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Luke Chapter
Six
I.
Content of the Chapter
The Teachings of the Savior the Son of Man
and He Chose and Established the Twelve Apostles
II. He chose and established the twelve apostles
(v.12-16).
III. Teachings in the plain:
A. The place and situation of the teachings
(v.17-19).
B. Concerning the four blessings and four
woes (v.20-26).
C. Concerning the
way to deal with men (v.27-42).
D. Two kinds of trees and two kinds of
foundations (v.43-49).
II.
Verse by Verse commentary
Luke. 6:1 “Now it happened on the
second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His
disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them
rubbing them in their hands.”
YLT: “And it came to
pass
on the second-first sabbath
as he is going through the corn fields
that
his disciples were plucking the ears
and were eating
rubbing with the hands
”
The
Background: “Sabbath” is the
seventh day of a week. It is the present Saturday. It is from the sunset on Friday
to the sunset the next day. God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it (Gen.
2:3). The children of
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Men are not filled and therefore they do not
have rest. If men want to have rest
they have to enjoy Christ as their bread
of life (John. 6:35).
2) “Grain” is the type of Christ. Christ becomes
our enjoyment after He had gone through tribulations and sufferings for us
(“plucked”).
3) Only the hungry will be filled with the good
things (See 1:53). Only when we have spiritual hunger can we be filled by the
Lord.
4) Christ is the first grain of wheat and we who
have received grace are the much fruit (John. 12:24)
therefore the assembly is
“the grainfields”. If the assembly only pays attention to regulations and
ceremonies
probably everyone will suffer hunger. Christ is the most important
one in the assembly. We should follow the Lord according to His guidance.
Luke. 6:2 “And some of the Pharisees
said to them
‘Why are you doing what is
not lawful to do on the Sabbath?’”
YLT: “and certain of the
Pharisees said to them
‘Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the
sabbaths?’”
The
Background: The Pharisees
stressed on keeping the Sabbath so strictly that they even found fault with
others. They added many unnecessary and overelaborate formalities which were
not written in the Law of Moses to the Sabbath and forced others to keep.
According to the Law of Moses
they may plunk ears with their hands and eat
(Deut. 23:25). However
it was not expressly stipulated in writing that whether
it was permitted to do it on the Sabbath. It was stated that the Pharisees
opposed that the disciples of the Lord should not rub the ears in their hands
instead of plunking the ears because rubbing the ears was accounted as doing
work and this profaned the regulations of the Sabbath.
Spiritual Meaning: “the Pharisees”
symbolizes the religious believers who kept the regulations of the Bible. They
stressed on the regulations that do not handle
do not taste and do not touch
(Col. 2:21) but neglected the real purpose that God gave them these
regulations.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) To the hungry disciples
the regulation “don’t
do any work on the Sabbath” was a burden. Even if they had kept the form of the
Sabbath
the reality of the Sabbath was lost.
2) The Pharisees only emphasized on whether men
kept the regulations of the Sabbath and neglected whether men had rest on the
Sabbath. Today Christians who pay attention to the appearance are still more
than those who stress on the inner reality.
3) The Pharisees queried the Lord Jesus for
regulations------whenever men stress on the appearance
they have already stood
in the position that is against the Lord.
Luke. 6:3 “But Jesus answering them
said
‘Have you not even read
this
what David did when he was hungry
he and those who were with him:”
YLT: “And Jesus answering
said unto them
‘Did ye not read even this that David did
when he hungered
himself and those who are with him
”
Spiritual Meaning: “David” is the type
of Christ. “Those who were with him” are the type of the disciples.
“David” was the key person from the age
of priests to the age of kings in the history of the Old Testament. By this the
Lord shows that He is the “true David”. He the true David has come and the age
has been changed.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) When reading the Bible
we should pay attention
to the epochal character of the things illustrated in the Bible. For example
believers in the New Testament do not need to keep the law of sacrifice and the
costume of the priests (many ways in the Roman Catholic Church bring the Old
Testament into the New Testament).
2) In the beginning of the New Testament
spiritual
gifts such as “tongue-speaking” and “divine healing” were in vogue. However in
the last phase of the age of the Apostles
these were rarely recorded. It shows
that these spiritual gifts were for the dispensational need. If believers in
last time return to seek these Charismatic gifts
we overlook the epochal
character of spiritual things. (Editorial Note: this doesn’t mean that there
are no spiritual gifts today. It means that we do not need to seek for
Charismatic gifts urgently because spiritual gifts are divided to each in
particular as the Holy Spirit will; See 1Cor. 12:11).
Luke. 6:4 “how he went into the
house of God
took and ate the showbread
and also gave some to those with him
which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?’”
YLT: “how he went into
the house of God
and the loaves of the presentation did take
and did eat
and
gave also to those with him
which it is not lawful to eat
except only to the
priests?’”
The
Background: according to the
regulations of the Law of Moses
only the priests could eat “the showbread” in
the
Spiritual Meaning: David and his
followers ate the showbread and they had not been condemned by God because
David had changed the age from the age of priests to the age of kings.
This verse shows that the Lord “the true
David” had come and the age was changed from the age of the law of the Old
Testament to the age of the grace of the New Testament. In the age of the New
Testament men do not need to keep the Sabbath.
“The showbread” typifies that Christ is
our enjoyment of life.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The regulations and ceremonies in the Old
Testament have the character of the transition of ages. They are a shadow of
things to come
but the substance is of Christ (Col. 2:17). Believers in the
New Testament do not need to obey the regulations and ceremonies since we have
already obtained Christ.
2) On the premise that we do not commit sins or
offend against morality
believers should have expedient measures if they are
needed in following and serving the Lord.
3) What’s important in the conducts of believers is
never leaving the Lord all the time (following the Lord). As long as we walk
with the Lord in His presence
nothing could bind us.
4) The true Sabbath is not obeying the dead
regulations but living under the full provision of Christ------if we are fully
filled
we will naturally have rest.
Luke. 6:5 “And He said to them
‘The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.’”
YLT: “and he said to
them
`The Son of Man is lord also of the sabbath.’”
Literal Meaning: the Lord Jesus is
“Lord of the Sabbath”
indicating that He has the right to manage the Sabbath
and He is the one who gives men rest. He loves to give men rest and He does not
like men to be restrained by the regulations of the Sabbath.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The Sabbath is giving men rest instead of making
them be restricted.
2) The ceremonies and regulations of the Old
Testament is to bring us to know the coming Christ (See Col. 2:16-17; Gal.
3:23-24) rather than bring men restriction and burdens.
3) Since the Lord is “Lord of the Sabbath”
the
standard is His words. Whether something is permitted to do or not on the
Sabbath depends on Him.
4) Those that work for the lord of the Sabbath is
not under the law of the Sabbath.
5) Christ is Lord of the Sabbath. When we have Him
we have the true rest. Everyday is the Sabbath
as it were. And therefore we do
not need to keep the regulations of the Sabbath.
6) Today the problem is whether men receive the
Lord instead of whether it is the Sabbath.
Luke. 6:6 “Now it happened on
another Sabbath
also
that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was
there whose right hand was withered.”
YLT: “And it came to pass
also
on another sabbath
that he goeth into the synagogue
and teacheth
and
there was there a man
and his right hand was withered
”
Meaning of Words: “withered”: to desiccate
to
shrivel
to dry up;
Literal
Meaning: “a man was there
whose right hand was withered.” the word “withered” was in the perfect tense
indicating that that
hand was not born withered
but was caused by injury or illness later.
Spiritual
Meaning: “synagogue”
symbolizes all the religions represented by the Judaism.
“A
man was there whose right hand was
withered”
“hand” stands for service. “Withered” denotes the lack of the vigor of life. It is like a
picture
showing that though men in religion want to do something for God
they
can actually do nothing for God.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) If our service (hand) is done according to
reasons and doctrines rather than the guidance and inspiration of the Holy
Spirit
it is the “withered” service.
