Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:
(Luke 6:1) And it came to pass that on the second Sabbath after the first, that He went through the corn fields, and His disciples plucked the ears of corn and ate, rubbing them in their hands.
By the end of the last chapter, Jesus had called His first disciples, Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew. It came to pass that on a Sabbath Day, He and His disciples went through a corn field. There is much long discussion among commentators about what is meant by the second Sabbath after the first. I don't think it is necessary to know for certain that detail. Apparently, the Jews counted their Sabbaths from the Passover to the Pentecost. This may have been the second Sabbath after the Passover, or perhaps it was the second Sabbath during Passover. Luke may have mentioned it to intimate that it was a special Sabbath, or perhaps to denote the time of year when the corn was nearly ripe. Whenever it was, Jesus and His disciples walked through the corn fields and His disciples plucked ears of corn, rubbed them in their hands, and ate the kernels.
(2) And certain of the Pharisees said to them, "Why do you do that which is unlawful to do on the Sabbath days?"
There were some Pharisees who observed them. The accounts in Matthew and Mark state that the Pharisees asked the question to Jesus Himself, but it's quite reasonable to assume they had asked both Jesus and His disciples. They demanded to know why they did what was unlawful to do on the Sabbath, gathering ears of corn and eating them.
(3) And Jesus answering them, said, "Have you not read so much as this, what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him?"
Jesus posed a question back to the Pharisees, asking if they had read in scripture about the time when David and those with him were hungry, and what they did.
(4) "How he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave to them who were with him, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?"
Jesus continued telling them what David had done, how he went into the temple and he and those with him ate the showbread that had been before the Lord (1 Samuel 21:6). According to the law, it was unlawful for them to have done that, as that bread was for the priests only.
(5) And He said to them, "That the Son of man is also Lord of the Sabbath."
As David, a man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:14), was not condemned for having eaten holy bread, Jesus, as Lord of the Sabbath, was not guilty of any wrongdoing. Jesus, as God then in human form, had created the Sabbath and knew the heart of the law of the Sabbath. In the account in Mark, Jesus had added that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was intended to help people, not burden them. Under the law, the people were commanded to take a full day of rest from their labor on the Sabbath. Plucking an ear of corn to satisfy hunger was not harvesting the corn as the Pharisees had made it in their strict interpretation of the law.
(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.
Then on another Sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught, and a man with a withered right hand was there.
(7) And the scribes and Pharisees watched Him, whether He would heal on the Sabbath day, that they might find an accusation against Him.
The scribes and the Pharisees watched to see what Jesus would do, whether or not He would heal the man with the withered hand. They had so twisted the law to include healing as work and forbidden on the Sabbath. Imagine if no doctor could treat a patient on the Sabbath! But the scribes and Pharisees wanted to catch Jesus doing something unlawful of which they could accuse Him.
(8) But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, "Rise up and stand forth in the midst." And he arose and stood there.
Jesus knew what the scribes and Pharisees were thinking, even though they had not spoken it. He told the man with the withered hand to get up and stand in the midst of the congregation, which the man did.
(9) Then Jesus said to 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?"
Jesus then spoke to the scribes and Pharisees and asked them if it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or to do evil. Of course, His point was that it would be evil to not heal the man when it was in His power to do so, and He should therefore do good on the Sabbath, and they, too, should desire that. Would it be lawful to save a life or to not save it, thereby destroying it?
(10) And looking round about upon them all, He said to the man, "Stretch forth your hand." And he did so and his hand was restored whole as the other.
Jesus, looking around at all of them, then told the man to stretch forth his hand. When he did, his right hand was restored and as good as his other hand.
(11) And they were filled with madness and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
Despite Jesus's question to them about doing good on the Sabbath, the scribes and Pharisees were filled with rage that He had healed the man and they discussed among themselves what they should do about Jesus.
(12) And it came to pass in those days that He went out on a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
Jesus then went out to a mountain to pray. He spent the entire night in prayer to God, as He routinely sought communion with God, but probably also seeking divine wisdom and guidance in the decision He would make the next day.
(13) And when it was day, He called His disciples, and from them He chose twelve, whom He also named apostles.
The next day Jesus called all His disciples to Himself, that is, all His followers. From them He chose twelve disciples to be His apostles. An apostle was one sent forth with a mission who had the authority of Jesus. An apostle was a disciple also, but not all disciples were apostles; at this point there were only Jesus's chosen twelve.
