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The Gospel of Luke Chapter Six
Commentary by Timothy H. Burdick
Now, in the start
of Chapter 6, we see Jesus going through the grain fields
with His disciples. They were rubbing the wheat in their
hands in order to separate it from the chaff. Verse 2 says
"Some of the Pharisees asked, "Why are you doing what is
unlawful on the Sabbath?" According to the letter of the
law, the Pharisees had it right in one way. Compare what
they are saying, with Exodus 34:21, “Six days you shall
labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during
the plowing season and harvest you must rest." The
Pharisees, however, did not take into consideration the
SPIRIT of verses like Leviticus 19:9 - "When you reap the
harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your
field or gather the gleanings of your harvest."
David Leven says
about how the Pharisees viewed Sabbath-keeping - "Of all the
myriad rules and regulations the Pharisees kept in
preserving their ritual holiness, their rules about the
Sabbath stood at the top." The Pharisees’ ideas about the
Sabbath and their rules kept them from hearing that, "The
Son of Man (Jesus) is LORD of the Sabbath" (Luke 6:5).
The following
concept is essential, if we are to understand what Jesus is
actually saying. He referred to Himself in this passage as
the Son of man, which was a majestic term from the Old
Testament. Look with me at Daniel 7:13 - "In my vision at
night, I looked and there before me was one like a Son of
man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the
Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given
authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations
and men of every language worshiped Him. His dominion is an
everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His
kingdom is one that will never be destroyed."
While keeping the
Sabbath and God’s dealing with the poor may seem like two
separate issues, what I am trying to point out is that God
has a heart for the poor and that He makes provision for
them. In His sight, human need prevails over a set of rules.
Jesus answered them, "Have you never read what David did
when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house
of God and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is
lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his
companions.” The story that Jesus is making reference to is
found in 1 Samuel 21:3-6, - David said, "Now then, what do
you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever
you can find.’ But the priest answered David, ‘I don't have
any ordinary bread on hand; however there is some
consecrated bread here - provided the men have kept
themselves from women.’ David replied, ‘indeed women have
been kept from us, as usual whenever I set out. The men’s
things are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much
more so today!’ So the priest gave him the consecrated
bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of
the presence that had been removed from before the Lord and
replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away.” The
Pharisees were bound by rabbinic traditions rules they had
prescribed so that the law would not be broken. In doing so,
they had broken the law themselves.
Deuteronomy 4:2
says, "Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract
from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I
give you." Look with me at Proverbs 30:5-6 - "Every Word of
God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in
Him. Do not add to His Words, or He will rebuke you and
prove you a liar."
Again, Jesus has
this to say in Matthew 15:5-6, "But you say that if a man
says to his father or mother, "Whatever help you might have
otherwise received from me is a gift devoted to God,' he is
not to honor his father with it. Thus you nullify the Word
of God for the sake of your tradition." Jesus was saying
that these rules weren't meant to be a burden or an end in
themselves ignoring human need. But, they were not to add to
them through man made legalism either.
Then Jesus said to
them in Verse 5 of Luke 6, "the Son of Man is Lord of the
Sabbath." Compare what Luke says with Mark 2:27and 28: "Then
He said to them, the Sabbath was made for man, not man for
the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."
Many translations say that this incident took place on the
second Sabbath after the first. While many scholars have
tried to speculate about what this might mean, I choose not
to go there. All we can do is guess and since God has not
chosen to reveal this to us, I don't see any value in this
type of guesswork. A good rule of thumb to follow is, when
the Bible is quiet, then we should be quiet.
Next we have
another Sabbath incident. I find it interesting to compare
these two stories, because they are so similar. Please read
Luke 6:6-11 with me. On another Sabbath, He went into the
synagogue and was teaching and a man was there whose right
hand was shriveled. The Pharisees and the teachers of the
law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they
watched Him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath.
But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man
with the shriveled hand, "Get up and stand in front of
everyone" (Verse 8). So the man got up and stood there. Then
Jesus said to them in Verse 9, "I ask you which is lawful on
the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to
destroy it?" He looked around at them all and then said to
the man in Verse 10, "Stretch out your hand. "The man did
so, and his hand was completely restored. But they were
furious (Verse 11) and began to discuss with one another
what they might do to Jesus."
