CRITICAL NOTES
Luke 6:20-49.—Though various opinions have been held on the subject, the balance of probabilities seems in favour of the supposition that the discourse commonly known as the Sermon on the Mount, recorded by St. Matthew, is given here in a shorter form. It is probable that St. Luke, in placing it after the choice of the twelve apostles, follows chronological order more exactly than St. Matthew, who places it before that event. A strong argument in favour of the identity of the two discourses is to be found in the fact that both evangelists mention the healing of the centurion’s servant immediately after the delivery of the sermon (Matthew 8:5; Luke 7:1). It is true that the scene seems to be differently described in the two narratives: St. Matthew speaks of Christ going up into a mountain (or rather, “the mountain,” i.e. the mountainous region above the Lake of Gennesaret), and St. Luke of His coming down and standing “on a level place” (R.V.). But there is nothing to forbid us to suppose that Jesus came down from one of the higher peaks where He had been engaged in prayer, and took up His stand where He could best be seen and heard—the place He chose being still on the mountain-side.
Luke 6:20. Blessed be ye poor.—In St. Luke the beatitudes and woes are addressed to the persons, and not uttered concerning them. St. Matthew adds “in spirit”: there is every reason to suppose that St. Luke refers to literal poverty, it being among those afflicted with it that Christ found most numerous adherents. Of course spiritual qualities of humility and meekness are presupposed as springing from and promoted by poverty. The “poor” are spoken of frequently in the Psalms in the sense of humble and trustful servants of God. A great deal has been made of the supposed Ebionitism in St. Luke’s Gospel as indicated here and in such passages as Luke 1:53; Luke 12:15-34; Luke 16:9-25. But any such tendency is highly improbable: it is utterly inconsistent with the Pauline spirit which may be recognised in the Gospel, and is by no means necessarily implied in the passages referred to.
Luke 6:22. Separate you.—I.e. excommunication or expulsion from the synagogue. Thus early is the separation between Judaism and Christianity foretold. Your name.—“Either your collective name as Christians (cf. 1 Peter 4:14-16), or your individual name” (Alford).
Luke 6:23. In the like manner, etc.—“Elijah and his contemporaries (1 Kings 19:10); Hanani imprisoned by Asa (2 Chronicles 16:10); Micaiah imprisoned (1 Kings 22:27); Zechariah stoned by Joash (2 Chronicles 24:20-21); Urijah slain by Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 26:23); Jeremiah imprisoned, smitten, and put in the stocks (Jeremiah 37; Jeremiah 38); Isaiah (according to tradition) sawn asunder, etc.” (Farrar).
Luke 6:24-26.—This section is peculiar to St. Luke. Notice that these four woes are in all respects the antitheses of the four preceding beatitudes.
Luke 6:24. Consolation.—Cf. Luke 16:25. This is a warning addressed to the disciples themselves.
Luke 6:27.—Even in the Old Testament checks had been put upon the spirit of enmity. See Exodus 23:4; Proverbs 25:21. We find the teaching of this passage very beautifully reproduced in Romans 12:17; Romans 12:19-21.
Luke 6:28. Pray for them, etc.—St. Luke records two great examples of obedience to this precept—in the case of Christ (Luke 23:34), and of the proto-martyr Stephen (Acts 7:60).
Luke 6:29. Him that smiteth thee, etc.—That we are to act according to the spirit and not merely according to the letter of this rule is evident from our Lord’s own procedure in circumstances of the kind (John 18:22-23). Cloke … coat.—Cloak is the loose outer dress, the coat the inner and more indispensable article of dress. St. Luke’s order is more logical than St. Matthew’s.
Luke 6:32. What thank have ye?—What claim to recompense from God?
Luke 6:35. Hoping for nothing again.—R. V. “never despairing,” and with the marginal note, “Some ancient authorities read despairing of no man.” The rendering of the A.V. is, however, as good as we can get. Notice that the precepts “love,” “do good,” “lend hoping for nothing again,” correspond to Luke 6:32-34 respectively.
