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Luke 6

Chapter Text

Lord of the Sabbath

The Twelve Apostles

Blessings and Woes

Love Your Enemies

Judging Others

The Wise and Foolish Builders

Summary

Jesus defends His disciples for plucking grain on the Sabbath and heals a man's withered hand on the Sabbath in the synagogue, provoking the fury of the scribes and Pharisees. After spending the entire night in prayer on a mountain, He chooses the twelve apostles.

He descends to a plain and delivers a sermon to a great multitude. He pronounces blessings on the poor, hungry, weeping, and persecuted, and woes on the rich, full, laughing, and well-spoken-of. He commands love for enemies, mercy, non-judgment, and generosity, concluding with the parable of building on rock versus sand.

Meaning

Luke's version of the Beatitudes is more direct and socially concrete than Matthew's. The blessings and woes together create a complete picture: God's kingdom reverses the fortunes of this present age. Those who suffer now will be comforted; those who are comfortable now should be warned.

The command to love enemies is the most radical ethical teaching in all of Scripture. It is not sentiment but deliberate action: do good, bless, pray for those who mistreat you. This love reflects the character of God Himself, who is kind to the unthankful and the evil.

Background

Luke records that Jesus spent the entire night in prayer before choosing the twelve, highlighting the gravity of this decision. The sermon on the plain may be a different occasion from Matthew's Sermon on the Mount, or Luke may be presenting the same teaching in a condensed form.

The four woes in Luke have no parallel in Matthew and reflect Luke's consistent concern for the dangers of wealth and self-sufficiency. This emphasis runs throughout his Gospel.

Chapter Outline

  1. vv. 1-5Lord of the Sabbath
  2. vv. 6-11Healing the Withered Hand
  3. vv. 12-16Choosing the Twelve Apostles
  4. vv. 17-19Multitudes Healed on the Plain
  5. vv. 20-26Beatitudes and Woes
  6. vv. 27-38Love of Enemies and Mercy
  7. vv. 39-49Fruit, Foundations, and True Discipleship

Key Verses

But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,6:27

One of the most radical and recognizable commands of Jesus, overturning natural human ethics and defining the distinctive love of the kingdom.

And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.6:31

The Golden Rule in its classic form — a positive ethic that summarizes the law and prophets and has shaped moral thought across cultures.

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.6:38

A foundational verse on generosity and reciprocity, frequently quoted in teaching on stewardship and the principle that our posture toward others returns upon us.

And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?6:46

A piercing rebuke against empty profession, setting up the closing parable and grounding discipleship in obedience rather than mere confession.

People & Places

People

  • JesusThe Son of man who declares himself Lord of the sabbath, chooses the Twelve, and delivers the Sermon on the Plain.
  • DavidIsrael's king, cited by Jesus as precedent for sabbath mercy when he ate the shewbread.
  • Pharisees and scribesReligious leaders who challenge Jesus over sabbath observance and plot against him.
  • Simon PeterFisherman renamed Peter, listed first among the Twelve apostles.
  • AndrewBrother of Simon Peter, called among the first apostles.
  • James and JohnSons of Zebedee, included among the Twelve.
  • PhilipOne of the twelve apostles chosen on the mountain.
  • BartholomewOne of the twelve apostles, traditionally identified with Nathanael.
  • MatthewThe tax collector turned apostle, named among the Twelve.
  • ThomasApostle later remembered for his demand to see the risen Christ.
  • James the son of AlphaeusOne of the Twelve, distinct from James the son of Zebedee.
  • Simon ZelotesApostle identified with the zealot party, marking the breadth of Jesus' calling.
  • Judas the brother of JamesOne of the Twelve, also known as Thaddaeus.
  • Judas IscariotThe apostle identified here as the one who would betray Jesus.
  • Man with the withered handA worshipper in the synagogue whom Jesus heals on the sabbath, provoking the leaders' fury.

Places

  • The corn fieldsGrain fields through which Jesus and his disciples walked on the sabbath.
  • The synagogueLocal house of worship where Jesus taught and healed the man with the withered hand.
  • The mountainPlace of solitude where Jesus spent the night in prayer before choosing the Twelve.
  • The plainLevel place where Jesus stood to deliver the sermon to his disciples and the multitude.
  • JudaeaSouthern region of the Holy Land from which crowds came to hear Jesus.
  • JerusalemThe holy city, sending hearers to seek Jesus' teaching and healing.
  • Tyre and SidonGentile coastal cities in Phoenicia from which crowds traveled to Jesus, signaling his wider appeal.

Prophecy & Fulfillment

Jesus' declaration that 'the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath' (6:5) draws on Daniel 7:13–14, claiming the divine authority of the Danielic Son of man over the very institutions of the law. His warning that the persecuted will be treated as 'their fathers unto the prophets' (6:23) and that flatterers share the lot of 'the false prophets' (6:26) places his disciples within the prophetic line foretold throughout the Old Testament. The Beatitudes also echo Isaiah 61's promise of comfort to the poor and mourning, a passage Jesus had already claimed for himself in Luke 4.

Devotional

Luke 6 presses discipleship beyond admiration into imitation. Jesus blesses the poor, the hungry, and the hated — not because suffering is good, but because the kingdom reorders every value the world clings to. He then asks the harder thing: love the people who wound you, lend without calculating return, refuse the satisfaction of judgment.

The closing image lingers. Two houses look identical until the storm comes. What separates them is not sincerity but obedience — quietly digging deep, letting Christ's words shape the foundation before the flood ever arrives.

Literary Style

Gospel narrative interwoven with extended discourse. The chapter pairs sabbath controversy stories with the Sermon on the Plain, featuring Hebrew-style parallelism in the Beatitudes and Woes, wisdom sayings, vivid metaphors (mote and beam, tree and fruit), and a closing parabolic contrast of two builders.