Luke 6

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Luke 6 moves from two Sabbath confrontations to a night of prayer, the choosing of the twelve apostles, and the Sermon on the Plain, Luke's counterpart to Matthew's Sermon on the Mount. Jesus blesses the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and the hated, pronounces woes on the rich, the full, the laughing, and the admired, and commands love of enemies, mercy like the Father's, and generosity that expects nothing back. He closes with the speck and the beam, the tree known by its fruit, and the two builders whose houses meet the flood.

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Luke 6 begins in a grainfield on the Sabbath and ends with a house standing in a flood. In between, Jesus claims authority over the Sabbath, heals a man's hand in front of people looking for a charge against him, prays through a night, and chooses twelve men, one of whom will betray him. Then he comes down to a level place, and Luke gives his version of the great sermon. It is shorter and blunter than Matthew's. Blessed are you who are poor, who hunger now, who weep now, who are hated because of the Son of Man. Woe to you who are rich, who are full, who laugh, and of whom everyone speaks well, because you have already received your comfort. The heart of the sermon is enemy love, spelled out in verbs: love, do good, bless, pray, turn the other cheek, give, lend without expecting return. The reason is God's own character; he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked, so be merciful as your Father is merciful. Then the warnings: do not judge, take the beam out of your own eye, know a tree by its fruit, and do not call Jesus "Lord" while ignoring what he says. The sermon ends with two builders. Both hear the words. Only one digs down to the rock. When the torrent comes, and it comes to both, that is the whole difference.

Key passages

Luke 6:1-11 Luke 6:20-26 Luke 6:27-36 Luke 6:43-49 Matthew 5:1-12

Historical and literary context

The Sabbath disputes reflect the seriousness with which first-century Judaism guarded the seventh day and the growing hostility of the scribes and Pharisees toward Jesus's claim to authority over it. Luke sets the sermon on a level place with a crowd from Judea, Jerusalem, Tyre, and Sidon, a broader audience than Matthew's, and gives the teaching a sharper social edge: "you who are poor," not "poor in spirit," with matching woes on the rich. The list of the Twelve includes Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, "who became a traitor."

How the chapter unfolds

Verses 1 to 11 are the Sabbath disputes: grain plucked in the fields, David and the consecrated bread, "the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath," and the man with the withered hand healed under hostile eyes. Verses 12 to 16 are the night of prayer and the naming of the Twelve. Verses 17 to 19 set the scene of healing on the plain. Verses 20 to 26 give four blessings and four woes. Verses 27 to 36 command love of enemies, the golden rule, and mercy like the Father's. Verses 37 to 42 warn against judging and against the beam in one's own eye. Verses 43 to 49 test discipleship by fruit and by foundations.

Why this chapter matters

Luke 6 contains the Bible's most direct statement of Jesus's ethics of enemy love: love, do good, bless, pray for those who hate, curse, and mistreat you, and lend expecting nothing, because God "is kind to the ungrateful and wicked." The golden rule appears here in its positive form. "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful" is Luke's version of Matthew's "be perfect." The woes make the sermon a warning to the comfortable as well as a comfort to the poor, and the closing parable of the two builders insists that hearing without doing is a house without a foundation.

Interpretive tension to watch

Luke's blessings and woes are concrete, the poor and the rich, the hungry and the well fed. Are they about economic condition, spiritual posture, or both? Matthew's "poor in spirit" and Luke's "you who are poor" have been read against each other for centuries. Holding them together, so that neither the material nor the spiritual reading cancels the other, is the reading the two Gospels seem to invite.

Questions for this chapter

  • Jesus spent a night in prayer before choosing the Twelve, and one of them became a traitor. What does that pairing say about prayer and outcomes?
  • The woes address the rich, the full, the laughing, and the well spoken of. Which of those is closest to your own position, and how does the sermon read from there?
  • Verse 46 asks why people call Jesus "Lord" and do not do what he says. Where is the gap between hearing and building in your own life?

Study with context

Use this as a chapter guide, then press deeper into the text itself. The goal is to slow down observation, notice structure, and ask better questions before jumping to conclusions.

Add to Notes
1 And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing [them] in [their] hands. 2 And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days? 3 And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him; 4 How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone? 5 And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. 6 And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him. 8 But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth. 9 Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy [it]? 10 And looking round about upon them all, he said unto 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 communed one with another what they might do to Jesus. 12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 13 ¶ And when it was day, he called [unto him] his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; 14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, 15 Matthew and Thomas, James the [son] of Alphæus, and Simon called Zelotes, 16 And Judas [the brother] of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor. 17 ¶ And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judæa and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; 18 And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed. 19 And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed [them] all. 20 ¶ And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed [be ye] poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed [are ye] that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed [are ye] that weep now: for ye shall laugh. 22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you [from their company], and shall reproach [you], and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. 23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward [is] great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. 24 But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. 25 Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. 26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets. 27 ¶ But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, 28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. 29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the [one] cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not [to take thy] coat also. 30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask [them] not again. 31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. 32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. 33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. 34 And if ye lend [to them] of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and [to] the evil. 36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. 37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: 38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. 39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? 40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. 41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye. 43 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. 46 ¶ And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? 47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: 48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

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