Luke Chapter 6

(Luke 6:1 NASB)  Now it came about that on a certain Sabbath He was passing through some grainfields; and His disciples were picking and eating the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands.
(Luke 6:2 NASB)  But some of the Pharisees said, “Why do you do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

Luke 6:2:      What the disciples were doing was not against Torah (Deut. 23:25).  They were in their neighbors grain fields.  They were plucking the heads of the grain, rubbing them with their hands to remove the chaff, and eating them.
They were merely preparing food to eat on the Sabbath.  That is allowed in Torah, even though most Jews then and today are against it.  The only example we have as far as preparing food on the Sabbath is the example of what we are told concerning the first and last days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Ex. 12:15-16).  Food preparation appears to be acceptable on any Sabbath or high Sabbath except the Day of Atonement.
Yeshua is going to use the example of David eating the unleavened bread intended for the priests in a time of need.

 

(Luke 6:3 NASB)  And Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him,
(Luke 6:4 NASB)  how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the consecrated bread which is not lawful for any to eat except the priests alone, and gave it to his companions?”

Luke 6:4:      The consecrated bread they are speaking of is described in Leviticus 24:5-9.  The incident Yeshua is speaking of is in 1 Sam. 21:1-6.  The men with David had kept themselves away from having sex with their wives since they had been running for days.  Therefore they were not unclean and the priest let them eat it.

 

(Luke 6:5 NASB)  And He was saying to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Luke 6:5:      This account in Mark has a little more information (Mark 2:27-28).  (Mark 2:27 NASB)  And He was saying to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
(Mark 2:28 NASB)  “Consequently, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Yeshua is saying that the Sabbath and other parts of Torah were given for the good of man.  Torah was created for man, not man for Torah.  He used the Sabbath as an example in particular.  The Sabbath is to be followed and Messiah is the Master of the Sabbath.

 

(Luke 6:6 NASB)  And it came about on another Sabbath, that He entered the synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.
(Luke 6:7 NASB)  And the scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely, to see if He healed on the Sabbath, in order that they might find reason to accuse Him.

Luke 6:7:      Yeshua always assembled on the Sabbath.  He was teaching on this particular Sabbath and there was a man in attendance with a withered hand.  The Scribes and the Pharisees were watching to see if He would heal this man, which is an indication that this man was planted there on this Sabbath by the Pharisees.
It is interesting that the scribes and Pharisees knew that Yeshua had the power to heal this man.  They also knew that He had the compassion to do so.  They knew that this was a good “trap” to see if Yeshua was going to break their interpretations of Torah (Psalm 37:32-33).  Jeremiah had similar experiences (Jer. 20:10).

 

(Luke 6:8 NASB)  But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, “Rise and come forward!” And he rose and came forward.
(Luke 6:9 NASB)  And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good, or to do harm, to save a life, or to destroy it?”
(Luke 6:10 NASB)  And after looking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did so; and his hand was restored.

Luke 6:10:      Yeshua went out of His way to show compassion, to do good, and to show that the Pharisees did not know the Scriptures.  He asked “Is is lawful on the Sabbath to do good, or to do harm, to save a life, or to destroy it?”  Yeshua was there to do good and to restore a man’s withered hand.  The scribes and Pharisees were there to do Him harm and to destroy Him.  Who was actually breaking the Sabbath?

 

(Luke 6:11 NASB)  But they themselves were filled with rage, and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.
(Luke 6:12 NASB)  And it was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.
(Luke 6:13 NASB)  And when day came, He called His disciples to Him; and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles:

Luke 6:13:      The Pharisees were now going to formulate plans to destroy Yeshua.  Yeshua went off to discuss these things with His Father.  When He comes back, He chose His twelve disciples, whom He also named as apostles.  Apostles means “annointed representatives sent with a message to deliver.”  In other words, it means “missionaries.”

 

(Luke 6:14 NASB)  Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew;
(Luke 6:15 NASB)  and Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot;
(Luke 6:16 NASB)  Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Luke 6:16:      There are twelve disciples or apostles to represent the twelve tribes of Israel.  In Scripture, twelve seems to always represent Israel.

