Luke 6:27-38

27 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. 30 Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. 31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

32 If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! 34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.

35 Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. 36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

37 Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”

Comments

This passage is the heart of Luke’s Gospel. Here he gives us what is to be normal, standard kingdom behavior. As we began to see yesterday, Luke reworks Matthew’s material in small, yet significant ways. They both give us the oxymoronic commands to love our enemies and pray for those who harm us. Luke adds to that – do good to those who hate us and bless those who curse us. Matthew tells us to give to those who beg. Luke tells us to give to everyone who begs and he puts the verb in the present tense, so it really means give to everyone and keep on giving to everyone. No limitations on who. No limitations on how much. No limitations on when to stop. Don’t ask for things back that have been stolen (think of the bishop who gives Jean Valjean the candlesticks), lend without expecting to be paid back (try preaching that on Wall St.), and be kind to selfish and ungrateful people.

Why? Why in the world would we do such things? Because these are the things that God does. Therefore, these are the things that are done in God’s kingdom. Throughout this passage, Luke carries the spiritual/attitude focus of Matthew into the language of action. “If you love those who love you…” becomes “if you do good to those who do good to you…” Matthew’s “Do not judge…” carries over and Luke adds “do not condemn…” and “do forgive…” to explain more fully what Jesus means. “Be perfect” (impossible so probably rhetorical) becomes “be compassionate” – quite possible and therefore expected.

Luke gives us the full progression from attitude (love), to speech (praying and blessing), to action (do good, lend freely). Such attitudes, speech, and actions are essential characteristics of those who are Jesus’ disciples.

This is the opposite of what we see sometimes, especially from those whose angry voices draw media attention. But that last sentence is really important. The measure we use is the measure used on us. We are to act like God does toward others because God is going to act toward us like we act toward others. That’s worth thinking about for a day. Or a year. Or a lifetime.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale HousePublishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Luke 6:17-26

17 When they came down from the mountain, the disciples stood with Jesus on a large, level area, surrounded by many of his followers and by the crowds. There were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those troubled by evil spirits were healed. 19 Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.

20 Then Jesus fixed his gaze on his disciples and said, “God blesses you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours.

21 God blesses you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. God blesses you who weep now, for in due time you will laugh.

22 What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. 

23 When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way.

24 What sorrow awaits you who are rich, for you have your only happiness now.

25 What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now, for a time of awful hunger awaits you. What sorrow awaits you who laugh now, for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow.

26 What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds, for their ancestors also praised false prophets.

Comments

Luke prefaces the Sermon on the Plain telling us Jesus raised his eyes on his disciples. Fixed his gaze is another way to translate that. Jesus very emphatically looks at his disciples. Since Luke went around gathering eye witness testimony, it’s not hard to imagine that this detail stood out in someone’s mind even years later.

I mentioned Friday that Luke introduces the apostles and names them as such when does for a reason. Here is where we begin to see why. There are three groups of people listening to Jesus. The crowd – who are not his followers, the disciples – who are his followers, and a subset of the disciples, the apostles he just came down from the mountain with. Jesus directed his healing power at everyone (v.19), but Luke wants us to know that this teaching was directed specifically at his followers – all of them. The crowds are there but this is not for them. The apostles are there but this is not just for them. What follows in the Sermon on the Plain (6.20-49) is an extended teaching for all who would be Jesus’ followers, for all who accept being his disciple.

I have been sharing since we began Luke about how he used Mark and Matthew as sources, highlighting the alterations Luke made. The ones here are among the most significant. Here is a side by side comparison of the beginning of  Luke’s Sermon on the Plain and Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount:

Luke 6	Matthew 5
20. Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.	3. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
21. Blessed are you that hunger now, for you will be filled.	6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
21. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.	4. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
22. Blessed are you when men hate you…	11. Blessed are you when men revile you…
n/a	5, 7, 8, 9, 10. Blessed are the meek, pure in heart, peacemakers, persecuted for righteousness sake
24-26. Woe to you who are rich, full, laugh, and spoken well of	n/a

As you can see, Luke does not spiritualize the poor. They aren’t poor in spirit. They are economically poor. They do not hunger for righteousness. They are hungry. For food. Jesus is looking his followers in the eyes and telling the poor ones one thing and the rich ones something else. Oh yes. The woes here are not for the crowd. They are for the disciples too. Which is significant for those of us who live far removed from poverty. Jesus has a lot more to say to us from this plain, but for today, reread the blessings and the woes. Jesus is looking at you. Jesus is talking to you.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale HousePublishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.