Text: This week, we’re covering Luke 6:27-49, dealing with Jesus’ intensely counter-cultural teaching to his disciples on life in the Kingdom of God in the form of loving your enemies, judging, forgiving, giving, hypocritical blind spots, personal fruitfulness, and building your life to survive life’s storms.
Other passages to read: We encourage you to read "horizontally" in these passages that are parallel to our text from Luke:
- Love your Enemies: Matthew 5:38-48; John 3:16-17, and 15:9-13
- Judging Others: Matthew 7:1-6; Romans 14; John 3:18-21
- Hypocritical Blind spots: Deut. 27:18; Isaiah 42:16; Matthew 15:13
- A Tree and its Fruit: Matthew 7:15-20; and 12:34-37; John 15:1-8, 16
- Build your house on the Rock: Matthew 7:21-29; Isaiah 28:14-18; Ezekiel 33:29-33
Other Resources: This week’s recommended resource is another book by Kenneth E. Bailey, actually two books in one: Poet & Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes. It focuses at a little deeper level on the Literary-Cultural approach used by Luke, focusing especially on the parables. We have a copy of this book in our library for checkout.
Sermon Notes: Jesus for Everyone: Come. Trust. Obey.
- Today's message given by Pastor Ezra Stanton
Read Luke 6:43-45
- Luke 18:19
- Romans 3:23
- Romans 5:12
- Gal 5:19-23
- 2 Corinthians 5:17 – 21
- Galatians 5:24-25
Read Luke 6:46-49Luke 6:47
- Come to Jesus.
- Trust Jesus.
- Obey Jesus.
- How was this message counter-cultural in Jesus’ day?
How is it counter-cultural today?
- How would our society be changed if we actually
lived this way? How would we be changed?
- In what other contexts can we find this expression “with
the measure you use”? List them.
- Why is it that we seem incapable of seeing the “log”
in our own eye but can so easily see the “speck” in everyone else’s? What
is the biblical solution for this?
- To what does the “good treasure of his heart” in v. 45
refer?
- What is the underlying meta-issue in all these different topics addressed by Jesus?
Questions to ask ourselves: The
following questions are intended to help us move towards greater application of
what we learn about Jesus…
- Of the major issues, attitudes, and behaviors listed
in this section of Luke 6, which is most surprising to you?
- Take time to evaluate how you are doing with each of
the major issues…is it a point of strength, an opportunity for growth, or
an opportunity for repentance?
- If the people you spend the most time with were
asked about you, would they say you are “fruitful” or just “frightful”?
- Jesus makes it clear that storms will come…and they
do! What is the foundation of our lives? Is it solid enough to keep us
secure even if the great rivers of culture, politics, and economics should
break against it?
- If, as Jesus says, the measure we use is the measure
we will receive back…what measure do we regularly use?
Our featured commentator is once again Kenneth E. Bailey, who describes the many different literary structures we find in the Bible.
"The sayings of Jesus often employ a series of three-line stanzas. An example of this is in Luke 6:32-36:
1
“If you love those who love you,
what credit is that to you?
For even sinners love those who love them.
2
And if you do good to those who do good to you,
what credit is that to you?
For even sinners do the same.
3
And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.
4
But love your enemies,
do good,
and lend expecting nothing in return
(and your reward will be great).
The last stanza is a three-line recapitulation of the first three."
