Verses 1-5: The Lord of the Sabbath

¹ Now on the second Sabbath after the first, he was going through the grain fields. His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate, rubbing them in their hands. ² But some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why do you do that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath day?” ³ Jesus, answering them, said, “Haven’t you read what David did when he was hungry, he, and those who were with him; ⁴ how he entered into God’s house, and took and ate the show bread, and gave also to those who were with him, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests alone?” ⁵ He said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

• Jesus’ identity and authority interpret God’s law rightly:

  By declaring, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath,” Jesus identifies himself as possessing rightful authority over the Sabbath, not abolishing God’s holiness but revealing its true intent. His appeal to David shows that Scripture must be read with attention to God’s purposes—especially mercy and the preservation of life—rather than reduced to rule-keeping detached from love.

• Scripture must be handled with reverence and discernment, not legalism:

  Jesus’ “Haven’t you read…?” exposes how a person can know religious rules yet miss the heart of God in the text. The theological point is that God’s word is to form faithful judgment: it trains the conscience to honor God while also recognizing that human need and covenant mercy are not enemies of obedience.

Verses 6-11: Sabbath Mercy and Hardened Resistance

⁶ It also happened on another Sabbath that he entered into the synagogue and taught. There was a man there, and his right hand was withered. ⁷ The scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against him. ⁸ But he knew their thoughts; and he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Rise up, and stand in the middle.” He arose and stood. ⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you something: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good, or to do harm? To save a life, or to kill?” ¹⁰ He looked around at them all, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did, and his hand was restored as sound as the other. ¹¹ But they were filled with rage, and talked with one another about what they might do to Jesus.

• God’s holiness is displayed through doing good and saving life:

  Jesus frames the Sabbath question morally and spiritually: “to do good, or to do harm? To save a life, or to kill?” The theological point is that God’s commands are not meant to excuse neglect of suffering. True Sabbath-keeping is compatible with mercy because God’s rest is not indifference; it is the life-giving order of his kingdom.

• Jesus acts with divine knowledge and restorative power:

  He “knew their thoughts,” commands the man, and the hand “was restored,” showing both insight and authority that exceed ordinary human ability. This reveals Jesus as the one through whom God’s restoring reign breaks into human brokenness—healing is not only compassion but also a sign of the kingdom’s presence.

• Religious opposition can harden into hostility against God’s work:

  The scribes and Pharisees’ watchfulness aims at accusation, and their response becomes rage. Luke shows that resistance to Christ is not merely intellectual disagreement; it can become moral opposition to mercy itself. This warns believers to examine whether zeal for correctness has drifted into a posture that resents God’s grace at work.

Verses 12-16: Prayerful Calling and the Twelve

¹² In these days, he went out to the mountain to pray, and he continued all night in prayer to God. ¹³ When it was day, he called his disciples, and from them he chose twelve, whom he also named apostles: ¹⁴ Simon, whom he also named Peter; Andrew, his brother; James; John; Philip; Bartholomew; ¹⁵ Matthew; Thomas; James, the son of Alphaeus; Simon, who was called the Zealot; ¹⁶ Judas the son of James; and Judas Iscariot, who also became a traitor.

• Ministry and leadership flow from communion with the Father:

  Jesus “continued all night in prayer to God” before appointing the apostles, showing that even decisive moments in salvation history are carried forward in dependence on the Father. The theological point is that prayer is not a mere habit but a real participation in God’s will, shaping decisions and grounding ministry in fellowship with God.

• Jesus truly calls, and disciples truly respond within his call:

  He “called his disciples, and from them he chose twelve,” presenting both divine initiative and real human discipleship. The Twelve are not self-appointed; they are named and sent (“apostles”), indicating that the church’s mission is rooted in Christ’s authority. At the same time, the language of “disciples” underscores that those called are learners who must follow and be formed.

• The presence of a traitor shows God’s mission proceeds amid human sin:

  Luke notes “Judas Iscariot, who also became a traitor,” reminding us that proximity to holy things does not automatically equal faithful perseverance. Yet the apostolic mission is not derailed by human failure; God’s plan advances even as human responsibility and accountability remain real.

Verses 17-19: The Kingdom’s Power for the Multitude

¹⁷ He came down with them, and stood on a level place, with a crowd of his disciples, and a great number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; ¹⁸ as well as those who were troubled by unclean spirits, and they were being healed. ¹⁹ All the multitude sought to touch him, for power came out of him and healed them all.

• Jesus’ mission reaches broadly and welcomes those who come to hear:

  People arrive from Judea, Jerusalem, Tyre, and Sidon, showing the widening scope of Jesus’ ministry. They “came to hear him and to be healed,” linking word and deed: the kingdom comes through teaching and through restoration, addressing both bodily disease and spiritual oppression.