2) If the assembly lacks the provision of life
there will be lack of the power of service. If the local assembly where you are
lacks members of service (“whose hand was withered”)
there must be something
wrong in the provision of life. Therefore we should solve the problem from its
root by------to supply more positive provisions.
3) Christians should often pray in every place
lifting up pious “hands” (1Tim. 2:8). However
if one is weak in spirit
he
must lack prayers and he even cannot or is unwilling to pray.
Luke. 6:7 “So the scribes and
Pharisees watched Him closely
whether He would heal on the Sabbath
that they
might find an accusation against Him.”
YLT: “and the scribes and
the Pharisees were watching him
if on the sabbath he will heal
that they might
find an accusation against him.”
Meaning
of Words: “watched…closely”: inspect
alongside
note scrupulously; “heal”: wait upon menially
relieve
cure; “find
an accusation”: reprove
plain;
The Background: according to the teachings of the Jewish rabbis
unless one was nearly to die
“healing” was forbidden on the Sabbath. Because
they believed that healing the sick person went against the regulation of “no
working” on the Sabbath. In the eyes of the scribes and the Pharisees
the one
whose hand was withered (See v.6) was not in danger and therefore men should
not heal him on the Sabbath.
Literal Meaning: “whether He would heal on the Sabbath” it
indicated that the Pharisees did not doubt that whether the Lord Jesus “could
heal Him or not”
but that whether He “would do it on the Sabbath or not”.
Spiritual
Meaning: “whether He would
heal on the Sabbath” the Sabbath was established for men to have rest. However
here there was a man who was sick
but he was not allowed to be healed on the
Sabbath
indicating that those who were in religion had the formality of the
Sabbath only and lacked the reality of the Sabbath.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The biggest defect of the dogmatists is that
they only have reasons and lacks sympathy in their hearts. Therefore they pay
more attention to keeping the regulations than sympathizing with others.
2) Keeping the Sabbath is to maintain the
traditional regulations and healing is to supply the practical need. When we
encounter the actual needs in the assembly
shall we still stick to the
traditional ways?
Luke. 6:8 “But He knew their
thoughts
and said to the man who had the withered hand
‘Arise and stand here.’
And he arose and stood.”
YLT: “And he himself had
known their reasonings
and said to the man having the withered hand
‘Rise
and stand in the midst;’ and he having risen
stood.”
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) If that man was not willing to do according to
the Lord’s words (“arise and stand here”)
he could not be healed by the Lord.
The condition for us to receive grace is that we shall be willing to arise and
receive the Lord’s words.
2) The obedience to the Lord’s first-step words
will lead us into the second-step greater words.
Luke. 6:9 “Then Jesus said to them
‘I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to
do good or to do evil
to save life or to destroy?’”
YLT: “Then said Jesus
unto them
‘I will question you something: Is it lawful on the sabbaths to do
good
or to do evil? life to save or to kill?’”
Meaning of Words: “life”: soul.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The Sabbath was made on account of man
not man
on account of the Sabbath. The Lord values men above all.
2) The real servant of the Lord works without being
restricted by regulations. If we really work for Christ
we “do good”. Though
sometimes it seems to “violate the regulations” apparently
it brings real
provision to those who have been served actually.
3) The Lord went against the laws of the Sabbaths
in order to save life
showing that He came to deliver men from the restriction
of the religious customs.
4) He who wants to do good and save life has to
catch the opportunity. If one misses the opportunity to do good
he does evil
equally. If one misses the chance to save life
he kills others equally.
5) If we look on indifferently when others need our
help
we just have hurt them. If we stretch our hands to help them
we just
save them.
6) The principle of catching the opportunity could
also be applied to words. Men’s difficulty in words is that------men like to say
what they should not say
but dare not to say what they should say. The
faithful workers of the Lord should not shrink from announcing all what they
should announce (See Acts20:27).
Luke. 6:10 “And when He had looked
around at them all
He said to the man
‘Stretch
out your hand.’ And he did so
and his
hand was restored as whole as the other.”
YLT: “And having looked
round on them all
he said to the man
`Stretch forth thy hand;’ and he did so
and his hand was restored whole as the other;”
Meaning of Words: “looked around”:
look all round; “was restored”: reconstitute.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The man whose hand was withered listened to the
Lord’s word first------“he stretched it out”------and then his hand “was
restored”. This is the principle of faith. If we follow the Lord through faith
we should also act according to the commandments of the Lord first and then see
the gracious provision of the Lord.
2) The words which the Lord has spoken unto us are
spirit and are life (John. 6:63). If we receive
trust and obey the Lord’s
words
we will obtain the healing of life.
3) Nothing shall be impossible with God (See 1:37).
When the Lord gives men the word of commandment
He will assuredly give men the
power to obey His words.
4) The man with a withered hand was unwilling to
stretch his hand out before men------men did not like to show their
shortcomings to others------however the moment the Lord’s words was manifested
(“stretch out your hand”)
his hand was restored.
5) “His hand was restored as whole as the other”
showing that the healing of the Lord was perfect. The Lord’s work in us will
enable us to be restored to be in line with the will of God.
Luke. 6:11 “But they were filled with
rage
and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.”
YLT: “and they were
filled with madness
and were speaking with one another what they might do to
Jesus.”
Meaning of Words: “discussed”: advise
commune
counsel.
Literal Meaning: it shows that they
had put the incidental before the fundamental and emphasized the “customs” more
than “men”
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Unexpectedly
the Pharisees wanted to kill the
holy one of God indeed in order to maintain the regulations of the law. Many
Christians who are fervent in doctrines often get into a fight in order to
maintain the doctrines.
2) Religious believers are only fervent in the
words and letters of the law and neglect the truth and reality of the law
so
that they even regard killing as serving God (John. 16:2).
3) In the history of the Christianity
there were
also many believers who struggled for reasons or letters and even killed those
who were different from them by the political power.
Luke. 6:12 “Now it came to pass in
those days that He went out to the mountain to pray
and continued all night in
prayer to God.”
YLT: “And it came to pass
in those days
he went forth to the mountain to pray
and was passing the night
in the prayer of God
”
Literal Meaning: “continued all night
in prayer to God.” “in prayer to God” is “in the prayer of God” in the
original.
Every time before the Lord Jesus decided
on the important things
He must spend much time before God in seeking His
will. This time He “continued all night in prayer to God” so as to choose the
twelve apostles (See v.13).
Spiritual Meaning: “He went out to the
mountain to pray” “to the mountain” symbolizes to enter the heavenly condition;
“to pray” indicates to have communion with God.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) We have to pray well before we do any work. No
matter how great and urgent the things are
we have to pray enough and then
make the arrangements and actions of service.
2) It is the most dangerous in working for the Lord
to make decisions presumptuously
act recklessly
impetuously and arbitrarily
instead of inquiring the Lord.
3) The Lord departed from the multitudes and prayed
to God and He prayed all night. We should also find a quiet place to pray
frequently for long time.
Luke. 6:13 “And when it was day
He
called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also
named apostles:”
YLT: “and when it became
day
he called near his disciples
and having chosen from them twelve
whom
also he named apostles
”
Meaning of Words: “disciples”:
student
pupil; “apostles”: messenger
poster
he that is sent.
Literal Meaning: “He called His
disciples to Himself” “disciples” indicate those who set their mind on
following the Lord were willing to be strictly trained and chastened by the
Lord.
“He also named apostles.” “Apostles” are
those who have been sent to execute the special missions.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) That we have become the Lord’s believers is
totally lies in the Lord’s selection and calling-----it is the Lord that has
chosen us according to His will
not that we choose the Lord.
2) Since the Lord’s calling is out of his own
active intention
He will certainly take the full responsibility for His own
selection. Since He has already chosen us
he will surely assume the
responsibility to perfect us till the end.
3) All those who had
been selected and called by the Lord will be willing to answer the Lord’s
calling voluntarily and come to the Lord.
4) The Lord’s disciples should not hope to live a
life of ease. Only those who are willing to be regulated strictly by the Lord
will become useful vessels in the hand of the Lord.