(Bailey, Poet and Peasant, Eerdmans, 1983, p.72)
The following treatment of the "Golden Rule" (6:31) is from Greg K. Dueker's Do You See Him: Expositional Studies from the New Testament,
The Chain-Reaction
Relationship Scenario
The Jones family's bad day began with Mr. Jones having a bad day. He was bawled out by his boss in front of the other employees, and to make matters worse, he was driving home that evening, and traffic on the freeway was horrible. When he got off the freeway and began to drive the rest of the way home, a man came up behind him, tailgating, honking his horn, and calling Mr. Jones bad names. He must have thought that Mr. Jones was driving too slowly (I wonder what had made that man's day so bad?) Mr. Jones was so mad that he stomped on the gas and sped home, stopping only once to get a speeding ticket and a lecture from a local police officer. The stage is now set to see how he responds to someone else. When Mr. Jones got home, his wife greeted him at the door (her day had been hectic and she was looking forward to her husband's return so she could talk) and asked about his day. Mr. Jones did not want to talk about it and said so, rudely, to his wife and threw his coat on the chair as he stomped past on his way to take a shower. Mrs. Jones was hurt, frustrated, and angry. It was at this inopportune moment that their young son asked, for the fourth time, "Mom, when will dinner be ready? What are we having? Whatever it is, it smells gross." Mrs. Jones suddenly snapped back, "I'm tired of your questions and complaining. It will be ready when it's done, and you will eat it whether you like it or not! Now go to your room!" On his way to his room, feeling angry and hurt, little Tommy passed his sister in the hall and punched her in the arm and told her that she was a lousy sister. At this point, Suzie Jones, Tommy's little sister, went out to the garage to cry, and since there was no one else for her to take her anger and hurt out on, she kicked the dog. You probably think that it ended there, but the next day the dog bit the mailman and started the downward spiral all over again, this time spreading to the mailman's family as well. This kind of behavior is not honoring to God, and we know that it grieves the Lord for Him to see His people treating each other in an unloving way. It is not His plan for us. He gave us a simple guideline, a rule that was to govern our lives as Christians. The world knows this rule, too, but nobody seems to practice it as much as we should.
What is “The Golden Rule”? What does the Bible teach about it? I have found three passages in scripture where we are given the golden rule. In this lesson, we will look briefly at the context of each of these three verses in an effort to understand more fully what the Golden Rule implies for the Christian today.
I) The Golden Rule – Following Jesus’ Example of Giving
A) What is the Golden Rule?
Matthew 7:12 "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."
Why is this verse said to contain the Golden Rule? Certainly, it has nothing to do with gold, but instead with love. It may be called the golden rule because of the value of the teaching it contains—that if people would but keep such a rule, the society would be very rich indeed, beyond the value of any worldly currency. Another, more concrete explanation of the origin of the term as applied to this verse is as follows. This verse may be called the "Golden Rule" because Emperor Alexander Severus reputedly had it written in gold on the wall of his palace—some have noted that perhaps it would not be such a bad example to follow.
Some say that Jesus was not the first person to deal with this concept, this Golden Rule, as a similar idea is found in the writings of several ancient sources (i.e., Socrates, Aristotle, Confucius, Rabbi Hillel, etc.). However, all the sources that predate Christ's teaching are stated in the negative sense as we see in the words of Rabbi Hillel. He said, "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor: that is the whole Torah, while the rest is commentary thereof."[1]
The general sense was that of "what you don't want people to do to you, then don't do it to them." The problem with all the previous statements of the great rule for living is that they are negative and passive. But as is the case with so much of Christ's teaching, He approached this ethic from the positive perspective. Jesus was the first to state this concept positively and actively. As G. Campbell Morgan wrote,
"There is this radical difference--these [Hillel et al] are negative and passive; Christ's command is positive and active. These say to man, 'Stand still, and do not do what you do not want anyone to do to you'; Christ says, 'Go and do what you would that he should do to you.' It is not merely that you are to refrain from harming him; you are to do him good . . . We might, out of a selfish self-respect, decline to harm our neighbor but we cannot do this higher thing without power. We cannot do continuously what we would our neighbor should do to us save as we ask, seek, and knock, and know that our Father is pledged to us in power."[2]
In fact, Jesus went as far as to say that this teaching summed up the teaching of the Prophets, implying that it contained the total (though general) statement of God's will for the dealings of men with men. "Jesus was apparently the first to formulate it explicitly, and he elevates it to a place of new importance: 'this is the law and the prophets', a summary of the revealed will of God."[3]
Jesus' statement proves that Hillel "missed the boat" when he said that his negative statement fulfilled all the Old Testament. To really fulfill the Old Testament, one must not only abstain from evil but must also be used for good. The point of the Abrahamic Covenant was that all the world might be blessed through Abraham's descendants, not merely that they would not be harmed by them. For us to see what it really is that we are supposed to be doing, we need to examine the context of this great verse of Scripture.
