’ comes from a *Greek word which means that someone is acting. A *hypocrite is a person who pretends to be something that he is not.
7. Good and bad fruit 6:43-45
v43 ‘A healthy tree does not produce bad fruit. A tree that is not healthy cannot produce good fruit. v44 People recognise what kind of tree it is by its fruit. People do not pick *figs or *grapes from sharp thorn bushes. v45 A good person has good things stored in his heart. And so, he brings good things out of his heart. A bad person has evil things stored in his heart. So, he brings evil things out. A person’s words show what thoughts have filled his heart’.
Verses 43-44 If a tree is healthy, it has fruit that is good to eat. Thorn bushes are weeds. They have sharp branches. They produce fruit that people do not want to eat. A man’s ‘fruit’ means all of his words and actions. They will show what kind of person he is.
Verse 45 This is another way to describe good and bad fruit. Paul spoke of good riches which a *disciple stores in his heart. ‘Whatever is true, honourable, fair, pure, lovely…’ (Philippians 4:8). Jesus spoke of lies and other wicked words that come from a person’s heart (Mark 7:22). Whatever a person thinks about most will come out in his speech. The word ‘heart’ means the mind, from which thoughts and feelings come.
8. The two houses 6:46-49
v46 ‘Do not call me “*Lord, *Lord”, if you are not obeying me. v47 I will show you a picture of a man who obeys my words. v48 He is like a man who decided to build a house. He dug deep into the ground and put the foundation (base) of his house on rock. When a flood came, the river burst against that house. But the water could not shake the house, because it had a strong base. v49 Another man hears my words but does not practise what I have said. He is like someone who built his house on the ground without a base. When the flood burst against that house, it fell at once. The crash completely destroyed the house’.
Verses 46-49 The wise builder is someone who not only listens to Christ’s words, but obeys them. So, if a flood comes, that person will have God’s help to deal with it. A flood may not be a flood of water. It may be a sudden severe test, or a difficult problem in our family. It may come as a serious illness, or the death of someone that we love. It may come in ways that we do not expect.
The foolish person is someone who does not do what Jesus says. So, when sudden trouble comes, that person’s trust in God fails. It is too weak.
This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words)
Sabbath ~ day of rest when people should not work (Saturday for Jews).Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
disciple ~ one who follows another and learns from him; a person who believes in Jesus; a person who follows the things that he teaches.
Pharisees ~ group of Jews who were very strict about the law of Moses.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.'Son of Man ~ special name that Jesus used of himself.
Lord ~ name for God in the Bible; name that we use for Jesus when we obey him.
winnow ~ after you thresh plants, you winnow to separate the grain from the rest of the plant.
thresh, threshing ~ to separate grain from straw.
'Christ/Messiah ~ the Jews’ word for the king whom God would send to rescue them.Messiah/Christ ~ the Jews’ word for the king whom God would send to rescue them.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything to do with a Jew.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
synagogue ~ a building where Jews gather to pray and to study the *Old Testament.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
heal ~ cure; make completely well.
religious ~ leaders belonging to a religion.
apostle ~ one of the 12 men whom Jesus chose to be his special helpers.
Zealot ~ a strong enemy of the Roman government.
Roman ~ person or thing that belongs to Rome.
Rome ~ capital of a great empire in *New Testament times.
empire ~ group of nations under one ruler (emperor).
emperor ~ king who rules over many countries.
thunder ~ the loud noise that you may hear in a storm.'tax-collector ~ man who received taxes for the government.
tax ~ money that people must pay to the government.
twin ~ one born at the same time as a brother or sister.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Roman ~ person or thing that belongs to Rome.
Rome ~ capital of a great empire in *New Testament times.
empire ~ group of nations under one ruler (emperor).
emperor ~ king who rules over many countries.
demons ~ bad or evil spirits. They work for Satan, the chief demon.
Satan ~ chief evil spirit; the Devil.'bless, blessing ~ to say or to do much good to a person; to call something holy; to ask God for good things to happen; to guard and to keep from evil things.
kingdom ~ land that a king rules.
ancestors ~ any persons from whom the families of your father or mother come.
prophet ~ one who tells God’s messages.'bless, blessing ~ to say or to do much good to a person; to call something holy; to ask God for good things to happen; to guard and to keep from evil things.'bless, blessing ~ to say or to do much good to a person; to call something holy; to ask God for good things to happen; to guard and to keep from evil things.'sin/sinner ~ when people do things against God or other people.
commandment ~ a rule that God gave.