5) “Twelve” is a number of forever and perfectness.
The Lord Jesus will make the twelve disciples into a full testimony and example
and treat them as the fountains of God’s building in the eternal age (See Rev.
21:14).
Luke. 6:14 “Simon
whom He also named
Peter
and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew;”
YLT: “(Simon
whom also
he named Peter
and Andrew his brother
James and John
Philip and
Bartholomew
”
Meaning of Words: “Simon”: listen to;
“Peter”: stone; “Andrew”: man
mighty one
overcomer
strong
masculine;
“Zebedee”: God’s portion; “James”: usurper
to seize; “John”: God’s gift;
“Philip”: affectionate
fond of horses; “Bartholomew”: son of Tholomew
son of
wars.
Literal Meaning: “Bartholomew” It is
generally acknowledged that Bartholomew was another name of “Nathanael” (John.
1:45).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Workers of the Lord have to “listen to” (the
meaning of “Simon”) the Lord’s words
surrender themselves as the making of the
Lord’s building------stone (the meaning of “Peter”
See 1Pet. 2:5).
2) Among the twelve apostles
there are few records
about their history in the Bible except Peter’s history in Acts. This shows
that the Lord values how the Holy Spirit works through them instead of their
works.
3) We have to be “strong” (the meaning of “Andrew”)
to work for the Lord.
4) The Lord’s worker is the one who is able to
seize (the meaning of “James”) God’s gifts (the meaning of “John”).
5) Bartholomew was known as Nathanael. The Lord’s
workers should deeply love (the meaning of “Philip”) God’s gifts (the meaning
of “Nathanael”).
Luke. 6:15 “Matthew and Thomas; James
the son of Alphaeus
and Simon called the Zealot;”
YLT: “Matthew and Thomas
James of Alphaeus
and Simon called Zelotes
”
Meaning of Words: “Matthew”: God’s
gifts; “Thomas”: the twin; “Alphaeus”: interchange; “James”: usurper; “Simon
the Canaite”: listen to earnestly.
Literal Meaning: “Matthew” was the
tax collector named Levi that was mentioned in this book (See 5:27; Matt. 9:9).
“The Canaite” was a Jewish revolutionary
organization which resisted the rule of the Roman Government over
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Since the workers of the Lord have received
“God’s gifts” (the meaning of “Matthew”) from the Lord
they have to “seize”
(the meaning of “James”) and use the gifts (See Matt. 25:14-21) and then the
gifts of God will change (the meaning of “Alphaeus”) into the “doubling” (the
meaning of “Thomas”) grace.
2) The most important thing is to “earnestly listen
to” (the meaning of “Simon the Canaite”) the Lord from one’s heart.
Luke. 6:16 “Judas the son of James
and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.”
YLT: “Judas of James
and
Judas Iscariot
who also became betrayer;)”
Meaning of Words: “James”: usurper
to
seize; “Judas”: worship; “a traitor”: bring out; “Iscariot”: the one who is
with purse
the one who is good at trading (in Aramaic).
Literal Meaning: “Judas the son of
James” He was also named Thaddaeus (See Matt. 10:3; Mark. 3:18).
“Canaite” was a city of the tribe of
Ephraim
near to
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The behavior of “worship” (the meaning of
“Judas”) was superficial. Those who pretended to be the Lord’s workers in
appearance may betray the Lord.
2) Judas who betrayed the Lord was unexpectedly
listed in the twelve apostles. It indicates that the Lord cope with someone
concerning the will of God regardless of His own advantages and disadvantages.
3) The Lord Jesus chose Judas who betrayed the Lord
as one of the twelve apostles after the prayer all night (See v.12). He fully
understood the will of God the Father and disregarded His own gain or loss.
This shows that:
a) The arrangements and actions to serve God should be decided according
to the guidance that is given through prayers instead of things or conventions.
b) In the spiritual way and service
if we have fully understood the
will of God through prayers
we should go ahead bravely and recklessly.
Luke. 6:17 “And He came down with
them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great
multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem
and from the seacoast of Tyre
and Sidon
who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases
”
YLT: “and having come down
with them
he stood upon a level spot
and a crowd of his disciples
and a
great multitude of the people from all Judea
and Jerusalem
and the maritime
Tyre and Sidon
who came to hear him
and to be healed of their sicknesses
”
Literal Meaning: “He came down with
them and stood on a level place”. The Lord’s teachings recorded from v.20 to
v.49 were spoken on the plain and therefore they were called “the sermon on the
plain” as a differentiation to “the sermon on the mount” from the fifth to
seventh chapter in the book of Matthew. The contents of these were quiet
similar and therefore some Bible exegetes explained that “a level place” as “a
piece of highland” and the so-called “sermon on the plain” was the abstract of
“the sermon on the mount”. However
others believed that the teachings of the
Lord Jesus may not be different totally in different times and when the
contents of the teachings were the similar
it cannot be proved that the
teachings were spoken in the same occasion.
Luke. 6:18 “as well as those who were
tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed.”
YLT: “and those harassed
by unclean spirits
and they were healed
”
Meaning of Words: “torment”: torture
harass.
Luke. 6:19 “And the whole multitude
sought to touch Him
for power went out from Him and healed them all.”
YLT: “and all the
multitude were seeking to touch him
because power from him was going forth
and he was healing all.”
Literal Meaning: “power went out from
Him and healed them all” In the original
the word “power” occurred fifteen
times in this book (1:17
35; 4:14
36; 5:17; 6:19; 8:46; 9:1; 10:13
19;
19:37; 21:26
27; 22:69; 24:49).
Enlightenment in the Word: Power is the expression of being filled with the
Holy Spirit and prayer is the way to be filled by the Holy Spirit.
Luke. 6:20 “Then He lifted up His
eyes toward His disciples
and said: "Blessed are you poor
For yours is
the
YLT: “And he
having
lifted up his eyes to his disciples
said: ‘Happy the poor because yours is the
reign of God.”
Meaning of Words: “blessed”: happy
exultant
praise.
Literal Meaning: “He lifted up His
eyes toward His disciples” It shows that the following teachings were said
toward the disciples.
“You poor” “Poor” does not indicate the
material poverty but the spiritual poverty. Anyone who feels poor in the spirit
(Matt. 5:3) and cannot be satisfied with anything of this life and therefore
turns to seek God and things of God is “the poor”.
“Blessed”: the joy welling from inner
heart. One feels greatly happy and fortunate.
“Yours is the
Enlightenment
in the Word:
1) It is not those who “repute themselves to be
something” but those who “repute themselves to be nothing” that enter into the
2) In the
3) A man of natural talent may be the worst
Christian. A man of talent may consider what he can do for the Lord rather than
let the Lord do.
4) God selects the one that considers himself as
poor and talentless. God would not use one who considers that he is useful to
God.
5) The center of those who serve God should be God
instead of “themselves”. We should stand on the side of God and should not ask
God to stand on our side.
6) The blessed ones whose is the
7) Those who are truly “poor in spirit” are not
under the power of possessions. They have broken off the yokes which are put
upon them by the tyrant------the possessions.
8) The poor in spirit know that they are in need.
Therefore
they are not proud or righteous in their own eyes. At the same time
for they are in need they will seek for God and draw near to God.
9) Those who gain the
10) No matter how great we achieve in spiritual
things
we should
like Paul
not count ourselves to have apprehended and
should stretch out to the things which are ahead (Pill. 3:12-13).
11) Only those who are willing to empty themselves
constantly will feel poor in spirit. We should empty our past ideas
knowledge
and opinions and seek to be filled by the Lord Himself.
12) Believers should cooperate with the Holy Spirit
every day: letting the Holy Spirit dig out stones in our hearts (sin) and make
our hearts humble and contrite (Luke. 13:8). In this way
after the seed of God
is sown into our heart
it will grow up freely and fully.
Luke. 6:21 “Blessed are you who
hunger now
For you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now
For you
shall laugh.”
YLT: “`Happy those
hungering now because ye shall be filled. ‘Happy those weeping now because ye
shall laugh.”
