Luke 6

Luke 6 is the sixth of the twenty-four chapters of the Gospel of Luke. The conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees carried over from chapter 5 extends to the question of the Sabbath, after which the narrative turns to Jesus appointing the twelve apostles and teaching the multitude.

Outline

• Verses 1–5 On the Sabbath, the disciples rub ears of grain in their hands and eat them. When the Pharisees object, Jesus answers by citing the occasion when David ate the showbread, and he declares that "the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath."
• Verses 6–11 On another Sabbath, in the synagogue, he heals a man whose right hand was withered. The scribes and Pharisees are filled with rage and confer about what they might do to Jesus.
• Verses 12–16 After praying all night on a mountain, he chooses twelve of his disciples and names them apostles.
• Verses 17–19 Coming down to a level place, he heals a multitude that has come from Judea, Jerusalem, and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon.
• Verses 20–26 He pronounces four blessings and four woes.
• Verses 27–36 He teaches his hearers to love their enemies, to treat others as they would wish to be treated, and to be merciful as their Father is merciful.
• Verses 37–42 The teaching against judging others is followed by the parables of the blind leading the blind and of the mote and the beam.
• Verses 43–45 He says that a tree is known by its fruit.
• Verses 46–49 He likens the one who hears his words and does them to a house built on a rock, and the one who hears but does not do them to a house built on the earth.

Key Verses

• Luke 6:20 "Blessed be ye poor" — the opening of the Beatitudes as recorded in Luke. A separate article covers this verse.
• Luke 6:31 "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise" — commonly called the Golden Rule.
• Luke 6:36 "Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful" — the concluding statement of the section on love for enemies (verses 27–36).

People and Places

• Jesus Christ
• The Twelve Apostles: The text lists Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon called Zelotes (Simon the Canaanite), Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot. Traditionally, Judas the son of James is identified with Thaddaeus in the lists of Matthew and Mark.
• David: The account of the showbread appears in 1 Samuel 21.
• Tyre and Sidon: Phoenician cities on the Mediterranean coast northwest of Galilee, in Gentile territory outside Judea.

Points for Reflection

• Verses 20–49 overlap considerably with the Sermon on the Mount, which begins in Matthew 5. Some hold that the two Gospels report the same sermon differently, while others hold that Jesus repeated similar teaching on different occasions.
• Matthew reads "the poor in spirit," whereas Luke says simply "poor" and adds pronouncements of woe. For this reason, interpreters are divided between readings that emphasize actual poverty and readings that also understand it as a spiritual disposition.
• The Anabaptist and Quaker traditions take the command in verse 29 to offer the other cheek as a basis for nonviolence and pacifism. Many denominations read it as a prohibition of personal retaliation and distinguish it from the state's exercise of public authority.
• Verses 1–11 are frequently discussed in debates over the Sabbath and the Lord's Day. A similar account appears in Mark 2:27–28.

In the Korean Church

• Verse 38, "Give, and it shall be given unto you," is frequently quoted in sermons encouraging offerings and charitable giving. Others point out, however, that because the surrounding verses concern judging and forgiving, the verse should not be read solely as a promise of material reward.
• Verse 31 is widely used as a memory verse in Sunday schools.