Tobit ~ an old book that someone wrote before Jesus came to earth.'sin/sinner ~ when people do things against God or other people.
judge ~ one who decides what is true or not.
forgive ~ when someone stops being angry with another person who has done bad things.
parable ~ a story with a moral meaning.
hypocrites ~ persons who pretend to be better than they are.
Greek ~ language of the *New Testament. Many people spoke Greek in *New Testament times.
fig ~ kind of sweet fruit that grows on a tree.
grape ~ fruit of vine.
vine ~ plant that produces grapes.
Luke: The Man Christ Jesus
Jesus in Galilee
Ian Mackervoy
Chapter 6
Jesus is *Lord of the *Sabbath – Luke 6:1-11
v1 Jesus walked through some fields of grain on a *Sabbath day. His *disciples started to pick heads of grain. They rubbed them in their hands and they ate the seeds. v2 Some of the *Pharisees said, ‘You should not do that on the *Sabbath day. The law says that it is wrong.’
v3 Jesus replied to them, ‘You must have read about David. He and his men were hungry. v4 So, David went into God’s house and he took the holy bread. He ate the holy bread. The law says that only the priests could eat that bread. But David took it and he gave it to his men to eat.’ v5 Then Jesus said to the *Pharisees, ‘The Son of Man is *Lord of the *Sabbath day.’
v6 On another *Sabbath day, Jesus went into the *synagogue to teach. There was a man there. This man could not move or use his right hand. v7 The *Pharisees and teachers of the law hoped for a way to accuse Jesus. So, they watched him to see if he would cure this man on the *Sabbath day. v8 But Jesus knew what they thought. He said to the man with the bad hand, ‘Get up. Stand here in front of everyone.’ The man got up and he stood there.
v9 Then Jesus asked them some questions. ‘What does the law permit us to do on the *Sabbath day? May we do good things or evil things? Should we save life or destroy it?’
v10 Jesus looked round at them all. Then he said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ The man did so, and his hand became normal again. v11 But the *Pharisees and the teachers of the law were very angry. And they discussed with each other what they could do to Jesus.
Verses 1-2 When in a field of grain, God’s law allowed a person to pick the heads of grain by hand (Deuteronomy 23:25). The *disciples did not do anything wrong as they picked the heads of grain.
The *Pharisees did not complain about the *disciples’ action. Their problem was that it was on a *Sabbath day. God’s law said that they should do no work on the *Sabbath day. There were many traditions that tried to describe work. To the *Pharisees, these traditions had in effect become the law. To harvest grain on the *Sabbath was work. So, they thought that to pick grain was also work. The *disciples ate the grain. They had prepared food, which, in the opinion of the *Pharisees was work. So, because of these traditions, the *Pharisees considered that Jesus’ *disciples were not obeying God’s law about the *Sabbath.
Verses 3-5 Jesus did not answer directly the *Pharisees’ protest. Instead, he reminded them of what David did (1 Samuel 21:1-6). David took the holy bread that only the priests could eat. He ate some of that bread. And he gave it to the men who were with him. That was against the law but the *Lord did not consider David guilty. David took the bread because he and his men needed food.
Already Jesus had called himself the Son of Man. The *Pharisees would know that Jesus spoke about himself. Jesus told those *Pharisees that he was the *Lord of the *Sabbath. His authority is above that of the traditions of the *Jews.
The rules of the *Sabbath were for the benefit of the people.
Verses 6-11 Jesus went into a *synagogue to teach on a *Sabbath day. A man was there who could not use his right hand. Some *Pharisees and teachers of the law were also there. They wondered if Jesus would cure the man on the *Sabbath day. Jesus knew their thoughts. If Jesus cured the man, that would be work on the *Sabbath day. In their minds, this was against God’s law. Then they could accuse him.
Jesus called the man to come in front of the people.
The state of the man was not dangerous. He did not need Jesus to cure him that day. He could wait for another day. But Jesus, by his questions, showed them the true meaning of God’s law. If we can do good things, we should do them. If we do not then, in effect, we have done evil things. If we can save life, we should do it. If we do not then, in effect, we destroy life. This refers to the *Sabbath as for any other day. It is right by the law to do good things on the *Sabbath day. Therefore, to cure this man was not against the rules for the *Sabbath.
