Introductory remarks:
In this chapter Christ gives His exposition on the fact that He came to fulfill the Law, and not to do away with it. This chapter may be outlined as follows: plucking grain on the Sabbath vv. 1-5; the man with a withered hand vv.6-11; the choosing of the twelve vv. 12-16; ministering to a great multitude vv. 17-19; blessings and woes vv. 20-26; love for enemies vv. 27-36; judging others vv. 37-42; a tree known by its fruit vv. 43-45; the two foundations vv. 46-49.
Plucking Grain on the Sabbath
(Matt. 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28)
Verse 1, "And it came to pass on the second Sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands."
LGT "And it came to pass on [the] Sabbath He was going through the corn fields; and His disciples were plucking and were eating the ears, and were rubbing [them] in the hands."
The genuine reading of this verse is it came to pass on [the] Sabbath not as the KJV has it the second Sabbath. This field of grain was not the same as our corn or maize, but probably some sort of wheat. The Pharisees will note the offence that these disciples were winnowing the wheat by rubbing it in their hands to sort out the kernel; Robertson says the Pharisees will strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.
Verse 2, "And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath days?"
LGT "But some of the Pharisees said, Why do ye which is not lawful [on] the Sabbaths?"
A certain class of Pharisees stood out to condemn Christ and His disciples. As noted above were claiming that they were winnowing the wheat or barley.
Verses 3, 4,"And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungered, and they which were with him; how he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the shewbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat for the priest alone?"
LGT "And Jesus answering to them said, have you not read even this, that which David did, when he hungered himself and those who [were] with him; [how] he entered into the house of God took the loaves of presentation, and ate, and gave to the ones with him, which is not lawful to eat except the priest only?"
Shepherd explains why David was justified in eating the loaves of presentation:
"Christ ironically chides the Pharisees for their ignorance of these historical Scriptures. Did you never read, He said sarcastically, what David did when he had need and was hungry, he and they that were with him. How he entered into the house of God (at Nob) and ate the show-bread. This was the principle of necessity. It was perhaps the Sabbath when David committed the double offence of entering - being a mere layman - the house of God, and ate the show-bread consecrated for priests only. Saul was in pursuit. David and his soldiers were hungry. The priest, Abimelech had only the loaves of presentation - a dozen loaves placed on the table in the Sanctuary and at the end of the week substituted by fresh ones, the stale being used by the priests. Jesus wisely made use of this example first, which had justification in the precepts of the Rabbis, that danger to life superseded the Sabbath law and all other obligations (cf. Lev. 18:5)."
Verse 5, "And said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath."
LGT "And He said to them, The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
The Lord created the Sabbath, and as its Creator, He could never break its ceremonies.
Edersheim adds:
"In Truth, the reason why David was blameless in eating the showbread was the same as that which made the Sabbath-labor of the priests lawful. The Sabbath-Law was not one merely of rest, but for worship. The Service of the Lord was the object in view. The priests worked on the Sabbath, because this service was the object of the Sabbath; and David was allowed to eat of the showbread, not because there was danger to life from starvation, but because he pleaded that he was in the service of the Lord, and needed this provision. The disciples, when following the Lord, were similarly in the service of the Lord; ministering to Him was more than ministering in the Temple, for He was greater than the Temple. If the Pharisees had believed this, they would not have questioned their conduct, nor in so doing have themselves infringed that higher Law which enjoined mercy, not sacrifice.
The service of God, and the Service of the Temple, by universal consent, superseded the Sabbath-Law."
The Man with the Withered Hand
(Matt. 12:9-14; Mark 3:1-6)
Verse 6, "And it came to pass also on another Sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered."
LGT "And it came to pass on another Sabbath, He entered into the synagogue and taught. And there was a man there, and his hand, the right one, was withered."
This verse states two particulars that are peculiar to Luke, the physician 1) another Sabbath, [not necessarily the next one] and 2) his hand, the right one. "Only Luke notes that it was on a Sabbath. Was this because Luke as a physician had to meet this problem in his own practice?" (Robertson). And the detail of the right hand being withered is noted by Vincent: "A very precise mode of statement. Lit., his hand the right one. Luke only specifies which hand was withered. This accuracy is professional. Ancient medical writers always state whether the right or the left member is affected."
