Luke Chapter 6, Part 1

Matthew Davis

Luke Bible Study 2021 • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

Luke 6:1–26

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Pastor Matt Davis, Commentary Luke 6, Part 1

Verses 1-5 – Plucking Grain on the Sabbath

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.[1]

Verse 1

Second Sabbath after the first – This phrase gave my difficulty in determining exactly what it meant or when this was. Scholars who comment on it generally agree that this is the first Sunday after the second day of the feast of unleavened bread. The phrasing seems intentionally awkward and occurs in no other place than here.

Went through corn fields, plucked corn – Jesus and His disciples, on their travels were hungry and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. The issue will not be the act of plucking someone else’s grain, permissible by law for the wayfarer. (See Deut 23:24-25)

“When thou comest into thy neighbour’s vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel. When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour’s standing corn.”

Verse 2

And certain of the Pharisees – In other translations, this says, “some of the pharisees.” The idea is that Luke is not condemning all pharisees, for he knows of some righteous and some that are Christian.

Why do ye that which is not lawful on the Sabbath days – The question is directed to Christ, but is directed at the actions of His disciples. The text makes no mention of Christ performing the action, however, in the ancient times, a teacher would be held responsible for the actions of his students. Of the various reasons I love the KJV, where other translations would say “you,” instead of “ye,” which would give the impression the speaker is directing his thoughts towards a single person; the KJV uses “ye,” meaning a plurality of people, and “thee,” in reference to a single person.

The Pharisees present the action of plucking grain as a violation of the fourth commandment. In Jesus response, He will not answer in regards to the violation, but rather, to demonstrate that He is the Lord over the sabbath.

Verse 3

Jesus answered them – Taking responsibility for His disciples.

Have ye not read – As Christ does often, He will deflect their question with a question of His own. The Pharisees are supposed to be well studied in the scripture, He will point them to a prominent figure who broke the law.

What David did – Christ is referencing the story found in 1 Samuel 21:1-6, where David, himself was an hungred, and they which were with him.

Verse 4

He went into the house of God – We should remember this is the mobile tabernacle of God used in the wilderness, the first temple was not built until the reign of Solomon.

And did take and eat the shewbread – This was a bread prepared in a specific way and designed to eat in the service of the temple.

Was not lawful to eat but for the priests alone – Christ emphasizes that what David had done was a violation of the law in the temple. Due to his hunger, and his mens hunger, it was overlooked and none said anything. Christ demonstrates this, because if they could violate the laws of the temple for hunger, how much more shall He and His disciples be abled to satisfy their hunger when they have nothing more to eat.

Verse 5

The Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath – This would have been an outstanding claim. No one has claimed to be Lord over and divine institution save God alone. We shall not confuse Son of Man to include men, human people by nature, but that the title alone refers to Christ. It is here in which He directly claims to be of divine nature and have the right over the sabbath days.

Verses 6-11 – A Man with a Withered Hand Healed

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.[2]

Verse 6

On another Sabbath – Luke links the two accounts closely together, separating only by the Sabbaths they occurred on. They actual date of this account is left out, but we can assume it is close to the occurrence of the first.

He entered into the synagogue and taught – Jesus purpose in the synagogue was to teach. This has become His tradition and will also become the tradition of Paul.

There was a man whose right hand was withered – The phrase right hand does not explicitly refer to the right hand. It does refer to the most important hand, or the dominant hand of the person. Later in this chapter, Luke will omit the word Right (verse 29) but in chapter 22 will once again become specific enough to identify the hand. More than likely, this person was right hand dominant. Withered gives the idea of paralyzed or muscle atrophy. The hand has become useless.

Verse 7

The scribes and pharisees watched Him – They were very familiar with the healing power of Christ and His previous views of the Sabbath day. They then set to watch Him closely, as to catch Him in the act. Their hope was that caught healing on the Sabbath, they could find legal justification to heal them.

Verse 8

He knew their thoughts – Jesus continues to present, as He has a few times throughout the gospel, He has a prophetic ability to understand and foreknow the thoughts of the human mind.

Said to the man with a withered hand, arise, stand in the midst – Christ sets the scene with the man in an area of the room where it would be clear to the audience what He would be doing. He was not only going to heal the man, but was going to make it clear to everyone that He was going to. The scribes and Pharisees are likely jumping with joy inside about now. Christ, however, is ready to confront His opponents.

Verse 9

Is it lawful, to do good or evil, save or destroy… On the Sabbath – Christ proposes a question, that on the Sabbath, and this refers to any day or time, if it is more lawful to do good or evil, to save life, or to destroy life. Christ leaves no option for the middle ground. There is no option for neutrality. To be neutral and fail to do good is in effect doing evil.