Luke 6:36.—The best MSS. omit “therefore”: it is omitted in R.V.
Luke 6:37. Judge not.—I.e. in a harsh, censorious spirit. Cf. with the teaching of the whole verse, Matthew 18:21-35.
Luke 6:38. Good measure.—The figure is evidently taken from measuring corn. Bosom.—The loose folds above the girdle served as a pocket.
Luke 6:39. Ditch.—R.V. “pit.”
Luke 6:40. Every one that is perfect.—Rather, “every one when he is perfected” (R.V.), i.e. no disciple on passing through the full course of training rises above the teacher from whom he has learned. The figure was evidently one frequently used by Jesus, and is employed to illustrate different aspects of truth. Cf. Matthew 10:25; John 13:16; John 15:20. The general idea of Luke 6:39-40, is: “The blind cannot lead the blind better than he can guide himself: the scholar will not be better than his teacher: the judgment which one sinful man passes on another can never raise the standard of moral excellence in the world” (Speaker’s Commentary).
Luke 6:41.—Notice the two different words “behold” and “perceive”—R.V. “behold” and “consider.” As it were, he sees at a glance the defect in another, but the most careful observation does not reveal to him his own defects. Mote.—A dry twig or stalk, as distinguished from a beam of wood.
Luke 6:48. Founded upon a rock.—A better reading is “well builded” (R.V.). The reading followed by the A.V. may have been taken from the parallel passage in Matthew 7:25. The point of the figure is often missed: it is not that rock is a good foundation, and earth or sand (Matthew 7:26) a bad (for sand may be a good foundation), but that the one man took pains to get a good foundation, while the other did not, or built at haphazard.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Luke 6:20-49
The Sermon on the Mount as given in St. Matthew’s Gospel may be taken as setting forth
(1) the character of the citizens of the kingdom of heaven (Luke 5:3-16);
(2) the new law that is given to them (Luke 5:17-39), and the new life which they live, with its duties, aims, dangers, and responsibilities (6, 7). A like general scheme underlies the sermon as reported by St. Luke. In the fuller report of Christ’s words as given in the first Gospel, the tone is more polemical than in St. Luke—as Christ contrasts the spirituality of the righteousness which He commends to His disciples with the external and artificial righteousness of scribes and Pharisees. (For a full analysis of the Sermon on the Mount in St. Matthew’s Gospel, see Westcott, Introduction to the Study of the Gospels, p. 386).
I. The dispositions of those who are inclined to enter the kingdom of heaven, and of those who shut themselves out of it.—Four beatitudes are announced to the former, four woes uttered against the latter (Luke 6:20-26).
1. Beatitudes. Those that are in poverty, and live hard, laborious lives, and are crushed down by affliction, if they are under the influence of the spirit of religion, are likely to abound in that humility and meekness which qualify men to be citizens of the kingdom of heaven. The rich and prosperous are apt to be proud and haughty, and harsh in temper. Doubtless the mass of those now listening to Christ belonged to the former class. The beatitudes do not belong to them in virtue of their earthly poverty and misfortunes, but in virtue of their piety. For these were not simply poor men and women, but poor men and women seeking blessings from the Saviour, and thereby confessing their own insufficiency and their reliance upon Him. (So that the gloss in St. Matthew’s report of the first beatitude, “poor in spirit,” is not in conflict with the words here.) The evil circumstances of their lives become naturally under God’s blessing a discipline to prepare them for receiving an infinite reward. Their blessedness is partly in the present (Luke 6:20)—they possess the kingdom of heaven, they are enrolled as citizens of it, and have a right to all its privileges; and partly in the future (Luke 6:21; Luke 6:23)—their present misery will be exchanged for happy outward conditions, their griefs will be exchanged for unending joys, the only misfortunes they will know will be persecution for a time of a kind like that endured by God’s true prophets in all ages, to be followed by “a great reward in heaven.” In view of what is in store for them they may well be pronounced “blessed,” in spite of all in their present lot that seems sordid and unhappy.
