Teaching in the Galilee

Luke 6:17-49

He came down from the hillside to a level place. Followers from all over Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon pressed in to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Many were troubled with unclean spirits, but they were healed. Everyone tried to touch him because power went out from him and healed them all.

Looking at his disciples, he said, “Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are those that hunger now, for you will be filled. You are blessed if you are weeping now, for you shall laugh.

“Blessed are you, when men hate you and withdraw their fellowship, accusing you of evil and defaming you for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice in that day! Leap for joy, for look, your reward is great in heaven. Their fathers did the same thing to the prophets.

“But woe to you rich ones. You’ve received your comfort. Woe unto you who are full, because you will hunger. Woe unto you laughing now, for you will mourn and lament. Woe to you, when everyone speaks well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

“But I say to you which hear: love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; and pray for the ones which despitefully use you. And to the one that strikes you on one cheek, turn the other one to him. And whomever takes your jacket, give him your shirt as well. Give to everyone that asks for support and if someone takes what is yours, don’t ask for its return.

“And treat others like you would like to be treated, because if you only love those who love you, what admiration is in that? Even sinners love those that love them. And if you are good to those who are good to you, why should you be thanked? Again, even sinners do the same thing. And if you will only lend to those who will repay you, what thanks come from that? Sinners lend to sinners to get repaid.

“Rather, love your enemies, and do good. Lend, hoping for no return and your reward will be great, and you will be the children of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and evil. Therefore, be merciful, like your Father is merciful. Don’t judge and you won’t be judged; don’t condemn and you won’t be condemned; forgive and you shall be forgiven.

“Give, and it shall be given to you—good measure, pressed down and shaken together, even running over. Men will pour it into your lap, for with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

And he gave them a parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Won’t they both fall into the ditch? The learner is not above his master: but every one that is mature will be like his master.

“And why do you spot the speck in your brother's eye, but not realize when you have a plank in yours? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me pull that speck out of your eye,’ when you cannot see the plank in yours? You hypocrite! First, remove the plank in your own eye. Then you can see clearly how to remove the speck in your brother’s eye.

“No good tree produces diseased fruit. Neither does a diseased tree produce good fruit, for every tree is known by his own fruit. Nobody gathers figs from a thorn bush, nor grapes from bramble bush. A good man, out of the good treasured in his heart produces good, and an evil man out of the evil treasured in his heart produces evil, for out of the abundance of his heart the mouth speaks.

“And why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but don’t do what I say? Whomever comes to me, hears my teachings and does them, I will show you who he is like.  He is like a man who built a house, digging down deep to lay the foundation on rock. When the flood came fearsomely beat upon that house, it could not shake it because was anchored to the rock.

‘But the one that hears and doesn’t do as taught, is like a man that just builds on the dirt without a foundation. When the water beats fearsomely on that house, it will instantly fall and be totally ruined.”