• Deliverance from spiritual oppression is part of God’s saving mercy:

  Those “troubled by unclean spirits” are healed, teaching that evil is not only social or psychological but also spiritual, and that God’s reign confronts it. The church can hold together sober awareness of spiritual conflict with compassionate care for afflicted persons.

• Christ’s power is effective and overflowing, yet personally encountered:

  “Power came out of him and healed them all,” and the multitude “sought to touch him,” emphasizing both the abundance of Christ’s power and the personal nearness of his ministry. Grace is not an abstraction: people truly come, truly receive, and Christ truly acts.

Verses 20-26: Blessings, Woes, and the Great Reversal

²⁰ He lifted up his eyes to his disciples, and said, “Blessed are you who are poor, God’s Kingdom is yours. ²¹ Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. ²² Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude and mock you, and throw out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake. ²³ Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven, for their fathers did the same thing to the prophets. ²⁴ “But woe to you who are rich! For you have received your consolation. ²⁵ Woe to you, you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. ²⁶ Woe, when men speak well of you, for their fathers did the same thing to the false prophets.

• God’s kingdom blesses the lowly and sustains the afflicted with real hope:

  Jesus promises the poor that “God’s Kingdom is yours,” and speaks future filling and future laughter for those who hunger and weep. The theological point is not that poverty or sorrow are good in themselves, but that God is present to the needy, and his kingdom reverses the world’s verdict by granting hope, dignity, and promised restoration.

• Faithfulness to the Son of Man can bring persecution, and heaven’s reward is real:

  Being hated “for the Son of Man’s sake” places disciples within the prophetic pattern of suffering, and Jesus commands joy because “your reward is great in heaven.” This anchors endurance in God’s justice: suffering for Christ is not meaningless, and God’s final evaluation is more decisive than human rejection.

• Worldly security can become a spiritual danger when it replaces God:

  The woes warn that riches, present satisfaction, and social praise can become a false consolation. Jesus confronts the illusion that comfort now equals blessing from God; the coming reversal exposes whether a person’s “consolation” was God himself or merely the temporary rewards of this age.

Verses 27-36: Enemy-Love and the Father’s Mercy

²⁷ “But I tell you who hear: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹ To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer also the other; and from him who takes away your cloak, don’t withhold your coat also. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and don’t ask him who takes away your goods to give them back again. ³¹ “As you would like people to do to you, do exactly so to them. ³² If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³ If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ³⁴ If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive back as much. ³⁵ But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil. ³⁶ “Therefore be merciful, even as your Father is also merciful.

• Christian love is cruciform: it seeks the good of enemies:

  Jesus commands love, doing good, blessing, and prayer toward those who oppose us. This love is not mere tolerance; it actively seeks another’s good, refusing retaliation as the ruling principle. In this way disciples embody God’s own posture toward sinners, opening space for repentance, reconciliation, and peace.

• Such mercy is commanded—and made possible by God’s grace at work in us:

  Jesus’ calls to give, to bless, and to “lend, expecting nothing back” are not presented as optional ideals but as the shape of life for those who belong to God’s kingdom. Yet this pattern is not sustained by human willpower alone: God’s own kindness toward “the unthankful and evil” is the source and model of this life, and his grace enables what he commands as believers are formed into mercy.

• Mercy reflects God’s character and marks God’s children:

  “You will be children of the Most High; for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil.” The theological point is that believers do not earn God’s fatherhood by good works, yet authentic sonship is recognized by resemblance to the Father—especially mercy. The call, “Therefore be merciful,” grounds Christian virtue in God’s own merciful being.

Verses 37-42: Judgment, Generosity, and Self-Examination

³⁷ Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged. Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned. Set free, and you will be set free. ³⁸ “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to you. For with the same measure you measure it will be measured back to you.” ³⁹ He spoke a parable to them. “Can the blind guide the blind? Won’t they both fall into a pit? ⁴⁰ A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. ⁴¹ Why do you see the speck of chaff that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye? ⁴² Or how can you tell your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck of chaff that is in your eye,’ when you yourself don’t see the beam that is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck of chaff that is in your brother’s eye.

• God calls his people away from condemning severity toward freeing mercy:

  “Don’t judge… Don’t condemn… Set free” teaches that believers must resist a posture that appoints themselves as final arbiters over others. This does not erase moral discernment, but it forbids the proud, punitive spirit that delights in another’s downfall. Mercy toward others is intertwined with accountability before God.

• God’s moral order makes our measure toward others return to us:

  Jesus promises that giving will be repaid in abundance and warns that “with the same measure you measure it will be measured back to you.” The theological point is that God is not mocked: our practical posture—generous or stingy, merciful or harsh—has consequences under God’s righteous governance.

• Spiritual leadership requires sight, and discipleship requires humble formation:

  “Can the blind guide the blind?” warns that those lacking true spiritual perception endanger others. “Everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” highlights formation: disciples inevitably take on the character and priorities of what (and whom) they follow, making faithful teaching and faithful imitation essential in the church.