2. Woes. These correspond exactly to the foregoing beatitudes: over against the “poor” are set “the rich,” over against “the hungry” are “the full,” over against “those that weep” are “those that laugh,” over against those that are hated by the world are those that are loved by the world. The words “for ye have received your consolation” show us what we are to understand by “the rich”: they are those who find all their satisfaction in the present life. It is not mere riches that are cursed—just as in the preceding section it was not mere poverty that was blessed. Men like Joseph of Arimathæa and Nicodemus, who were rich, were not disqualified for being disciples of Jesus. But as a matter of fact the wealthy and those of high rank, as a class, set themselves against Jesus, and therefore shut themselves out of the kingdom of heaven. The woes now uttered were amply fulfilled in the sufferings that accompanied the overthrow of Jerusalem and the fall of the Jewish state a generation later, and have no doubt reference also to a reversal of lot in a future state (cf. Luke 16:25). A similar passage is found in James 5:1 ff.
II. A proclamation of the new law by which the society Christ founds is to be governed, and of the spirit by which it is animated (Luke 6:27-45).—The new law or principle by which Christ would have the society He founds to be directed and animated is that of charity or love, and He sets it forth in concrete form (Luke 6:27-30), and then as an abstract rule.
1. Practical manifestations of charity (Luke 6:27-30). It is to be more than merely not rendering evil for evil: it is to be a rendering good for evil (cf. Romans 12:21), or an overcoming evil by good. To every fresh exhibition of malice, a stronger and more intense exhibition of love is to be opposed. “Do good,” “bless,” “pray for,” are ascending degrees of love in its outward manifestations—just as the words “hate you,” “curse you,” “despitefully use you,” mark increasing degrees of maliciousness. It is to be the source of beneficent actions, and under its influence the Christian ceases, if need be, to insist upon his rights (Luke 6:29-30). Both to do good unceasingly and to bear wrong unmurmuringly are commended to him.
2. The golden rule (Luke 6:31). “As ye would that men,” etc. In its negative form, “Do not to others what you would have others abstain from doing to you,” the rule has been found in more than one system of morality outside the Christian; but in none does it have the prominent place that Christ gives it—in none is it commended to men by an example comparable with His. Further,
3. Christ lays stress upon the disinterestedness of this virtue as compared with ordinary affection (Luke 6:32-35 a). Ordinary love is quenched by want of sympathy, and naturally seeks a return of kindred feeling. But there is no stain of selfishness or alloy of worldly-wise calculation in the love which Christ commanded and exemplified.
4. He describes the great example of this disinterested love in the Divine love which is shown even to the unthankful and the evil (Luke 6:35 b, Luke 6:36). The reward won by manifesting this love is not some external recompense, but it consists in the love becoming purer and more intense, and in the possessor of it sharing the blessedness of Him who is love itself.
5. The effects of this love as manifested towards men: it leads to the formation of merciful judgments concerning the sinful (Luke 6:37); to generosity and helpfulness towards all, which God will bountifully reward (Luke 6:38); to ability to guide the erring and correct the faulty,—actions which the proud, unloving Pharisees were incapable of performing (Luke 6:39-42). It is only from a nature that is itself good that these good results can proceed. A proud man cannot teach humility, a selfish man cannot teach charity, any more than a thorn can yield figs or a bramble bush grapes (Luke 6:43-44). If we are to teach others holiness, we must be holy ourselves: it was the holiness of Jesus that gave Him pre-eminence as a teacher, and His disciples must be like Him if they would continue His work (Luke 6:45).
III. The necessity for sincerity and thoroughness in discipleship, and the disasters incurred by the opposite faults (Luke 6:46-49).—To hear and not to do the sayings of Christ is to give them intellectual acceptance, but not to allow them to penetrate and govern the whole being—conscience, will, feelings, and conduct—in short, all that constitutes one’s true personality. Our spiritual life is an erection we set up; and if it be not well built, it will fall before the assault of temptation or trial, and will not stand the final test by which the Divine Judge will bring to light the value of our work (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:12-15).
