Luke 6

1 – 2

One Sabbath day Jesus was walking through some grain fields. His followers picked the heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. Some Pharisees said, “Why are you doing that? It is against the law of Moses to do that on the Sabbath day.”

The Old Testament said that you can eat some grain as you are walking through a field. Deuteronomy 23:25

We see again that the Jewish teachers found something wrong with the way Jesus was healing people and how His followers were not fasting but now the disciples are not eating grain in the correct way.

The devil will always find something to accuse you of, if it is not one thing, then it will be another. Ask Jesus to tell the devil to be quiet and keep your mind on things you know in the Bible.

3 – 5

Jesus answered, “Have you not read about what David did when he and those with him were hungry? David went into God’s house. He took the bread that was made holy for God and ate it. And He gave some of the bread to the people with Him. This was against the law of Moses. It says that only priests can eat that bread.” Then Jesus said to the Pharisees, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath day.”

God will even forgive us for not following the smaller things in His Law if we have an important reason. When we need something He will even see this as more important.

People need rest every seven days, not because of the Old Testament Law but because we are weak and cannot keep our strength if we never stop and rest. People who work seven days a week are always tired and get sick very easily.

So resting one day every week is not because we belong to a church that says we have to do this but it is so we can show God that we trust Him for the things we need without working every day. We also want to show Him that we look forward to spending some time with Him reading His Word and taking notes on what He shows us!

6 – 8

On another Sabbath day Jesus went into the synagogue and was teaching. A man with a crippled right hand was there. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees were watching to see if Jesus would heal on the Sabbath day.

They wanted to see Jesus do something wrong so that they could accuse Him. But He knew what they were thinking. He said to the man with the crippled hand, “Get up and stand before these people.” The man got up and stood there.

The Jews had laws that said that you could save a life on the Lord’s day but you could not heal. The person that Jesus is the most interested in is the person who needs Him the most.

9 – 10

Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is it right to do on the Sabbath day: to do good, or to do evil? Is it right to save a life or to destroy one?” Jesus looked around at all of them. He said to the man, “Let me see your hand.” The man stretched out his hand, and it was completely healed.

God tells us to take the first step. We say that we cannot even take one step but God says that if we will try then He take over and do the things that are impossible for us. When we laugh at this and say that it would be stupid to even take this first step then we will never see what God can do.

We say, “God is asking me to do things that I cannot do!” If you will take the smallest step to try to do what He says, then He will give you the power to go the rest of the way.
If you do not want to try then you will stay where you are with a crippled hand!

11. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law became very angry. They said to each other, “What can we do to Jesus?”

There are some ministries who think that they need to destroy another ministry because they are not doing things the way that someone thinks they should.

John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone using Your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.”

“Do not stop him!” Jesus said. “No one who performs a miracle in My name will not be able to speak evil of Me. Anyone who is not against us is for us.” Mark 9:38-40

12. At that time Jesus went off to a mountain to pray. He stayed there all night, praying to God.

Jesus shows us that it is wise to pray before big decisions.

13 – 16

The next morning, Jesus called his followers to Him. He chose 12 of them, whom He named “apostles.” They were Simon (Jesus named him Peter) and Andrew, Peter’s brother; James and John, Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon (called the Zealot), Judas son of James and Judas Iscariot. This Judas was the one who gave Jesus to His enemies.

Jesus had His own names for each of His followers. We know we are close friends when someone calls us by a special name. See Revelation 2:17

17 – 19

Jesus and the apostles came down from the mountain. Jesus stood on level ground where there was a large group of His followers. Also, there were many people from all around Judea, Jerusalem, and the seacoast cities of Tyre and Sidon. They all came to hear Jesus teach and to be healed of their sicknesses. He healed those who were troubled by evil spirits. All the people were trying to touch Jesus, because power was coming from Him and healing them all!

Jesus had prayed for His followers and for the people He was teaching. He was now building the foundation of what we believe. We build what we believe on the Words of Jesus! See 1 Timothy 6:3.

20. Jesus looked at His followers and said, “[Those of you who know that they are poor in spirit can be happy], because God’s kingdom belongs to you.

This means that you understand that you are empty without God in your spirit and you need Him to fill you. The devil told Adam and Eve that they could become gods and they would not need God anymore. We need to get rid of any ideas that tell us that we do not need God and confess that we do need Him.

You cannot be filled if you are already full of something else. What kind of things do you need to get rid of so that you can make room for the things of God? This is the beginning of living God’s way. First, you need to be empty of anything that is making you trust yourself instead of trusting God.

21. You people who are now hungry [for what is right] are happy, because you will be satisfied. You people who are now crying can be happy, because you will laugh with joy.

Ask yourself what you really want out of life. If you think that something else besides the Lord will make you happy then you are not hungry for God. When a baby does not want to eat the mother put some food on her finger and puts it in the baby’s mouth so they can see how good it tastes.

The reason some people are not hungry for the Lord is because they are already full of something else. We can fill our mind with other things while we let our spirit go without food. God will allow us to have some hard times so that we would look for answers. We will find the answers in the Bible when we are hungry enough.

When Jesus is talking about those who are crying is talking about crying over your sin. We do not just pray a little prayer and say, “Now I will start going to church.” Crying over your sin means that you were going a certain way and you turn and go the opposite way.

Only after you see that your sins have hurt God and other people will you understand how serious it is. Think about the things you have done that hurt other people. Think of how they must have felt when you did these things.

You can only be born again, if you first die to your old life and allow God to change you into a new person. Following Christ is not a religion where you just have to find out what the rules are, and follow the rules to get to heaven. If you did that, then you could say that you deserve to go to heaven because you are such a good person.