(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 Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot, (16) And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, who also was the traitor.
Jesus had already called Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew. In addition to them He called Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Simon the Zealot, and James, the son of Alphaeus, sometimes called James the Less, or "little" James to distinguish him from James the brother of John. Little James's brother was Judas or Thaddeus as he was also called, and Jesus chose him also. And finally, He chose Judas Iscariot, who of course, was the one to betray Him.
(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 Judea and Jerusalem and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases.
Jesus came down from the mountain with His apostles and stood in a plain, accompanied by His other followers and a great multitude of people from Jerusalem, all Judea, and the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear Him and to be healed by Him.
(18) And they who were vexed with unclean spirits; and they were healed.
Also among the multitude were those who had unclean spirits, and as this was a continuation of verse 17, we can correctly assume that all people were healed by him, those with diseases and those with demons.
(19) And the whole multitude sought to touch Him for there went power out of Him and healed them all.
It seems the entire multitude sought to touch Jesus, not just the sick and possessed. There was a spiritual power that went out of Jesus that everyone wanted to touch. We can assuredly know that that power spiritually healed those who did not even know they were sick. The verse says Jesus healed them all!
(20) And He lifted up His eyes on His disciples and said, "Blessed you poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven."
Jesus lifted up His eyes on all His disciples as He began what is known as the Beatitudes. Luke paraphrased the first one as blessed are the poor, whereas Matthew had said the poor in spirit. Both are true; those who were poor, having given up all for the Lord, or those who were poor but still glorified God, would see the kingdom of heaven, as well as the poor in spirit, those humble in spirit, realizing they have no righteousness in and of themselves but looked to God as Savior.
(21) "Blessed you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed you who weep now, for you shall laugh."
Luke said those who hungered would be filled, but in Matthew's account, he said that those who hungered and thirsted after righteousness would be filled. Again, both are true. Obviously, those hungering and thirsting after righteousness would be filled, but those who were physically hungry would be filled, as well. If not with immediate food, they would be filled with something far more precious and life-sustaining. Those who wept or mourned as Matthew stated it, would not only be comforted, as Matthew said, but would laugh! They would be filled with spiritual joy in spite of physical afflictions and pressures of life.
(22) Blessed are you when men shall hate you and when they shall exclude you and shall revile you and cast out your name as evil for the Son of man's sake."
Jesus said to count it as blessing when men hated them, excluded them, reviled them, called their names as evil, generally persecuted them, as the account in Matthew stated, because they were His followers.
(23) "Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For behold, your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets."
As Matthew had stated also, Jesus said to rejoice and count it as joy if they were so persecuted as they were in great company with the prophets before them who had also been persecuted by the fathers of those who persecuted them now, and their reward in heaven would be great.
(24) "But woe to you who are rich for you have received your consolation."
In Luke's retelling of the Beatitudes, he added something that Matthew did not, sort of opposite woes to the blessings of the Beatitudes. Jesus proclaimed woe to the rich because they had already received their reward, meaning if that is what they solely sought in life and achieved it, then that was their reward, their riches. They had no other reward in heaven to look forward to.
(25) "Woe to you who are full! For you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now! For you shall mourn and weep."
Jesus proclaimed woe to those who were full, that is, those who were filled and satisfied with all the material things in life, for they would one day hunger for Jesus and His salvation, for nothing on earth can fill the empty soul but Jesus. In the same sense, woe to those who were happy with material things and the filling of their lustful desires, for they would one day mourn when it was not enough to save their eternal souls.
(26) "Woe to you when all men shall speak well of you! For so did their fathers to the false prophets."
Woe to those whom all men like and speak well of. If you are shallow and sit on the fence, trying to please all, then you are really good for nothing. Jesus compared that kind of people to false prophets, those who told people what they wanted to hear, rather than the truth. In 2 Timothy 4:3-4, Paul condemned those who looked for teachers who would tell them good things they wanted to hear and turned from the truth. In Revelation 3:16, God said He wanted to spew the lukewarm, those who were neither hot nor cold, who stood for nothing, out of His mouth!
(27) "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to them who hate you."
Jesus went on to tell His disciples and the multitude with them, to all who had ears to hear and understand, that they should love their enemies and do good to those who hated them. When you think of your enemy as a poor lost soul who is trying to fill his life with all the wrong things and will ultimately burn eternally in hell, it becomes easy to pity him and love him.
(28) "Bless those who curse you and pray for those who spitefully use you."