For the many who would argue neutrality is best, or argue the grey area, Christ refused to give acknowledgement to either.

Verse 10

Looking round about them all – This is to give them an opportunity to respond to His question. When not one could answer Him Christ preceded as planned.

Stretch forth thy hand – The silence from the crow was seen as an approval of the healing. Christ then precedes to heal the man, and his hand was restored whole as the other.

Verse 11

They were angry – This is more than angry, but the specific word represents over filled with wild anger. They were besides themselves. They set up to trap Jesus and instead they were played by Him. They knew they couldn’t defeat His question and to instruct Christ in front of the crowd to evil would have made them look bad. Christ got away with what they wanted Him for. For Christ, this would have given legal justification as well, for He could have argued that He gave them a chance to instruct Him otherwise and they proceeded to allow the actions, thus, condemning them along with Him if they pushed this instance.

Communed one with another what they would do – Their anger and confusion at Christ getting away with this has caused them to begin plotting against Christ.

Verses 12-16 – Selection of Twelve Apostles

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.[3]

Verse 12

On a mountain to pray – The mountain is also mentioned in Mark, however, of the four gospels, only Luke mentions that Christ prayed here before selecting His apostles. Luke, through Luke and Acts, places heavy emphasis on the act of prayer before major decisions, and to show to magnitude of prayers important, tells to us, He continued all night in prayer to God.

Verse 13

When it was day – At daybreak, after praying all night.

He called unto Him His disciples – The phrase His disciples here refers to the wider audience who had attached themselves to and followed Him. In the Bible, a disciple was a student. Unlike today, a student did not simply study a topic, but literally attached themselves to a specific teacher. There are at least eighty or so people in this group, of which He chose twelve. Later in Luke, (Chapter 10) He will also send a group of seventy.

He chose twelve – This represents the number of the tribes of Israel, and symbolically shows Christ forming the true Israel, that is, the people of God, the Spiritual Israel.

Called them apostles – The phrase apostle means “to send,” or “someone sent, a messenger.” Of the gospels, Luke uses the phrase the most, at six times (and twenty-eight more in Acts), whereas, Matt and John use the term once, with Mark possible using it twice depending on the translation used.

Many cults today continue to use the phrase apostle, and one prominent denomination, the lds church, continues to use both the twelve and the seventy, claiming the structure and organization Christ set up, that He called those people as apostles.

While the word itself does mean, “to be sent,” there were Biblical qualification to be called an apostle. All others of which can be disciples, but not apostles. The first qualification is to be called and sent of Christ. If Christ does not commission you, you cannot be His disciple. So what are the other qualifications?

1. You must be an eye witness – A fact Paul argued of Himself when He defended His commission of Christ (1 Cor 9:1) “Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord?” (1 Corinthians 9:1, KJV 1900)

2. An apostle must have been present during the ministry of Christ (also an eye witness technically) (Acts 1:22) “Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.” (Acts 1:22, KJV 1900)

I conclude it safe to state, then, that none today can be called apostles in the Biblical sent, although, we are all indeed, sent with the great commission.

Verse 14

Simon – By far, the most popular of the original twelve, He was renamed of Christ to be Peter. Peter means rock and the explanation for the naming is found in Matt 16:16-19. From this point in the gospel forward, Luke shall refer to Simon as Peter.

Andrew – Placed next to his brother, is also identified as a fishermen.

James and John – Another set of fishermen brothers, the sons of Zebedee. The James listed here is James the Great, whereas the brother of Christ, James, is James the Less. James was martyred in the forties, ad, by Herod Agrippa.

Philip – Came from Bethsaida, the same city as Peter and Andrew.

Bartholomew – There is no reference to the apostle in the New Testament other than His name listed as one of the twelve.

Verse 15

Matthew – Identified as Levi earlier, the same tax collector from chapter five. In the book of Matthew you can find the renaming of Levi.

Thomas – Also called “Didymus,” “The Twin,” and “Doubting Thomas.”

James son of Alphaeus – Not much known about this James, he is not to be confused with James the brother of John, James of Mark 15:40, or James the brother of Christ.

Simon the Zealot – The political party, the “zealots,” was not likely around during the life and ministry of Christ. However, Simon was a follower of the ideals that developed into the political party later into the first century.

Verse 16

Judas son of James – Not to be confused the other Judas, the distinction is made to show there were two apostles named Judas.

