Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
6 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. 2 Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
3 Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 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.” 5 Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
6 On another Sabbath, he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. 7 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. 8 But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there.
9 Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”
10 He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. 11 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.
The Twelve Apostles
12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: 14 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Blessings and Woes
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
20 Looking at his disciples, he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when people hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
Love for Enemies
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 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. 35 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 children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Judging Others
37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 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.”
39 He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.
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? 42 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 brother’s eye.
A Tree and Its Fruit
43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
The Wise and Foolish Builders
46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. 48 They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on the rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 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.”
NOTES:
NOTES:
6:1–11 The two episodes recounted here deal with gathering
grain and healing, both of which were forbidden on the sabbath. In his defense
of his disciples’ conduct and his own charitable deed, Jesus argues that
satisfying human needs such as hunger and performing works of mercy take
precedence even over the sacred sabbath rest. See also notes on Mt 12:1–14 and
Mk 2:25–26.
6:4 The bread of offering: see note on Mt 12:5–6.
6:12–16 See notes on Mt 10:1–11:1 and Mk 3:14–15.
6:12 Spent the night in prayer: see note on Lk 3:21.
6:13 He chose Twelve: the identification of this group as
the Twelve is a part of early Christian tradition (see 1 Cor 15:5), and in
Matthew and Luke, the Twelve are associated with the twelve tribes of Israel
(Lk 22:29–30; Mt 19:28). After the fall of Judas from his position among the
Twelve, the need is felt on the part of the early community to reconstitute
this group before the Christian mission begins at Pentecost (Acts 1:15–26).
From Luke’s perspective, they are an important group who because of their
association with Jesus from the time of his baptism to his ascension (Acts
1:21–22) provide the continuity between the historical Jesus and the church of
Luke’s day and who as the original eyewitnesses guarantee the fidelity of the
church’s beliefs and practices to the teachings of Jesus (Lk 1:1–4). Whom he
also named apostles: only Luke among the gospel writers attributes to Jesus the
bestowal of the name apostles upon the Twelve. See note on Mt 10:2–4. “Apostle”
becomes a technical term in early Christianity for a missionary sent out to
preach the word of God. Although Luke seems to want to restrict the title to
the Twelve (only in Acts 4:4, 14 are Paul and Barnabas termed apostles), other
places in the New Testament show an awareness that the term was more widely
applied (1 Cor 15:5–7; Gal 1:19; 1 Cor 1:1; 9:1; Rom 16:7).
6:14 Simon, whom he named Peter: see note on Mk 3:16.
6:15 Simon who was called a Zealot: the Zealots were the
instigators of the First Revolt of Palestinian Jews against Rome in A.D. 66–70.
Because the existence of the Zealots as a distinct group during the lifetime of
Jesus is the subject of debate, the meaning of the identification of Simon as a
Zealot is unclear.
6:16 Judas Iscariot: the name Iscariot may mean “man from
Kerioth.”
6:17 The coastal region of Tyre and Sidon: not only Jews
from Judea and Jerusalem, but even Gentiles from outside Palestine come to hear
Jesus (see Lk 2:31–32; 3:6; 4:24–27).
6:20–49 Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain” is the counterpart to
Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount” (Mt 5:1–7:27). It is addressed to the disciples
of Jesus, and, like the sermon in Matthew, it begins with beatitudes (Lk
6:20–22) and ends with the parable of the two houses (Lk 6:46–49). Almost all the
words of Jesus reported by Luke are found in Matthew’s version, but because
Matthew includes sayings that were related to specifically Jewish Christian
problems (e.g., Mt 5:17–20; 6:1–8, 16–18) that Luke did not find appropriate
for his predominantly Gentile Christian audience, the “Sermon on the Mount” is
considerably longer. Luke’s sermon may be outlined as follows: an introduction
consisting of blessings and woes (Lk 6:20–26); the love of one’s enemies (Lk
6:27–36); the demands of loving one’s neighbor (Lk 6:37–42); good deeds as
proof of one’s goodness (Lk 6:43–45); a parable illustrating the result of
listening to and acting on the words of Jesus (Lk 6:46–49). At the core of the
sermon is Jesus’ teaching on the love of one’s enemies (Lk 6:27–36) that has as
its source of motivation God’s graciousness and compassion for all humanity (Lk
6:35–36) and Jesus’ teaching on the love of one’s neighbor (Lk 6:37–42) that is
characterized by forgiveness and generosity.
6:20–26 The introductory portion of the sermon consists of
blessings and woes that address the real economic and social conditions of
humanity (the poor—the rich; the hungry—the satisfied; those grieving—those
laughing; the outcast—the socially acceptable). By contrast, Matthew emphasizes
the religious and spiritual values of disciples in the kingdom inaugurated by
Jesus (“poor in spirit,” Mt 5:3; “hunger and thirst for righteousness,” Mt
5:6). In the sermon, blessed extols the fortunate condition of persons who are
favored with the blessings of God; the woes, addressed as they are to the
disciples of Jesus, threaten God’s profound displeasure on those so blinded by
their present fortunate situation that they do not recognize and appreciate the
real values of God’s kingdom. In all the blessings and woes, the present
condition of the persons addressed will be reversed in the future.
6:27–36 See notes on Mt 5:43–48 and Mt 5:48.
6:37–42 See notes on Mt 7:1–12; 7:1; 7:5.
6:43–46 See notes on Mt 7:15–20 and 12:33.
6:47–49 See note on Mt 7:24–27.
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