Meaning of Words: “weep”: cry
grievously.
Literal Meaning: “you who hunger” The
“hunger” does not indicate the physical hunger but the spiritual hunger. Anyone
who is eager in spirit and seeks God and the things of God as his satisfaction
is “the one who hungers”.
“You shall be filled” It indicates that
one is filled in his spirit and he does not feel regretful.
“You who hunger now” One does not “weep”
for his own poor state. He weeps because he touches the feelings of God
including the failure of himself
the coldness and falling of the saints
the
desolation of the assembly
the evilness and corruption of the world
the
hardening and unbelief of men. This kind of men are those “who weep now”.
“You shall laugh” It indicates that one
rejoices because of God’s encouragement.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) All the spiritual improvement depends on our
“hunger”. Those who do not feel hungry won’t be filled by God (See 1:53).
2) “Those who hunger” must have good spiritual
appetite. If men have such kind of spiritual appetite
they will be filled
again and again because of God’s reward (Ruth. 2:12).
3) Those who have not mourned will not know what
the joy in the Holy Spirit is (
4) Today though we are mournful
we are still able
to rejoice in the Lord (Pill. 3:1). Moreover
in future God will wipe away all
tears from our eyes and grief shall not exist any more
nor cry shall exist
(Rev. 21:4).
5) When the Holy Spirit works in men’s hearts
He
shines
judges and demonstrates. When believers mourn for sins
the Holy Spirit
gets a chance to work deeply in them and deliver them out of things that are
condemned by God.
Luke. 6:22 “Blessed are you when men
hate you
And when they exclude you
And revile you
and cast out your name as
evil
For the Son of Man's sake.”
YLT: “`Happy are ye when
men shall hate you
and when they shall separate you
and shall reproach
and
shall cast forth your name as evil
for the Son of Man’s sake”
Literal Meaning: “when men hate you…
for the Son of Man’s sake” They are hated by men not for the sake of their own
failings or the other reasons but for the sake of the Son of Man (i.e. the Lord
Jesus).
“They exclude you” It indicates that men
mark them out of their circle (boundary)
that is to reject them out of their
circle and do not contact with them.
“And revile you” this is greater then
“excluding you”. They do not acknowledge them and even slander their fame in
order to make the people also despise them.
“And cast out your name as evil” They
reject both them and their name.
“As evil” indicates “to treat as evil
ones”. This “evil” in the original indicates “those who are not only evil and
but also able to make others evil”. In other words
they are treaded as
pestilent men.
“Blessed are you.” It is the present
tense. The one is blessed just at the time he is reviled and humiliated instead
of the future.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) If it is not for the sake of “the Son of Man”
all the sacrifices and sufferings are of no value.
2) The world hates us because it has hated the Lord
before us; If they have persecuted the Lord
they will also persecute us (John.
15:18-20).
3) If we indeed
believe in the Lord
we will be persecuted. Being persecuted for the Lord is
essential for citizens of the
4) Lies and slanders are common ways used to
persecute Christians. The world is unable to find any fault of the true
believers so that they make fabrications. From the other point of view
if we
lie
actually we are persecuting others in disguised form.
5) In the assembly
many believers who truly love
the Lord are always hated
excluded
slandered and excommunicated by the
leaders of the assembly and they are treated as pestilent ones and leaven.
6) Many people are weak when they are not faced
with persecutions. However
they are very strong contrarily when persecutions
come to them. Because the life in them manifests its feature that is to
willingly stand for the Lord.
Luke. 6:23 “Rejoice in that day and
leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven
For in like manner
their fathers did to the prophets.”
YLT: “rejoice in that
day
and leap
for lo
your reward [is] great in the heaven
for according to
these things were their fathers doing to the prophets.”
Literal
Meaning: “your reward is
great in heaven” “great” shows that the reward is great and numerous so that it
cannot be described by words.
“In like manner their fathers did to the
prophets.” It indicates the elders dealt with the prophets in the same manner
that is recorded in v.22. This shows that we are exalted highly that we are
even numbered with the prophets and we are counted worthy to be dishonored for
the name of the Lord (See Acts. 5:41).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) We should rejoice and leap for joy just at the
time we are reviled and slandered by others for the Lord’s sake instead of the
future.
2) The Lord meant that we should turn our eyes to
“behold” (this word exists in the original) from the earth to the heaven
from
the difficulties to the reward
from the present loss to the gain in future
when we are hated by men.
3) Concerning the way of a Christian
if there are
persecutions
they are blessings because there are heavenly rewards. It is
abnormal if everything goes smoothly and prosperously.
4) When Christians are persecuted or slandered by
others
we should not sigh or remain silent
we should “rejoice and leap for joy”.
5) The sufferings of this present time are not
worthy with the coming glory to be revealed to us (Rom. 8:18).
6) If we are willing to receive the reward that the
prophets had received
we have to pay what the prophets had paid and suffer
what the prophets had suffered (Matt. 23:34
37).
7) If there is little persecution
there will be
little joy. If there is great persecution
there will be great joy. Those who
do not have this experience will never comprehend this kind of joy.
8) “The prophets” are those who understand and
spread the truth. The one who is willing to pay price for the truth will surely
have the great reward in heaven.
Luke. 6:24 “‘But
woe to you who are rich
For you have received your consolation.”
YLT: “`But wo to you the
rich
because ye have got your comfort.”
Literal Meaning: the four “woe”s from
v.24 to v.26 are the reverse side of the four “blessings” from v. 20 to v.23.
“But woe to you who are rich” “who are
rich” are those who are satisfied with the earthly wealth and have no desire to
seek for the spiritual wealth.
“You have received your consolation”
“having received” is the commercial term in the original and it is used to
confess that the funds have been received completely and therefore it means
that “you have fully received”.
Luke. 6:25 “Woe to you who are full
For you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now
For you shall mourn and weep.”
YLT: “`Wo to you who have
been filled because ye shall hunger. ‘Wo to you who are laughing now because ye
shall mourn and weep.”
Literal Meaning: “Woe to you who are
full” “who are full” are those who are filled with the things of this life and
have no desire to seek the enjoyment of the coming.
“Woe to you who laugh now” “who laugh”
are those who only care about the enjoyment in the soul and do not seek the joy
in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17).
Luke. 6:26 “Woe to you when all men
speak well of you
For so did their fathers to the false prophets.”
YLT: “`Wo to you when all
men shall speak well of you for according to these things were their fathers
doing to false prophets.”
Literal Meaning: “when all men speak
well of you” They walk in order to please men rather than please God (Gal.
1:10). Though they are praised by all because of this
they lose the praise of
God.
“For so did their fathers to the false
prophets” It is the actual condition of the circle of the religion that they
treat the true prophets evilly and deal with the false prophets well (See
v.23).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Undoubtedly
the one who speaks for God should
not displease others without reason. However
he should not shun to speak
because of the fear of men’s displeasure (See Acts. 20:27).
2) The feature of the false prophets is that they
cover themselves up with peace in order to please the multitudes (Ezek.
13:8-16). The ministers who please men with fine-sounding words and make the
will of God blurry will certainly be punished by God.
Luke. 6:27 “‘But
I say to you who hear: Love your enemies
do good to those who hate you
”
YLT: “`But I say to you
who are hearing
Love your enemies
do good to those hating you
”
Literal Meaning: “love your enemies”
“enemies” are those who are hostile to us and against us. “Love” in the
original is the divine love (agapao)
showing that this love is of the life of
God instead of men’s natural life.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) It is very rare that one does not hate his
enemies
however
he still has not reached the demand of the Lord. The Lord not
only asks us not to hate enemies but also asks us to “love” our enemies.
2) There is a secret weapon in the spiritual
arsenal------the weapon of love; love is all-conquering and love overruns all
fortifications. However
it is not our natural love but the love given by God.
3) Love is able to convert enemies into friends and
hatred is able to convert friends into enemies.
4) The enemies are not strangers but those of our
own in the house of God. If we love our enemies
there won’t be enemies.
