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| Chapter 6 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ And it came to pass on the second Sabbath after the first, that He went through the cornfield’s. And His disciples plucked the ears of corn and, rubbing them in their hands, ate. 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 he himself hungered and they that were with him: 4 how he went into the house of God, and took and ate the showbread and gave also to them that were with him, which it is not lawful to eat except for the priests alone?" 5 And He said unto them, "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 to see 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 who 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 onto 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 from 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 the Zealot, 16 and Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot who also was the traitor. 17 And He came down with them and stood on the plain with the company of His disciples and a great multitude of people out of all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases, 18 and those who 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 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 that hear: Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you. 28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them that 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 back. 31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. 32 For if ye love them that love you, what thank have ye? For sinners also love those that love them. 33 And if ye do good to them that 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 in return; 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, therewith it shall be measured to you again." 39 And He spoke 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 Or 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 from thorns men do not gather figs, nor from 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 his 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 show you to whom he is like: 48 He is like a man who built a house and dug 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 built a house without a foundation upon the earth, against which the stream beat vehemently, and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great." |
This chapter tells us of two events which challenged the Pharisees understanding of the laws of God and showed how determined the Pharisees were not to break the laws of God. Over the years they have looked at the basic Ten Commandments and created their opinions and interpretation. However, this had created situations where God had said "The seventh day, the Sabbath was to be a day of rest," Gen 2:3; Exodus 20:8-10, the religious leaders had decided that this meant no work under any condition. Matt 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28. v1,2 Under Jewish rules it was allowed to eat a small meal from a neighbour’s grain, except on the Sabbath, so the disciple would not have been breaking the law. But under the Pharisees interpretation of "No work" picking the seeds from the wheat heads was ‘reaping’, rubbing the seeds with their hands to remove the husk, that was threshing, finally throwing away the husk (dry outer covering on seeds) was considered winnowing (the separating of seed from husk by using the wind or blowing), to the Pharisees it was work!!! v3-5 Jesus replied to this by reminding them what David did, how he entered the temple and ate the bread that only the priests were allowed to eat, 1 Sam 21:1-6. If David could do what was unlawful in an emergency, then why could Jesus not also do it? Jesus goes on to say that as He has authority to forgive sin then He also has sovereignty over any Sabbath Law. v6-11 On another Sabbath, Jesus, knowing that the religious leaders were still angry at being defeated on the other Sabbath, sets them another challenge. He is preaching in the synagogue and there was present a man with a deformed right hand. Jesus called the man to stand in front of the people, turning to the religious leaders who were waiting to catch Him out and asks "Which is right to do on the Sabbath: to do good, or do evil? To save a life or to destroy one?" Jesus now turns to the people and the man, "Let me see your hand" He said to the man and as he stretches out his hand it become normal, just like his other hand. v11 This event makes the religious leaders present very angry and started to plan what they could do to this man Jesus. v12-19 Choosing the Apostles. Matt 10:2-4; Mark 3:13-19. Jesus is about to chose the group of men who were to become His twelve disciples, who were to later become the Apostles who took the message of salvation to the world. Before He makes His decisions Jesus spends the night with His Father in prayer. What does the titles "disciple and apostle" mean? Someone who wants to follow the teaching of another person, this means a hands-on relationship between the teacher and the student. Any believer is a disciple, however the title "Apostle" has a different meaning, the basic meaning is of "a person sent," in the early church it came to mean "one commissioned or sent out" by Jesus. It was only used to describe those who were directly sent by Jesus with the mission of preaching and healing. Mark 6:30. What these titles are not. 1) Becoming a follower for a short time, it takes time to learn and grow. 2) It has to be a personal relationship, you cannot become a disciple from a distance. 3) It is not just theoretical, there is a practical, you may know about the teaching, but need to use this knowledge to serve God, draw upon His grace each day. 4) It is not one person controlling another, not brain washing. 5) Becoming a disciple does not end, you will always be learning. v14-16 Disciples. Similar lists are found in Matt 10:2-4; Mark 3:16-19; Acts 1:13. Why did Jesus choose these men? What was so special about them? Well from the point of men not much, none of them were professionally taught, most had been labourers, though Matthew and the two sons of Zebedee may have been relatively wealthy. Two had a very different attitude to life, Matthew was employed by the Romans as a tax collector, while Simon the Zealot was very anti Roman. Some were temperamental, others impulsive. Not the type of people to win the world for Jesus. v17-38 The Beatitudes. Jesus is surrounded by many people, ‘a great multitude,’ he heals people of physically and spiritual problems then gives a wonderful sermon on how those who were to follow Him should live, we must note that He was speaking mainly to the disciples, v20. This record is similar to Matthew 5:1ff. Because Luke records it took place "on the plain," while Matthew records"He went up onto a mountain," some Bible students wonder if they are two separate occasions. The basic teaching was of the character of a citizen of the Kingdom of Christ, any earthly sacrifice made for Christ will result in a rich reward in heaven while those who live a life for their own benefit, selfishly, will be reward on earth but only create sorrow for the future eternity. Jesus said that His people will be the ""salt of the earth" and the "light of the world." Consider the attitude of Moses Heb 11:24-28. v20-26 Two kinds of people. The thoughts start by comparing kinds of people, Their attitude from the heart or their outward appearance. Those who seek to please Jesus by their life are given wonderful promises by Him for their future. Anyone who desires the things of God will be blessed by God. Any who are against God, his people or His messengers must expect God to eventually "rewarded" them with judgement, "Woe unto you." v27-38 Love and Mercy. The first part concerned the disciple and God, now Jesus considers the relationship of the disciples and other men. The key point is v27ff, love for others independent of their attitude for you. This is a thought which is very different to the normal, most would be happy to be good in return for good, but to love not expecting any return is completely abnormal. v34 Jesus even includes financial, pointing out that sinners lend money to each other expecting payment plus interest. See notes on Matt 5:1ff for further comments on the Beatitudes. v39-49 Parables as pictures for the Beatitudes. See also Matt 15:14; Matt 7:3-5; Matt 12:33-36 v39-42 Spiritual sight, you must be able to see to lead others. A student is only as good as the teacher, if the teacher falls so does the student. A disciple must also understand his own limits, ‘a large piece of wood(beam) in the eye’ before they point out the faults, ‘a small speck,’ in others, especially the teacher. v43-45 Good fruit cannot come from a bad tree, just as good attitude in the heart will produce good fruit. Only a person with a good heart will produce good teaching. v46-47 Many people can hear the Words of Jesus, and even appear to obey, but the heart is not the same as the mouth, Just saying "Jesus is Lord" does not mean Jesus is Lord of the heart as well. v48-49 Matt 7:24-27. Anyone who does not build the house with good foundations will soon find that the walls will rapidly be washed away by the rain and flow of water. Jesus is saying that a person who hears and obeys and builds on the foundations of Jesus will be safe on the day that God judges his life. |
Easy English Translation
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