Verse 7, "And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the Sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him."
LGT "And the scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him, whether on the Sabbath He will heal, in order that they might find an accusation against Him."
The Jewish interpreters of the Law were very precise in what may or may not be done by physicians on their precious Sabbaths. The Pharisees were watching the Christ, with evil intent, to see if they could accuse Him.
Edersheim notes on these restrictions:
"All applications to the outside of the body were forbidden on the Sabbath. As regarded internal remedies, such substances as were used in health, but had also a remedial effect, might be taken, although here also there was a way of evading the Law. A person suffering from a toothache might not gargle his mouth with vinegar, but he might use an ordinary toothbrush and dip it in vinegar. The Gamara [one of the books interpreting the Law] here adds, that gargling was lawful, if the substance was afterwards swallowed. It further explains, that affections extending from the lips, or else from the throat, inwards, may be attended to, being regarded as dangerous. Quite a number of these are enumerated, showing, that either the Rabbis were very lax in applying their canon about most diseases, or else that they reckoned in their number not a few which we would not regard as such. External lesions also might be attended to, if they involved danger to life. Similarly, medical aid might be called in, if a person had swallowed a piece of glass; a splinter might be removed from the eye, and even a thorn from the body.
But although the man with the withered hand could not be classed with those dangerously ill, it could not have been difficult to silence the Rabbis on their own admissions. Clearly, their principle implied, that it was lawful on the Sabbath to do that which could save life or prevent death. To have taught otherwise, would virtually have involved murder."
Verse 8, "But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he rose and stood forth."
LGT "But He knowing their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, Arise, and stand into the midst."
Jesus foiled the Pharisees ruthless designs of trying to catch Him in doing something illegal, by having the man step forward into their midst, as not to hide anything from them, giving them ample opportunity to accuse Him. Jesus knew all along what was in their minds.
Verse 9, "Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask one thing; Is it lawful on the Sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? To save life, or to destroy it?"
LGT "And Jesus said to them, I ask you, if it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or to do evil? To save a life, or to destroy?"
Jesus puts this question to the Pharisees, who were plotting to kill Him. By Him ignoring the man with the withered hand would be doing evil, because of it being one of their Sabbaths.
Verse 10, "And looking round about them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other."
LGT "And having looked around on all of them He said to him, Stretch forth your hand. And he did so, and his hand was restored."
Jesus healed the man without any fear of the Pharisees, or their useless accusations. Christ did not let the foolishness of the Pharisees hearts hinder Him in the slightest from His mission.
Verse 11, "And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus."
LGT "But they were filled with madness [insanity], and consulted with one another [as to] what they should do to Jesus."
These Pharisees became insane at what had taken place; what Jesus had said to them about doing good or evil, made no impression whatsoever on them. Instead of being filled with awe at the wonderful healing that had just taken place, they burned with senseless rage. They continued plotting among themselves, but as recorded in Mark; they went outside to include the Herodians in their plot. Matthew records that they plotted His death from that moment on.
The Choosing of the Twelve
(Matt. 10:1-4; Mark 3:13-19)
Verse 12, "And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God."
LGT "And it came to pass in those days, He went into the mountain to pray, and He was spending the night in prayer to God."
Luke is the only gospel narrative that gives this particular; He was spending the night in prayer. By what follows, it seems probable that He was seeking guidance from the Father on His choosing of the Apostles.
Verse 13, "And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;"
LGT "And when it became day, He called to [Him] His disciples, and chose out from them twelve, whom also He named apostles."
Christ called together disciples [learners] from whom He chose out the twelve apostles. There were a large number to choose from. He had been praying all night, and when it became day, He chose them.
Verses 14-16, "Simon, (whom he also named Peter) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor."
(The LGT is exactly the same)
The only note I have on these verses is that an apostle means one sent. An apostle also had to be an eyewitness to the life and resurrection of Jesus.