Luke. 6:28 “bless those who curse
you
and pray for those who spitefully use you.”
YLT: “bless those cursing
you
and pray for those accusing you falsely;”
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The common reaction of the world is that they
curse those who curse them and they spitefully use those who accuse them
falsely. The reaction of the noble ones is that they bear patiently and keep
silent. The reaction of Christians is that they bless those who curse them
(Rom. 12:14) and pray for those who spitefully use them.
2) When Christians are persecuted
the most
effective countermeasure is to pray. Through prayer we could ask God to work to
change the conditions so that we could lead a quiet and peaceful life (1Tim.
2:1-2).
Luke. 6:29 “To him who strikes you on
the one cheek
offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak
do
not withhold your tunic either.”
YLT: “and to him smiting
thee upon the cheek
give also the other
and from him taking away from thee
the mantle
also the coat thou mayest not keep back.”
Literal Meaning: “who strikes you on
the one cheek” It indicates others’ wrongfully evil treatment.
“Offer the other also” Only when the one
who is struck does not hate the other at all can he offer the other cheek also.
It is impossible for our endurance or self-cultivation to do it. It must be the
life of God that could do it.
“Who takes away your cloak” It indicates
others’ wrongfully evil exploitation.
“Do not withhold your tunic either.”
“Tunic” is the belonging next to the skin of a man and it is the most
reasonable enjoyment to a man (even the poor have the tunic). When we are
dispossessed of our wealth by others unfairly
we do not repossess the wealth
and even are willing to sacrifice ourselves in order to benefit others.
Spiritual Meaning: “striking on one
cheek” symbolizes humiliation. We should be unconventional so that glory
dishonor
evil report and good report (2Cor. 6:8) would never affect us.
“Taking away the cloak” symbolizes
losing one’s privacy. We have become a spectacle to the world
both too angels
and men for the sake of the Lord (1Cor. 4:9). We are willing to lose the right
of privacy about our life.
Controversial Clarification: note that in this verse the Lord did not
teach us the nonresistance. Neither did He teach us that there’s no need to
guard against evil works of the evil. The Lord taught us to know God’s life in
us. He also taught us that when something crops up
we should react by God’s
life instead of our natural life. At the same time
the words in this verse
were said to Christians
therefore we should never tell these to unbelievers
lest we may receive unnecessary humiliation. It is unprofitable both to us and
others (See Matt. 7:6).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The world argues that which one fought earlier.
The behavior of the other who fought later is the justice self-defense.
However
Christians do not fight at first and are even unwilling to hit back.
2) When one strikes us “on the one cheek”
it is
the Lord that uses men’s hands to increase our tolerance and make us grow up.
Therefore
our best reaction is to “offer the other also” in order to fulfill
what the Lord does by men’s hands.
3) “The one cheek”: the Lord deals with us. “The other”: we
standing on
the side of the Lord
deal with us. The spiritual increase lies in agreeing to
be dealt with gladly through the cross of the Lord.
4) If we know that the “hand” of man is the “tool”
used by the Lord
we won’t fell angry or uncomfortable when being “struck” and
we will be glad contrarily.
5) It is absolutely wrongful for others to take
away our tunic. It is absolutely wrongful to give others our cloak. Christians
do not walk according to the reasons.
6) Christians do not reason according to
correctness or wrongness. The Christian who reasons lives in his brain (soul)
instead of life (spirit).
Luke. 6:30 “Give to everyone who asks
of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.”
YLT: “`And to every one
who is asking of thee
be giving; and from him who is taking away thy goods
be
not asking again;”
Literal Meaning: “give to everyone
who asks of you” Here it did not mean the benefaction without discernment. It
meant that we should stand aloof so that our hearts won’t be occupied by
treasure because treasure will most probably occupy men’s hearts (Matt. 6:21).
“And from him who takes away your goods
do not ask them back.” “Take away” is to rob with violence. The Lord did not
mean to let us encourage the actions of violence and allow others to commit a
crime. He meant that we should not act with violence to those who treat us with
violence or take away the things of those who rob us.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Your treasure is not of you. God has entrusted
you to manage your treasure.
2) When someone comes to ask you for help
you
should regard him as a messenger from God to test your intention.
Luke. 6:31 “And just as you want men
to do to you
you also do to them likewise.”
YLT: “and as ye wish that
men may do to you
do ye also to them in like manner;”
Literal
Meaning: if we consider
others in their positions
it is the principle of citizens of the
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Confucius said that “do not do to others what
you would not have them do to you” And in other religions
there were similar
teachings. “Do not do…” is the negative philosophic word. However what the Lord
taught is positive. He asked us to “do this” positively. It is the difference
of Christianity compared with all the other religions and philosophy.
2) How Christians treat others is according to
supreme principle instead of the fact.
3) It is not to control oneself so that he won’t
harm others but to benefit others. It is not merely that you do not seize from
others. You should give. It is not merely that you should not murder. You
should also love others.
4) If you want to be dealt with kindly and be
concerned about
you have to deal with others with the same attitude. It is the
golden rule of love.
Luke. 6:32 “‘But
if you love those who love you
what credit is that to you? For even sinners
love those who love them.”
YLT: “and if ye love those
loving you
what grace have ye? for also the sinful love those loving them;”
Literal Meaning: “what credit is that
to you?” “Credit” means “grace” in the original and it indicates God’s
graciousness and reward.
“For even sinners love those who love them”
It shows that the love of the world is “reciprocal” and men love those who love
them.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The love of Christians should be different from
the love of the world. If we only love those who love us
we are thoroughly the
same with the world and therefore we could not gain the reward of God.
2) We could love those who love us by the natural
life. We have to rely on the life of God to love those who hate us (See v.27).
Luke. 6:33 “And if you do good to
those who do good to you
what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the
same.”
YLT: “and if ye do good
to those doing good to you
what grace have ye? for also the sinful do the
same;”
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The deeds of Christians should differ from that
of sinners. If we do what sinners do
how should God reward us instead of
sinners?
2) The best way for Christians to deal with the
evil of others is to do good to those who do evil to us
i.e. to overcome evil
with good (See Rom. 12:20-21).
Luke. 6:34 “And if you lend to those from whom you hope to
receive back
what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to
receive as much back.”
YLT: “and if ye lend [to
those] of whom ye hope to receive back
what grace have ye? for also the sinful
lend to sinners that they may receive again as much.”
Luke. 6:35 “But love your enemies
do
good
and lend
hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great
and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and
evil.”
YLT: “`But love your
enemies
and do good
and lend
hoping for nothing again
and your reward will
be great
and ye shall be sons of the Highest
because He is kind unto the
ungracious and evil;”
Meaning of Words: “love” the divine
love (agapao in the original).
Literal Meaning: “love your enemies”
The feelings of believers should exceed the natural love and hatred. On one
hand
we should abhor evil and cleave to good (Rom. 12:9) and not be
fellow-partakers with the evil (Eph. 5:7). However
on the other
we should
love the souls of sinners with mercy.
“Hoping for nothing in return” it means
“do not treat it as a loss at all”.
“And you will be sons of the Most High”
“The Most High” is God. This shows that it is the corresponding expression of
the life and disposition of the Son of God to love enemies and lend
hoping
nothing in return.
“For He is kind to the unthankful and
evil” God makes
His sun rise on the evil and on the good
and sends rain on the just and on the
unjust (Matt. 5:45). He
deals with the world with justice and He does not discriminate men because of
their unthankfulness and evil.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Men’s love (phileo in the original) is
conditional and dominated by circumstances. Men only love the lovable. God’s
love (agapao in original) is unconditional and therefore God loves the
unlovable.
2) Since God grants us whatever is requested and we
are dealt kindly with by God
we should do good to others like this and be the
channels of God’s grace towards each other to spread God’s grace.
3) We could not love enemies or lend to others
hoping for noting in return
by us. However
we are the sons of God and God’s
life is in us and therefore we could do what everyman cannot do.
