Luke 6
Luke 6:1-26:
And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.
2 And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days?
3 And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him;
4 How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?
5 And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
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.
7 And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him.
8 But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.
9 Then said Jesus unto 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?
10 And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
11 And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.
12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;
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 Zelotes,
16 And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
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.
And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.
2 And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days?
3 And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him;
4 How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?
5 And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
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.
7 And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him.
8 But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.
9 Then said Jesus unto 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?
10 And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
11 And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.
12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;
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 Zelotes,
16 And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.
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.
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Luke 6:27-38:
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 cloke 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. |
 Mark Stirling
But what about the “Gotcha” questions? Should we take them at face value? On the contrary, they reveal a set of underlying assumptions that are taken for granted in the public square. Bringing those assumptions to light could actually lead to intelligent dialogue and debate instead of our public life being characterised by polarised tribes shouting their slogans at each other, but never listening.
So what are the assumptions revealed by these attempts to catch out and exclude a Christian politician? First, “Gotcha” questions are designed to expose “unacceptable” beliefs (in contrast to good journalism designed to reveal a candidate’s competence or character). They assume that some views are incompatible with Scottish public life. This, in turn, assumes a set of views (and values) that is acceptable. There is, in other words, an approved set of orthodox beliefs that is assumed. Going a little deeper, “Gotcha” questions tell us a lot about how our society deals with disagreement on moral issues. Is it possible to think someone’s views are wrong, but not hate them? Contemporary discourse, especially concerning “feeling safe” or “hurt”, or in the area of “hate-speech”, assumes moral disagreement must go hand-in-hand with hatred, bigotry and use of the law to disadvantage someone. But this cuts both ways; people assume that a Christian in public office will be prejudiced against anyone they disagree with morally and legislate against them. However, this could be a form of projection. Isn’t this exactly what the secular political establishment does to those with “unacceptable views”? Recent history of law-making in Scotland suggests that the impulse to use law to silence or marginalise those we morally disagree with is very much a feature of our political leaders. The issue with all this for Christians is that such an approach to moral disagreement is exactly the opposite of what Jesus commands. Far from condemning, hating or marginalising, Christians are commanded to be merciful and kind “to the ungrateful and wicked” because that’s what God is like (Luke 6:35-36). They break Jesus’ direct command when they put themselves in God’s place as judge, condemning those who disagree with them. Of course, exercising kindness and mercy does not mean suspending moral categories, but it does mean refusing to hate or condemn. -Mark Stirling; Solas; Kate Forbes and the “Gotcha” Questions. 8/21/23  Thomas Watson
“Many like to hear of the love of Christ, but not of loving their enemies; they like the comforts of the word, but not its reproofs.” ― Thomas Watson, The Ten Commandments |
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Luke 6:42:
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. |
Most of us live by a double standard. We judge ourselves one way, but set up another set of rules for others. When we sin, we are quick to explain our reasons behind our disobedience: “I was exhausted, I didn’t know what I was doing, I was under a lot of stress”, etc. We feel that by pointing out the cause will somehow make us an innocent victim rather than guilty party. When it comes to other people, however, that’s another case. We then don our judge robe and pronounce them guilty, regardless of the evidence. “He knew better. This isn’t the first time. There’s no excuse” etc… Be careful. Your judgement will oft times reveal more about you then about the one you are judging.
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Luke 6:43-45:
“For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 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 good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” |
It is clear that Jesus is teaching us that our lives should bear fruit that glorify Him. We should not say we love Jesus in one breath and curse mankind in the next breath. Jesus says that the good treasure in our heart should bring forth good and that out of the abundance of our heart, we speak. A heart that loves the Lord will seek to serve Jesus and will do things with their life that prove their faith is real.
How does one get a heart that loves the Lord? Listen again to Jesus: “Repentance leads to the acquisition of the Fruits of the Spirit or it was not repentance.” MATTHEW 3:10 Here Jesus is teaching us that repentance is the key. Confess your sins, be baptized and turn from sin of every kind and the fruits of the Spirit are yours. Jesus clarifies that point in Matthew when he says, “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” MATTHEW 6:33 NKJV -Gospel Global Vision |