Robertson notes:
"The word [apostle] is applied to others, like Barnabas, besides these twelve including the Apostle Paul who is on par with them in rank and authority, and even to mere messengers of the churches (II Cor. 8:23). But these twelve apostles stand apart from all others in that they were all chosen by Jesus Himself that they might be with him (Mark 3:14), to be trained by Jesus Himself and to interpret Him and His message to the world. In the nature of the case they could have no successors as they had to be personal witnesses to the life and resurrection of Jesus (Acts 1:22). The selection of Matthias to succeed Judas cannot be called a mistake, but it automatically ceased."
Ministering to a Great Multitude
(Matt. 4:23-25)
Verse 17, "And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their disease."
LGT "And descending with them, He stood on a level place, and a crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon."
As Jesus came down from the mountain He found a level plateau where He stopped and began to speak. A great crowd had come out to hear Him, and many that were diseased came to be healed. The disciples were with Him, for they went up into the mountain for Him to further instruct them as to their new office.
Verse 18, "And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed."
LGT "They came to hear Him, and to be healed of their diseases: and the ones who were troubled with unclean spirits were healed,"
Just as there are various degrees of good, there are various degrees of evil; these demons were of an unclean nature, which delighted in tormenting and inflicting their subjects with various painful and loathsome diseases.
Verse 19, "And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of Him, and healed them all."
LGT "And all the crowd sought to touch Him, because power was coming out from Him, and kept healing all".
Both verbs in this last phrase are imperfect so the literal translation is power was coming out of Him, and kept healing them. It was at a time of surpassing dynamic spiritual energy when Jesus delivered this greatest of all sermons so far as they are reported to us. The very air was electric with Spiritual Power.
McGee adds this wonderful paragraph:
"Multitudes were healed on this occasion. In our Lord's day literally thousands of people were healed. There were no healing lines, no slapping of this one and patting of that one, nor having people fall backwards and forwards. The people whom the Lord healed did not have to do anything. Our Lord would even heal them at a distance. The healings performed by the Lord were genuine, and we have Dr. Luke's statement to prove it. I do not believe in faith healers but I do believe in faith healing. Take your problem to the Great Physician. He is the best doctor you can consult, and He does not send you a bill; nor do you have to be on Medicare to get him to take your case."
Blessings and Woes
(Matt. 5:1-12)
Verse 20, "And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God."
LGT "And He lifting up His eyes upon His disciples, said, Blessed are the poor ones, because yours is the Kingdom of God."
I find this verse very encouraging, because of how clear it is, that our Lord is speaking to those that are poor because they have decided to follow our Lord. Being poor is no great reward in itself, but being poor because you prefer it that way, because of what it takes to be rich, there is blessing in it. A person truly dedicated to the Lord's principles of truth and justice will find it impossible to become rich, or at the least, to stay rich.
Verse 21, "Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh."
LGT "Blessed [ye] who hunger now, because ye shall be filled. Blessed [ye] who weep now, because ye shall laugh."
Luke is the only gospel writer that adds the adverb now in order to stress a present situation to future blessing. "The verb filled is used here to express the complete satisfaction of spiritual hunger and thirst" (Vincent). All sorrow will be wiped away, for there will be an eternity of happiness.
Verse 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."
LGT "Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall cut you off, and shall reproach [you], and cast your name out as evil, on account of the Son of Man:"
Up to this point this Sermon on the Plain is similar to Matthew's Sermon on the Mount. The last phrase of this verse gives the reason why evil things happen to good people, for the son of Man's sake. When we are living in fellowship with the Father the world will hate us; they will excommunicate us from their fellowships; they will reproach [criticize] us; they will regard us as the evil ones, speaking about us with evil terms and with evil intent; and all this calumny [slander] they will cast at us because we are His Children. The Democratic Party is a stalwart for Satan in this present world. They continually represent the point of view of their father, the Devil. Anyone who stands for righteousness is looked upon as stupid. My grandson Mike brought this point home to me just this weekend. Grandma and I were at our granddaughter and grandson's house this past weekend, celebrating Thanksgiving; Mike is a sophomore at ASU, and he said that the majority of the students sneer at the very mention of the Word "God". Of course this is not new, for I experienced the very same thing when I attended secular colleges; however, I am sure that it is even more blatant and prevalent now than ever.