This story is also
recorded in, Mathew 12:9-14 and Mark 3:1-6. Before I make my
own observations about this incident, I would like to look
at what one author says: "By the withered hand recorded in
the above historical account, we find spiritually figured
the state of the Jewish church at that period." This story
has some interesting things that we can note. In the first
place, there is no mention here of His disciples. That is
just interesting food for thought. I wonder if the disciples
were in the crowd. Another thing that we find is that here
Jesus is teaching in the synagogue, whereas before the
disciples and Jesus were walking through the grain fields
(Verse 1).
Putting the two
Sabbath stories together, we seem to see a progression in
thought on the part of the Pharisees. In the first
narrative, the Pharisees ask a direct question. Here though,
in this second account, they were trying a more indirect
approach. They were getting crafty and watching Him to see
if they could find fault with Him. I wonder if the man with
the withered hand was a “plant” by the Pharisees to trap
Him? Did they put him there to try and trick Jesus? In any
case, Jesus is gaining even more respect on the part of the
people, and the Pharisees felt that if He continued, they
would lose face. But Luke tells us that Jesus knew what the
Pharisees were thinking (Verse 8), something the author Luke
didn't mention when Jesus had his first encounter with the
Pharisees starting in Verse 1.
Compare this with
Mark 2:8, where the Pharisees were trying to form a case
against Jesus, in their minds, to accuse Him of blasphemy.
Mark says, "Immediately Jesus knew in His spirit that this
was what they were thinking in their hearts, and He said to
them, ‘Why are you thinking these things?’" Often like this
man in the story, we have a "hand that is shriveled." In our
lives, this might equate to a challenge that seems
impossible. Jesus says to all of us however, "Stretch out
your hand." If we are walking with Him, we can overcome
seemingly impossible odds. In order to face these challenges
though, we need to meditate on God’s Word. John MacArthur
says about a careful study of Gods word, "In order to
understand it, we have to know its content."
Psalms 1:2 says,
"But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law
he meditates day and night." But you might say, my schedule
doesn't allow me to do that. If you believe that, you have
the wrong concept of Biblical meditation. Yes it means being
alone and being quiet before the Lord, but it is more than
that. Biblical meditation includes, but is not limited to
studying God’s Word. 2Timothy, 2:15 says, "Do your best to
present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does
not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the Word of
Truth." This is also a mind set: It is fixing your thoughts
on Christ all through your day, giving Him first place in
your life. In your speech, life, and through thoughts and
actions, give Him glory and praise.
Paul says about
this, “Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set
your hearts (or minds) on things above where Christ is
seated at the right hand of God” (“right hand” is a term
denoting authority and majesty – Colossians 3:1-2). But you
might be asking, how can I keep my mind on Christ all day?
“You don't know what I face,” you might be thinking. Well
that is true, I don’t know, but we all have a "shriveled
hand" in one way or another, emotionally or physically. That
is exactly why you need to study the Bible. When “storms”
come, the Bible will give you an “anchor” for your soul.
We are actually
speaking about two concepts here that I want to tie
together. The first concept is studying. Go back and read
what Paul told Timothy. Meditation is an outgrowth of
studying, where your mind and heart is consumed by the Word
of God, the Bible. About putting God’s Word into action,
James 3:1 says, "Not many of you should presume to be
teachers my brothers, because you know that we who teach
will be judged more strictly." Here are a couple of
Scriptures that have helped me in getting through tough
times, and I know they will help you: "Finally brothers,
whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable
- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about
such things.” Again Paul says in Philippians 4:13, I can do
everything through Him who gives me strength.” There are
many more verses like this in the Bible. Take time to look
them up.
Luke goes on to
tell us that when the Pharisees couldn't trap Jesus, they
became insane with anger, plotting against Him (Verse 11).
One author says about the Pharisees, "The Pharisees were in
a sense, blue collar Jews who adhered to the tenets
developed after the destruction of the Temple of Solomon."
