Luke 6:27-36
27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic[b] either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
Questions:
ReplyDelete1. v27-28 - Does that mean that Christians should never engage in armed conflicts?
2. v29 - Does this mean that we should never sue anyone?
3. v30 - Does that mean we should give money to every panhandler we pass on the street?
4. v32 - Does that mean we should love those who love us less?
5. v34 - Should we not make a payment schedule for those who want to borrow money from us?
6. v36 - How do we reflect God's mercy? What does that look like?
2.
https://hartmangroupdevotions.blogspot.com/2014/12/matthew-538-42-38-you-have-heard-that.html says:
ReplyDeleteLike the principle of the eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth in Matthew 5:38, turning the other cheek refers to personal retaliation, not criminal offenses or acts of military aggression. Rather, Jesus is speaking here of the principle of non-retaliation to affronts against our own dignity, as well as lawsuits to gain one’s personal assets (v. 40), infringements on one’s liberty (v. 41), and violations of property rights (v. 42). He was calling for a full surrender of all personal rights.
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"Does this mean that we should never resist when somebody attacks us? Should we let everyone take advantage of us? . . . This can’t be what Jesus meant. After all, Jesus denounced the Pharisees who attacked Him ( Matthew 23 ), and objected when He was struck by one of the officers of the high priest. . . . Similarly, the apostle Paul aggressively defended himself against his enemies, asserting his rights as a Roman citizen, and making it clear to his attackers that there could be consequences if he were unlawfully harmed.
What Jesus asks of His followers is not passivity, but surrender of the right to personal revenge. His three radical examples make His point about the attitude we should have toward those who wrong us. Rather than getting even, we should be willing to go to the opposite extreme. We need to be ready to humble ourselves for the kingdom of God. We need to understand that vengeance isn’t ours, but the Lord’s ( Romans 12:19 ).
The Old Testament law placed limitations on vengeance ( Exodus 21:23-25 ). Although, the “eye for an eye” provision of the Mosaic law has often been misunderstood as requiring vengeance, its actual purpose was to place limitations on it. The law prescribed that punishment must fit the crime.
Jesus went much further than the law, making it clear that He wasn’t merely calling for more limitations on vengeance. In Matthew 5:38-48 , He implied that we must give up personal vengeance altogether. But as illustrated above by both Jesus and Paul, there is a difference between confronting evil and seeking personal revenge. It is possible to confront evil with a desire for the redemption of its perpetrator. We are called to love a sinner while confronting his sin, but when we seek vengeance we are motivated by hatred—a desire to make someone suffer for what they have done to us.
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My two cents:
These verses are about walking in the way of love. Our response to everyone needs to be love. A love response requires us to give our anger and hurt to God and think about what the other person needs. Sometimes what the other person needs is for us to let them know that what they are doing is unacceptable (perhaps even with force). Other times, they need to know that they are forgiven. Every situation will be different, but as long as we are acting out of love (and dependent on the Holy Spirit to show us the way of love), we are following what Jesus is outlining in these verses.
https://hartmangroupdevotions.blogspot.com/2014/12/matthew-543-48-43-you-have-heard-that.html says:
ReplyDeleteHis intent for us is to give us this same capacity to refuse to treat our enemies as enemies, but instead to extend God's love to them, to bring them before the Father in prayer with the hope that from their own side as well, we will not remain enemies.
I don't think Jesus is just talking about national, political, family or clan enemies. Who we perceive to be our enemy can be any one who at this moment is opposing us, or not caring for us as we want and who we are tempted to treat us with anger and hurt. Sometimes when I am angry at someone I am close to, I don't see him/her clearly anymore. For that moment, he/she is my "enemy." Our enemies might be those we are supposed to get along with, someone in our extended family, our church, or at work, that we have great difficulty dealing well with.
