Bible Study series. Luke 6:27-36. In the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus issues a summons or call to radical discipleship. Have you done anything radical or countercultural, like giving money to your church, when your accountant says not to? Do you know someone who has given all for Jesus, to the point of martyrdom? What is your story?
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Let’s begin.
Scripture: Luke 6:27-36
27 “But I tell you who listen, ‘Love the ones who are your enemies; do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for the ones who mistreat you. 29 To the one who strikes you on one cheek, offer him the other also; and from the one who asks for your coat do not withhold your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who asks, and from anyone who takes what is yours do not demand it back. 31 And just as you want people to treat you, treat them likewise. 32 Further, if you love those who love you, how is that a credit to you? For sinners also love the ones who love them. 33 For if you do good to the ones who do good to you, how is that a credit to you? Sinners also do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, how is that a credit to you? Sinners also lend to sinners, to get back the equivalent thing. 35 On the contrary, love your enemies and do good, and lend expecting nothing in return. And your reward will be huge, and you shall be sons and daughters of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and the bad. 36 Become compassionate, just as also your Father is compassionate.’” (Luke 6:27-36)
Comments:
27:
So does this section or pericope or section speak of the life only in the kingdom of God or life in the world? It is the latter. This demanding section is about life in the kingdom and the world. Now we need to know how we can love our neighboring enemies. Here are some ways:
If people of the world hate you, find a way to do good to them. Can you take your neighbor to get his medication? Take care of his dog while he is away? Just say, “God loves you!”? Maybe speak the gospel to him?
“love”: it is the verb agapaō (pronounced ah-gah-pah-oh). BDAG, a thick Greek lexicon, which many consider to be authoritative, says that the verb means, depending on the context: (1) “to have a warm regard for and interest in another, cherish, have affection for, love”; (2) “to have high esteem for or satisfaction with something, take pleasure in; (3) “to practice / express love, prove one’s love.” In most instances this kind love in Scripture is not gooey feelings, though it can be a heart-felt virtue and emotion, as we see in the first definition. Rather, mostly love is expressed by action. If you have no gooey feelings for your enemy, do something practical for him.
Both the noun agapē (pronounced ah-gah-pay) and the verb mean a total commitment. For example, God is totally committed to his church and to the salvation of humankind. Surprisingly, however, total commitment can be seen in an unusual verse. Men loved darkness rather than light (John 3:19), which just means they are totally committed to the dark path of life. Are we willing to be totally committed to God and to live in his light? Can we match an unbeliever’s commitment to bad things with our commitment to good things?
Agapē and agapaō are demonstrative. This love is not static or still. It moves and acts. We receive it, and then we show it with kind acts and good deeds. It is not an abstraction or a concept. It is real.
It is transferrable. God can pour and lavish it on us. And now we can transfer it to our fellow believers and people caught in the world.
28:
“bless”: it comes from the Greek verb eulogeō (pronounced eu-loh-geh-oh), and it literally means to “speak well.” BDAG defines the term, depending on the context, as follows: (1) “to say something commendatory, speak well of, praise, extol”; (2) “to ask for bestowal of special favor, especially of calling down God’s gracious power, bless”; (3) “to bestow a favor, provide with benefits.”
If someone curses you, bless him. Just say, “God bless you!” One day, I was driving down a city street in the inside lane, and a car pulled up next to mine in the outside lane. He rolled down his window and he cursed and shrieked—literally shrieked—all sorts of profanity. I thought, “Did I cut him off?” No. I had stayed in my lane. He kept shrieking profanity. I rolled down my passenger window and asked, “What gives? Why are you doing this?” He shrieked some more, and I still looked puzzled. He shouted, “You know who you are! What organization do you belong to?” I instantly thought he must believe I’m an off-duty police officer. I replied that I don’t belong to any organization. He shrieked a little more and rolled up his window and drove on. I caught up to him. “Hey! Why did you shout like that?” More profanity. “Why?” He said, “Drive on. Leave me alone.” He sped up, and I didn’t bother catching up to him this time. I did not curse him back or give him an obscene gesture, though I did not offer a formal blessing, “God bless you!” I should have, but at least I treated him kindly, not vengefully or angrily in return.
“pray”: look for v. 12 for more comments.
