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New Defender's Study Bible Notes
6:9 Is it lawful. Jesus here confirmed that the weekly Sabbath, while vitally important as a day of remembrance and rest and worship, was not to be regarded as a legalistic burden, but as a blessing and even as a special opportunity “to do good.”
6:13 twelve. On the calling and identification of the twelve apostles, see notes on Matthew 10:1-4.
6:19 virtue. The word in the Greek for “virtue” is the same as “power.” See note on Philippians 4:8.
6:20 on his disciples. This sermon, while similar to the Sermon on the Mount, was given at a different time and place. The Sermon on the Mount was given on a mountain, and only to His disciples, not to the “multitudes” (see note on Matthew 5:1). The sermon recorded here in Luke 6:20-49 was given to the whole multitude (Luke 6:19; 7:1), although it was especially addressed to His disciples (Luke 6:20), and it was delivered down on the plain (Luke 6:17), not on the mount.
6:22 separate you. This has often proved the experience of those who take a stand for Christ and His Word. See John 9:34 and Acts 13:50 for two New Testament examples.
6:24 woe unto you. The beatitudes, as given in Matthew 5:3-12, are here interspersed with corresponding judgments on the ungodly and self-satisfied. Jesus’ audience on this occasion evidently included many of the latter.
6:26 speak well of you. If all men speak well of us, that means we have accomplished nothing for the Lord. Paul had many enemies, and so did Christ Himself, as have all fruitful Christians through the ages.
6:38 given unto you. “He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack” (Proverbs 28:27). “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7). He that gives of himself or his possessions in the name of Christ is not giving, but sowing.
6:40 perfect. A disciple is to learn from his teacher, so that when his training is complete, he will be just like his master. Our standard of excellence is the perfection of Christ Himself, and we should study and practice diligently in striving to attain that standard, knowing that we are predestined “to be conformed to the image” of our Master (Romans 8:29) when we finally see Him as He is (I John 3:2).
6:44 his own fruit. Here is an incidental confirmation of the ten-times-repeated “after his kind” of Genesis 1. In each kind of plant and animal is a genetic system that assures “his own fruit,” and nothing else.
6:49 heareth, and doeth not. It is good to hear—or to read—the words of God, but this only increases one’s guilt if he then rejects or ignores them. Note James 1:22-25; 4:17.