Day 19 Lent 2023
Today’s reading is tough for me. I said that yesterday. I’m not a “turn the other cheek” kind of guy. I welcome the fight, especially if brother and sister warriors are standing with me, at my back, and counting on me. I draw strength from knowing I’m letting someone down if I fail. Strange, I know, but there’s a little insight into who I am. The strange thing is, it only takes one person. Knowing someone expects me to do something gives me the energy to make tough decisions. Let’s look at the words of Jesus calling us to make tough decisions.
27“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
29“Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.
30“Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.
31“Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.
Luke 6:27–31 (NASB95)
Halley’s Bible Handbook says the section from verse twenty to forty-nine could be a summary of the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew Chapters 5-7. Luke has a different audience from Matthew, so he may have decided to emphasize different information. Matthew was written somewhere around AD 48-50, and Luke after it around AD 59-61 (thank you, Biblehub.com.) Given Luke’s Gospel comes a full decade after Matthew, it is likely Luke assumes the sayings and information from the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew are well-known. Thus, only a summary is needed to remind his audience what they already know.
The word “love” that Jesus uses here is translated as agapao. The kind of love in a social or moral sense as compared to phileo, which is the physical kind between a man and a woman. Here’s agapao in the Greek.
Greek Strong’s Number: 25
Greek Word: ἀγαπάω
Transliteration: agapaō
Phonetic Pronunciation: ag-ap-ah’-o
Root: perhaps from agan (much) [or cf <H5689> ]
Cross Reference: TDNT - 1:21,5
Part of Speech: v
Vine’s Words: Beloved, Love
Usage Notes:
English Words used in KJV:
love 135
beloved 7
[Total Count: 142]
perhaps from agan (much) [or compare <H5689> (`agab)]; to love (in a social or moral sense):- (be-) love (-ed). Compare <G5368> (phileo).
James Strong, “Ἀγαπάω,” Strong’s Talking Greek and Hebrew Dictionary (WORDsearch, 2020).
Now, here’s phileo in the Greek.
Greek Strong’s Number: 5368
Greek Word: φιλέω
Transliteration: phileō
Phonetic Pronunciation: fil-eh’-o
Root: from <G5384>
Cross Reference: TDNT - 9:114,1262
Part of Speech: v
Vine’s Words: Kiss, Love
Usage Notes:
English Words used in KJV:
love 22
kiss 3
[Total Count: 25]
from <G5384> (philos); to be a friend to (fond of [an individual or an object]), i.e. have affection for (denoting personal attachment, as a matter of sentiment or feeling; while <G25> (agapao) is wider, embracing especially the judgment and the deliberate assent of the will as a matter of principle, duty and propriety: the two thus stand related very much as <G2309> (thelo) and <G1014> (boulomai), or as <G2372> (thumos) and <G3563> (nous) respectively; the former being chiefly of the heart and the latter of the head); specially to kiss (as a mark of tenderness):- kiss, love.
James Strong, “Φιλέω,” Strong’s Talking Greek and Hebrew Dictionary (WORDsearch, 2020).
There is a moral component to Jesus’ command to love those who are our enemies and do good to the people who hate us. What does that Mean? In my mind, it means we can love the person and desperately want them to be with us but not love the immoral things they might be doing. It does not mean we blindly accept the person and all their actions. If they are not performing actions that align with what scripture says is good, right, and proper, we can declare them as such. However, that same verse, twenty-seven, commands us to do good to them too.
Does that mean to be a doormat for anyone to walk over? No, it does not. It means having standards. Enforce those standards. Require those under your authority to meet those standards, but clearly articulate them so they can be understood as expected behaviors. When those standards are not met, because we love those people, we work with them to correct the behavior supporting their efforts to conform.
Verse twenty-eight is an easy one. Pray for the people who are mean to us. I can do that. I have done that. I continue to do that because it is simple to say words and ask God to help them be better people. Verse twenty-nine is the tough one.
29“Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.
Luke 6:29 (NASB95)
29And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.
Luke 6:29 (KJV 1900)
This verse reads as though violence is never an option. Jesus, Himself, drove the money changers out of the temple with a knotted rope, so we know there are times when it is permitted. This passage is not a proscription of violence ever. This is a command not to let someone trying to provoke us into a fight succeed. Do not rise to the bait, as it were. This is a common, in the street, someone trying to “get your goat” sort of provocation. Not enemies waging war against our nation or criminals breaking into a home.
This second to last scripture is a primary focus. It should be a principle for life, in my opinion. The first part, anyway. I struggle with the second part, but I think in this one, it is a call to not do violence to someone stealing out of a need or perceived need. I struggle with that idea too, but it’s clearly stated by Jesus.
30Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
Luke 6:30 (KJV 1900)
“Give to every man that asketh of thee….” That is hard. What if I need what they’re asking me for? Go and read all of Matthew Chapters 5-7 for the full Sermon on the Mount. I’m not going to post all three chapters here. The concepts Luke relates from Christ’s words are intertwined throughout that sermon. A fuller explanation from the Master is inside that sermon on how to give as well.
I’m going to leave you with two scriptures for today. The first is the last one from today’s passage. The second pair are from the Sermon on the Mount.
31“Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.
Luke 6:31 (NASB95)
15“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
16“You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?
17“So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
Matthew 7:15–17 (NASB95)
Character matters. What people have done matters. Yes, people can change. However, someone whose past indicates a pattern of behavior is not to be trusted with matters of great importance until they bear fruit that indicates they can be trusted. Likewise, if the historical results of someone’s actions are contrary to what they are saying now until we have demonstrable results otherwise, we should expect those same results. To do anything else is unwise on our part. God bless and Godspeed.