Vincent remarks about the title Son of Man:
"The title asserts Christ's humanity - His absolute identification with our race: His having a genuine humanity which could deem nothing human strange, and could be touched with a feeling of the infirmities of the race which He was to judge (Liddon, Our Lord's Divinity). It also exalts Him as the representative ideal Man. All human history tends to Him and radiates from Him; it is the point in which humanity finds its unity; as Irenaeus says, "He recapitulates it." He closes the earlier history of our race; He inaugurates its future. Nothing local, transient, individualizing, national, sectarian dwarfs the proportions of His world-embracing character. He rises above the parentage, the blood, the narrow horizon, which bounded, as it seemed, His human life. He is the archetypal Man, in whose presence distinction of race, intervals of ages, types of civilization, degrees of mental culture are as nothing (Liddon). But the title means more. As Son of Man He asserts the authority of judgment over all flesh. By virtue of what He is as Son of Man, He must be more. The absolute relation to the world, which He attributes to Himself, demands an absolute relation to God. . . . He is the Son of Man, the Lord of the world, the judge, only because He is the Son of God (Luthardt). Christ's humanity can be explained only by His divinity. Humanity so unique demands a solution. Divested of all that is popularly called miraculous, viewed simply as a man, under the historical conditions of His life, He is a greater miracle than all His miracles combined. The solution is expressed in Hebrews, chapter one."
Verse 23, 'Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy; for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in like manner did their fathers unto the prophets."
LGT "Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for lo, your reward [is] great in the heaven: for according to these things their fathers did to the prophets."
As I pointed out in my illustration of my grandson's experience in the university, unbelief is the same in every generation. Luke expresses that the Christian should leap for joy, whereas Matthew says be ye exceeding glad; it seems that both the Presbyterian and the Methodist are covered here.
McGee adds:
"This verse speaks about the reception of, and attitude toward, God's prophets by mankind. The true prophet speaks for God and is persecuted. The false prophet misrepresents God and is patronized by men. The true prophet must have faith in God and maintain a quiet confidence, which looks beyond the things, which are seen to the things, which are eternal. This is what keeps a man true to God.
Verses 20-22 speak about the poor, hungry and weak, who are hated, reproached, considered outcasts, and called evil. All you have to do is look back into the Old Testament to see that this is true. It is true today. The man who preaches the Word of God is going to have a rough time. If he does not have a rough time, something is wrong. The false prophets were rich and had plenty to eat. They could laugh and were considered good fellows. God has something to say to them."
Verse 24, "But woe unto you that are rich! For ye have received your consolation."
LGT "But woe to you, the ones who are rich, because you are receiving your comfort and support."
This verse presents a sharp contrast. The Greek for are receiving has the connotation of having received in full, that is, there is no room for future rewards. The rich have their full comfort in their riches, because they put their trust in them.
Verse 25, "Woe unto you that are full! For ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! For ye shall mourn and weep."
LGT "Woe to you, the ones who have been filled now, because ye shall hunger. Woe to the ones who laugh now, because ye shall mourn and weep."
Again Luke adds the adverb now in order to present the full contrast. Those who have everything in this life now will be bankrupt in the future heaven.
Verse 26, "Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! For so did their fathers to the false prophets."
LGT "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for according to these things did the fathers to the false prophets."
As McGee pointed out above, if a preacher is swarmed with praise, he definitely is not preaching the Word of God. The Word of God is not popular with the world, and it is not even very popular within God's own family, sorry to say. Beware the flattering tongue, said Solomon, and we should heed his words, for they came from our Heavenly Father. When we become popular with the world, we can almost assuredly be assured that we are out of fellowship with our heavenly Family.
Love for Enemies
(Matt. 5:38-48; 7:12a)
Verse 27, "But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,"
LGT "But I say to you, the ones who hear, love your enemies, do well to those who hate you,"
"Jesus begins this verse with an adversative [antithetical or opposing] "but" gr. alla as a contrast to what was being taught by the Rabbis" (Robertson). Jesus says in effect, Take heed to what I say. Jesus is teaching this love for their enemies in opposition to what the Pharisees and their scribes taught, that is, the O.T. concept of loving their neighbor and hating their enemies. This grace concept of love for the believer's enemies is what we have been teaching all along: we love our brother based on our brother's relationship to Jesus Christ, that is, he or she is a joint heir with Christ; we love our enemy based on our own personal relation to Christ as His joint heir; the unbeliever is not related to Christ because of their total rejection of Him.