"What you would have them do to you": I read a quote by George Bernard Shaw that made me think about the standard for the Golden Rule. He said, "Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same." I'm not sure if he intended this tongue-in-cheek, or not, but there is a point here that we need to understand. The Golden Rule, more than using our own desires as the standard for treatment of others, speaks of treating others in the same way that GOD has treated us. God's love, as seen in His giving, mercy, grace, and service, is our standard for loving others. If he is our standard, then there is no problem with differing tastes.
B) Context of the “Golden Rule”
It is interesting that you rarely, if ever, hear anything said about the context of the Golden Rule statement. It is the immediate context of this verse that is of special interest to me. Why is this so important? Because Matthew 7:12 begins with "So" or "Therefore," depending upon the translation used. This conjunction ties this verse directly to the preceding thought expressed in Matthew 7:7-11. As it is written, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"
The Golden Rule was first recorded in the context of giving to others as God has given to us. This "rule" was also a rule in the sense that it was, to a certain degree, the practice of even the sinful men of the world. Even the sinners respond well to love. They give their children the things that they need (more so than today, it would seem). Jesus' point was that since it was possible, and even the general rule, that even evil men give good things to their children, how much more does God give, being a perfect and perfectly loving Father? Jesus raised this general rule to a higher, "golden" plane in His teaching and example. He said, "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Luke 6:38)
But how can we fulfill such a command as this? We must understand about asking, seeking, and knocking. We are the ones who ask, seek, and knock, as listed in verse seven. Such behavior requires that we acknowledge our dependence upon Jesus Christ. When we are in need, it is God who readily gives us the good gifts that are necessary. This behavior also speaks of our need to continue in a relationship with God if we are to be loving towards our fellow man. Just as God gives, finds, and opens, in relationship to us, so we need to be sensitive to the asking, seeking, and knocking that others might direct towards us.
"The King drives us back into perpetual and intimate relationship with God in order that our attitude with regard to our fellow men should be what it ought to be… We must live near to God if we would live in right relationship with our fellow men. We must live right with our fellow men if we would live right with God." [4]
Some commentators would say that the "So", or the "Therefore", links the verse not with the immediately preceding verses but with the whole teaching of the sermon so far. I agree that this conjunction certainly does link verse 12 to everything that preceded it in the Sermon on the Mount (i.e., 7:1-6), however, to say that it does not primarily refer to the immediately previous thought, expressed in 7:7-11, is to miss the heart of God in this passage. Jesus was telling them to do to others what He (the Son), and God (the Father), had already begun to do for them.
"In this place the King gives us HIS GOLDEN RULE. Put yourself in another's place, and then act towards him as you would wish him to act towards you under the same circumstances. This is a right royal rule, a precept always at hand, always applicable, always right…Oh, that all men acted on it, and then there would be no slavery, no war, no swearing, no striking, no lying, no robbing; but all would be justice and love! What a kingdom is this that has such a law!"[5]
II) The Golden Rule – Mercy and Grace
Luke 6:31 "Do to others as you would have them do to you."
This second context of the Golden rule is one that focuses upon loving our enemies and those who cannot pay back that love. It speaks powerfully of the mercy and grace that should characterize our lives. This record of the Golden Rule is sandwiched between the mercy and the grace of God.