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Luke 6:20-49
Luke 6:20. The Qualifications for the Kingdom of Heaven—poverty, hunger, etc.,—we do not possess of ourselves, but Christ imparts them to us by awakening in our hearts, which have grown weary under the pressure of worldly things, the longing for spiritual food. This longing shall in very truth be satisfied. One of the traditional sayings of Christ preserved by Clement is, “Will, and thou shalt be able.”
Spiritual Poverty.—Spiritual poverty, a heart that feels its need, is the first thing that makes us fit for the kingdom of God. He who does not have this first qualification cannot have those that follow. “There are many,” Augustine says, “who would rather give all their goods to the poor than themselves become poor in the sight of God.” The source of true humility is found only in Him “who, though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor.”
“Blessed be ye poor.”—This is indeed an admirably sweet, friendly beginning of His doctrine and preaching. For He does not proceed like Moses … with command, threatening and terrifying, but in the friendliest possible way with pure, enticing, alluring, and amiable promises.—Luther.
The Poor inherit the Kingdom.—St. James seems to give a paraphrase of this beatitude when he speaks of “the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which God hath promised to them that love Him” (Luke 2:5). As a simple matter of fact, the poor seem to have been the class that was most forward to receive the Saviour, and in which He found the most devoted of His disciples (cf. also 1 Corinthians 1:26-29).
Luke 6:21. “Ye that hunger now.”—An anticipation of this beatitude is to be found in the song of Mary: “He hath filled the hungry with good things” (Luke 1:53). Cf. also Psalms 107:9: “For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.”
“Ye that weep now.”—In the eye of Heaven blessedness begins at the point which, in human estimation, is reckoned the extreme of misery.
Luke 6:22. “Shall hate you.”—In the manifestation of hatred towards the followers of Jesus a climax is observable.
1. The feeling of dislike.
2. A breaking off of intercourse. 3, Malicious slanders.
4. Excommunication. Cf. John 9:22; John 9:34; John 12:42; John 16:2.
“Your name.”—I.e. the name of Christian. St. Peter alludes to these words in 1 Peter 4:14; 1 Peter 4:16, and St. James in Luke 2:7, as in Luke 6:5 of the same chapter he has alluded to Luke 6:20 of this. “ ‘Malefic’ or ‘execrable superstition’ was the favourite description of Christianity among the Pagans, and Christians were charged with incendiarism, cannibalism, and every infamy” (Farrar).
Luke 6:23. “Rejoice ye in that day.”—A very striking fulfilment of this command, and a statement of the ground on which the joy of the apostles was based, are given in Acts 5:41: “Rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.” In several other passages in the New Testament “glorying in tribulation” is commended as a Christian duty, and various beneficial results are described as flowing from patient submission to suffering for the sake of Christ. See Hebrews 11:26; Romans 5:3; James 1:2-3; Colossians 1:24.
“Reward in heaven.”—An indirect hint that they were not to expect too great a reward for their faithfulness in the present life.
“Did their fathers,” etc.—“If the empress,” said Chrysostom, “causes me to be sawn asunder, then let me be sawn asunder, for that was the fate of the prophet Isaiah; if she casts me into the sea, I will think of Jonah; if she casts me into the furnace of fire, I think of the three holy children; if she throws me to the wild beasts, I will think of Daniel in the lions’ den; if she cuts off my head, I have still St. John as my companion; if she causes me to be stoned, what else happened to Stephen?”
“The prophets.”—It is especially noticeable how the Saviour at once places His newly chosen apostles in the same rank with the prophets of the Old Testament, and in the demand that they should be ready for His name’s sake to suffer shame shows the sublimest self-consciousness. It scarcely needs pointing out how completely the idea that they were to suffer in such society, surrounded by such “a cloud of witnesses,” was adapted to strengthen the courage and the spiritual might of the apostles.—Lange.