Verse 28, "Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you."
LGT "Bless the ones who curse you, pray concerning those who despitefully use you."
In this next section (vs. 29-46) Christ gives an exposition on how the grace believer is to treat the unbeliever; this grace teaching is in opposition to what the Pharisees were teaching by their precepts of the Law; Christ demands perfect righteousness, and only by His grace, through the power of the Holy Spirit are we able to live this demanded life. If we attempt to live this life by any other means than by His grace, it will be a life lived by the strength of our flesh, and in my flesh dwells no good thing. When we try and follow the teachings of men, that are urging believers to make resolutions to live a Purpose Driven Life such as the drivel from that clown Rick Warren, we will only be able to feel good about ourselves, and never find the victory we have in grace. Rick Warren is nothing but a pious wretch making himself and his wife very rich on the guilty conscience of ignorant believers, and unbelievers wanting to feel good about themselves, that is, they are searching for self-esteem, in order to be able to live with themselves, because the Bible teaches us that we have no self-esteem; we must be crucified with Christ on a daily basis, and then and only then will we have the peace that passes all understanding. We must live by His strength, and that means giving up our self-esteem and giving Him His proper place in our lives.
Verse 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."
LGT "To him who strikes you upon the cheek, offer also the other, and from him who takes away your cloak, also the tunic do not forbid."
The Greek word for "cheek" is siagona, which literally means the "jaw"; so it is not "a slap of contempt, but an act of violence" (Vincent). The person committing this act is literally slugging on the jaw to cause hurt. The Lord here tells them if a robber takes their cloak (the outer more valuable garment) give it to them rather than fight for it; which in our modern times, with how ruthless the bandits are, it would be useless to fight anyhow. We all have heard the preacher who says that this does not mean that we should let someone smack us around and get away with it; that we should retaliate if we are hit; however this is not the case with the majority of believers; most believers are not trained thugs, and if we are attacked by a thug, it would be useless to retaliate; the Lord is saying as the Psalmist prayed many times, Lord, give mine enemies what they deserve. Even David the Goliath Killer needed the Lord to take vengeance on his enemies. It would be a strange situation indeed if some little twerp came up and hit you on the jaw; I am sure the Lord is speaking of a situation that needed His assistance.
Verse 30, "Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods, ask them not again."
LGT "To every one who asks you, give; and from the one who takes away what is yours, ask [it] not back."
Here again I believe the Lord is speaking of a hopeless situation that His disciples would soon be facing, and probably has no application to us in this modern world of ours; the main point is that He will take vengeance; as we studied in the Revelation, the Lord will take vengeance upon our enemies at the last Day.
Verse 31, "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise."
LGT "And according as you desire that men should do to you, do also to them in like manner."
Here the golden Rule begins. Our Lord is telling his disciples that they should treat men as they would be treated in return.
Verse 32, "For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? For sinners also love those that love them."
LGT "And if you love those who love you, what quality of thank to you is it? For even the sinners who love them, love [in return]."
The Lord is saying in essence, What benefit from God is it, if we love only those who love us, for even those of the world do this.
Verse 33, "And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? For sinners also do even the same."
LGT "[For] if you also do good to the ones who do good to you, what quality of grace is it? Even the sinners do the same."
Here again our Lord explains the same grace logic. We cannot expect that we should receive a reward from the Father for doing well to those who treat us well.
Verse 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."
LGT "And if you lend [to those] from whom you hope to receive, what quality of grace is it? Even sinners lend to sinners, that they may receive the like."
The Lord tells them that if they lend to one another expecting to receive interest that is of no value to them; for even the sinners, that is, those outside Christendom, lend in that way.
Verse 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.
LGT "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again: and great shall be your reward, and ye shall be sons of the Highest, because He is good to the unthankful, and wicked."
The type of Love for our enemies is one that is "based on calculation and judgment" (Vincent). As I have written before, we should love our fellow believer based on their relationship to the Father; and we should love our enemies based our own personal relationship to our Father. Today in God's family, we should help one another without expecting any interest, except in certain business transactions, that is, if one person takes money out of an account that is yielding a certain percent of interest, he should be repaid in direct ratio with his expected earnings. Also, we should help those of our family out who are unable to help themselves, and that without expecting anything in return. When we do these acts of grace, we are proving openly that we are His children.
