Luke 6:27 - Meaning and Application

These verses agree with Matthew 5:38 and the rest of that chapter. Jesus says, “I say to you who hear” (Luke 6:27), meaning all who will listen, not only the disciples. These are truths for everyone, and anyone with an ear should pay attention. Those who truly listen to Christ will find that he has words worth hearing.

Christ teaches several lessons here. First, we must give everyone what is due to them, and be honest and fair in all we do (Luke 6:31). “Do to others as you would have them do to you” means loving your neighbor as yourself. Whatever we would reasonably expect others to do for us, if we were in their place, we should do for them in theirs. We should put ourselves in their situation, then show pity and help as we would want pity and help for ourselves.

Second, we must be generous in giving to those in need (Luke 6:30). “Give to everyone who asks you” means giving to any proper object of charity, someone who needs basic things and has no one else able to help. Christ wants his disciples ready to share and willing to give from their means in ordinary cases, and even beyond them in unusual cases. This includes helping those who cannot help themselves and have no relatives able to provide for them.

Third, we must be generous in forgiving those who have wronged us. We should not press too hard when our rights are denied. If someone takes your cloak, whether by force or by fraud, do not resist by violent means and fight over your coat too (Luke 6:29). Let him have it rather than quarrel and contend for it. If someone takes your goods, or borrows them and cannot repay, do not exact payment harshly. If God’s providence has made the person unable to pay, do not take advantage of the law against him, but rather lose it than become cruel. If a man runs off owing you debt and taking your goods, do not let yourself be troubled or angry.

We must also not be harsh in revenge when someone harms us. “To the one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also” means do not rush to court, do not bring a charge, and do not seek revenge. Instead, pass it by, even if that means you are at risk of another insult. If someone strikes you, be ready to suffer more rather than strike back. Leave your cause with God, and sit quietly under the insult. When we do this, God will deal with our enemies, as far as they are his enemies. He has said, “Vengeance is mine,” and he will show it when we leave revenge to him. As Psalm 3:7 says, he can strike the wicked and break their teeth.

But more than that, we must do good to those who do evil to us. This is one of Christ’s main lessons here, and it is a special mark of his religion. We must be kind to those who have hurt us. It is not enough to love our enemies in our hearts, or to wish them well. We must also do them good, and be as ready to help them as anyone else, if their need calls for it and we have the means. We should use every proper chance to show that we do not hold malice or seek revenge.

If they curse us, speak badly of us, or wish us harm, we should bless them and pray for them. We should speak well of them as far as we can, wish the best for them, especially for their souls, and ask God for them. Jesus repeats this in Luke 6:35, “Love your enemies, and do good to them.” To encourage us in this hard duty, he shows how noble it is, and how few people truly reach it. Loving those who love us is ordinary. Sinners do that too. There is nothing special or self-denying in that, because it follows natural feeling even in a sinful state. It is no great credit to us to love only those who say and do what we like.

If you do good to those who do good to you, and simply repay kindness with kindness, that comes from common custom, honor, and gratitude. What reward is there in that? What honor does it bring to Christ’s name? Sinners, who know nothing of Christ’s teaching, do the same. But you should aim higher. You should stand out from others and do what sinners will not do. You must return good for evil. The praise is not meant for us, but for God, who gives us a good name and will reward us.

We must also be kind to those from whom we expect no return (Luke 6:35). “Lend, hoping for nothing back” refers to the rich lending to the poor for necessary needs, like daily bread for a family or help to keep them out of prison. In such cases, we must lend without expecting interest, as we might fairly do in business loans. But more than that, we must lend even when we have reason to think we may never get it back. We should lend to people so poor that repayment does not seem likely. This command is well explained by Moses’ law in Deuteronomy 15:7-10, which required lending to a poor brother even when the year of release was near.

Two motives support this generous charity. First, it will profit us. Our reward will be great (Luke 6:35). What is given, spent, or lent and lost on earth from true charity will be made up to us in the next world, far beyond what we can imagine. We will not only be repaid, but richly rewarded. Second, it will honor us, because in this we become like God in his goodness, and that is the greatest honor. “You will be children of the Most High” means God will own us as his children when we reflect his character. God is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. He gives common blessings even to the worst people, who keep provoking him, rebelling against him, and using his gifts to dishonor him. So Jesus concludes, “Be merciful, as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). This explains Matthew 5:48, “Be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

Imitate your Father in the things that most clearly show his beauty and goodness. Those who are merciful, as God is merciful, even to the evil and the ungrateful, are perfect as God is perfect. God is pleased to accept this kindly, even though it falls far short of his own perfection.

Love is called the bond of perfection (Colossians 3:14). This should strongly move us to be merciful to our brothers and sisters, even when they have hurt us. We should do this not only because God shows mercy to others, but because he shows mercy to us, even though we have been, and still are, evil and ungrateful. It is because of his mercies that we have not been destroyed.