Luke 6:24. “Woe unto you.”—In this passage, as in Matthew 24:19, the words perhaps imply commiseration rather than anger: “Alas! for you.” In Matthew 23:13-16 the same phrase is used in denunciation of evil-doers.
“Rich.”—Not all the rich, but those who “receive their consolation” in the world—that is, who are so completely occupied with their worldly possessions that they forget the life to come. The meaning is—riches are so far from making a man happy that they often become the means of his destruction. In any other point of view the rich are not excluded from the kingdom of heaven, provided they do not become snares for themselves, or fix their hope on the earth, so as to shut against them the kingdom of heaven. This is finely illustrated by Augustine, who, in order to show that riches are not in themselves a hindrance to the children of God, reminds his readers that poor Lazarus was received into the bosom of rich Abraham.—Calvin.
“Received your consolation.”—“For ye, who trust in your riches, and accounting them sufficient for your happiness, neglect the spiritual treasures which I offer you, may be assured that you have received all your enjoyment in this world, and have no ground for expecting any in the world to come.” Cf. chap. Luke 16:25.
Luke 6:25. “Full.”—Those who possess all that the heart can desire, and do not hunger and thirst after righteousness. The danger in which they stand is that of losing all that they possess at present, and thus of being destitute at once of both earthly and heavenly goods. See again an illustration in the fate of the rich man in the parable, who had been accustomed to “fare sumptuously every day,” and who found himself both excluded from the heavenly banquet and stripped of those luxuries in which he had placed all his delight.
“Laugh.”—Senseless, frivolous, ungodly mirth is rebuked here as in Ecclesiastes 2:2; Ecclesiastes 7:6; Proverbs 14:13. Yet, on the other hand, the Christian is described as “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10), and receives exhortations to maintain this spirit of holy gladness (cf. Philippians 4:4).
Luke 6:26. “Speak well of you.”—Cf. James 4:4: “Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?” John 15:19: “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own.”
“False prophets.”—“Universal praise from the world is a stigma for the Saviour’s disciples, since it brings them into the suspicion
(1) of unfaithfulness;
(2) of characterlessness;
(3) of the lust of pleasing. False prophets can ever reckon upon loud applause” (Van Oosterzee). Cf. Micah 2:11: “If a man walking in wind and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink: he shall even be the prophet of this people” (R.V.).
Luke 6:27. “Love your enemies.”—The word here used generally denotes “complacency in the character” of the one loved, as distinguished from personal affection; but the sense in which it is here employed is that of maintaining kindly feelings and conduct towards another in spite of his enmity. The connection between this precept and the foregoing words is well brought out by Meyer: “Yet although I utter against those these woes, yet I enjoin on you not hatred but love towards your enemies. It is therefore no accidental antithesis.”
“Do good,” etc.—A climax is noticeable in the precepts which describe the manner in which love to enemies is to be displayed.
1. In deeds—“do good.”
2. In words—“bless.”
3. In prayers for their Welfare—“pray for them.”
A New Departure.—Although it cannot be denied that love to enemies is in a certain sense required even by Jewish and heathen moralists, it must yet be remembered that the thought of requiting acts of enmity with devout intercession could only arise in the heart of Him who has Himself prayed for the evil-doers.—Lange.
Luke 6:27-38. Christ’s Law of Love.—A seemingly easy but profoundly difficult section. We must keep in mind—
I. That the address is given to Christ’s own followers.—It can neither be understood nor practised by any others. The contrast is between true disciples and sinners who will do nothing but what will bring an immediate reward from men.
II. It is to be obeyed in the spirit, and not in the letter.—Christ gives us here some examples of how the true spirit of Christianity is seen. Had He intended these examples to be practised by His followers in literal obedience on all occasions, He would not have been content with merely giving instances. He would have gone over the whole range of possible circumstances, and shown us how to act in every case. But this is impossible, and contrary to the very spirit and essence of Christianity.—Hastings.
The Law of Love proclaimed.