When looking at their actions as recorded by the Gospel
writers, It is interesting to quote Proverbs 20:3 here. "It
is to a mans honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick
to quarrel." If that is one of your stumbling blocks like it
sometimes is mine, this and other verses will help us not to
repeat similar actions to those of the Pharisees.
Now, let’s go on.
Before picking out the twelve disciples, it is note worthy,
that Jesus spent the night in prayer (Verse 12). One author
says about the prayer life of our Lord: "There was an
unmistakable quality about Jesus' prayer life. There was a
beauty; and simplicity and majesty about it that attracted
people." First Thessalonians 5:17 says about this matter of
prayer: "Pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is Gods will for you in Christ Jesus." If prayer
was important in the life of Jesus, how much more important
should it be in yours and my life? When Paul talks about
praying continually, he is not talking about spending your
life on your knees. Rather, he is talking about making
prayer a lifestyle. The “meditation” that we talked about
above, is a form of prayer. Luke shows more then any of the
other Gospel writers, how important this facet of Jesus’
life was.
Luke records more
about the prayer life of Jesus than any of the other Gospel
writers. After listing the twelve disciples that were chosen
(Luke 6:14-16), Luke gives an abbreviated form of the Sermon
on the Mount, which is found in Mathew 5:5-7. Some people
say that this is a shortened version of what Matthew
records, but others say that there are enough differences to
make them conclude that it stands alone. This version in
Luke is called, The Sermon on the Plain. Both sides have
legitimate points, but I don't think that that is what is
important in the final analysis. So, let’s look at the
content. "Looking at His disciples, He said: "Blessed are
you who are poor for yours is the Kingdom of God" (Verse
20). I believe that Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 5:3) sheds
some light on this.
Lets look at it
and then discuss this concept. Mathew 5:3 says, "Blessed are
the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
"Notice that Luke quotes Jesus as talking about the "poor"
whereas Mathew records the words, "poor in spirit." This
isn't a contradiction. Jesus isn't talking about physical
poverty here as much as a poverty of spirit. He is saying
that if we are to come to Him, we must come to him in
poverty/dependence. If we are to truly follow Him, we must
not look to ourselves, but we must look directly to Him. If
we really study the prayer life of Jesus, we can see how He
looked to the Father in all things. In so doing, Luke goes
on to record the words of Jesus. "Blessed are you who hunger
now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep
now, for you will laugh" (Verse 21).
At first glance,
you might think that Jesus is condoning world hunger, or
telling us to go around with a long face. This is not at all
what He is saying. Matthew has put these sayings in reverse
order from Luke, and as well, he has separated them with a
verse in between. Mathew 5:4 says, "Blessed are those who
mourn, for they will be comforted.” Luke uses the word
"weep," whereas Matthew uses the word "mourn." Jesus is
talking here about an attitude of genuine sorrow for sin.
Looking at what Jesus meant when He talked about hunger,
Matthew 5:6 says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst
for righteousness, for they will be filled." While this
verse is similar to what Luke records, Luke does not add on
the words "for righteousness" as Matthew did. We can plainly
see therefore, that Jesus isn't talking about physical
hunger, but instead this He spoke of a deep yearning for the
things of God. Luke however, adds the little word "now" onto
what Jesus had to say. In other words, God wants us to deal
with spiritual matters immediately, not in the distant
future.
The writer of
Second Corinthians 6:2 says, "in the time of My favor I
heard you and in the day of salvation I helped you." (Here
the author Paul is quoting Isaiah 49:8) - "I tell you now is
the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation. "Now
lets examine Luke 6:22-23 - "Blessed are you when men hate
you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your
name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day
and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven.
For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.” Matthew
5:11-12 says something almost identical to Luke. So while I
will quote it, let's look at what Jesus is telling us.
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and
falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven,
for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were
before you."
