
Luke 6:1-26
6:1-4 | The religious leaders of the day developed a long list of what was (and was not) acceptable practice on the Sabbath, far in excess of the biblical commands. Scripture permitted gleaning by hand in another’s field (Deut. 23:25), but religious tradition said that rubbing grain in one’s hand constituted threshing and was prohibited – one of 39 rules added to the Sabbath. Christians must still be careful to avoid adding burdensome rules to God’s commands.
6:5 | Jesus made an unmistakable claim to divine authority. For the second time in Luke’s Gospel, He referred to Himself as the Son of Man – no doubt an allusion to Daniel 7:13 – and claimed to have authority over the Sabbath itself.
6:6-10 | The religious leaders of Jesus’ day focused entirely on the outward motions of religion rather than its inward meaning, allowing their tradition and Pharisaic regulations to overshadow a devoted heart. Jesus’ question about doing good or evil urged His hearers to move past the external to the internal.
6:11 | The religious leaders were furious, not because Jesus did anything evil by healing the man but because He had done so on the Sabbath. This open violation of their rules posed a threat to their power and authority. Ironically, their malicious intentions provided an answer to Jesus’ question in 6:9.
6:12-13 | Luke frequently focuses on Jesus’ prayer life, showing how it was indispensable to His life and ministry – including choosing the twelve apostles, His closest associates.
6:14-16 | Jesus called people from all walks of life. In this group of select apostles were fishermen, a political revolutionary (zealot), and a despised tax collector (Matthew). One denied the Lord (Peter), one was known as the doubter (Thomas), two had trigger-tempers (James and John, “Sons of Thunder”; Mark 3:17), and one lived in infamy as a traitor. Yet this unlikely crew changed the world.
6:20-25 | Jesus’ teachings were radical. He blessed those who were poor, who hunger now, who weep, who were hated and excluded. And He warned those who were rich, full, happy, and popular. Conventional wisdom, then and now, says quite the opposite.