Luke 6:27–8:25

Love for Enemies

²⁷“But I tell you who hear me: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, and pray for those who ill-treat you. ²⁹If anyone hits you on one cheek, let him hit the other one too; if someone takes your coat, let him have your shirt as well. ³⁰Give to everyone who asks you for something, and when someone takes what is yours, do not ask for it back. ^31*Do for others just what you want them to do for you.

³²“If you love only the people who love you, why should you receive a blessing? Even sinners love those who love them! ³³And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you receive a blessing? Even sinners do that! ³⁴And if you lend only to those from whom you hope to get it back, why should you receive a blessing? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount! ³⁵No! Love your enemies and do good to them; lend and expect nothing back. You will then have a great reward, and you will be children of the Most High God. For he is good to the ungrateful and the wicked. ³⁶Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.

Judging Others

³⁷“Do not judge others, and God will not judge you; do not condemn others, and God will not condemn you; forgive others, and God will forgive you. ³⁸Give to others, and God will give to you. Indeed, you will receive a full measure, a generous helping, poured into your hands—all that you can hold. The measure you use for others is the one that God will use for you.”

^39*And Jesus told them this parable: “One blind man cannot lead another one; if he does, both will fall into a ditch. ^40*No pupil is greater than his teacher; but every pupil, when he has completed his training, will be like his teacher.

⁴¹“Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but pay no attention to the log in your own eye? ⁴²How can you say to your brother, ‘Please, brother, let me take that speck out of your eye,’ yet cannot even see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

A Tree and Its Fruit

⁴³“A healthy tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a poor tree bear good fruit. ^44*Every tree is known by the fruit it bears; you do not pick figs from thorn bushes or gather grapes from bramble bushes. ^45*A good person brings good out of the treasure of good things in his heart; a bad person brings bad out of his treasure of bad things. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

The Two House Builders

⁴⁶“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and yet don’t do what I tell you? ⁴⁷Anyone who comes to me and listens to my words and obeys them—I will show you what he is like. ⁴⁸He is like a man who, in building his house, dug deep and laid the foundation on rock. The river overflowed and hit that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. ⁴⁹But anyone who hears my words and does not obey them is like a man who built his house without laying a foundation; when the flood hit that house it fell at once—and what a terrible crash that was!”

Jesus Heals a Roman Officer’s Servant

7When Jesus had finished saying all these things to the people, he went to Capernaum. ²A Roman officer there had a servant who was very dear to him; the man was sick and about to die. ³When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his servant. ⁴They came to Jesus and begged him earnestly, “This man really deserves your help. ⁵He loves our people and he himself built a synagogue for us.”

⁶So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the officer sent friends to tell him, “Sir, don’t trouble yourself. I do not deserve to have you come into my house, ⁷neither do I consider myself worthy to come to you in person. Just give the order, and my servant will get well. ⁸I, too, am a man placed under the authority of superior officers, and I have soldiers under me. I order this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; I order that one, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and I order my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

⁹Jesus was surprised when he heard this; he turned round and said to the crowd following him, “I tell you, I have never found faith like this, not even in Israel!”

¹⁰The messengers went back to the officer’s house and found his servant well.

Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son

¹¹Soon afterwards^e Jesus went to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a large crowd. ¹²Just as he arrived at the gate of the town, a funeral procession was coming out. The dead man was the only son of a woman who was a widow, and a large crowd from the town was with her. ¹³When the Lord saw her, his heart was filled with pity for her, and he said to her, “Don’t cry.” ¹⁴Then he walked over and touched the coffin, and the men carrying it stopped. Jesus said, “Young man! Get up, I tell you!” ¹⁵The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

¹⁶They all were filled with fear and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us!” they said; “God has come to save his people!”

¹⁷This news about Jesus went out through all the country and the surrounding territory.

The Messengers from John the Baptist

¹⁸When John’s disciples told him about all these things, he called two of them ¹⁹and sent them to the Lord to ask him, “Are you the one John said was going to come, or should we expect someone else?”

²⁰When they came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to ask if you are the one he said was going to come, or if we should expect someone else.”

²¹At that very time Jesus cured many people of their sicknesses, diseases, and evil spirits, and gave sight to many blind people. ^22*He answered John’s messengers, “Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind can see, the lame can walk, those who suffer from dreaded skin diseases are made clean,^f the deaf can hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor. ²³How happy are those who have no doubts about me!”

²⁴After John’s messengers had left, Jesus began to speak about him to the crowds: “When you went out to John in the desert, what did you expect to see? A blade of grass bending in the wind? ²⁵What did you go out to see? A man dressed up in fancy clothes? People who dress like that and live in luxury are found in palaces! ²⁶Tell me, what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes indeed, but you saw much more than a prophet. ^27*For John is the one of whom the scripture says: ‘God said, I will send my messenger ahead of you to open the way for you.’ ²⁸I tell you,” Jesus added, “John is greater than anyone who has ever lived. But the one who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than John.”

^29*All the people heard him; they and especially the tax collectors were the ones who had obeyed God’s righteous demands and had been baptized by John. ^30*But the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law rejected God’s purpose for themselves and refused to be baptized by John.

³¹Jesus continued, “Now to what can I compare the people of this day? What are they like? ³²They are like children sitting in the market place. One group shouts to the other, ‘We played wedding music for you, but you wouldn’t dance! We sang funeral songs, but you wouldn’t cry!’ ³³John the Baptist came, and he fasted and drank no wine, and you said, ‘He has a demon in him!’ ³⁴The Son of Man came, and he ate and drank, and you said, ‘Look at this man! He is a glutton and a drinker, a friend of tax collectors and other outcasts!’ ³⁵God’s wisdom, however, is shown to be true by all who accept it.”

Jesus at the Home of Simon the Pharisee

³⁶A Pharisee invited Jesus to have dinner with him, and Jesus went to his house and sat down to eat. ^37*In that town was a woman who lived a sinful life. She heard that Jesus was eating in the Pharisee’s house, so she brought an alabaster jar full of perfume ^38*and stood behind Jesus, by his feet, crying and wetting his feet with her tears. Then she dried his feet with her hair, kissed them, and poured the perfume on them. ³⁹When the Pharisee saw this, he said to himself, “If this man really were a prophet, he would know who this woman is who is touching him; he would know what kind of sinful life she lives!”

⁴⁰Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Yes, Teacher,” he said, “tell me.”

⁴¹“There were two men who owed money to a moneylender,” Jesus began. “One owed him five hundred silver coins, and the other owed him fifty. ⁴²Neither of them could pay him back, so he cancelled the debts of both. Which one, then, will love him more?”

⁴³“I suppose,” answered Simon, “that it would be the one who was forgiven more.”

“You are right,” said Jesus. ⁴⁴Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your home, and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. ⁴⁵You did not welcome me with a kiss, but she has not stopped kissing my feet since I came. ⁴⁶You provided no olive oil for my head, but she has covered my feet with perfume. ⁴⁷I tell you, then, the great love she has shown proves that her many sins have been forgiven. But whoever has been forgiven little shows only a little love.”

⁴⁸Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”

⁴⁹The others sitting at the table began to say to themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”

⁵⁰But Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Women Who Accompanied Jesus

8Some time later Jesus travelled through towns and villages, preaching the Good News about the Kingdom of God. The twelve disciples went with him, ^2*and so did some women who had been healed of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (who was called Magdalene), from whom seven demons had been driven out; ^3*Joanna, whose husband Chuza was an officer in Herod’s court; and Susanna, and many other women who used their own resources to help Jesus and his disciples.

The Parable…