I. The extent of love (Luke 6:27-30).
II. The golden rule of love (Luke 6:31).
III. The Christian’s standard of love (Luke 6:32-36).
IV. Love’s reward (Luke 6:37-38).—W. Taylor.
Luke 6:28. “Pray for them.”—Many imagine what is here commanded to be impossible. But Christ never commands impossibilities; but He prescribes such kind of perfection as was attained by David in the case of Saul, and by Abraham and by Stephen the martyr in praying for his murderers, and by St. Paul in wishing to be accursed for his persecutors (Romans 9:3).—Jerome.
Luke 6:29. “Turn to him, the other also.”
I. Do not return blow for blow.
II. Bear the blow in silence.
III. Lovingly lay thyself open to receive another blow.
Public Rights.—This precept does not require or permit any one to surrender public rights, which are not his own “cloke” or “coat,” much less Christian principles and Christian truth, for which we are to contend earnestly (Jude 1:3), and of which we are not to divest ourselves; or to allow any one to strip us, for then we should be naked indeed; nor allow any one, as far as in us lies, to strip others, and to rob Christ.—Wordsworth.
Luke 6:30. “Give to every man”—The promise is made to us by Christ that He will give us whatever we ask for (John 14:14). Yet it is not always literally fulfilled. We do not receive what would be hurtful for us, even if we ask for it; and are often constrained to confess thankfully that our disappointment is better than our wish. “So in his humble sphere should the Christian giver act. To give everything to every one—the sword to the madman, the alms to the impostor, the criminal request to the temptress—would be to act as the enemy of others and of ourselves. Ours should be a higher and deeper charity, flowing from those inner springs of love which are the sources of outward actions sometimes widely divergent, whence may arise both the timely concession and the timely refusal” (Alford).
“Ask them not again.”—We must remember that we ought not to quibble about words, as if a good man were not permitted to recover what is his own, when God gives him the lawful means. We are only enjoined to exercise patience, that we may not be unduly distressed by the loss of our property, but calmly wait till the Lord Himself shall call the robbers to account.—Calvin.
“Asketh of thee … ask them not again.”—It is to be noted that in this verse two Greek words are translated “ask”: the first of them means to ask as a favour, the second to demand as a right.
Luke 6:31. The Golden Rule.
I. We must consider how we should like other people to treat us, were they in our circumstances and we in theirs.
II. It is not what others really do to us, but what we wish them to do, that should be our rule.
III. That which we wish others to do to us must be lawful and reasonable.
The excellence of the rule is evident from its reasonableness, and its intelligibility, and from the fact that it is readily applicable to all persons in all circumstances. The Saviour gathers up His detailed instructions into “a little bundle which every man can put into his bosom and easily carry about with him” (Luther). We all love ourselves, and therefore we can all know the love our neighbour requires from us. The natural man loves himself, and that love blinds him to the wants of his neighbours: the Christian loves himself, but that love enlightens him as to what is due to his neighbour.
Luke 6:32-34. “For if ye love them” etc.—Our Lord means to say that in all these things nothing has been done for the love of God, and therefore no thanks are due. The world’s view of returning love for love is well put by Hesiod: “Those who love will be loved in return, and those who visit will be visited in return; he who gives will receive gifts, and he who does not give, will receive nothing. One gives willingly to the giver; but no one to be sure gives to him who refuses to give.” In the same way Socrates teaches that it is allowable to cherish a grudge at the good fortune of your enemy, but that envy only consists in grudging the good fortune of a friend. Plato speaks of it as impossible to love an enemy. Such is the wisdom of the heathen.
Luke 6:35-36. “Children of the Highest.”—Our Father in heaven more than any one else meets with the ingratitude of men, and it should not depress His children on earth to have to experience it also. The great reward which the Lord of love promises to the children of God consists chiefly in this, that they taste the blessedness of being able to love. “To give is more blessed than to receive.” It is sweet to be loved from the heart, but it is much sweeter and inexpressibly blessed to love with the whole heart. One is more blessed in the love which one feels than in the love which one inspires.
