For the series, The Parables of Jesus: A House Built on Rock and Sand, we focused on the Sermon on the Mount as described in Matthew 5-7. There are some variations in the account given in Luke 6. I included these within the first few articles in this series, then I decided to focus on the account in Matthew to keep it simple.
Therefore, I want to conclude this series by looking at the skipped verses within Luke 6 (not discussed in previous articles), just to make sure we don’t leave anything out. These are in bold:
- Luke 6:32-35
- Luke 6:38
- Luke 6:39-40
- Luke 6:45-46
Here is the full context. Below, we will look at each section of verses in particular.
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.
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.
27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.
30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.
33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.
34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
38 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.
39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?
40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.
41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye.
43 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.
Luke 6:32-25
32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.
33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.
34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
God is kind to the unthankful and to the evil, and as His children, we should do the same. This means we love and do good to all, as much as is possible. Not just the people who love us and do good to us.
We discussed somewhat the idea of what it means to “love” as a Christian should love in the article, “Love Your Enemies.”
What about doing good to all without strings attached? We should not do good to someone in hopes of having them do some good for us in the future. The good that we do should be for a love of doing good and for a love of our fellow man, not because we think that we will get something out of it. If our motivations are self-centered, God knows. He knows if we are doing good for the sake of others or if we are merely serving our selves.
Luke 6:38
38 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.
In the articles on judgement within this series, I mainly focused on judgement in the negative sense. When considering “with what measure you mete, it shall be measured unto you,” I looked at this in the negative also. Meaning, if we weigh the sins of others heavily, then God will weigh our sins heavily. I compared this idea to a statement in Revelation that describes the judgment of the Great Whore of Mystery Babylon. This states, “Reward Her Even as She Rewarded You.”
Here in Luke 6, the “measure you mete” is given a positive connotation. If we do good to others, then they will do good to us. This should not be our reason for doing good, as discussed above. However, it is generally true that people appreciate those who are there for them in times of trouble or need. If we are supporting of others, then we might find support ourselves when we face difficult times. This isn’t always the case, especially in a self-centered and fearful society.
However, the more good we do, the greater our chances of building up a community of people around us who will naturally care for us and us for them. In the process, we might lead some to Christ—especially if we are doing good to those who did not love us at first, including strangers or those who we might have considered enemies.
Luke 6:39-40
39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?
40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.
In doing good to all, we might lead some to Jesus. As they are led to Jesus, their eyes are opened to the truth. The more people we have around us whose eyes are open to the truth of Jesus Christ, the better our fellowship. We do not want to be led about by blind people. The best way to cure their blindness is to do good to them and preach the gospel, which is what Jesus’s life was all about.
If we are to be perfect as our master, who is Jesus Christ, then we do good to all. We love all. We open their blind eyes to the true way to live, and most importantly, to Jesus and His gospel.
This is supposed to have a cumulative effect.
When we know of Jesus, He opens our blind eyes to what it means to love God and love others. As the “beams” are removed out of our eyes, we can lead others in the things of God and in the gospel of Jesus. The blind cannot do so. As we lead others by example and by preaching the teachings of Jesus, more blind eyes are opened. Community grows, and we all receive abundance in the things of God as we bless one another.
This is how it should go in theory, but I haven’t experienced much of this in our world, unfortunately. Not in this self-serving and wicked generation. However, we should continue to love all and do good to all, trusting that all good that we do is seen by God and He is working in ways that we do not always perceive.
Luke 6:45-46
45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
In the article entitled, “Beware of False Prophets,” we considered what it means to be a prophet and how we might spot a false prophet. The idea here is similar. Jesus said, “you will know them by their fruit.”
Here, we can consider this idea in a broader context that does not relate to prophets, teachers, pastors, and so forth—but to all believers and all people in general. Most importantly, we can consider ourselves.
We have all had moments when our heart was revealed by the words we speak. This happens when we carry sin in our hearts as well as when we carry righteousness. What is inside will eventually come out and influence ourselves and others.
Therefore, it is always good to seek Jesus to search out our hearts so that we can repent of sin and find healing that helps us do better—not just outwardly through law or some other regulation—but out of a sincere heart that is transformed by Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
Even though our mouths betray a wicked heart or reveal a sincere heart, all of us Christians call Jesus Lord.
If we call Jesus Lord, then we should do what He says.
If only it were that simple. It isn’t that simple because our hearts are not naturally good. We are corrupt, and even if we love that which is good, sin can cling to us. However, if we are faithful to confess our sins to Jesus, there is mercy for us. If we continue to strive in the lessons we learn from Him, pray to Him, acknowledge when we go astray, and ask for Jesus so strengthen us in Spirit so that our hearts are transformed, then we will bring forth real “fruit.”
47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.
We want to see Jesus formed in us at or very being, making us more like Him in this present world. If we keep His sayings, then we are as a House Built on a Rock. Not sand. Each individual Christian is a house, even a temple of the Holy Spirit.
We want our temples to be built up strong, founded on the rock of Jesus Christ and not the shifting sands of man’s futile attempts at establishing the kingdoms of this world—even when the kingdoms of this world and the princes thereof tread us down.
They can destroy much, but they cannot destroy the things that Jesus gives. They cannot steal our peace, joy, love, faith, and life everlasting! They can steal everything in the flesh from us but we can still sacrifice to God our righteousness, praise, and thankfulness. What He gives, no man can take!
This article is part of a series that considers the Parables of Jesus. Right now, we are looking at the statements Jesus made during His Sermon on the Mount, to which He referenced in His Parable of the Building on Rock and Sand. Visit the link for quick access to all articles written within this series.
PREVIOUS POST IN THIS SERIES: A House Built on a Rock
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That’s it for this parable! The next parable that we will consider is The Sower.
Jesus Alone 