Luke 6
6
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath Day
1One Sabbath day when Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples began to break off heads of grain, rub them in their hands, and eat them. 2Some of the Pharisees said, “It’s against the Law to do that on the Sabbath day. Why are you doing it?”
3Jesus answered, “Haven’t you ever read what David did? When he and his men were hungry, 4he went into the house of God and took the holy bread. He ate the bread that only priests were allowed to eat, and he even gave it to his men.” 5Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath day.”
6On another Sabbath day, Jesus went into the synagogue and began teaching. A man was there whose right hand was weak and twisted. 7The Pharisees and the teachers of the law wanted to have something they could hold against Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath day. 8But Jesus knew what they were thinking. He said to the man who had the weak and twisted hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So the man got up and stood there.
9Then Jesus said to them, “What does the Law say we should do on the Sabbath day? Should we do good, or should we do evil? Should we save life, or should we destroy it?”
10He looked around at all of them. Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did this, and his hand was made as good as new. 11But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law got very angry. They began to talk to one another about what they could do to Jesus.
Jesus Chooses the Twelve Apostles
12On one of those days, Jesus went up onto a mountainside to pray. He spent the whole night praying to God. 13When morning came, he called his disciples together and chose 12 of them to be apostles. Here are their names:
14Simon, whom Jesus named Peter, and his brother Andrew,
James,
John,
Philip,
Bartholomew,
15Matthew,
Thomas,
James, the son of Alphaeus,
Simon, who was called the Zealot,
16Judas, the son of James,
and Judas Iscariot, who later handed Jesus over to his enemies.
Jesus Gives Blessings and Warnings
17Jesus came down from the mountain with these men and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there, along with a large number of other people from all over Judea, including Jerusalem, and from the coastland around Tyre and Sidon. 18They had all come to hear Jesus and to be healed of their sicknesses. People who were troubled by evil spirits were made well, 19and everyone was trying to touch Jesus because power was coming from him and healing them all.
20Jesus looked at his disciples and said to them,
“Blessed are you who are poor,
because God’s kingdom belongs to you.
21Blessed are you who are hungry now,
because you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who mourn now,
because you will laugh.
22Blessed are you when people hate you,
when they have nothing to do with you,
when they say bad things about you,
and when they treat your name as evil because of the Son of Man.
23“The prophets of long ago were treated in the same way. So when these things happen to you, be glad and jump for joy. You will receive many blessings in heaven.
24“But woe to you who are rich!
You’ve already had your easy life.
25Woe to you who are well fed now!
You will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now!
You will cry and be sad.
26Woe to you when everyone says good things about you!
That’s how they treated the false prophets long ago.
Love Your Enemies
27“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who call down curses on you, and pray for those who treat you badly. 29Suppose someone slaps you on one cheek. Then let them slap you on the other cheek as well. Suppose someone takes your coat. Don’t stop them from taking your shirt too. 30Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, don’t try to get it back. 31Do to others as you want them to do to you.
32“Suppose you love those who love you. Should anyone praise you for that? Even sinners love those who love them. 33Suppose you do good to those who are good to you. Should anyone praise you? Even sinners do the same. 34And suppose you lend money to those who can pay you back. Should anyone praise you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting them to pay everything back. 35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then you will have a great reward. You will be children of the Most High God, who is kind to people who do wrong and are ungrateful. 36Show mercy to others, just as your Father shows mercy.
Be Fair When You Judge Other People
37“If you don’t judge other people, then you won’t be judged yourself. If you don’t condemn others, then you won’t be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38Give, and it will be given to you. A full amount will be poured into your lap, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. The same measure you use for others will be used for you.”
39Jesus also gave them an illustration. He asked, “Can a person who is blind lead another blind person? Won’t they both fall into a pit? 40The student isn’t better than the teacher, but everyone who is completely trained will be like their teacher.
41“You look at the bit of sawdust in your friend’s eye, but you pay no attention to the chunk of wood in your own eye. 42While there is a log in your own eye, how can you say to your friend, ‘Let me take the bit of sawdust out of your eye’? Hypocrite! First take the piece of wood out of your own eye, and then you’ll be able to see clearly to take the bit of sawdust out of your friend’s eye.
A Tree and Its Fruit
43“A good tree doesn’t bear bad fruit, and a bad tree doesn’t bear good fruit. 44You can tell any tree by the kind of fruit it bears. People don’t pick figs from thorns, and they don’t pick grapes from bushes. 45A good person says good things that come from the good stored up in their heart, but a bad person says bad things that come from the evil stored up in their heart, because a person’s mouth says whatever’s in their heart.
The Wise and Foolish Builders
46“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I say? 47People who come and listen to me and do what I say are like this: 48They’re like a person who builds a house by digging down deep and laying its foundation on solid rock. When a flood comes, the river rushes against it, but the house can’t be shaken because it is well built. 49But here’s what people are like who listen to my words but don’t obey them: They’re like a person who builds a house on soft ground instead of solid rock. The moment the river rushes against that house, it falls down and is destroyed.”
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