31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. ~ Luke 6:31-36
The Lord Jesus has now separated the twelve disciples from the rest and He is now teaching them about His love, the kind of love that loves enemies. In Luke 6 we have the Sermon on the Mount. It is a sermon about discipleship. Therein, we learn that the distinguishing mark of the disciple of the Lord Jesus is His love for His enemies.
In v.31, we know it as the golden rule, “And just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way.” Just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way.
The Golden Rule is singularly a Christian concept. Every other religion in the world teaches a form of the Golden Rule, but it is exclusively Christian.
In v.32-34, the Lord Jesus says, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.”
Notice the word “sinners.” This is a technical term for an unbeliever. It’s a word referring to those who are outside the family of God and are therefore wicked. When Paul says, “I am the chief of sinners,” he’s using the term to define all sinners. It can also be used to speak of people who are particularly sinful because they have no connection with God. The term "sinners" is used both in the Old Testament and the New Testament to define people who do not belong to God.
Sinners have a certain kind of love, and here it’s laid out. Sinners, v.32, love those who love them. Sinners, v.33, do good to those who do good to them. Sinners, v.34, lend to sinners in order to receive back the same. Sinners have reciprocal love. Their love is conditioned by how they are treated.
But God's kind of love is very different than that. In fact, “if you love,” v.32 says, “those who love you, what credit is that to you?” That’s the way sinners love. And “if you do good only to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? And if you lend to those who from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you?” The word used for "credit" here is the Greek word "charis."
What grace do you demonstrate when you love like sinners love? It is the grace of God that sets Him and His followers apart.
God is kind and merciful, kind in v.35, merciful in v.36. Kind is positive and merciful is negative. Kind means “I give you what you don’t deserve.” Merciful means “I withhold what you do.” The active love of God is kind. He makes the sun rise on the just and the unjust. He makes the rain fall on them. That’s kindness. He’s kind toward all of us with His compassion, goodness, patience, forbearance, and invitations. And there’s a passive kind of kindness. He’s passive in the sense of His mercy. He withholds judgment. He withholds condemnation. He withholds damnation.
In v.35 the Lord Jesus repeats again this command, “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.” The very three things He mentions in v.32-34, the Lord Jesus picks back up in v.35. And, if we love His enemies, according to v.35, “Then our reward will be great.”
Back in v.23, the Lord Jesus brought attention to the fact that there will be a reward. When we love sinners the way sinners are not used to being loved, asking no love in return, we are showing them a love that is God's love, and our reward will be great.
That reward is discovered in v.35, “and you will be children of the Most High.” This means those being loved are going to conclude you’re a child of God. He’s not talking about what God is going to give us. He’s talking about what men are going to think about us. They’re going to say, “He or she is godlike."
The words “Most High,” in v.35, is the New Testament equivalent to the Hebrew El Elyon, or God Most High which means “You’re the sovereign ruler.” Interestingly, the Lord Jesus is called the “Son of the Most High” in Luke 1:32,76.
Further, in v.36 the Lord Jesus added, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” When we love like God, we adorn the gospel of God. We demonstrate that the life of God is in us, and His supernatural ability to love is shown through us.
So when we are kind, and being good toward our enemies, and being merciful, and withholding judgment from our enemies, we are being like God. As a result, we are identified by them as the children of the Most High God.
Finally, those who taste God’s grace but refuse to share it are tortured by anger, bitterness and revenge. But for the one who tastes God’s mercy and gives it to others, the reward is a blessed liberation. The prison door is thrown open and the prisoner is set free. We find the face of God who forgave us in the face of our enemy. Then, our enemy and ourselves are set free.
The Lord Jesus has now separated the twelve disciples from the rest and He is now teaching them about His love, the kind of love that loves enemies. In Luke 6 we have the Sermon on the Mount. It is a sermon about discipleship. Therein, we learn that the distinguishing mark of the disciple of the Lord Jesus is His love for His enemies.
In v.31, we know it as the golden rule, “And just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way.” Just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way.
The Golden Rule is singularly a Christian concept. Every other religion in the world teaches a form of the Golden Rule, but it is exclusively Christian.
In v.32-34, the Lord Jesus says, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.”
Notice the word “sinners.” This is a technical term for an unbeliever. It’s a word referring to those who are outside the family of God and are therefore wicked. When Paul says, “I am the chief of sinners,” he’s using the term to define all sinners. It can also be used to speak of people who are particularly sinful because they have no connection with God. The term "sinners" is used both in the Old Testament and the New Testament to define people who do not belong to God.
Sinners have a certain kind of love, and here it’s laid out. Sinners, v.32, love those who love them. Sinners, v.33, do good to those who do good to them. Sinners, v.34, lend to sinners in order to receive back the same. Sinners have reciprocal love. Their love is conditioned by how they are treated.
But God's kind of love is very different than that. In fact, “if you love,” v.32 says, “those who love you, what credit is that to you?” That’s the way sinners love. And “if you do good only to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? And if you lend to those who from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you?” The word used for "credit" here is the Greek word "charis."
What grace do you demonstrate when you love like sinners love? It is the grace of God that sets Him and His followers apart.
God is kind and merciful, kind in v.35, merciful in v.36. Kind is positive and merciful is negative. Kind means “I give you what you don’t deserve.” Merciful means “I withhold what you do.” The active love of God is kind. He makes the sun rise on the just and the unjust. He makes the rain fall on them. That’s kindness. He’s kind toward all of us with His compassion, goodness, patience, forbearance, and invitations. And there’s a passive kind of kindness. He’s passive in the sense of His mercy. He withholds judgment. He withholds condemnation. He withholds damnation.
In v.35 the Lord Jesus repeats again this command, “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.” The very three things He mentions in v.32-34, the Lord Jesus picks back up in v.35. And, if we love His enemies, according to v.35, “Then our reward will be great.”
Back in v.23, the Lord Jesus brought attention to the fact that there will be a reward. When we love sinners the way sinners are not used to being loved, asking no love in return, we are showing them a love that is God's love, and our reward will be great.
That reward is discovered in v.35, “and you will be children of the Most High.” This means those being loved are going to conclude you’re a child of God. He’s not talking about what God is going to give us. He’s talking about what men are going to think about us. They’re going to say, “He or she is godlike."
The words “Most High,” in v.35, is the New Testament equivalent to the Hebrew El Elyon, or God Most High which means “You’re the sovereign ruler.” Interestingly, the Lord Jesus is called the “Son of the Most High” in Luke 1:32,76.
Further, in v.36 the Lord Jesus added, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” When we love like God, we adorn the gospel of God. We demonstrate that the life of God is in us, and His supernatural ability to love is shown through us.
So when we are kind, and being good toward our enemies, and being merciful, and withholding judgment from our enemies, we are being like God. As a result, we are identified by them as the children of the Most High God.
Finally, those who taste God’s grace but refuse to share it are tortured by anger, bitterness and revenge. But for the one who tastes God’s mercy and gives it to others, the reward is a blessed liberation. The prison door is thrown open and the prisoner is set free. We find the face of God who forgave us in the face of our enemy. Then, our enemy and ourselves are set free.