4) God gives men what they do not deserve and He gives
them more than what they expect. As long as we let God live out of us
we will
give men what they do not deserve.
Luke. 6:36 “Therefore be merciful
just as your Father also is merciful.”
YLT: “be ye therefore
merciful
as also your Father is merciful.”
Literal Meaning: “just as your Father
also is merciful.” “Merciful” means to show sympathy and kindness towards men;
“your Father” indicates the Father in heaven. God does not punish us according
to what we deserve and this is His mercy. In like manner
when others do evil
to us
we could revenge originally
however
we choose to forgive others and do
good to men.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) “Just as your Father also is merciful.” This
sentence implies us that as long as we rely on the heavenly life of God
we
could be merciful just as the Father is merciful.
2) Since God deals with us with his merciful bowel
as a father
we should also deal with others with God’s bowel.
Luke. 6:37 “‘Judge
not
and you shall not be judged. Condemn not
and you shall not be condemned.
Forgive
and you will be forgiven.”
YLT: “`And judge not
and
ye may not be judged; condemn not
and ye may not be condemned; release
and ye
shall be released.”
Meaning of Words: “judge”: condemn
distinguish and decide; “condemn”: to adjust against
pronounce guilty;
“forgive”: loose
let go.
Literal
Meaning: “judge not” “judge”
means to pick on others’ disadvantages and condemn others’ sins. The Lord here
did not mean that we should not discern cautiously according to facts or judge
of and approve the things that are more excellent (Pill. 1:9-10). The Lord
meant that we should not put our subjective feelings
bias and etc into
objective facts and judge others with malice.
“And you shall not be judged.” “Be
judged” is the obverse of “judge”. Here
the one is judged “by God” more than
“by men” (See 1Cor. 4:3-4).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) “Love” never does two things------“love” neither
“judges” nor “condemns” others.
2) “Judge” means that I
standing on the side of my
words
speak with my subjective opinions instead of the objective opinions.
Those who judge others certainly have not been divorced from selves.
3) The principle of God’s instruction to His sons
and daughters is: others will treat you by the way that you treat others.
4) The principle for believers’ walking is to be
strict with themselves and lenient towards others. The more progress a believer
makes in spirit
the more will he judge himself and the less will he judge
others.
5) In the age of grace
what we need is not
judicial judgment but provision of life. We testify Christ not by the
correction of outward behaviors but by the inner manifestation of life.
6) If believers
concentrating on details and
forgetting the main purpose
only seek for the increase of spiritual knowledge
instead of the growth of spiritual life
the spiritual intelligence will make
them become judgers who use spiritual knowledge to condemn others.
7) Those who love to judge others live on the
principle of the law instead of the reality of life. The more deeply we live in
the reality of life
the more easily we are divorced from the spirit of
judgment.
8) We have to live in the light of the Lord if we
do not want to judge others. Only those who are full of the light of the Lord
are able to not judge others.
9) The reason why one judges others is that he does
not know his own corruption. The more one knows himself
the less he dares to
criticize others and the more lenient he is towards others.
10) Judgment without mercy to him that has shown no
mercy (James. 2:13).
11) Believers should not criticize or condemn
others randomly. Your attitude towards others affect God’s attitude towards
you.
12) Even though our
intention is for God
our behavior may be unworthy of God. Therefore we should
ask God to forgive us and then we could approach with boldness to Him and pray
to God (Heb. 4:16).
13) If we want God to forgive us our trespasses
we
have to forgive men their trespasses at first. Only those who are able to
forgive others could be worthy to pray for God.
Luke. 6:38 “Give
and it will be
given to you: good measure
pressed down
shaken together
and running over
will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use
it will be
measured back to you.’”
YLT: “`Give
and it shall
be given to you; good measure
pressed
and shaken
and running over
they
shall give into your bosom; for with that measure with which ye measure
it
shall be measured to you again.’”
The
Background: “be put into your
bosom” the cloaks that the Jews wore in the ancient times were very large.
There was a fold above the waist and it could be used as a big pocket (bag) to
hold the barley of large quantity (See Ruth. 3:15).
Literal Meaning: “good measure” it
shows that what God gives to us must not be less than what we give to others.
God never treats men unfairly.
“Pressed down
shaken together.” It shows that it is solid without any
vacant space. What God gives to us is very.
“Running over” shows that it exceeds
abundantly above all that we ask or think (See Eph. 3:20).
“For with the same measure that you use”
“measure” originally indicates the utensil (such as the Chinese peck) that is
used to measure food. Here it is used to describe their attitude towards each
other.
“It will be measured back to you.” It
indicates God’s reward is determined by how we treat others.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) “Give
and it will be given to you.” It is the principle how we receive God’s grace:
we have to deal with others kindly first and then we could hope for God’s
grace.
2) If God’s children are poor in material or
spirit
they certainly have not obeyed the law that is established by
God------they have not given first.
3) The secret for believers to be abundant is to
“give”. If one wants to be abundant
he should give and he should keep if he
wants to be poor.
4) The principle of the world’s financial operation
is to keep expenditures within the limits of income and the principle of
Christians’ financial operation is to “gain as you give”. If something is wrong
with the income of believers
something must be wrong with their expenditure.
5) Our God is the God of generosity and He is never
stingy. His reward towards us always exceeds what we have given to others.
6) “For with the same measure that you use
it will be
measured back to you.” The more one
gives
the more he will receive. The less one gives
the less he will receive.
This is an unchangeable principle. With a great measure with which you mete
it
shall be measured to you greatly.
Luke. 6:39 “And He spoke a parable to
them: ‘Can the blind lead the
blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?”
YLT: “And he spake a
simile to them
`Is blind able to lead blind? shall they not both fall into a
pit?”
Literal Meaning: “Can the blind lead the blind?” The former blind indicates the scribes and
Pharisees and the latter blind is the ignorant people (See Rom. 2:19). Their
thoughts all have been blinded by the god of this world
so that they cannot
see the light of the glad tidings of the glory of Christ (See 2Cor. 4:3-4).
“Will they not both fall into the
ditch?” Good teachers will
bring up good students and vise verse. If one follows the wrong teacher
he has
no prospects in the spiritual way.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Anyone who is unable to discern what is of men
or of God is spiritually blind.
2) “The blind lead the blind”. Ignorant ones like
to be teachers of others. Those who do not understand the will of God like to
spread God’s will to others.
3) Those who have not received revelations do work
without revelations and consequently the leader and those who are led all fall
into hopeless straits and despair (“fall into a ditch”).
Luke. 6:40 “A disciple is not above
his teacher
but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.”
YLT: “A disciple is not
above his teacher
but every one perfected shall be as his teacher.”
Literal Meaning: there were two
explanations about “a disciple is not above his teacher”:
A) If we see it according to v.39
“his
teacher” indicates the one who led the blind and “a disciple” indicates the
blind who was led. Therefore this verse shows that if a believer follows the
wrong teaching
he won’t be right in future.
B) If we compare it with the other
Gospels
“his teacher” indicates the Lord Jesus and “a disciple” indicates
believers and this sentence means that “if the teacher was persecuted and
slandered by men
should not rather his disciples?” (See Matt. 10:24-25). This
verse shows that we
the disciples of the Lord
should not be persecuted or
slandered by men more than how they have done towards the Lord.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) We are pupils of the Lord and we should learn
from Him. We are slaves of the Lord and we should obey Him in everything.
2) The Lord’s steps are the example for those who
serve the Lord to follow. It is inevitable for those who serve the Lord to walk
in the way of cross.
3) No matter how many sufferings a Christian
undergoes
at most he experiences the same as the Lord. The Lord knows our
tribulations on earth and this encourages us.
4) Since men abuse and blaspheme our Lord
we
should not hope that others may treat us kindly. Every time we are
misunderstood
persecuted or despised by others
we should remember how the
Lord was treated by men.
5) It is impossible that our Lord here received the
cross but we receive crowns. We should not hope to have different destinies and
future with the Lord. Anyone who seeks men’s glory is unable to be the true
disciple of the Lord.