The love for each other that this passage speaks of is Agape, the love that is a choice to do what is best for its object. Morris notes, "There were several words for 'love' in the Greek. Jesus was not asking for storge, natural affection, nor for eros, romantic love, nor for philia, the love of friendship. He was speaking of agape, which means love even of the unlovely, love which is not drawn out by merit in the beloved but which proceeds from the fact that the lover chooses to be a loving person."[6]
This passage in Luke 6 is a picture of how we are, as Christ's ambassadors, called to stop the downward spiral of negative chain-reaction relationships. We are never to do to others what they happen to be doing to us; rather, we are to do to them what we would want them to do for us. When someone treats us badly and hurts our feelings, how do we respond? Do we retaliate in the emotion of the moment? Do we brood on it, nursing the root of its bitterness? Or do we stand up for the truth and love them? As Christians, we are no longer slaves of sin to be controlled by every emotion and circumstance that might come our way. Rather, in the time between when someone treats us badly and the time in which we respond, we have the opportunity to insert Christ's love. As a result, we can respond in mercy and grace towards the other. This works even when there are only two people involved and when only one is committed to doing the right thing. The wonder of this is that even if the other person continues to start the downward spiral by treating us in an unloving way, the situation will not deteriorate any further because we continue to start the spiral upward again.
We have the promise of the Lord that those who are merciful will receive mercy. Let us be among the merciful, to the glory of God.
A) Mercy and Grace Before
Luke 6:27-30 "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back."
In the paragraph preceding the Golden rule we find elements of both mercy and grace, with an emphasis upon mercy. We see that we are to be merciful to others, not inflicting retribution nor demanding payment, as we would want others to be merciful to us if we were in a similar situation.
B) Grace and Mercy After
Luke 6:32-37 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 'Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.'"
This paragraph which follows the Golden Rule also contains element of grace and mercy but the emphasis seems to be upon grace. Grace is shown to be the giving of something good that the other does not deserve and cannot demand. The citizen of the Kingdom of God is contrasted with the sinner as is seen by the repeated use of the phrase "Even sinners". Jesus asked the question "What credit is that to you . . . ?" three times, suggesting that the disciple must go beyond the world's standard of "do to others as they do to you" and actually do good things "to others that they can't do to you in return." We are to be gracious to others (again grace implies that they don't deserve it) even as God has been gracious to us. And we know that we certainly don't deserve God's love and care.
III) The Golden Rule – Serve One Another in Love
Galatians 5:14 "The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
The third and final context of the Golden Rule that we will examine is in Galatians chapter five. This statement of the Golden Rule is a little bit different but in essence it says exactly the same thing as the other two verses we studied. Why do I say that? Because to "Love" means to be committed to bringing about the best in the life of another. Certainly that involves the doing of loving things for them, as we would want them to do for us. We are to love our neighbor as we ourselves are loved by God. How are we loved by God? We considered the answer to this question in the last lesson as we saw Jesus, the King of kings, humble Himself to serve. Jesus could have demanded royal treatment but instead He came humbly in order to serve us. Elsewhere, Jesus made another comparison between the truly great disciple and the worldly authorities, as it is written, "Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave‑‑ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:26-28)
We need to serve others in the same way, as we can see from the context of this occurrence of the Golden Rule. As it is written,
"You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." (Galatians 5:13-16)
We have liberty but we are not to use it selfishly to the harm of others, instead we are to use that liberty to do good in order to serve others. It is by doing so that we fulfill the Law.
As a last word on the subject, Paul warns that if this Golden Rule is not kept by the Galatians, it will result in the destruction of any possibility for their fruitfulness in the Kingdom. The message is the same for us today. The way the warning is phrased, it appears that the Galatians were not being very loving to each other but instead were "biting and devouring each other" and thus this is not only a warning but a strong rebuke. They were feeding the flesh rather than feeding the spirit. This warning and rebuke were administered by Paul much as a doctor would dig out a bullet and wash the wound. Knowing that there would be anger, bitterness, and unforgiveness in the midst of such an environment, he not only dug out the "bullet" but also applied healing salve in admonishing them to live by the Spirit.
The phrase "live by the Spirit" is used to refer to the kind of life that is directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit and evidences fruit that evidences something of the Spirit's character. As it is written, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self‑control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires." (Gal.5:22-24)
Living by the Spirit means not only going through the day without saying or doing anything hurtful to others, but also that we do those things that help others, especially helping them get closer to God. If we live according to this rule, there is no need for any other law.
Do you see Him (Jesus) lovingly fulfilling this Golden Rule perfectly?
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