Jesus did not touch the man. He told him to stretch out his hand. This was an impossible thing for him to do. But he obeyed Jesus and he did it. As he stretched the hand, it became healthy, like his other hand.
Those *Pharisees and teachers of the law were very angry with Jesus. He had cured the man. He had shown that their attitudes were wrong. They could not answer him. They looked for a way to stop Jesus.
Jesus teaches the crowd – Luke 6:12–49
The 12 *apostles – Luke 6:12-16
v12 At that time, Jesus went to a mountain to pray. He spent the whole night in prayer to God. v13 When it was day, he called his *disciples to come to him. He chose 12 of them and he called them *apostles. v14 They were Simon (whom Jesus named Peter) and his brother Andrew. There were James, John, Philip, and Bartholomew. v15 Then there were Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon. People called him Simon the Zealot. v16 Then there were Judas son of James and Judas Iscariot. Later, Judas Iscariot handed Jesus over to Jesus’ enemies.
Verses 12-16 Jesus went up a mountain and he spent a whole night in prayer. Jesus now had powerful enemies. He knew that one day they would kill him. He needed to train some people to continue his work. So, in the morning he chose a group of 12 men to be with him. He chose them to send them out to *preach. And he gave them authority to command *demons to go out from people (Mark 3:14-15).
In the morning, he gathered his *disciples to him. These people followed him and they learned from him. Among those, he chose the 12. He called these 12 *apostles.
Jesus chose 12 men. Maybe there were 12 to match the 12 *tribes of *Israel. *Israel, the people of God, came from the 12 sons of Jacob, whose other name was Israel. Christians, the new people of God, came from the 12 *apostles. In the Book of Revelation, John describes the New Jerusalem. The names of the 12 *tribes were on the 12 gates to the city. And on the 12 bases of the walls, there were the names of the 12 *apostles (Revelation 21:12-14).
The first in the list is Simon. Jesus called him Peter, which means a rock or a stone. Another name for Peter is Cephas, which means the same (John 1:42). Peter is a *Greek name and Cephas is the same in the *Aramaic language.
Andrew was the brother of Peter and both of them were *fishermen. They came from the town called Bethsaida but Peter lived in Capernaum.
James and John were the sons of Zebedee. They were *fishermen and they were partners with Peter and Andrew.
Philip came from Bethsaida. He brought his friend Nathanael to Jesus (John 1:43-49). It could be that Bartholomew was another name for Nathanael. Nathanael came from the town called Cana in Galilee (John 21:2).
Matthew collected taxes. His other name was Levi. (See Luke 5:27-29.)
Thomas also had the name Didymus. This means a twin, in other words one whose brother or sister was born at the same time.
James the son of Alphaeus is sometimes called James the less.
Simon the Zealot was next. The name Zealot probably means that he was a member of the Zealots group. These Zealots tried to free *Israel from the *Romans.
Judas son of James has another name, Thaddaeus (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18).
Then the last of the 12 was Judas Iscariot. ‘Iscariot’ may mean ‘man from Kerioth’, a place in Judea. Probably Judas Iscariot was the only one of the *apostles that did not come from Galilee. When he died, Matthias took his place as one of the 12 *apostles (Acts 1:20-26).
Jesus teaches and cures – Luke 6:17-19
v17 Jesus came down from the mountain with his *apostles, and he stood on level ground. A large crowd of his *disciples was there. Also, there was a great number of people from all over Judea. Many came from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon. v18 They had come to hear Jesus and so that he would cure their diseases. He freed those people who had evil spirits. v19 All the people tried to touch Jesus because power came from him. And he cured all of them.
Verses 17-19 Jesus and the *apostles came down from the mountain and they joined with the other *disciples. Probably this was on a large level piece of land on the side of the mountain (Matthew 5:1). Also, there was a large crowd there. Some of these people had come a long way. They had come to hear Jesus as he taught. And there were many sick people who had come to ask Jesus to cure them.
Probably this was the same event as that in Matthew chapter 5 but it could be a different occasion.
Jesus freed all of those people who suffered from *demons. He cured them. All who were sick pressed upon Jesus. As they touched him, power from him cured them all.
Tyre and Sidon were ports on the Mediterranean Sea; they were north of *Israel.
Jesus teaches his *disciples – Luke 6:20-26
v20 Jesus looked at his *disciples. And he told them these things.
‘God *blesses you who are poor. This is because the *kingdom of God is yours.
v21 God *blesses you who are hungry now. This is because you will have plenty.