6) If the way that the world treats us is different
from that to our Lord
probably something is wrong with us------there must be
some problems in our relations with the Lord.
Luke. 6:41 “And why do you look at
the speck in your brother's eye
but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?”
YLT: “`And why dost thou
behold the mote that is in thy brother’s eye
and the beam that [is] in thine
own eye dost not consider?”
Meaning of Words: “speck”: twig from
wood; “plank”: a stick of timber.
Literal Meaning: “why do you look at
the speck in your brother’s eye” “speck” originally means the twig from wood.
Here it means the small fault.
“But do not perceive the plank in your
own eye?” “Plank” originally means plank used in buildings. Here it means the
big fault.
“Speck” would hurt men but “plank” would press men
to death.
The thirty-seventh verse indicates the
consequence of judgment and this verse shows the inappropriateness of judging.
The general judgers only see others’ small faults and have not seen their own
bigger faults.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Anyone that is unable to see his own
shortcomings is not qualified to criticize others’ shortcomings.
2) Every time we criticize others
we should keep
in mind that we may have bigger faults.
3) The unclean ones would see the uncleanness of
others easily. The holy ones find it difficult to find others’ faults.
4) Our opinions towards faults are always not
exact. Those who are righteous in their own eyes always put the trivial above
the important (Matt. 18:9-14). The more faults one commits
the more he loves
to find fault with others.
5) The greatest problem in our contacting with
others is the lack of love. Those who love to criticize others are lacking the
mostly wanting love in themselves.
6) If we have more love in us
we won’t anxiously
criticize others for the things that they have and we do not have and we will
show more mercy and kindness when judging others.
Luke. 6:42 “Or how can you say to
your brother
‘Brother
let me remove the
speck that is in your eye
' when you yourself do not see the plank that is in
your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye
and then you
will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye.”
YLT: “or how art thou
able to say to thy brother
Brother
suffer
I may take out the mote that [is]
in thine eye thyself the beam in thine own eye not beholding? Hypocrite
take
first the beam out of thine own eye
and then thou shalt see clearly to take
out the mote that [is] in thy brother’s eye.”
Literal Meaning: “when you yourself
do not see the plank that is in your own eye?” “Plank” not only indicates one’s
serious fault but also implies that one has prejudice against others and
therefore his sight has been blinded to see the truth.
“How can you say to your brother” It
shows that he is unable to judge justly.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Believers should examine themselves before they
criticize others.
2) The more one knows himself
the less he dares to
condemn others.
3) The spiritual sight is to deal with oneself.
4) Firstly
we have to get rid of the evil
intention of censoriousness and kick the impious and bad habit of finding fault
with others
and then we may clearly see the fact.
5) Others would use the same standard by which we
treat others to treat us.
6) What we should see clearly is how to remove the
speck instead of the speck itself. When we want to remove the speck from
brother’s eye
seeing the speck clearly is not important
what’s important is
to be looked lovely in brother’s eyes and naturally the speck will be removed.
7) Firstly we have to be dealt with by the Lord and
then may help to deal with others. Our personal experience would be of real
help to others. The cross always begins from us.
Luke. 6:43 “‘For
a good tree does not bear bad fruit
nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.”
YLT: “`For there is not a
good tree making bad fruit
nor a bad tree making good fruit;”
Literal Meaning: this verse is the
judgment that God has made towards two kinds of life------after their kind (Gen.
1:11). Fruit that is borne from holy life (“good tree”) is totally different
from the fruit from natural life (“bad tree”) (Gal. 5:19-23). A certain kind of
life would bear that kind of fruit (Rom. 6:21-22
7:4-5). If we live and work
by the life of God (“good tree”)
we will naturally bear spiritual “good
fruit”. Otherwise
what men see from us will assuredly be “bad fruit” borne
from the corruptive flesh (“bad tree”).
Some Bible exegetes held that “tree”
meant the teaching
“good tree” meant the correct teaching and “bad tree” meant
the teachings of false prophets. The correct teaching would generate correct
character (“fruit”) in listeners and the wrong teaching would make listeners
have wrong character (“fruit”).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) A certain kind of life would bear that kind of
performance and achievements of work.
2) In order to seek spiritual things
one has to be
cautious to choose the leader. If we follow the wrong leader such as the false
prophet
we will suffer losses in future.
3) Our problem does not lie in whether it is good
or not outwardly
but lies in by which kind of life we do things. If we do by
the life of Christ
we will bear good fruit. If we do by natural life
we will
assuredly bear bad fruit even the thing we do is good.
4) Though the outward appearance could be imitated
the inward life could never be imitated. The Holy life will inevitably lead men
to concentrate on God Himself and love heavenly things. The natural life will
inevitably lead men to look at themselves and care about earthly things.
Luke. 6:44 “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.”
YLT: “for each tree from
its own fruit is known
for not from thorns do they gather figs
nor from a
bramble do they crop a grape.”
Literal Meaning: “For every tree is
known by its own fruit.” “Fruit” is the fleshly behavior generated by men’s
nature. We judge people not only by their appearance and their words (John.
7:24)
but also by proving their fruit of life and service behind men.
Spiritual Meaning: “For men do not gather figs
from thorns
nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.” The land yield “thorns” and “thistles’ by
God’s curse after men’s fall (Gen. 3:18). Therefore they symbolize men’s
natural flesh. “Grapes” and “figs” are the representation of the products in
the
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) “Fruit” is the manifestation of internal life.
We could know the nature of life through fruit. It is inaccurate to see
spiritual things by appearance and it is accurate to see by outcome.
2) Words of the Lord show that the fruit in this
verse comes from the teachings (the prophets) in the former verse. Only correct
teachings could bear correct fruit.
Luke. 6:45 “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.”
YLT: “`The good man out
of the good treasure of his heart doth bring forth that which [is] good; and
the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart doth bring forth that which
[is] evil; for out of the abounding of the heart doth his mouth speak.”
Literal Meaning: the two “treasure”
in the original is like the way to receive and store the strongbox of the bank.
If we receive and keep some thoughts in our hearts
we will speak them out
through our lips.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Please search me
the Lord and let the words of
my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight (See Ps.
19:14).
2) If we want to rule our mouths
we have to rule
our hearts first (Prov. 25:28).
3) From one’s words
we could know the person
because words greatly reflect one’s heart.
4) Out of heart are the issues of life (Prov. 4:23)
and therefore we should deal with our inner intentions first and then we will
have the natural and mature outward behavior and life.
Luke. 6:46 “‘But
why do you call Me ‘Lord
Lord
’ and not do the things which I say?”
YLT: “`And why do ye call
me
Lord
Lord
and do not what I say?”
Literal Meaning: “why do you call me
‘Lord
Lord’” For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the
outward appearance
but the Lord looks at the heart (1Sam. 16:7). He is the one
who searches the minds and hearts (Rev. 2:23). He knew that many people drew
near to Him with their mouth
but their heart was far from Him (Matt. 15:8).
Certainly the hypocritical do not have any portion of the kingdom of heaven.
“And not do the things which I say?” The
one who does not keep the word of the Lord and do as he pleases does not obey
the authority of the Lord.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Following the Lord lies in not only their oral
words (“Lord
Lord”) but also their actual deeds (“do the things which the Lord
says”).
2) Many believers always say “thank the Lord” and
“praise the Lord” with their mouth
however
in daily life
they make decisions
according to their own opinions in all things and overlook the word of the
Lord.
3) The Lord abandons all the works of men unless they
obey His word.
Luke. 6:47 “Whoever comes to Me
and
hears My sayings and does them
I will show you whom he is like:”
YLT: “Every one who is
coming unto me
and is hearing my words
and is doing them
I will shew you to
whom he is like;”
Literal Meaning: “whoever comes to
Me” the word of the Lord is the rock and ground of the life and work of God’s
people. If we hear the Lord’s sayings and do them
we do build our whole life
upon the ground of the words of the Lord.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) The doctrines and teachings of Christianity are
not for men to tell and hear (Acts. 17:20-21) but for those who hear to put
them into practice.