Luke 6:36; Luke 6:38. The Christian’s Duty as Man to Man.
I. The pattern of mercy, of justice, of forbearance and forgiveness, of generosity, which we ought to take.—This is the example of Almighty God. “Be ye therefore merciful,” because “the Highest is kind,” etc.
II. The rule of God’s government and judgment in matters between man and man.—“With the same measure,” etc. Words well known and familiar, but some of the most awful words in the Bible. For
(1) we feel they must be true, but
(2) we cannot see or guess how they will be carried out.—Church.
Luke 6:37. “Judge not.”—
1. We can only go by appearances.
2. We can never be sure of the motive which has prompted the action in question.
3. We cannot fully estimate the circumstances in which the man was placed whose conduct we arraign.
4. We are only too liable to be influenced by our prejudices, and by considerations of self-interest, and are to a corresponding extent disqualified to act as judges.
Luke 6:39-40. Blind Leaders of Blind. Note:—
I. The presumption of the leaders.
II. The delusion of those who trust themselves to their guidance.
III. The inevitable fate which be falls both.
Luke 6:40 explains why the fate is inevitable: the disciple, even when perfected, when he has learned his whole lesson, can know no more than his teacher, and the very care with which he follows will ensure his falling into the mistakes his master makes.
Luke 6:41-42. The Literal and the Figurative Beam.—In the physical region a beam in the eye does not sharpen its sight: in morals the case is different. Those who are corrupt in mind are very quick in detecting corruption in others, even in cases where innocence would discover nothing amiss. The man with a beam in his eye has two faults:
1. He does not know the beam to be there.
2. He assumes airs of moral superiority, and carries himself as a judge instead of a brother.
Correcting the Faults of Others.
I. It is a delicate operation to correct the faults of other men.—It may be likened to the feat of taking a chip of wood out of an inflamed eye. A clumsy operator may easily make things worse. The case supposed is one of visible and undeniable fault. Still it is a delicate task to judge of it: it is a difficult operation to correct or remove it.
II. Self-ignorance and self-conceit incapacitate one for performing this operation.—Most accurate and pungent moral strictures often proceed from men who are quite aware that their own lives will not bear close inspection. Christ strongly disapproves of such conduct.
III. An honest Christian reserves his strictest judgment for himself.—Fraser.
Luke 6:42. “Let me pull out the mote.”—A subtle form of harsh judgment of others is that which assumes the appearance of solicitude for their improvement. Our Lord teaches that all honest desire to help in the reformation of our neighbour must be preceded by earnest efforts at amending our own conduct. If we have grave faults of our own undetected and unconquered, we are incapable either of judging or helping our brethren. Such efforts will be hypocritical, for they pretend to come from genuine zeal for righteousness and care for another’s good, whereas their real root is simply censorious exaggeration of a neighbour’s faults; they imply that the person affected with such a tender care for another’s eyes has his own in good condition. A blind guide is bad enough, but a blind oculist is a still more ridiculous anomaly. Note that the result of clearing our own vision is beautifully put, not as being ability to see the faults of our fellows, but ability to cure them. It is only the experience of the pain of casting out a darling evil, and the consciousness of God’s pitying mercy as given to us, that make the eye keen enough, and the hand steady and gentle enough, to pull out the mote.—Maclaren.
Luke 6:43-45. Good and Bad Fruit.—Christ here speaks of the inner nature—the heart—of man and of its outward manifestations, and asserts that in all cases the inner is the maker of the outward. A good heart will infallibly reveal itself in holiness of word and deed: in like manner an evil heart will disclose itself, in spite of all hypocritical attempts to conceal the true state of matters. We have here therefore—
I. A law which is bound up with the nature of things, and which we cannot control; and—
II. A test of character of the most stringent yet most reasonable kind.
Luke 6:46. “Why call ye Me, Lord?” etc.—Acknowledgment of Christ’s authority is to be accompanied by obedience to His commandments.