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When Jesus was talking to the crowd, He was addressing people who thought in terms of "who is on my side and who is not." Most of us are that way. Anyone who threatens us or our honor or our feelings is our enemy. Jesus is trying to get us to move beyond the concept of friend and enemy. Jesus wants us to see the world as people that God wants to reach.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-6-commentary says:
ReplyDeleteLove is present imperative which is a command we can keep only by continually relying on the supernatural enablement of the Holy Spirit. Loving your enemy is simply not our fleshly, natural response! Because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Ro 5:5+), we have His love with which we can love those who are our enemies. This is not our natural but can only be a supernaturally enabled resonse! "We love because He first loved us." (1 Jn 4:19+).
Someone once said, “The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.”
What does the Bible mean when it tells us to “do good”? Jesus did good by teaching, healing, feeding, and comforting people. Using Jesus as the perfect example, His followers are called to meet the needs of others, including those who hate them: “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you” (Matt. 5:44; see also Luke 6:27-35). They are to serve their enemies without expecting anything in return.
Moreover, as opportunity arises, His followers are to do good especially to fellow believers (Gal. 6:10). They are not to let persecution, selfishness, and busyness cause them to forget to do good and to share what they have with others (Heb. 13:16).
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-6-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteLuke 6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
Bless is present imperative which calls for this to be our habitual practice, which is only possible as we continually rely on the supernatural enablement of the Holy Spirit. Blessing cursers is not our natural response!
In other words we are not to pray imprecations (calling down curses). We can become bitter toward those who continually mistreat us, but it is difficult to be bitter toward someone for whom you are daily praying! God has so constructed our minds that we can have but one thought at a time. Prayerful thoughts are a great antidote for sinful thoughts!
In fact you can know whether the Spirit is in control of your heart by how you respond when you are mistreated.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-6-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteLuke 6:29 "Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.
To not pay back "tit for tat" (English slogan for equivalent retaliation), this clearly "unnatural" response can only be accomplished by a disciple who is wholly dependent on the supernatural empowerment of the Holy Spirit. This exhortation should not be misinterpreted to mean that we should never defend ourselves. That is not what Jesus is saying!
MacArthur adds that "Jesus demonstrated the proper response to being unjustly humiliated during His trial before the high priest. When one of the officers struck Him (John 18:22), He did not turn His head and ask to be struck again. But neither did He lash out in anger and revenge at His mistreatment. Instead, He calmly pointed out the injustice of the act (John 18:23). To turn the other cheek is, like Jesus did, to accept hostility and ill treatment without hatred or retaliation, but to show love in return.
Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. 19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord. 20 “BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Ro 12:17-21)
Rod Mattoon has an interesting comment - According to rabbinic law, to hit someone with the back of the hand was twice as insulting as hitting him with the flat of the hand. You were considered worthless or as nothing. It was an insult for which a Jew could seek legal satisfaction according to the law of Lex Talionis. That is, the person could seek damages, but Jesus says, "Do not do it!" In short, Jesus was saying that though you could take your opponent to the cleaners, do not do it! Turning the cheek is more of an illustration of a principle to live by than of a literal action. It is more of an attitude of your heart than a physical posture. It shows an attitude opposite of retaliation. Anything more than that will interpret this action wrongly. Our Lord is saying we should not attempt personal vengeance. Rather than avenging yourself, we are to be ready to suffer patiently a repetition of the same injury. We are to endure repeated insults. These exhortations belong to those principally who are persecuted for righteousness' sake.
NET Note on hits you on the cheek - The phrase strikes you on the cheek probably pictures public rejection, like the act that indicated expulsion from the synagogue.
NET Note on offer him the other also - This command to offer the other cheek as well is often misunderstood. It means that there is risk involved in reaching out to people with God’s hope. But if one is struck down in rejection, the disciple is to continue reaching out.
John MacArthur explains "Many people owned only one coat, or cloak, which also served as a blanket when they slept. Because of that, the Mosaic law required that any coat taken as a pledge had to be returned before sunset (Ex. 22:26; Deut. 24:13). To keep a person’s cloak would constitute serious abuse. But when that happens, Christ’s disciples are not to retaliate, but rather to continue to lovingly minister to those who persecute them—even if that results in losing their shirt (inner garment) as well.