2) It is good that men have intelligence to
understand the Lord’s sayings. What’s more important for men is to keep and do
the Lord’ sayings.
Luke. 6:48 “He is like a man building
a house
who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood
arose
the stream beat vehemently against that house
and could not shake it
for it was founded on the rock.”
YLT: “he is like to a man
building a house
who did dig
and deepen
and laid a foundation upon the rock
and a flood having come
the stream broke forth on that house
and was not able
to shake it
for it had been founded upon the rock.”
Spiritual Meaning: “dug deep” indicates
to dig out the sand on the surface layer. Man is formed of the dust of the
ground (Gen. 2:7) and therefore “sand” typifies the natural love
opinions and
ways.
“It was founded on the rock.” “Rock”
typifies the Lord’s will that has been revealed in His words.
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) Words of God are settled
as rock
in the
heavens (Ps. 119:89). Only on the basis of the words of the Lord could we have
solid building.
2) The assembly (“house”) must be built “upon this
rock” (Matt. 16:18). Only Christ Himself is the foundation to build the
assembly (1Cor. 3:11).
3) If the life and work of God’s people is founded
upon the Lord’s word
they will withstand the tests of circumstances from all
aspects and they won’t be offended because of the tribulation and persecution
(Matt. 13:21).
4) Today if we walk according to the Lord’s
principle on the earth
we won’t be conquered by any trial and in that day we
won’t be conquered by the trial of judgment.
5) If believers behave upon the foundation of the
Lord’s words
their character and morals will certainly withstand the severe
tests (“the
stream beat vehemently against”).
6) As long as one digs out all the earthly things
through the deep work of the cross
------“who dug deep” and regards Christ as the only foundation------“laid the foundation on the
rock”
he could have solid building and he could
withstand every strike and test------“the stream beat vehemently against that house
and could
not shake it”.
Luke. 6:49 “But he who heard and did
nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation
against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin
of that house was great.’”
YLT: “`And he who heard
and did not
is like to a man having builded a house upon the earth
without a
foundation
against which the stream brake forth
and immediately it fell
and
the ruin of that house became great.’”
The
Background: in the
Literal Meaning: if we are hearers
and not doers (James. 1:23)
we do follow our own inclinations and do what is
right in our own eyes. If our life and work are built upon the foundation of
men’s will
they won’t withstand tests in all kinds of circumstances. They will
fall and suffer losses. The losses are certainly very great. We may suffer
losses not only in this age but also in the coming (1Cor. 3:15).
Enlightenment in the Word:
1) In men’s eyes
whether one is wise or foolish
depends on his ability to work
however
in the eyes of God
whether one is
wise or foolish depends on his reaction towards the Lord’s words.
2) If we build our life on the basis of anything
besides the Lord Himself
even the best things such as the Law of God and the
virtue of men
we do build on the sand and the building cannot withstand
trials.
3) If any man is a hearer and not a doer
the
result is very serious (“and the ruin of that house was great”).
4) If our life is built on the basis of ways and
opinions besides the Lord
it will not withstand any trial and will suffer
greater loss in future.
5) If we turn away from the dig of the cross and
build on the foundation of the earthly things------“who built a house on the earth”
certainly we won’t withstand any strike
and suffer the dreadful situation------“it fell…and
the ruin of that house was great”.
III.
Outlines of the Spiritual Lessons
The Savior the Son of Man is the Reality of
the Sabbath
II. The Pharisees
were not allowed to do things on the Sabbath (v.2)------if men do not have the
Lord
the teachings and regulations will become their restrictions.
III. Those who were
with David ate the showbread (v.3-4)------if one follows the Lord
he is not
restricted by doctrines and regulations.
IV. The Son of Man
is also Lord of the Sabbath (v.5)------the Lord is above all the doctrines and
regulations.
V. On the Sabbath a
man whose right hand was withered was on the synagogue (v.6)------the religion
which stressed on the doctrines and regulations does not have rest because it
lacks the provision of life.
VI. The Pharisees
watched closely whether the Lord would heal on the Sabbath (v.7)------the
religionists only care about the doctrines and regulations and do not take to
heart whether men have rest.
VII. The Lord asked
them whether it was lawful on the Sabbath to save life or destroy
(v.8-9)------the Lord stresses on men’s need more than the doctrines and
regulations.
VIII. The Lord
healed the one whose right hand was withered (v.10)------the Lord brings men
the true rest.
The Spiritual Teachings from the Original
Meanings of the Names of the Apostles (v.14-16)
I. Workers of the
Lord have to “listen to” (the meaning of “Simon”) the word of the Lord and
surrender themselves as the making of the Lord’s building------stone (the
meaning of “Peter”
See 1Pet. 2:5).
II. We must be
strong (the meaning of “Andrew”) to work for the Lord.
III. The Lord’s
worker is the one who is able to seize (the meaning of “James”) God’s gifts
(the meaning of “John”).
IV. Bartholomew was
known as Nathanael. The Lord’s workers should deeply love (the meaning of
“Philip”) God’s gifts (the meaning of “Nathanael”).
V. Since the workers
of the Lord have received “the gifts of God” (the meaning of “Matthew”) from
the Lord
they have to “seize” (the meaning of “James”) and use the gifts (See
Matt. 25:14-21) and then the gifts of God will “change” (the meaning of
“Alphaeus”) into the doubling (the meaning of “Thomas”) grace.
VI. The most
important thing is to “earnestly listen to” (the meaning of “Simon the
Canaite”) the Lord from one’s heart.
VII. The behavior of
“worship” (the meaning of “Judas”) was superficial. Those who pretend to be
workers of the Lord in appearance may betray the Lord.
The Blessings and Woes
of Christians
II. Blessed are you who hunger in spirit now
(v.21a)------woe to you who are full in soul (v.25a).
III. Blessed are you who weep for the spiritual
conditions (v.21b)------woe to you who are laugh for the worldly conditions
(v.25b).
IV. Blessed are you who are rejected by men
for the sake of the Lord (v.22-23)------woe to you when all men speak well of
you (v.26).
The Principles for
Christians to Deal with Men
II. Do good to those who do evil (v.27
33
35).
III. Bless others and pray for them (v.28).
IV. Bear the humiliation (v. 29).
V. Give to everyone who asks you and lend
hoping for nothing in return (v.30
34-35).
VI. Do not act with violence to those who
treat us with violence (v.30b).
VII. Just as you want men to do to you
you
also do to them likewise (v.31).
VIII. Be sons of the Most High and be
merciful just as God the Father (v.35-36).
IX. Do not judge or condemn others and
forgive others (v.37).
X. With the same measure that you use
it
will be measured back to you (v.38).
XI. Do not be the master of many people
(v.39-40).
XII. First remove the plank from your own
eye
and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your
brother's eye (v.41-42).
How to Be the Sons
of the Most High
I. We should love the enemies with the love
of God (v.27
35).
II. We should be kind to the unthankful and
evil like God (v.27-35).
III. We should be as merciful as God (v.36).
IV. We should give generously like God
(v.38).
V. We should learn from the Lord (v.39-40).
VI. We should deal with ourselves first and
then we are able to help others (v. 41-42).
VII. We should live by God’s life and bear
the fruit of God’s life (v.43-45).
VIII. We should do the word of the Lord and
lay the foundation on the rock (v.46-49).
The Standards for
Christians to Walk
I. He should walk by the life of the Spirit
instead of the natural life (v.43-44).
II. He should deal with his own intention
and then there will be the normally outward manifestations (v.45).
III. He should not be the one who honors the
Lord with mouth but does not do the word of the Lord (v.46).
IV. He hears the Lord’s sayings and does
them is like a man building a house who laid the foundation on the rock
(v.47-48).
V. He who heard the word of the Lord and did
nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation
and
immediately it fell (v.49).
──
Caleb Huang《Christian Digest Bible
Commentary Series》
Translated by Sharon Ren