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.”    Jesus moves on here to help us understand an important truth. There is a motivation behind the Golden Rule. More than that there is a motivation behind the Christian life…

Luke 6:31 “And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.”    This is that teaching of Christ refereed to as the Golden Rule. It is indeed a very important and valuable lesson for all of us. However, it tends to be extracted from the teachings of Christ…

Luke 6:30 “Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.”    In the classic Les Miserables the protagonist Jean Valjean is encouraged to turn from his life of crime by a priest who does not tell the police of Valjean’s theft. Beyond this he…

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.”    The followers of Christ are not to resist persecution. Force and faith are not to be mixed. To be sure Jesus will indeed establish His…

Luke 6:28 “bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.”    Only the Lord Jesus can give to us a heart that will overflow with kindness upon those who mistreat us. However, be sure to keep something in mind here. In the context, Jesus is still speaking about persecution. Though…

Luke 6:27 “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,”    Jesus directs his words to those who hear. In other words He knows some of His hearers were truly listening, actually taking His teaching to heart. And what does He say to them? He gives…

Luke 6:26 “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets.”    Though the Jews of Jesus’ day would claim solidarity with the true prophets, it was the same kind of group that aligned themselves with the false prophets in the past. Jesus points this…

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.”    Notice here the word ‘now’. Jesus uses this word on several occasions to highlight a very particular item. There is a now, and there is a later. The word ‘woe’…

Luke 6:24 “But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation.”    This must be kept in context, just as the previous verses. Jesus is not condemning the rich out of hand. He is speaking of those who have become rich, powerful, influential and so forth by kowtowing to the whims…

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.”    This is quite a significant parallel to draw. The prophets were the messengers of Jehovah God to the Jewish people. The Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day…