Verse 36, "Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful."
LGT "Be ye compassionate, just as [also] your Father is compassionate."
This is a Christian principle that we could all learn by, especially when we want to blame someone who is doing some sin we are not guilty of; we must always remember that we must show our brothers and sisters love, for we are loved by our Father, even though we don't deserve His love; the Father loves us because of the imputed righteousness of His Son on us; if we don't love our fellow believer, the love of the Father is not [evident] in us.
Judging Others
(Matt. 7:1-5)
Verse 37, "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:"
LGT "And judge not, and in no wise will you be judged: and condemn not, and in no wise will you be condemned: release, and you will be released:"
In this verse Jesus stresses the fact of forbidding the habit of criticism. "The common verb krino, to separate, we have in our English words critic, criticism, criticize, discriminate. Jesus does not mean that we are not to form opinions, but not to form them rashly, unfairly, like our prejudice" (Robertson). Ye shall not be judged and condemned not. Jesus uses the double negative stressing that in no way will one be condemned if one does not condemn, that is, censor his brother. "Jesus exhorts to the opposite of what He has just forbidden" (Vincent). Jesus stresses the fact that we should show grace because we have been dealt with in grace.
Verse 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."
LGT "Give, and it shall be given to you; measure good, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they shall give into your bosom: for which measure ye mete, it shall be measured again to you."
This verse states in compact form the Golden Rule, and true Christian giving; we should not treat others differently than we would be treated ourselves.
Barnes notes:
"They shall give you good measure, or full measure. Pressed down, as figs or grapes might be, and thus many more might be put into the measure. Shaken together, to make it more compact, and thus to give more. Running over, so full that the measure would overflow. Shall men give, this is said to be the reward of giving to the poor and needy; and the meaning is that man who is liberal will find others liberal to him in dealing with them, and when he is also in circumstances of want. A man who is himself kind to the poor - who has the character established - will find many who are ready to help him abundantly when he is in want. He that is parsimonious [skimping], close, niggardly [stingy], will find few or none who will aid him. Into your bosom, that is to you. The word bosom here has reference to a custom among Oriental nations of making the bosom or front part of their garments large, so that articles could be carried in them, answering the purpose of our pockets. Comp. Ex. 4:6,7; Pr. 6:27; Ruth 3:15."
Verse 39, "And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? Shall they not both fall into the ditch?"
LGT "And He spoke also a parable to them; Is a blind [man] able to lead a blind [man]? Will not both fall into a pit?"
Christ asks these two questions expecting the obvious answers; to the first a negative no; to the second a positive yes. If we are to be spiritual leaders in our families, we must be diligent students of the Word of God.
Verse 40, "The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master."
LGT "A disciple is not above his teacher: but every one shall be perfected as his teacher."
The phrase a disciple is not above his teacher is a pill most young people find hard to swallow, especially sophomores. Most parents find that in teaching their children there are various stages of rebellion; but the one that is most laughable, if not sorry, is the teen-age years. It seems that every teen goes through the stage of knowing more than their parents; then when they reach about twenty five they realize just how much they have taught their parents, for the parents now seem to them not quite as stupid as they thought. The word "perfect" is actually "perfected." Robertson notes on this word "The word "perfected" is common for mending broken things or nets (Matt. 4:21) or men (Gal. 6:1). So it is a long process to get the pupil patched up to a plane of his teacher." I remember my Greek teacher saying to our class during the second year: "Now I believe you all know just enough Greek to be dangerous." It takes much patience on the part of the parent and the teacher to bear with the student's growth in being perfected.
Verses 41,42, "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 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 thy brother's eye."