God *blesses you who weep now. This is because you will laugh with joy.
v22 God *blesses you when people hate you. They separate you from other people and they insult you. And they say that your name is evil. All this is because you follow the Son of Man.
v23 Be happy in that day and jump for joy. Do this because you have a great reward in heaven. Their *ancestors did the same things to the *prophets.
v24 How terrible it will be for you who are rich now. This is because you have already had an easy life.
v25 How terrible it will be for you who are full now. This is because you will be hungry.
How terrible it will be for you who laugh now. You will be sad and you will cry.
v26 How terrible it will be when everyone says good things about you. This is because their *ancestors said the same things about the false *prophets.’
Verses 20-23 Jesus spoke to his *disciples. He did not say that it is good to be poor. God will *bless those of his people that are poor. They may have nothing but they depend on the *Lord. The *kingdom of heaven belongs to them. This is not just for the future. The poor people who believe enter the *kingdom of heaven now.
Those of God’s people who are hungry, God will satisfy. This hunger can be the need for food. It can be the desire to be better persons. God will supply all that they need. God will satisfy their hunger.
Those of God’s people who weep now will be able to laugh. When they see the terrible state of people in this world, they are sad. But they will see the purposes of God and then they will have real joy.
Those people who follow Christ will have enemies. Many people in this world hate Christians. They insult and they attack Christians. They speak evil things about Christians. The *prophets suffered in the same way from the people of their day.
Many people hated Jesus. So now, many people hate those people who follow Jesus. This attitude of other people may be painful to Christians. But Jesus says to them, ‘Be happy. Jump for joy.’ Christians can look forward to the great reward of heaven.
Verses 24-26 Here Jesus did not speak to his *disciples. They were not rich. He was not talking about all rich people. Rather, Jesus’ words are for those people who have a selfish attitude. They care only about their wealth and about themselves. They do not care about poor people. They trust in their wealth. So, they will not come to trust in Christ. They have their easy life now but their future will not be easy.
It is the same for those people who are full now. These people have all that they want. They think that they need nothing. They think that they do not need Christ. They feel content now but they have nothing for the future.
The *Lord is not against laughter. The Christian life is one of joy. Jesus was speaking against the kind of laughter that is shallow and without care. Many people laugh without any thought for other people or for the future. They do not see any need for help from Christ. They enjoy life now but they will not enjoy the future. Then they will be sad and they will weep.
For some people, what other people think of them is most important. They have to be popular with other people. Always they want other people to respect them. They desire the highest honour for themselves. They may achieve that honour in this life. But they do not give honour to Christ as their *Lord. Those people love to receive honour, as the false *prophets did in the past. Neither they nor the false *prophets will have honour in the future.
Love your enemies – Luke 6:27-36
v27 ‘But I say this to you who hear me. Love your enemies. Do good things to those people who hate you. v28 Ask God to *bless those people who curse you. And pray for those people who are cruel to you. v29 If someone strikes you on the cheek, turn the other cheek to him. If someone takes your coat, let him take your shirt as well. Do not stop him. v30 Give to everyone who asks you for something. If someone takes something from you, do not ask for it back. v31 Do to other people what you would want them to do to you.
v32 Perhaps you love only those people who love you. You deserve no special thanks for that. Even *sinners love those people who love them. v33 Perhaps you do good things only to those people who do good things to you. You deserve no special thanks for that. Even *sinners do such things. v34 And perhaps you lend only to those people who will pay you back. You deserve no special thanks for that. Even *sinners lend to *sinners who will pay back the whole amount. v35 Instead, love your enemies and do good things for them. Lend to them and do not expect to get anything back. Then you will have a great reward. You will be children of the *Most High because he is kind. He is kind to those people who do not appreciate him and to evil people. v36 Be kind to all people, even as your Father is kind to you.’
Verses 27-31 The key to what Jesus taught is love. Christians must love the *Lord and they must love other people. This includes love even for those people who are their enemies. There are several words in the *Greek language for the English word ‘love’. The word here is not that of natural human love. It is a genuine desire for the benefit of other people. It does not depend on whether those people are good or bad. It does not depend on their attitudes in return for that love. This love is the kind of love that the *Lord has for us.
Love is an active word. We do things for the benefit of those people that we love. So, Christians should do good things even to those people who hate them. They should pray that God would *bless these people.