Four Classes of Men may be described by their Relation to Christ.
I. There are those who neither call Him Lord, nor do the things which He says.
II. There are those who call Him Lord, but do not the things which He says.
III. There are those who do not call Him Lord, but do the things which He says.
IV. There are those who both call Him Lord and do the things which He says.
Luke 6:47-49. The Wise and the Foolish Hearers.—The point of the contrast between the two men in the parable is not, as often supposed, in the selection made of a foundation on which to build. The contrast is that between two men, one of whom makes the foundation a matter of deliberate consideration, while the other never takes a moment’s thought about a foundation, but proceeds to build at haphazard, on the surface, just where he happens to be. St. Luke brings this out clearly by saying that the latter built “without a foundation.” The one builder is characterised by considerateness and thoroughness, the other by inconsiderateness and superficiality. Two points of difference between the two builders are clearly hinted at:—
I. The wise builder has a prudent regard to the future.—He anticipates the coming of storms, and he aims at being well provided against them. The foolish builder, on the contrary, thinks only of the present. If all is well to-day, he recks not of to-morrow, and of the storms it may bring.
II. The wise builder does not look merely to appearances.—The question with him is not, What will look well? but, What will stand, being founded on the rock? The foolish builder; on the other hand, cares for appearances only. His house looks as well as another’s, so far as what is above ground is concerned; and as for what is below ground, that, in his esteem, goes for nothing.
The man who has regard to appearances only never considers the future: he acts from impulse, imitation, and fashion, and the use of religion as a stay in temptation and trouble is not in all his thoughts. With the genuine disciple religion is an affair of reason and conscience—of reason looking well before and after, and of conscience realising seriously moral responsibility. The spurious, too, look only to what is seen, the outward act; the genuine look to what is not seen, the hidden foundation of inward disposition, the heart-motive, out of which flow the issues of life. The outward acts of both may be the same, but the motive of the one is love of goodness, that of the other is vanity. While we can on paper discriminate between these two classes, it is a difficult and delicate task to discern and judge between them in real life. We can only judge by appearances, and are apt to think better of the pretender than of the genuine man, for the former makes appearances his study. False disciples often gain golden opinions, when true disciples, with their faults all on the surface, are of little account.
The elements decide as to the merits of the two builders. By these are meant times of severe trial, the judgment days which overtake men even in this world occasionally, and in which many fair edifices of religious profession go down. The forms in which the trial may come are very diverse. There are trials by outward calamities, by religious doubt, by sinful desires—trials in business, by commercial crises and the like—trials by tribulations, such as overtake professors of religion in evil times. The thing to be laid to heart is that trial, in one form or another, is to be expected. It will come, and may come suddenly.—Bruce.
The Wise Builder and the Foolish.—An admonition for all who read Christ’s words as much as for those who originally heard them. The peroration of His sermon employs a double illustration, which must have told with graphic power on an audience accustomed to the sudden tempests and sweeping floods of the climate of Judæa.
I. The two builders.—To the first is likened the obedient hearer of the words of Christ. Those who follow Him are believers, as He is their Saviour—disciples, as He is their Teacher. To the second is likened the disobedient hearer of the words of Christ. He listens, and seems to honour and approve, yet does not keep or do the word. How frequent are such builders in every Church!
II. The day of trial.—In fair weather the two houses are equally safe. The day of storm reveals the difference. In the Day of Judgment all hollow discipleship will be exposed. How great the fall! How piteous the ruin!—Fraser.
The Two Houses, and their Fates.—These words apply to all the subjects of the kingdom, and not to teachers only. Obedience is the only safety. We are all builders. The houses we build are our characters. The underground work is the main thing in estimating stability. No house is stronger than its foundation. Real building on Christ is practical obedience to His commandments. Only such a life is firm whatever storm comes. There are lives which look like true Christian lives, and are not. One little “not” expresses the awful contrariety in the experience of two builders whose houses it may be stood side by side for years. So the sermon ends, burning these two pictures into our imagination.—Maclaren.