LGT "But why do you look on the mote that [is] in the eye of your brother, but you do not perceive the beam in your own eye? How are you able to say to your brother, Brother, suffer [that] I may cast out the mote, the one in your eye, thyself not seeing the beam in your [own] eye? Hypocrite, cast first the beam out of your [own] eye, and then you will see clearly to cast out the mote, the one in your brother's eye "
"The Pharisees claimed to be able to determine the motives by the actions, and they judged the motives of people. This was what Christ forbade. In order to illustrate the fallacy of judging another's motives, our Lord used the illustration of a speck of sawdust [a mote] and a plank [a beam]. A speck of sawdust and a plank are identical in nature; they differ only in size. Christ said the one who judges is concerned about a small speck of sawdust in another's eye and is ignoring the large plank in his or her own eye. Christ was saying that what one is quick to judge in another is often a major concern in his own life. Instead of dealing with the personal problem, the one who judges seeks to divert attention away from self to the problem, as it exists in another. A person has no right to judge another's conduct or motives until that person's own life has been purified" (Pentecost).
A Tree Known by its Fruit
(Matt. 7:17-20; 12:34b-35)
Verse 43, "For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit."
LGT "For there is no good tree producing corrupt fruit; nor a corrupt tree producing good fruit."
Jesus begins this parable with a statement of matter of fact, a fact all His hearers were well aware of.
Verse 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."
LGT "For each tree by its own fruit is known: for not from thorns do they gather figs, nor from a bramble-bush gather they grapes."
Another obvious fact leading up to Christ's explaining His meaning; one would never see apples on an orange tree, nor grapes in a thistle bush. The verb "is known" is ginosketai meaning fully known, that is, there is no guesswork going on here.
Verse 45, "A good man out of the 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."
LGT "The good man out of the treasure of the heart that which [is] good, and the evil out of the evil [heart] brings forth evil: for out of [the] abundance of [the] heart his mouth speaks."
If men were not so phony it would be easy to tell what kind of men they were; but we must keep reminding ourselves of this fact that out of what is filling our minds will come out either for our good, or it will condemn us. "When men are natural, heart and mouth act in concert. But otherwise the mouth sometimes professes what the heart does not feel" (Plummer).
The Two Foundations
(Matt. 7:24-27)
Verse 46, "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"
LGT "And why do ye call Me, Lord, Lord, and do not what I say."
This is the main point of every doctrine that is being taught, and the next two parables illustrate this point.
McGee comments on verses 31-46:
"The minister of a church who is seeking popularity does not dare mention sin. Some use the gyration of psychoanalysis to explain away the exceeding sinfulness of sin (like those two clowns at the Crystal Cathedral). It is called a relic of a theological jungle. Sin is not a crime against God, according to many modern preachers. They are afraid to say that God hates sin and that Jehovah is a Man of War.
To be right in God's sight you cannot compliment the ego, pat the pride, smile upon sin, and put cold cream on the cancer of sin. You cannot write a prescription on philosophy and have it filled in the pleasures of the world. The only place you can go is the foot of the cross. There God performs an operation, major surgery, and makes you a new creature in Christ Jesus. That is the message we have in the Sermon on the Plain. It compliments the Sermon on the Mount. It is a message the Lord gave many times to many different groups of people."
Verse 47, "Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:"
LGT "Every one who is coming to Me, and hears My words and does them, I will show you to whom he is like."
A bare profession of knowing Christ is not enough; a person must believe what He hears from God's Word, that is the doing His sayings. If a person hears and truly believes, that is, enough to put their full trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, that person will be, and is at that very moment saved for all eternity. When we do that we will know at that moment that we are like the man in verse 47.
Verse 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, that stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock."
LGT "He is like to a man building a house, who dug and deepened, and laid a foundation upon the Rock: and a flood having come, the stream burst upon that house, and could not shake it, because it had been well builded."
We, in our family, can remember the little chorus we used to sing in S.S. about the two men building houses. It was taken from this parable of Jesus; this wise man built his house on the Rock, which is the only true and deep foundation, for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Verse 49, "But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without 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."
LGT "But he who heard and did not, is like to a man having built a house upon the earth without a foundation, on which burst the stream, and immediately it fell in, and the breaking of that house was great."
Matthew describes the house as built upon the "sand"; in either of these cases, the fact that our faith cannot exist on anything else but the Living Word of God; we are foolish indeed if we build our lives on any less than God's Divine Inspired Word. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: "For other foundation can no man lay than is laid, which is Jesus Christ."
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