Have you ever
noticed how fickle people really are? Jesus is talking about
looking to God for our acceptance because when people learn
that you really follow Him, they are likely to turn from
you. Talking about this acceptance, Romans 8:14-18 says,
"Because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of
God. For you did not receive a Spirit that makes you a slave
again to fear, but you received the Spirit of Sonship
(adoption). And by Him we cry Abba (Father). The Spirit
Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s
children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs of God
and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His
sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory. I
consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing
with the glory that will be revealed in us." Luke records
Jesus in verse 24 of Luke 6 as saying, "but woe to you who
are rich, for you have already received your comfort."
In comparison with
people in underdeveloped countries, I might be considered
rich. Is Jesus condemning all rich people? In order to find
out the answer, we need to search the Word of God. Compare
what Jesus is saying in Luke 6:24 with Solomon’s words, in
Proverbs 11:28, "Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but
the righteous will thrive like a green leaf." What makes
this comparison so astounding is that Solomon was filthy
rich. This verse lets us know that riches can stand in the
way if we depend on them and let them become our “god.”
A verse that has
been misused to promote wrong thinking is first Timothy
6:10. So, let’s look at what it has to say. "For the love of
money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for
money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves
with many griefs." If you look at that passage closely, you
will see that money in itself is not the problem. It is the
love of money. For men have done a lot of wonderful things
with money. Jesus talked more about money than anything else
in the New Testament. This is because it acts as a spiritual
barometer, showing what is in the heart. Jesus says in
Mathew 6:24, "No one can serve two masters. Either he will
hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to
the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and
money."
Many times in the
Scriptures and in life, you can learn a lot about a person
by how they spend their money. We need money to live, and
there is nothing wrong with having nice things, but either
money or God will take first place in your life. You can't
have it both ways.
Let's jump to Luke
6:26. Here Jesus says, "Woe to you when all men speak well
of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false
prophets." Contrasting Verse 23 of Luke 6 and Verse 26, we
can see the characteristics of two groups of people. Have
you ever taken a stand for God, only to be rejected for it?
Then you are not alone. Look at First Kings 19:10, "He
replied, I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty.
The Israelites have rejected Your covenant, broken down Your
altars, and put Your prophets to death with the sword. I am
the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."
Elijah, who was speaking in that verse had had a long
ministry. While this verse shows how alone he felt, it also
shows that as a true prophet, in spite of persecution, he
tried to give God first place in his life.
Now to see some of
the characteristics of a false prophet, read Second Peter
2:18-19,"For they mouth empty boastful words and by
appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature,
they entice people who are just escaping from those who live
in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves
are slaves of depravity - for a man is a slave to whatever
has mastered him." I think Proverbs 10:20 says it all, "The
tongue of the righteous is as choice silver, but the heart
of the wicked is of little value.” In Luke 6:27-49 Jesus
says, "But I tell you who hear Me, love your enemies, do
good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray
for those who mistreat you. Loving your enemy is one of the
hardest things to do, especially if we try to do it in our
own strength. In order to really love this way, we must ask
the Lord to love through us. In other words, we need to be
obedient like the man was who had the shriveled hand at the
first part of this Chapter. Jesus talked about this kind of
love in John 13:34 - "a new command I give you: love one
another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."
Luke 6:29 – “If
someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other
also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from
taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if
anyone takes what belongs to you do not demand it back.”
Building on what we have already said, these verses first
and foremost, tell us about the attitude of love we are to
have toward others. Jesus was not talking about letting
others harm you or your family. God shows examples of people
defending themselves throughout Scripture. One example of
this, is found in Genesis 14:14 - "When Abram heard that his
relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318
trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far
as Dan." Self-defense is acceptable to God. Continuing in
Luke 6:31-34, Jesus says, "Do to others as you would have
them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit
is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And
if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what
credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners,
expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do
good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get
anything back. Then your reward will be great and you will
be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the
ungrateful and wicked" (Verse 35). Jesus started off this
passage with what we commonly call the “Golden rule.”
Confucius had what
he called the “Silver Rule.” He said, "don't do to others
what you don't want them to do to you." My point is that
Jesus Christ put this in the positive. He did not say simply
what you don't want done to you be sure not to do to others.