Judas Iscariot – Scholars believe Iscariot, rather than son of, represents that Judas is man from Karioth. Man (is[h]), from (the town of), Karioth (cariot). This would make him the only non-Gallian apostle.

Who became a traitor – Though the disciples don’t know Judas as the traitor yet, at this point in the gospel, Luke is writing the gospel after the fact and writing that in with that forethought. From the first century on, Judas has option been a name or term used to describe a traitor.

Verses 17-23 – Sermon on Beatitudes

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.[4]

Verse 17

Come down – To link from the previous thought where Christ went up on the mountain.

And stood in the plain – The sermon to follow has been named the sermon on the plain, whereas the related account in Matthew names this the sermon on the Mount.

His disciples, a great multitude of people – There are three people groups mentioned in these verses. Them, who He comes down with, His disciples, referring to His wider audience of those who followed Him, and a great multitude of people, referring to a wider of number of people who have come to hear Him.

To hear Him – This is the first reason for the gathering of the people, to hear Him teach. Christ teachings had been widely received in a well manner, especially early on. It was not until later when the pharisees started making trouble for Him that things went south.

And to be healed – This was their second reason for coming to Him. For Luke, this is placed second to show the greater of the two, that Christs words were the important thing to be gathered for.

Verse 19

The whole multitude sought to touch Him – In verse eighteen, people were being healed, and it is described that from His virtue, people were being healed. This caused the multitude to seek to touch Jesus and receiving healing.

Verse 20

And He lifted up His eyes on His disciples – This is an important detail to remember. The beatitudes are addressed to the believers, to the followers of Christ.

Blessed are the poor – that is, the poor in spirit. King David after sung that he is poor and needy, and we can gather that he is referring to the spiritual sense and not an economical sense of poor. Blessed – many have meant to say that this means, “happy are they,” but that is not the sense of the usage. Happy is an emotion, whereas, Christ uses this as a state of being. The poor is spirit as blessed of God.

For yours is the Kingdom of God – The poor in spirit, the humble, the meek, those who trust in Christ, they shall receive of the Kingdom of God.

Verse 21

Blessed are ye that hunger now – For Luke, this is referencing a literal and physical hunger, rather than in Matthew, a spiritual hunger and thirst. Lukes emphasis is on those who struggle and hunger, the day shall come when God will cause them to hunger no more. Though not all Christians struggle to eat, they can identify with those who do. For Luke, this “now” describes an undesirable condition that will be forever changed.

Blessed are ye who weep now – This refers to those who are sensitive to evil, to the world’s rebellion against God and the consequences of sin. They Shall laugh, which is a positive expression of joy in God’s people being brought into Zion.

Verse 22

In this verse, it is explained that we shall be blessed when men hate us, separate us, reproach us, and cast our name as evil. They did this to the Lord Jesus Christ, why should they not do it to us? For surely, all who associate with Christ will have these happen to them. Christ identifies in this verse for the Son of mans sake. There is that clause there – if we are working for Christ, these things will happen on behalf of identifying with Him – But we should also identify that there are times we are hated for our own sakes, for doing things we ought not to do. This blessing is to those who are hated for the sake of Christ.

Verse 23

When we are hated for the sake of Christ, we shall rejoice. “Thank you for hating me, it means I am well representing the Lord.” Christ says that great is your reward in Heaven when you are hated, spoken evil against, and outcasted for Him. Such was the way the prophets of old were treated as well.

Verses 24-26 – Sermon on the Woes

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.[5]

Verse 24

Woe to the rich – As with the poor, this is not referring, necessarily to the economical status of wealth, though many wealthy fall into this category, but to the arrogant, the high and mighty, the boastful. To those who are so rich in themselves they see no need for God.

Ye have received your consolation – Their reward is all their “wealth” will bring them in this life.

Verse 25

Woe to the full, for ye shall hunger – This relates closely to the rich in the last verse. Those who think they are all sufficient, who believe they have need of nothing, but they are the end all be all, they shall hunger. This does not refer to physical hunger, but refers to the ultimate end of their destinies.

Woe to ye that laugh now, for ye shall mourn – In contrast to those who weep at the sin of the world, those who laugh at their wickedness shall one day mourn for eternity.

Verse 26

The wicked often boast in the wicked. When the masses, the general consensus of the population speak well of you, you should beware. For such, most OT prophets were rejected, whereas the false were received, celebrated, and spoken well of.

[1] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Lk 6:1–5). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[2] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Lk 6:6–11). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[3] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Lk 6:12–16). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[4] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Lk 6:17–23). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

[5] The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Lk 6:24–26). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

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