Jesus gave some examples of how Christians should behave. When somebody hits them, they should not hit back. Rather they should allow a second blow. If someone takes a coat, let him or her take other clothes. Give to those who ask for something. And when you give, do not expect to receive it back. Christians would like other people to be kind to them. So, they must be kind to other people. Jesus gave these as examples, not as necessary actions. They are to show the attitude that should control a Christian’s actions. That attitude is the attitude of love.
Verses 32-36 The kind of love that Christians should have is more than natural love. It is natural to love those people who love you. The most evil person will love his own friends. But Christians should love even those people that hate them.
It is natural to be kind to those people who are kind to us. It is not natural to be kind to people that we do not like. But Christians should be kind even to those people who attack them.
It is natural to lend to those people who will pay back the loan. People will lend to those people whom they trust. But Christians should be willing to lend even when they cannot expect anything back.
Such love even for enemies has a great reward from God. That kind of love comes from God. It is the character of God to love all people. Those people who are children of God should show that same character. Christians should be kind because their Father is kind to them and to all people.
Do not act as if you are a judge of other people – Luke 6:37-42
v37 ‘Do not look for wrong things in other people. Then God will not look for wrong things in you. Do not say that other people are guilty. Then God will not say that you are guilty. Forgive and God will forgive you. v38 Be generous and give to other people. And you will receive a large and generous quantity. It will pour into your pocket like grain that someone has pressed down for you. It will be more than you can hold. In the same way that you give to other people, you will receive.’
v39 Also Jesus said this to them. ‘A blind man cannot lead another blind man. If he does so, they will both fall into a ditch. v40 A student is not better than the teacher. But when he has completed his studies, he will be like the teacher.
v41 You look at the bit of dust in your brother’s eye. But you do not notice the beam of wood in your own eye. v42 You say to your brother, “Brother, I will remove the dust from your eye.” But you cannot even see the beam of wood in your own eye. You *hypocrite, you should take the beam of wood from your eye first. Then you will see clearly to remove the dust from your brother’s eye.’
Verses 37-38 Our love for other people will show in our attitude to them. We should not act as if we were judges of other people. It is not our responsibility to blame them. God will be the judge of all people and that includes us. Our attitude should be to forgive rather than to blame. Then God will not blame us. And God will forgive us for the wrong things that we have done.
This is not about the legal process. It is about the attitude that finds fault with other people.
Those people who love will be generous. They will give to other people who need help. The generous person will receive much. This promise is not the reason that they give. They give because in love they want to. They may not receive material goods. But they will receive in some way from people or from God. In effect, they will receive more than they give.
In those days, men wore long, wide, and loose clothes with a belt round their middle. When they bought grain, they would lift up their skirt to make a large pocket. The merchant would pour the grain into that pocket.
In this story, the other person will press down the grain. He will shake the grain to make it denser. So, the pocket will be as full as it can be. Then he pours in more so that the grain flows from the pocket.
The generous person will find that God is even more generous to him.
Verses 39-40 A blind leader cannot see the way to go. The only future for that leader and those people who follow him is to fall into the ditch. Probably Jesus spoke this against some of the *Pharisees. Jesus compared them to blind leaders who led other blind people. They did not know the truth about God. So, they could not lead people to God.
No person can teach what they do not know. A student cannot learn more from a teacher than the teacher knows. In those days, there were not as many books for the student to read. The student depended on his teacher for all that he learned. So, the best that the student could be was to be like his teacher.
Jesus taught what he knew to be the truth. Those people who learn from Jesus will know the truth. Their purpose is to become like Jesus. Jesus is the way to God. Those people who follow him, he will lead to God.
The *disciples should become leaders to bring people to God. But they cannot do that if they do not know God. As they become more like Jesus, they will be more able to do it.
Verses 41-42 Jesus uses humour to teach a serious lesson. Here is a man with a large piece of wood in his eye. And he tries to take a tiny bit of dust from his brother’s eye. A small fault in another person is more noticeable to us than the large faults in ourselves. Often we do not see our own faults.
We need to examine ourselves first. If the man removed the beam from his own eye, then he could see clearly. It is better to remove our own faults than to talk about the faults of other people.
We should not pretend to be the judges of other people, because we ourselves are not perfect.
A tree and its fruit – Luke 6:43-45
v43 ‘A good tree does not yield bad fruit. And a bad tree does not yield good fruit. v44 You know a tree by the fruit that it yields. You do not pick *figs or *grapes from *thorn bushes. v45 The good man has good things in his heart. So, from his heart he does good things. The evil man has evil things in his heart. So, from his heart he does evil things. The mouth speaks from what is in the heart.’