22 – 23

“You are blessed even when people hate you and are cruel to you. You are happy when they say that you are evil because you belong to the Son of Man. At that time be full of joy, because you have a great reward in heaven. Their fathers were cruel to the prophets in the same way these people are cruel to you.

There is a saying, “Only if the tree has fruit, then people will throw stones!” When we bring Jesus with us we are touching something in people’s lives. This will sometimes make them angry or feel guilty. The more clear your message is, the more they will feel bad. They are really doing these things to Jesus and not to us because life is a spiritual battle!

24 – 25

But how hard it will be for you who are rich, because you have had your easy life. How terrible it will be for you who are full now, because you will be hungry. How terrible it will be for you who are laughing now, because you will be sad and cry.

People are dying all around us. Why do we think we have plenty of time?

You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for? Luke 12:20

26. “Be careful when all people say only good things about you. Their fathers always said good things about the false prophets.

They pretend to be kind, but do not believe them. Their hearts are full of many evils. Proverbs 26:25

27 – 29

“I say to you who are listening to Me, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Ask God to bless those who say bad things to you. Pray for those who are cruel to you. If anyone slaps you on one cheek, let him slap the other cheek too. If someone takes your coat, do not stop him from taking your shirt.

If you are living with the Lord then you will have enemies. The original language shows that Jesus is talking about someone slapping you in a way that is making fun of you.

A man threw mud in David’s face and his guards asked if they should kill this man. David said. “No, leave him alone. Maybe God will see that I am doing nothing to this man and will bless me.” 2 Samuel 16:5

30 – 31

Give to everyone who asks you. When a person takes something that is yours, do not ask for it back. Do for other people what you want them to do for you.

This is called the Golden rule. Only do to others the things that you would want them to do to you. If we would do this then the world would be closer to heaven than it is now.

32 – 36

If you love only those who love you, should you get some special praise for doing that? No! Even sinners love the people who love them! If you do good only to those who do good to you, should you get some special praise for doing that? No! Even sinners do that! If you lend things to people, always hoping to get something back, should you get some special praise for that?

No! Even sinners lend to other sinners so that they can get back the same amount! So love your enemies. Do good to them, and lend to them without hoping to get anything back. If you do these things, you will have a great reward. You will be sons of the Most High God. Yes, because God is kind even to people who are ungrateful and full of sin. Show mercy just as your Father shows mercy.

God is looking for people who will do the opposite of what the world does. Jesus was an example to us of how we should not fight back against our enemies. When somebody sins against us, we should say, “Except for God’s grace that could be me going around hurting other people.”

37 – 38

Do not judge other people, and you will not be judged. Do not accuse others of being guilty, and you will not be accused of being guilty. Forgive other people, and you will be forgiven. Give, and you will receive. You will be given much. It will be poured into your hands—more than you can hold. You will be given so much that it will spill into your lap. The way you give to others is the way God will give to you.”

Do not hold these things against people! God has said that whatever seed you plant will grow back more than what you planted. You may think that you have not done anything by looking down on certain people but God will work things in your life to show you that you are no better than they are. You will see that you have done things that you never thought that you would do!

Walk softly and mind your own business! Do not ask for God to bring something on you because you asked for it by not controlling your mouth!

Do not laugh when your enemies fall; do not be happy when they stumble. For the LORD will be angry with you and will turn his anger away from them. Proverbs 24:17–18

39 – 40

Jesus told them this story: “Can a blind man lead another blind man? No! Both of them will fall into a ditch. A student is not better than his teacher. But when the student has fully learned all that he has been taught, then he will be like his teacher.

You do not know as much as you think you know. The sooner you see this, the better your walk with Christ will be.

If anyone thinks that he knows anything, he has not yet known it as he ought to know. 1 Corinthians 8:2

41 – 42

“Why do you see the little piece of dust that is in your brother’s eye, but you do not see the big piece of wood that is in your own eye? You say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take that little piece of dust out of your eye.’ Why do you say this? You cannot see that big piece of wood in your own eye! You are a hypocrite! First, take the piece of wood out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to take the dust out of your brother’s eye.

Correct the mistakes of your brother in the same way that you would like people to do for you, very carefully and with respect!

43 – 45

“A good tree does not produce bad fruit. Also, a bad tree does not produce good fruit. Each tree is known by its fruit. People do not gather figs from thorn bushes. And they do not get grapes from bushes.

A good person has good things saved up in his heart. And so he brings good things out of his heart. But an evil person has evil things saved up in his heart. So he brings out bad things. A person speaks the things that are in his heart.

Whatever is inside of you is what comes out. You can only hide the real you for a short time. If you keep Scriptures inside of you that is what will come out. You will be able to use old things that you have learned and new.

The Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his treasure new gems of truth as well as old. Matthew 13:52

46. “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but do not do what I say?

We need to see ourselves as total servants who get our joy from waiting to see what job our Master gives us so we can offer it back to Him!

47 – 49

Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My Words and obeys is like a man building a house. He digs deep and lays his foundation on rock. The floods come, and the water tries to wash the house away. But the flood cannot move the house, because the house was built well.

But the one who hears My words and does not obey is like a man who builds his house on the ground without a foundation. When the floods come, the house quickly falls down. And that house is completely destroyed.”

Both houses had storms but only the one who was ready for the storm was still standing. Do you tell yourself that you have heard all these things before and you do not need to think about it? Are you ready for the storm or are you too busy to build a strong foundation in your family? His Words are waiting for you and will help you get ready for what is coming! Or maybe you think there is no storm coming???