LUKE 6:17-49
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 Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;
18 And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed.
19 And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.
20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.
23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.
24 But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.
25 Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.
26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.
30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.
33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.
34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?
40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.
41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.
43 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.
I really, REALLY like how Luke puts things down here about the Beatitudes or the 'Be attitudes' as many today call them. And appropriately so. For in these scriptures, Christ first meets their needs as you see further up up in the chapter, and then He seeks to teach them how to live a new life. A life that would be more pleasing to the Lord God and much better for everyone around them. (verses 20-38)
And in verse 39, He cautions us to make sure we know what we are talking about before trying to teach somebody else. One blind person leading another can get BOTH in a lot of trouble....and possibly a meal for a hungry lion.
Verse 40 reminds us that we arn't the masters...but Christ is the Master, and we cannot be greater or wiser than He- He has been here since before time began, He made all things.... doesn't He then deserve the glory that is so due Him rather than anybody else?
But then our Lord warns us to make sure we have 'cleaned our own doorstep' before trying to help somebody else clean theirs. Actually, the Master uses the example of a splinter in somebody's eye, versus a big LOG in your own eye. You won't be able to help them much then would you?
"41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye."
Verses 43-45 again bring great wisdom that reminds me of the Fruit of the Spirit that Paul refers to in Galatians. Jesus says very simply that a good tree gives good fruit. You can always tell one tree from another if you can't tell the difference in the leaves by the fruit they bear. Plant a apple tree next to a pear tree, and you will know which is which come Fall, when the trees bear fruit...and then there's no fooling the gardener! And just like a tree brings fruit, a man (or woman) will bring fruit from their hearts, and show whom they serve by their actions and deeds. There's no way that a fake Christian can hide their fakeness when one bites into one of their fruits to find it not nurturing fruit, but a glob of plastic or sour goo. There's no guessing then which is a true believer and which is the pious church goer that goes to look good. Jesus goes on in other scriptures to go into much more detail than is recorded here in Luke. But now we get to the really REALLY good part!
Verses 46-49 Jesus continues with this theme of good, bad, fruit and followers. He wraps it all up with rocks and sand....foundation rock that is.
To paraphrase: "Why do you call me Lord when you don't do the things I say? if somebody does these things (which I have spent a LOT of time trying to teach you all through this chapter here) then this is what he is like. Whoever listens and obeys these words of mine, is like a wise man that built his house on a rock. And when the storms came and the waves crashed against it, it stood firm. And whoever hears my words, and DOESN'T obey them, is like a foolish man that built his house on the sand and when the storms came, the house fell, and great was the fall of it!"
if that don't say it all.... I don't know what will. Comments are welcomed just please no lewd comments?