NET Note on do not withhold your shirt - The command do not withhold your tunic either is again an image of continually being totally at risk as one tries to keep contact with those who are hostile to what Jesus and his disciples offer.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-6-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteTo turn the cheek and forgive someone involves three things.
1. First, it means to forego the right of striking back. One rejects the urge to repay gossip with gossip and a bad turn with a worse turn.
2. Second, it means replacing the feeling of resentment and anger with good will, a love which seeks the other's welfare, not harm.
3. Third, it means the forgiving person takes concrete steps to restore good relations. Going the second mile when we are attacked and abused is not easy, going the first mile is not easy, but it can be done, by yielding our rights to the Lord and letting Him take care of our problems. We belong to Him (1 Cor 6:19-20-note).
But even if to be taken literally there must be some reserves. For instance, when our Lord says, Resist not evil, it is impossible to apply His words universally. Suppose, for instance, as we pass along a road, we encounter a brutal man grossly maltreating a woman or a little child, or a gang of roughs assaulting a fellow traveller, it cannot be that we are forbidden to resist the wrongdoer to utmost of our power. Clearly our Lord only forbids us to strike for purposes of private retaliation and revenge; we are not to be avengers in our personal quarrels, we are to guard against taking the law into our own hands lest our passion should drift us outside the warm zone of the love of God.
It is equally our duty, as it seems to me, to take measures to arrest and punish the wrongdoer. Supposing that a man has wronged you, and that you have good reason to believe that he is systematically wronging others; if you have an opportunity of having him punished, you are absolutely obliged; as it seems to me, to take such action against him as will make it impossible for him to pursue his career of depredation.
It is clear, also, that we cannot literally obey the Lord's injunction to give to everyone that asks. Else the world would become full of sturdy beggars, who lived on the hard-earned wages of the thrifty. And this would result in the undoing of society, and of the beggars themselves. Does God give to all who ask Him? Does He not often turn aside from the borrower? He knows what will hurt or help us; knows that to many an entreaty His kindest answer is a rebuff; knows that if He were to give us all we ask we should repent of having asked so soon as we awoke in the light of eternity. So when the drunkard or the drone asks me for money I steadfastly refuse. It is even our duty not to give money indiscriminately, and without full acquaintance with the applicant and his circumstances, for we may be giving him the means of forging more tightly the fetters by which he is bound to his sins.
WHAT THEN DOES THE LORD REQUIRE OF US?
(1) Do not take the law into your own hands.
(2) Turn Retaliation into Redemption.
(3) Be large-hearted. "Freely ye have received, freely give."
(4) The Master insists that we should cultivate an ungrudging, unstinting, and generous spirit.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-6-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteLuke 6:30 "Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back
John MacArthur makes an interesting comment - being willing to give to everyone who asks of you, takes place in the context of borrowing and lending (cf. Lk 6:34; Mt. 5:42). The assumption is that the person asking has a legitimate need, since Scripture condemns laziness and indolence (cf. Pr 6:6-12; 20:4; 24:30-34; 2 Th. 3:10). That a person may take advantage of a Christian’s generosity and not repay the loan should not keep the believer from graciously, lovingly meeting the need.
We must not look at these admonitions as a series of rules to be obeyed. They describe an attitude of heart (Ed: A heart controlled by the love of the Holy Spirit) that expresses itself positively when others are negative, and generously when others are selfish, all to the glory of God.
Mattoon - This verse does not mean we should give whatever anyone asks of us. We are not required to respond to every foolish, selfish request made of us. Sometimes to give a person what he wants, but does not need, is a detriment to that person, doing him more harm than good. Giving must never be such as to encourage a person in laziness and in shiftlessness, for such giving can only hurt that person. It is seldom, perhaps, never good to give to a man that is able to work, but will not work. The unlimited government policies which give money to those who are too lazy or unwilling to work or blow their earnings on gambling and drink has, in fact, destroyed their character. Unlimited giving is never a good thing, for the poor or for your kids, and it is certainly not the theme of this section of Scripture. Teach your kids the value of work and to earn some of the things they want.