Verses 43-45 A good tree will produce fruit that one can use. A bad tree will produce fruit that one cannot use, for example poisonous fruits. Each fruit tree will produce its own kind of fruit. Jesus uses this as an example of good and bad people. A person may seem to be good. But the reality is in what he does.
A good person does good things. This comes from his inner nature. He does these good things because he is good. The evil person does bad things. His inner nature produces evil actions and evil words.
Wise and foolish builders – Luke 6:46-49
v46 ‘You call me “*Lord, *Lord”. But you do not do what I say. v47 Some people come to hear my words. They do what I say. This is what they are like. v48 They are like a man who built a house. He dug a deep hole and he built on the rock. When a flood came, the river rushed against the house. But the flood could not shake the house. This was because the man built the house on the rock. v49 Some people come to hear my words. But they do not obey what I say. They are like a man who built his house on the ground. He did not fix his house to the rock. When a flood came, the water struck the house. Immediately, the house fell down and the water destroyed it completely.’
Verses 46-49 To call Jesus *Lord is to accept his authority. If he is the *Lord then his people must obey him. But some people who call him *Lord do not obey him. God is the judge of our hearts and minds. To him, our actions are more important than what we say. He wants us to obey him.
The person who obeys Jesus is like a good builder. He digs down and fixes his base into the rock. Then he builds his house on that base. The house is then safe from the effects of the storm.
The person who obeys the *Lord Jesus has a real *faith in him. When difficult things happen, they cannot easily defeat him. When the final test comes on the day of judgement, he will be safe.
Another person hears Jesus. But this person does not obey Jesus. He is like a bad builder. The base of his house is not on the solid rock. The base is on the ground. The storm will destroy that house.
The person who does not obey the *Lord is not safe. He does not have a solid base in which to trust. That person may call Jesus *Lord, but he is not a *disciple of Jesus. At the day of judgement, he will not be safe.
Lord ~ a title for God, or Jesus, to show that he is over all people and things. In the Old Testament, LORD was a special name for God.Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible; the holy things that the writers wrote before Jesus’ birth.
Sabbath ~ the 7th day of the week (Saturday) which was special to the Jews as a holy day.
Jews ~ people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the families of their children.
disciple ~ a person who follows a leader, especially the 12 men that Jesus chose to be with him.
Pharisees ~ a group of Jews who tried to keep all God’s rules. Many Pharisees did not approve of Jesus.
Jews ~ people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the families of their children.
synagogue ~ a building where Jews gather for prayer; a place where the Jews meet for the purpose of their religion.
Jews ~ people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the families of their children.
Jews ~ people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the families of their children.
apostle ~ someone whom God sends; especially one of the 12 men whom Jesus chose to be his helpers.
preach ~ to speak out God’s message in public and to teach his word.
demons ~ evil angels that serve the devil.
angel ~ a servant of God from heaven. God made angels to serve him and to take his messages. So, angels are God’s servants from heaven. But there are evil angels who opposed God. These evil angels now serve the devil.
tribe ~ a large family from one man. The nation called Israel grew from the 12 sons of Jacob. These 12 families became the 12 tribes of Israel.
Israel ~ the country of the Jews.
Jews ~ people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the families of their children.
Israel ~ the country of the Jews.
Jews ~ people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the families of their children.
Greek ~ the language in which the authors wrote the New Testament.
New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, which the writers wrote after the life of Jesus on earth.
Aramaic ~ the language that Jesus spoke.
fishermen ~ men whose job is to catch fish.
Roman ~ Rome was the capital city of the rulers at the time of the New Testament. Anything that belonged to Rome was Roman.
New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, which the writers wrote after the life of Jesus on earth.
bless ~ to show kindness.
kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules. In the New Testament, this word nearly always refers to the people over whom the king rules and not a territory on earth.
New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, which the writers wrote after the life of Jesus on earth.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
prophet ~ a person who speaks for God. A prophet can sometimes say what will happen in the future.
sinners ~ people who sin.
sin ~ sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God.
hypocrite ~ someone who pretends.
fig ~ a kind of sweet fruit.
grapes ~ the fruit of a plant called a grapevine.
thorns ~ sharp hard points on a tree or bush.
faith ~ trust in someone or something; belief and trust in God and in Jesus Christ his Son.