In the same way, love and pray for those who curse you and use you, for as St. Paul would later explain to us, "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." These people are being led by demonic spirits, and Satan himself, and for that reason, we should pity them and love them and pray for them.
(29) "And to him who strikes you on the cheek offer also the other, and to him who takes away your cloak do not forbid your coat also."
Jesus said if someone struck you on the cheek, you should offer your other cheek as well, rather than react in kind. With this example, He taught us patience in bearing attacks and injuries, not to seek private revenge nor to indulge a hot temper. In like manner, if someone takes something from you, don't respond in anger and revenge, but rather do good to them and offer them something else they might need.
(30) "Give to every man who asks of you, and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them back."
Jesus instructed us to give to everyone who asked of us and not to ask for it or anything they took back. I'm sure there are limits to this. I can't imagine Jesus intended to have us let someone take advantage and constantly take from us and our needs. However, it is for God to judge the heart. The point is we must be willing to do good and to give within our power to do so, even to our enemies, and should never ask anything in return. Give graciously and generously, expecting nothing in return.
(31) "And as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise."
If only we always followed that one simple rule! If we merely treated others as we wished to be treated in similar circumstances, that could cure almost every problem in the world today!
(32) "For if you love those who love you, what good is that? For sinners also love those who love them."
Loving people who love you is a given, even among sinners, so that is nothing worthy of notice or reward.
(33) "And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit have you? For sinners also do the same."
Likewise, doing good to those people who do good to you is easy and of no particular merit, for everyone, including sinners, can easily do that.
(34) "And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit have you? For sinners also lend to sinners to receive as much again."
Lending or giving to someone from whom you expect to get something in return is of no special credit, for all people, including sinners, will give if they know they will get back.
(35) "But love your enemies and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return, and your reward shall be great and you shall be the children of the Highest for He is kind to the unthankful and the evil."
Jesus summarized all His previous examples of doing good by saying that we are to love our enemies and do good to them and lend or give to them, expecting nothing in return. That is true giving and worthy of reward from God and we will show the world we belong to Him, the Most High, and He is a loving God who gives to all.
(36) "Therefore be merciful as your Father also is merciful."
Jesus instructed us to be merciful to others just as He is merciful to us. How much have we received that we did not deserve? As Christians, we should seek to be Christ-like and merciful to all whether they "deserve" it or not.
(37) "Judge not and you shall not be judged; condemn not and you shall not be condemned; forgive and you shall be forgiven."
Jesus told us not to judge others and we wouldn't be likewise judged. He was not talking about judgment according to the law. If a man kills another, we can certainly judge that as wrong. However, we cannot judge the motives of another. The old adage about not judging until you have walked in the same shoes truly applies here. It's easy to judge outward signs as not right according to how we think they should be, and therefore equally easy for us to be therefore judged as hypocrites for none of us is perfect. However, that is not to say that we don't have the right to judge policies that are anti-God, but we should be careful not to judge the person who may follow some of those policies, not knowing their hearts and why they think the way they do. People judge for themselves based on their life experiences and what they see and hear. And some of those judgments may be morally wrong, but it is not up to us to judge another's heart and motives. An action may be deemed wrong and I believe can be lovingly discussed, but we must always be careful not to judge a person's motives for why they think the way they do. A perfect personal lived example of this was when people said the only reason I could not support Barack Obama was because he was black. They would judge me racist and that was not true in the slightest way. I didn't support him, just as I don't support Joe Biden, a white man, or Hillary Clinton, a white woman, and that is because of their Godless policies alone. I fully support Justice Clarence Thomas and Dr. Ben Carson and Colonel Allen West. I voted for Allen West in the Texas governor's Republican primary against a very popular incumbent. I feel like I have achieved Martin Luther King's dream of man being judged by the content of his character and not by the color of his skin. I'm afraid it's because of the racism of those judging me that they are only seeing color. But that is a topic for another time.
Jesus also said not to condemn others. That would be to take judgment to another level, not merely judging a person's actions, but totally condemning the whole person prejudicedly based on their actions, self-righteously dismissing others because they don't measure up to our standards. We can so likely be condemned by others for the exact same reasons. Finally, we are to forgive others and we shall be forgiven. We are forgiven! By our heavenly Father, although we don't deserve it in the slightest, so we must be willing to forgive others even if we think they don't "deserve" it. Elsewhere, when teaching us how to pray, Jesus said in Matthew 6:15 that if you don't forgive others, your heavenly Father will not forgive you. God so loved us that even when we were sinners against Him, He sent Christ to die for us (Romans 5:8). Likewise, we are to love those who sinned against us and forgive them. If we have no love for our brother, we cannot know God, for God is love (1 John 4:8).