Luke 6:31 "Treat others the same way you want them to treat you
The negative way of stating this command was known long before Jesus. It had long been said, “You should not do to your neighbor what you would not want him to do to you.” But it was a significant advance for Jesus to put it in the positive, to say that we should do unto others what we want them to do unto us." In phrasing it positively, Jesus expands the rule.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-6-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteLuke 6:32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
"For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. (1 Peter 2:19,20+)
Luke 6:37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.
This passage is often quoted by those who does not want to hear or abide by the authority of God's Word. Jesus does not mean that we are never, in any sense or to any extent, to judge another. . . . but doing so without being censorious.
So the problem Jesus is addressing is not the act of judging as much as our motives for judging. In John Jesus commands us to continually "judge (present imperative) with righteous judgment" (John 7:24).
David Guzik - Just a little later in this same sermon (Luke 6:43–45), Jesus commanded us to know ourselves and others by the fruit of their life, and some sort of assessment is necessary for that. The Christian is called to show unconditional love, but the Christian is not called to unconditional approval. We really can love people who do things that should not be approved of.
MacArthur - The first command, do not judge, and you will not be judged, does not preclude assessing a person’s spiritual condition and confronting their sin. What this command does forbid is harsh, critical, compassionless, vengeful condemnation of one’s enemies as if one was vested with final judgment power.
W A Criswell says "This verse does not disallow the right of making moral and spiritual judgments (cf. Mt 7:6; 1 Cor. 2:15; 5:9; 2 Cor. 11:4; Phil. 3:2; 1 John 4:1) but forbids a bitter, hostile, and unkind spirit which delights in finding fault with others. Hypocritical self-righteousness has no place in the life of a Christian. The verse is particularly applicable to the area of motives. No one of us can know the heart of another, and thus to draw conclusions as to the "why" of people's actions, especially when those actions are indifferent or even good, is to invite God's judgment upon one's life."
Jesus himself did make judgments about where people stand (Lk 11:37–54), but not in such a way that he ceased to continue to offer them God’s grace.
Questions and findings:
ReplyDelete1. v27-28 - Does that mean that Christians should never engage in armed conflicts?
The whole sermon is addressing what's in our hearts. If our hearts are pure (which means we are walking in the spirit) we can do any/all of these things. On that note, I question whether any of the wars fought in the last millenium have been justified (unless you consider the Croatia-Serbia action a war). If we fought a war for either saving a people from their own government, or saving a people from another people group, then the war may be justified. If we are fighting a war to "protect our own interests", I can't see any justification at all.
2. v29 - Does this mean that we should never sue anyone?
Going by the above principle, we should only sue if good (for others, not ourselves) comes about. If suing a person causes them to cease harm to others (or themselves), then we should sue. I think that in some cases, we should bring a lawsuit against an insurance company or corporation. In the case of an insurance company, they are getting paid to cover expenses when things happen. When they are trying to get out of obligations (which they are under pressure to do), they need to be sued to pay what they rightfully owe. For corporations, lawsuits are the only slap on the wrist they will ever get. This is the only way to keep corporations accountable.
3. v30 - Does that mean we should give money to every panhandler we pass on the street?
Once again, we need to follow the spirit. The idea is not to withhold our own money from anyone. The idea is to determine whether the money we give will bring good or harm. In the case of panhandlers, I am split. In some cases, panhandlers are not (severe) addicts, and are making just enough to keep them from being homeless. It's the most efficient form of welfare there is. On the other hand, many panhandlers are severely addicted to drugs. Any money that goes to them will only feed their addiction. We need the Holy Spirit to help us discern.
4. v32 - Does that mean we should love those who love us less?
We should love everyone with all our might. This verse is pointing out that's it's harder to love those who don't love us.
5. v34 - Should we not make a payment schedule for those who want to borrow money from us?
Once again, we need the Holy Spirit to determine whether loaning money to a person is even appropriate. If it is, does a payment schedule help them or only ourselves?
6. v36 - How do we reflect God's mercy? What does that look like?
First of all, for we who are saved, God does not condemn us. He welcomes us into His home and into His heart. Just like God, we need to have open hearts towards all, keeping in mind what's best for them.