Pray for those who mistreat you. “Mistreat” is a doing or action verb. I have heard two stories in which street evangelists got sucker-punched. (I’m sure there are many stories like that.) They were knocked down and woozy, so they did not offer the second cheek or jaw. We can at least pray for someone who does this. We don’t need to hit back. “However, Jesus was unique in making such a focus [on love] a cornerstone of his ethic. He does not follow the other ancients with the appeal to the virtue of such action, nor does he issue a call to maintain solidarity in a community, nor does he appeal to self-interest, but he focuses on the raw power of love as imitation of God (Luke 6:35 …). This is how the disciple is to relate to all humanity” (Bock p. 591).
(In a marriage setting, if there is violence, the wife must flee (Matt. 10:23, no, that verse is not in a domestic setting, but it offers wise advice). Divorce is a permitted option, because domestic violence is a form of abandonment [1 Cor. 7:15] and a clear breach of the marriage covenant, every bit as much as—or worse than—adultery is [Matt. 19:9]).
29-30:
If someone strikes you on one cheek, offer him the other. How does that work? This act probably takes place either in a court or the synagogue (the latter, most likely). The entire context of the Gospel of Luke is the interaction, sometimes volatile, between old Judaism and the New Way, the New Wine, the New Garment (Luke 5:36-39). So we should see the strike as a slap with the back of the hand as a rejection from the synagogue or law court. The verb tuptō (pronounced toop-toh), “strike, hit, or beat,” is used in Acts in religious contexts (18:17; 21:32; 23:2). Paul and others never fought back. We are not to seek a confrontation, but if one happens, we should not strike back in a religious context. The point is to surrender to God so profoundly that we should be at inner and outer peace in all difficult times. He is in control and will vindicate us. Think of those street evangelists who got sucker-punched. They did not hit back. That’s the right way.
“The religious context makes it likely that a slap is intended and that an insult is in view. An ancient slap usually involved the back of the hand and may picture public rejection from the synagogues … such striking is really an abuse of power and a misuse of personal authority (Luke 12:45; 18:13; 23:48). Nevertheless, one is not to fight back in kind, but remain vulnerable to the insult again” (Bock, p. 592).
What Does ‘Turn the Other Cheek’ Mean?
Please don’t overgeneralize this principle to the country as a whole. Law enforcement and the military are raised up by God to protect the citizenry (Rom. 13:1-5). The church as the church is not called to form militias to attack people, but the government exists to enforce the law, even with lethal force.
Should the State ‘Turn the Other Cheek’?
If a beggar asks for your coat, give him your shirt. Should we take this literally? Maybe in some contexts, yes. But should a woman take off her blouse when a beggar demands it? What if a beggar demands your car or house? (I’ve heard of a pastor who gave away his house to a missionary family, and his car to another needy person, and I give him full credit.) But for most of us we do not take it literally in every situation. Conditions apply. The point is to keep a loose grip on your material possessions. Be willing to give away what you possess the most tightly, if the Spirit nudges you. Don’t demand it back. Jesus laid down his life for us, so we can give up some paltry material possessions. Can you at least clean out your closet and give away old, but nice clothes?
“Somewhat accurately, the illustrations are described as hyperbolic commands … [ see vv. 41-42 for a definition of hyperbole]. They are expressed in absolute terms to shock the listener by giving a vivid contrast to one’s own thinking. They also communicate, by their radical character, the important of the concept [they drive the point home] … To follow 29b would result in a nudism!” (Bock, p. 594)
In Jewish and Greco-Roman cultures, the more one gave, the higher status one earned. So giving away a second garment or another possession meant that you were higher than the taker. Jesus overturned the popular belief (Garland, comment on 6:30).
31:
This is the Golden Rule. Matt. 7:12 says the law and prophets (shorthand for the entire OT) is summed up in this general principle.
Bock (pp. 596-97) has an impressive list of parallel statements. Here are three out of his twelve:
Rabbi Hillel: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor; that is the whole Torah, while the rest is commentary.” (It is in the negation “not.” Not as insightful.)
Testament of Naphtali: “No one should do to his neighbor what he does not like for himself.” (this is also in the negative.)
Herodotus (3:142): I will not myself do that which I account blameworthy in my neighbor.” (This declaration is too personal and in the negative.)
All of the other nine statements show that in comparison Jesus stated his rule in the most emphatic and positive way. It is not in the negation. Jesus is not saying his disciples should not be left alone. Don’t live a sheltered life. Rather, the right golden rule seeks to look for good things to do for people out of concern for them. It is active, not passive, positive, not negative.
People ask how we should love our neighbor, and some teachers give complicated answers, pointing to this or that verse in an epistle. Those examples are true and right, but the Golden Rule is the most succinct statement, which will be reenacted in Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Be proactive. Be concerned. Do to others what you want them to do to you. That’s how you show love to the kingdom community and those outside it.