No, he said take positive loving steps, and go out of your
way to treat others the way you would want to be treated. Be
merciful just as your father is merciful (Verse 36). Jesus
was teaching from what the Old Testament already had said.
Read Hosea 6:6 - "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and
acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings. (To see
how King David was a “type” of Christ in showing mercy in
one case, look up 2 Samuel 19:23.).
Luke 6:37 – “Do
not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and
you will not be condemned.” Paul says in Romans 8:1,
"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in
Christ Jesus, who do not live according to the sinful nature
but according to the Spirit." “Forgive, and you will be
forgiven” (Verse 37). I confess that I don't understand this
fully, but look with me at Matthew 7:14-15 - "Therefore, if
you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men
their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."
Let me make a few
observations before we go on. I hear the Scripture about not
judging others used for all kinds of reasons. If we look at
it in the context of this passage, it simply means that if
we have to correct someone, we should do it in a loving way.
We must resist the temptation to clock our own opinions in
piousness. We should be bold to speak out God’s Word, but
Only God’s Word and never in a self-righteous way!! Compare
what I have said here with Zechariah 4:6 - "So He said to
me, this is the Word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: not by might
nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord Almighty."
A lot of
televangelists love the Scripture in Luke 6:38, which says,
“Give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed
down, shaken together, running over…” But many times I am
sorry to say that it is often used in order to fund their
own interests. We are not supposed to give to get something
in return. Christ looks at our motives and why we do what we
do. "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure,
pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be
poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will
be measured to you.” He also told them this parable starting
in Verse 39 – “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they
not both fall into a pit?” I know that this part of the
parable is true from personal experience. My wife and I are
both blind. I was trying to guide her one day and she fell
into a hole.
Jesus referred to
the Pharisees elsewhere as “blind guides.” They tried to
lead the people who were stumbling, but for the most part
the Pharisees were “blind” as far as Spiritual things go.
Look with me at Matthew 15:14, where Jesus says about the
Pharisees, "leave them; they are blind guides." A student is
not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained
will be like his teacher.
In the context of
teaching, look at what James 3:1says - "Not many of you
should presume to be teachers, my brothers because you know
that we who teach will be judged more strictly." Then Jesus
goes on in Verse 41, “Why do you look at the speck of
sawdust in your brother’s eye, and pay no attention to the
plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother,
‘brother let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you
yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You
hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then
you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brothers
eye.”
Some teachers,
talk only about the light side of what Jesus is saying in
this passage. While the picture of someone with a plank in
their eye, trying to pick a speck out of their brother’s eye
is amusing, this message has a very serious undertone. Dr.
Ralph Wilson says, "The point is this: until we take the
time to deal with our own sins and weaknesses, we're in no
position to help someone else get rid of sin in his own
life."
Then Jesus goes on
in Luke 6:43, “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad
tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own
fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes
from briers.” Look with me at John 15:4-5, "Remain in me,
and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by
itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear
fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the
branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him he will bear
much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” The good man
brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart,
and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored
up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his
mouth speaks.
In Luke 6:46,
Jesus asks, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not do
what I say?” One author says about this question asked by
Jesus, “If Jesus is ‘Lord,’ then obedience is neither
optional nor debatable." Jesus said in Luke 6:47, “I will
show what he is like who comes to Me and hears My words and
puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house,
who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a
flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not
shake it because it was well-built. But the one who hears My
words and does not put them into practice, is like a man who
built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment
the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its
destruction was complete." Jesus is talking here about
digging deep and laying a good foundation in the Word of
God, the Bible. Finally, look at 2 timothy 2:15 again. I
think that it bears repeating - "Do your best to present
yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need
to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."
In conclusion, I
see four themes running through Chapter 6. They are 1)
obedience, 2) love, 3) mercy and 4) the Chapter encourages a
careful study (meditation) upon God’s Word, the Bible. Thank
you and please join me for Luke 7.
Friday Study Ministries
The First Church On The Net
www.FridayStudy.org
www.FirstChurchOnTheNet.org
"While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
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