• Repentance and self-examination are prerequisites for helping others:

  The beam-and-speck imagery exposes hypocrisy: a person can become skilled at diagnosing others while ignoring their own deeper sin. Jesus’ order is crucial: “First remove the beam… and then you can see clearly,” meaning that true correction, when necessary, must be grounded in humility, repentance, and clarity of vision.

Verses 43-45: Fruit, the Heart, and the Mouth

⁴³ For there is no good tree that produces rotten fruit; nor again a rotten tree that produces good fruit. ⁴⁴ For each tree is known by its own fruit. For people don’t gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. ⁴⁵ The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings out that which is good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings out that which is evil, for out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks.

• Inner life and outward life belong together in God’s sight:

  Jesus teaches that fruit reveals the tree: a consistent pattern of life discloses what is within. This guards against two errors at once: pretending that external conduct is irrelevant, and pretending that external conduct alone proves spiritual health. God aims to transform the heart so that good fruit genuinely follows.

• Heart-treasure and speech reveal what is truly forming us:

  “Out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks” makes words a diagnostic of loves, fears, and loyalties. Theological discipleship, therefore, includes repentance not only for actions but also for patterns of speech—because speech discloses what we treasure.

• True fruit presupposes God’s inward renewing work, not mere self-reform:

  Jesus’ teaching presses deeper than behavior management: a “good tree” bears good fruit because it is genuinely made good within. The “good treasure of his heart” points to an interior renewal that believers receive and then live out—so that obedience and speech are not performative achievements but the outward expression of grace shaping the heart.

Verses 46-49: Hearing, Doing, and the Tested Foundation

⁴⁶ “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things which I say? ⁴⁷ Everyone who comes to me, and hears my words, and does them, I will show you who he is like. ⁴⁸ He is like a man building a house, who dug and went deep, and laid a foundation on the rock. When a flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it was founded on the rock. ⁴⁹ But he who hears, and doesn’t do, is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.

• True confession of Jesus as Lord is verified by obedience:

  Jesus confronts empty religiosity: calling him “Lord” while refusing his commands is a contradiction. The theological point is that saving faith is not mere speech; it is living trust that yields submission. Obedience does not purchase God’s love, but it is the fitting response to Christ’s lordship and the evidence of a heart being formed by him.

• Grace invites real coming and real doing, and judgment exposes what is real:

  “Everyone who comes to me, and hears my words, and does them” presents discipleship as relational (“comes to me”), receptive (“hears”), and responsive (“does”). The storm imagery teaches that trials and final testing reveal whether one’s life is anchored in Christ’s words; the difference between rock and no foundation is not the absence of hearing, but the presence or absence of obedient reception.

• Jesus has rightful authority over worship and life:

  Luke 6 presents Jesus not merely as a teacher of wisdom but as the Lord who interprets God’s commands and calls for obedience to his own words. His claim, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath,” and his final demand that his hearers do what he says, show that discipleship is fundamentally submission to Christ’s authority in every sphere.

• God’s kingdom overturns worldly measures of blessedness:

  The blessings and woes teach that God evaluates life differently than the world: poverty, hunger, weeping, and persecution do not disqualify a person from God’s favor, while riches, fullness, laughter, and praise can conceal spiritual danger. This forms believers to hope in God’s future and to resist making comfort the definition of blessing.

• Mercy is central to holiness, not opposed to it:

  Jesus places doing good and saving life at the heart of faithful Sabbath understanding, and he commands merciful love even toward enemies. Holiness in Luke 6 is not cold separation from suffering; it is likeness to the Father who “is kind toward the unthankful and evil,” expressed in concrete acts of generosity and forgiveness.

• Discipleship unites divine initiative and real human response:

  Jesus prays, calls, and chooses, highlighting God’s initiating purpose; yet throughout the chapter he addresses people as responsible hearers who must come, listen, and do. Luke 6 holds together God’s sovereign action and the genuine necessity of responding with repentance, faith, and obedience as the path of life.

• The church must pursue humble discernment, not hypocritical condemnation:

  Jesus forbids a condemning spirit, warns against blind guides, and commands self-examination before correcting others. This shapes a community that practices discernment with humility—seeking restoration rather than superiority—so that correction, when needed, is clear-sighted and merciful.

• Authentic spirituality bears fruit from a transformed heart:

  By linking fruit to the tree and speech to the heart’s abundance, Jesus teaches that true righteousness is not performative. God aims at inner renewal that expresses itself outwardly—especially in speech, generosity, mercy, and obedience—so that a life built on Christ endures.

Conclusion: Luke 6 reveals Jesus as the authoritative and merciful Lord who brings God’s kingdom near in teaching, healing, and radical ethical demand. The chapter calls believers to receive Christ’s mercy, embody the Father’s kindness, practice humble self-examination, and build their lives on obedient hearing—so that when testing comes, their foundation in Christ will stand.