After reviewing the different versions in Judaism, Marshall is right:
Jesus is, therefore, not saying something new here, but it is significant that he stresses the positive form of the rule. The negative form is merely a rule of prudence: do not hurt other people lest they retaliate. The positive form is not prudential but absolute: this is how you are to treat others (positively), regardless of how they treat you … Jesus thus goes beyond the negative form, citing the rarer and more demanding form. The fact that the rule is found in Judaism in no way suggests that the present saying cannot have been uttered by Jesus. (comment on v. 31)
The goats who are judged in Matt. 25:31-33 could be acquitted with the negative Golden Rule seen in Hillel’s version. Recall that the goats did nothing to help their neighbors in need.
Finally, Matt. 7:12 says: “Therefore, everything that you want people to do to you, in the same way you also do to them. For this is the law and the prophets.” Paul expresses the same idea when he writes that love is the fulfillment of the law (Rom. 13:8-10). He also says that the whole law is fulfilled in this one saying: “You are to love your neighbor as yourself” (Gal. 5:14). James singles out the love of neighbor as the “royal law” (Jas. 2:8). John writes that if we say that we love God but hate our brother, then we are liars; the love of God is not in us. Whoever loves God must love his brother (1 John 4:20-21). And Jesus said to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind (Luke:10-27; Matt. 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-33). This sums up the entire law.
Both Luke’s version and Matthew’s versions of the Golden Rule are profounder than the others ones, in my view. It is good to boil down the whole law to these pithy sayings. We can avoid complications and focus on these simple truths. The negative rule (“don’t do”) will exempt you from doing good. The Good Samaritan would not have to act (Luke 10:25-37).
32-34:
Here begins a series of three real-life situations. We need to rise above what the standard practice in the world is.
“sinners” are those outside of the kingdom of God, nondisciples. It is the adjective hamartōlos (pronounced hah-mahr-toh-loss and used 47 times and 18 times in Luke), and it means as I translated it. It is someone who does not observe the law, in this context: “unobservant or irreligious person … of one who is especially sinful.” Let’s look more deeply at the term.
BDAG defines the adjective hamartōlos as follows: “pertaining to behavior or activity that does not measure up to standard moral or [religious] expectations (being considered an outsider because of failure to conform to certain standards is a frequent semantic component. Persons engaged in certain occupations, e.g. herding and tanning [and tax collecting] that jeopardized [religious] purity, would be considered by some as ‘sinners,’ a term tantamount to ‘outsider.’” Non-Israelites were especially considered out of bounds [see Acts 10:28].)” “Sinner, with a general focus on wrongdoing as such.” “Irreligious, unobservant people.” “Unobservant” means that he did not care about law keeping or observing the law.
Bible Basics about Sin: Word Studies
Human Sin: Original and Our Committed Sin
Do you fail to conform to certain standards? Maybe you did break the demands of moral and religious law. Pray and repent, and God will accept you.
Unredeemed people can do kind acts; please don’t tell them that they are so evil and sinful that they cannot do acts of kindness. Yes, we all have a sin nature that needs God’s grace and declared righteousness as a gift, but their sin is not so totally depraved that they cannot do good things.
“credit”: in those verses, it is the Greek noun that means, depending on the context, “graciousness, attractiveness; favor, gracious care, help or goodwill, practical application of goodwill”; a “gracious deed or gift, benefaction” (see Luke 2:40 for a deeper look). Here the noun is not loaded with theological content, as it is in many of verses in Paul’s epistles. It could be translated as “how is that commendable for you?” Or “how is that your goodwill?” in the sense of a practical application of goodwill. It is grace in practice. It takes the special empowerment of grace, as well, to live out this radical call to discipleship.
“love” (used three times in v. 32): see v. 27 for more comments.
35-36:
“huge” translates the standard Greek adjective for “much” or “many.” It is a little colloquial, but so be it.
“bad” is the standard noun for “evil” or bad.” If you go hard-core, you have “evil.” If you reserve “evil” for special cases, go with “bad.” But either way is fine by me.
36:
We grow into our compassion in ever-increasing measure. He just is compassionate.
Do I Really Know God? He Is Compassionate and Merciful
GrowApp for Luke 6:27-36
1. Have you loved your enemy, done good to those who hate you, blessed those who curse or put you down with their words? How did you find the strength to do that? Results?
2. God is kind to the ungrateful and bad. Therefore, we are commanded to be (or “become,” the Greek says) merciful, just as he is. How have you worked this out in your life?
RELATED
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3. Church Fathers and Luke’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
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