(38) "Give and it shall be given to you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use it shall be measured back to you."
Jesus said to give liberally and you would receive back so much blessing that if it were something to be measured that you were holding, it would be pressed down and shaken to allow more, and it would be running over into your lap. He said the same either generous or stingy measure by which we used to give, that is how it would be measured back to us. Therefore, give liberally!
(39) And He spoke a parable to them, "Can the blind lead the blind? Shall they not both fall into the ditch?"
Jesus then spoke a proverb or saying, called a parable, asking if the blind could truly lead the blind. Wouldn't they both fall into the ditch, He reasoned. He meant that one could not teach what he himself did not know. One who was not guided by the Holy Spirit and the wisdom of God certainly could not judge another in spiritual matters. One in spiritual darkness himself would only lead both himself and the one he judged and sought to counsel into further darkness, endangering both souls with eternal damnation.
(40) "The disciple is not above his master, but everyone who is perfect will be as his master."
Jesus's point was that no student was more knowledgeable than his teacher. If his teacher was ignorant, then the student would learn those same ignorant ways. Everyone who was a perfect student would be as his teacher was. The spiritually blind teacher would lead the spiritually blind student into further spiritual darkness, eventually falling into the ditch of hell.
(41) "And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the beam that is in your own eye?"
Jesus asked why it was that we, all His listeners and even His readers today, are so quick to spot the small sin in another, but so blind to our own big sins.
(42) "Or how can you say to your brother, "Brother, let me pull out the speck that is in your eye," when you yourself do not see the beam that is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First cast the beam out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to pull out the speck that is in your brother's eye."
How can we possibly see clearly enough to correct someone's small sin when we ourselves are so clouded by our own huge sins? Jesus called us hypocrites who do that. We must first reform ourselves before we can see clearly to ever help others. While all sins are equal in that they all separate us from God, there are some sins that are worse than others in God's eyes, and one of the worst is pride, as we read in many places in scripture. Proverbs 16:5 says, "Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord," but there are many others. Enter pride and proud into a search of the Bible and you'll come up with about a hundred such verses. Pride in ourselves to think we know the spiritual answers in order to judge the sins of another is a perfect example of a log in our eyes trying to remove the speck in others'.
(43) "For a good tree does not bring forth corrupt fruit, neither does a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit."
As a good tree will not bring forth rotten fruit, so a righteous man will not bring forth fruit of judgment, gossip, and censure of the faults of others. A bad tree cannot bring forth good fruit just as the blind cannot lead the blind and a corrupt man cannot righteously lead another.
(44) "For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush."
A tree is known by its fruits. When one sees a healthy tree with lots of apples, he knows right away it's an apple tree, not so much when he sees an unhealthy one with no fruit. When he sees a tree full of thorns, he does not expect to find good apples.
(45) "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil; for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks."
As a tree is known by its fruits, so a man will be known by his. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart will bring forth good things and an evil man out of what is in his heart will bring forth evil. A man's mouth will speak what is in his heart.
(46) "And why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?"
However, people might use empty words; Jesus asked why they would call Him Lord but not do what He taught. God judges the heart and the fruit or actions of a person, not just his words.
(47) "Whoever comes to Me and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like. (48) He is like a man who built a house and dug deep and laid the foundation on a rock; and when the flood arose the stream beat vehemently on that house and could not shake it for it was founded on a rock."
Jesus compared a person who came to Him, listened to Him, and did what He said, to a person who built his home with a deep foundation in rock. When a flood came and rushing water beat against his house, it could not shake it because of its foundation in rock. That person who took the time to dig deep into Christ's word and to plant it deep in his heart, doing what He said, would be providing a firm foundation that would withstand the flood of evil that might come his way.
(49) "But he who hears and does not do is like a man who without a foundation built a house on the earth, against which the stream beat vehemently and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great."
On the other hand, one who heard Christ's word but did not do what He said was like a man who built his house on the dirt with no foundation. When the flood came upon that house, it immediately fell and was completely destroyed. When there is no strong foundation in Christ, the flood of evil that will surely come will destroy us. Standing firm on the rock Jesus Christ, we will be able to ride out every storm of evil that comes our way and find refuge, rest, and peace in Jesus.
