Luke 6
Jesus has authority over the Sabbath
One day when Jesus was passing through some grain fields on a Sabbath, his students were picking some of the crops, rubbing them in their hands, and eating the grain. Some of the church leaders said, “Why are you breaking the law on the Sabbath?” Jesus answered them,
“Haven’t you read what David and his men did when they were hungry? They entered God’s house, took the consecrated bread, and ate it even though the priests are the only ones who are allowed to eat it. The Descendant of Humanity has authority over the Sabbath.”
The Sabbath is for doing good
On another Sabbath day, he was teaching in a church where there was a man who had a withered right hand. The church leaders and their secretaries closely watched to see if he would heal on the Sabbath and give them a reason to accuse him. Knowing what they were thinking, he told the man
“Stand up and come forward.”
When he came forward, Jesus asked them,
“Would the law rather me do good or inflict harm on the Sabbath? Would it want me to save life or destroy it?”
He looked around at all of them and said,
“Stretch out your hand!”
The man did so, and his hand was restored. This outraged the church leaders, and they discussed among themselves about what they should do to Jesus.
Jesus selects his squad of 12
Then he went to the mountain to talk to God, and he spent the whole night talking to him. When the sun rose, he called his students, he chose 12 of them to be his squad:
Simon (who he called Peter [which means “the rock”])
Andrew (Peter’s brother)
James
John
Philip
Bartholomew
Matthew
Thomas
James (Alphaeus’s son)
Simon (a member of the Jewish party, the Zealots)
Judas (James’s son)
Judas Iscariot (who became a traitor)
Jesus and his squad came down from the mountain and a big crowd of his students had assembled there from Judea, Jerusalem, and the coastal regions of Tyre and Sidon. They gathered there to hear him speak and to be cured of their diseases. Those who were troubled with impure lifeforces were being cured, and everyone was trying to touch him because power was emanating from him and healing them all.
Later will be opposite from now
He looked towards his students and said
“If any of you are cowering, you should be happy, because God’s domain is yours.
If any of you are hungry now, you should be happy, because you will get your fill.
If any of you are crying now, you should be happy, because soon enough you’ll be laughing.
You should be happy when people hate you, reject you, insult you, expel you, and call you worthless for the sake of Mankind’s Descendant. Be glad and jump for joy when that happens, because I promise you you’ll receive a big reward in God’s kingdom. That’s exactly how their ancestors used to treat the prophets.
But yikes to you who are rich, because you are receiving all of your comfort up front.
Yikes to you who are satisfied now, because you’ll experience hunger later.
Yikes to you who are laughing now, because soon enough you’ll be full of regret and sadness.
Yikes to you when everyone affirms you, because their ancestors used to treat the fake prophets in the same way.
Be generous to rotten people
But to anyone willing to listen, I say that you should treat hostile people with goodness. Speak well of people who accuse you, and ask God to help those who mistreat you. Whenever someone slaps you across one side of your face, you should offer him the offer side too. Whenever someone takes your jacket, don’t stop him from taking your shirt too. Give to everyone who asks you for something, and if anyone takes something that belongs to you, don’t ask for it back. Treat other people the exact same way you would want them to treat you. If you only make sacrifices for the people who already love you, then what’s so good about that? Because even corrupt people make sacrifices for those who already love them. If you only prioritize people who make you a priority, then how would that make you any good? Even corrupt people do the same. If you only lend to those who you know will pay you back, then how does that make you any good? Even the corrupt lend to the corrupt when they know they’ll get it back. Instead, you should seek to benefit those who are hostile toward you, and you should help others and lend to them expecting nothing in return. If you do this, you’ll receive a huge reward, and you’ll be the offspring of The Ultimate, because he himself treats ungrateful and rotten people with kindness. Be generous just like your Father is generous.
How I give dictates how I will receive
Don’t be selective with people, and then you won’t be excluded. Don’t be hostile toward people, and they won’t be hostile toward you. Pardon people’s debts, and your debts will also be pardoned. If you yourself give, then you will be given things too. They will give you a heaping portion, tightly-packed and spilling over the top. Whatever increments you use to measure will be used for measuring back to you.”
I can’t fix someone else’s philosophy until mine has been fixed
He also made an analogy:
“Someone who’s blind cannot guide someone else who’s blind, can he? Won’t both of them fall into the hole? A student isn’t superior to his teacher; only after fully completing his training will the student become even with his teacher. Why do you look at the twig sticking out of your brother’s philosophy when there is an entire beam sticking out of your own philosophy? How can you say, ‘Bro, let me help you with that twig,” when you don’t even see the beam sticking out of your own philosophy? You hypocrite, first fix the beam sticking out of your own philosophy, then you’ll be able to see clearly enough to help your brother with the twig sticking out of his philosophy.
My speech reveals my heart
There’s no such thing as a good three that produces bad fruit, or a bad tree that produces good fruit. However the tree is labeled depends on the kind of fruit it produces. People don’t pick apples from a cactus, and they don’t pick grapes from a thorn bush. A good person produces good things out of the goodness of his heart, and a rotten person produces rotten things out of the rottenness of his heart. Either way, a person’s speech only produces whatever spills out from their heart.
Teachings are only effective when followed
Why do you call me ‘Ruler’ or ‘Master’, if you don’t even do what I say? Anyone who comes to me, hears my teachings, and actually follows them is like a builder who digs deep and pours their foundation on the bedrock. Even when the downpour comes and river floods, it cannot shake the building because it was built correctly. But if someone hears my teaching and doesn’t follow them, that person is like someone who builds his house on the topsoil without any kind of foundation. As soon as the torrent comes, it immediately collapses, completely ruining everything.