 

(Luke 6:17 NASB)  And He descended with them, and stood on a level place; and there was a great multitude of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon,
(Luke 6:18 NASB)  who had come to hear Him, and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured.
(Luke 6:19 NASB)  And all the multitude were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all.

Luke 6:19:      The multitudes were huge in number.  They were getting healed and unclean spirits were being driven from them.

 

(Luke 6:20 NASB)  And turning His gaze on His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

Luke 6:20:      This is similar to the account in Matthew 5-7 which has since been called “the sermon on the mount.”  This is different in several ways.  For one, it is on a plain.  But the intent of the two messages is somewhat different also.
“Blessed are you who are poor in Spirit, for yours is the Kingdom of Elohim” (Matt. 5:3)  Yeshua is specifically speaking of those who realize they have a desperate need for the Spirit of Elohim.  This is spoken of in Isaiah (and other prophets) also (Isa. 29:19, 57:15-16, 66:2).

 

(Luke 6:21 NASB)  “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

Luke 6:21:      In Matthew we are told that this is a reference to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matt 5:6).  This is also spoken of in the Tanakh (Isa. 55:1-2, Psalm 42:1-2, 143:9-11).

 

(Luke 6:22 NASB)  “Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and cast insults at you, and spurn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.

Luke 6:22:      This is also spoken of in the Tanakh (Isa. 66:5-6).  If we are following His Instructions, we will be scorned by the world.  To expect anything else is ridiculous.

 

(Luke 6:23 NASB)  “Be glad in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.

Luke 6:23:      If the world hates you for following righteousness, we should be glad.  The prophets were treated the same way (1 Kings 18:4, 2 Chron. 36:15-16).

 

(Luke 6:24 NASB)  “But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.

Luke 6:24:      This passage is speaking of those who rely on their riches as their god (Luke 12:15-21).  The particular parable spoken of in Luke 12 was based upon the Tanakh (Job 21:7-16, Psalm 49:5-8, 16-17).  When prosperity becomes more important than following Elohim and His Torah, then prosperity is a curse.

 

(Luke 6:25 NASB)  “Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

Luke 6:25:      Elohim warns us in Torah not to let riches overcome our need for Him (Deut. 6:10-12).  The laugh being spoken of is the laughter of the foolish.

 

(Luke 6:26 NASB)  “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for in the same way their fathers used to treat the false prophets.

Luke 6:26:      If the world speaks well of you, that is not good (John 7:7, 15:19-21).

 

(Luke 6:27 NASB)  “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
(Luke 6:28 NASB)  bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Luke 6:28:      Yeshua says that He is saying this to those who hear.  It is not for everyone. it is only for those with His Spirit within them.
Yeshua says to love our enemies.  That does this mean?  We have corrupted and demeaned the meaning of “love” in this day by defining it as mere mushy feelings of sentiment.  That is not “love.”  Love is action.  Love is what we do.  Our “enemies” that he speaks of here are not the Muslims who want to kill us.  He is speaking of those amongst us to whom we do not get along with.  He is still speaking of those who are His people.  To show love to your enemy is a command in Torah and Tanakh (Ex. 23:4-5, Prov. 24:17-20, 25:21-22).

 

(Luke 6:29 NASB)  “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.

Luke 6:29:      This is not a treatise against self-defense.  I do not see these words as words which claim we should be punching bags for evil men and patsies for the con-artists of the world.  This is still speaking of those who are His people.
If we are to use the examples given in the Tanakh, this is speaking of those who are persecuted for righteousness sake or those who are being smitten because it is the will of Elohim (Isa. 50:5-10, Lam. 3:28-32, Matt. 5:10).

 

(Luke 6:30 NASB)  “Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.
(Luke 6:31 NASB)  “And just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way.

Luke 6:31:      Once again, we are not being told to give everything away to those who hate us or for us to let evil men take advantage.  We are told in Torah and the Tanakh that we should always take care of the poor among us (Deut. 15:7-10, Psalm 41:1, 112:9, Prov. 3:27-28, 11:24-25).

 

(Luke 6:32 NASB)  “And if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
(Luke 6:33 NASB)  “And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
(Luke 6:34 NASB)  “And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, in order to receive back the same amount.

Luke 6:34:      These words of Yeshua are based upon the Torah passage previously quoted (Deut 15:7-10).  And that passage in Torah continues in verse 11.

 

(Luke 6:35 NASB)  “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 Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.
(Luke 6:36 NASB)  “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Luke 6:36:      Our Father in heaven is kind to ungrateful and evil men.  We must be the same way.  We must be merciful to those truly in need.

 

(Luke 6:37 NASB)  “And 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.

Luke 6:37:      Keeping this in context, it is referring to those who do us wrong.  If someone cannot pay you back, do not judge or condemn him.  This is not referring to abstinence of condemning sin in general.  Yeshua gives us more instructions on judging others in a few verses.

 

(Luke 6:38 NASB)  “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

Luke 6:38:      This is not speaking of giving what you have to your the television evangelist or the local preacher begging for money or trying to extort Elohim’s tithe from you.  It is referring to giving to those among you who truly need it (Prov. 3:9-10, 19:17, 22:9).

 

(Luke 6:39 NASB)  And He also spoke a parable to them: “A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?
(Luke 6:40 NASB)  “A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.

Luke 6:40:      Yeshua is teaching that the Pharisees are blind and that they will hate the disciples will be hated by them also (Matt. 10:23-26).

 

(Luke 6:41 NASB)  “And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

Luke 6:41:      This is concerning the issue of judging others.  Yeshua tells us that we cannot judge others if we too are involved in that same sin.  We must first look at our own sin and turn away from it.  This is plainly taught in the Tanakh (Psalm 51:9-13).  Paul speaks of this also (Romans 2:1-3, 21-24).

 

(Luke 6:42 NASB)  “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

Luke 6:42:      Yeshua is speaking of the Pharisees with this rebuke.  They were usually the subject when He spoke of “hypocrites.”

 

(Luke 6:43 NASB)  “For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit; nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.

Luke 6:43:      You will know them by their fruits, which is works (Prov. 1:29-31, Isa. 3:10-11).

 

(Luke 6:44 NASB)  “For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.
(Luke 6:45 NASB)  “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

Luke 6:45:      The good man brings forth out of his heart what is good (Psalm 37:30-31, 40:8-10).  The evil man does and speaks evil (Psalm 52:1-4, 64:2-8).

 

(Luke 6:46 NASB)  “And why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?

Luke 6:46:      Elohim does not need lip service.  If He is truly our Master, we MUST obey Him (Mal. 1:6).  Yeshua was very explicit in that if we do not keep His Torah, we will not enter His Kingdom (Matt. 7:21-23).

 

(Luke 6:47 NASB)  “Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words, and acts upon them, I will show you whom he is like:
(Luke 6:48 NASB)  he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood rose, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

Luke 6:48:      If we hear His Words and act on them, we are like a man who built his house on a solid rock foundation.  Like all of the Brit Hadashah, this comes from the Tanakh (Isaiah 28:16, Prov. 10:25).
We are told in the Torah who the Rock is (Deut. 32:15, 18, 30-31).  And also in other places in the Tanakh (2 Sam. 22:2, 22:2-4, 47, Psalm 95:1).  It is upon the Words of Elohim that we are build upon.  Yeshua is His Father’s Word made flesh.

 

(Luke 6:49 NASB)  “But the one who has heard, and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house upon the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Luke 6:49:      Those that have heard the Word of Elohim and do not act accordingly have built their lives without a foundation.  Yeshua says, their ruin will be great.
While this may seem a bit extreme, when we tell others to obey the Words of the Father or else their sin is upon them, or they will suffer the consequences, then we are actually being His “prophets.”  That is exactly what the prophets of the Tanakh did, and they were hated for it.  But they knew that a prophet was among them (Ezek. 33:31-33).