The Seventh Sunday after Epiphany is February 20, 2022.

Readings for Year C can be found here.

This day in 2022 is Sexagesima Sunday, meaning 60 days before Easter. Last Sunday was Septuagesima Sunday, signifying 70 days before Easter. Next Sunday will be Quinquagesima Sunday: 50 days before Easter.

You can read more about Septuagesima, Sexagesima and Quinquagesima Sundays in the following post:

The Sundays before Lent — an explanation

This period is called Shrovetide, which ended on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. ‘Shrove’ is the past participle of ‘shrive’, which meant to present oneself for confession, penance and absolution. You can find out more in the post below:

Shrovetide — a history

Even in modern times, the Lectionary readings turn from the themes of rejoicing and thanks that our Saviour came to Earth to redeem us. The themes of sin and repentance predominate.

The Gospel reading is as follows (emphases mine):

Luke 6:27-38

6:27 “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

6:29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.

6:30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.

6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

6:32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

6:33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

6:34 If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

6:35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.

6:36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

6:37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven;

6:38 give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

Commentary comes from Matthew Henry and John MacArthur.

We pick up from where we left off last week with Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount, or the Beatitudes.

Matthew’s version is considerably longer.

John MacArthur says that Jesus probably preached for hours and that the Gospel authors distilled what He said into the basic premise of His sermon:

Luke’s record of what Jesus said that day near the Sea of Galilee is recorded in chapter 6 verses 20 to 49.  It is the same sermon about which Matthew wrote in Matthew 5, 6, and 7.  Matthew has a much longer treatment of the sermon.  Matthew recorded much more of what the Lord said, but the Lord said what Matthew recorded.  The Lord also said what Luke recorded.  And the sermon would be the combination of both and probably a lot more, since you could read through both passages in a very few minutes, and it’s likely that the Lord preached for a long time.

We conclude, therefore, what Matthew gave us is a true record of a portion of that sermon.  What Luke gave us is also a true record of a portion of that sermon.  Combined they would come short of the full teaching of what Jesus said, which we would have to leave to the discretion of God.  He gave us what He felt we needed to hear. 

This is likely to be as long a post as last time. Churchgoers and students of the Bible know much of this by heart but how well do we actually live by these verses? Personally, I find some of them very difficult. Yet, Jesus is calling us to love others in the way that He loves us — and loved His enemies during his time on earth.

He says to those that listen: love your enemies and do good to those that hate you (verse 27).

Note that He says ‘I say to you that listen’. He is distinguishing the blessed from the cursed. Those who are listening are being transformed by God. However, not all His disciples were in that happy state. Recall that in John 6, when He spoke of Himself as the Bread of Life, many of those disciples left Him for good. They found His statement too difficult to comprehend.

MacArthur explains:

… here is the second test for a true disciple.  First one is how he views himself.  The second one is how he views others.  And it’s clear to whom Jesus is referring because verse 27 begins with these words, “But I say to you who – ” What? – “who hear.”  That’s a very important statement.  There’s a contrast being made here.  There’s a contrast being made between people who have the ability to hear the voice of God and respond and people who don’t. 

We remember 1 Corinthians 2:14 says, “The natural man understands not the things of God, to him they are foolishness.”  And there is a clear distinction between sinners who are referred to in verses 32, 33 and 34, and sons of the Most High, referred to in verse 35.  There is a dramatic difference.  And part of that difference, of course, is that the one who is not a true disciple, the one outside the Kingdom, the one who has never been regenerated, the one who has never been saved has no capacity to hear.  That is to say to understand, to believe and to act on divine truth. 

So the Lord narrows His audience here and says, “I’m talking to you who can get it.  I’m talking to you who have spiritual understanding, the true believer, poor, hungry, sad, unpopular.  I’m talking to you who are rejected.  I’m talking to you who are persecuted, and I’m telling you, you are not only known by your hated of sin…mostly in yourself…but you’re known by your love of your enemies.  This is your character.” 

Of the sermon itself, MacArthur says:

It is an important sermon because it’s a sermon about salvation.  It’s a sermon that draws some very clear lines.  It is a very simple and very straightforward sermon.  It always amazes me of how complicated…as to how complicated certain commentators can get in trying to understand what is very, very simple and straightforward.  This sermon draws a simple contrast.  It is a contrast between those people who are blessed and those people who are cursed.  And, frankly, that includes everybody.  Everybody everywhere who’s ever lived either falls into the category of being blessed or being cursed …

And all men relate to the true and living God one way or another.  They are blessed by Him or they are cursed by Him.  They are in His Kingdom, or out of His Kingdom.  They are His children or the children of Satan.  They are in the kingdom of light or they’re in the kingdom of darkness.  They are citizens of heaven or of hell.  And that’s how it is.  Everybody in the human race fits into one of the two categories.

And that’s how Jesus begins His sermon by pointing clearly to the blessed and the cursed.  The word “blessed” is in verse 20, 21, and 22 and the cursed are referred to with “woes,” woe meaning curse, in verses 24, 25 and 26.  And Jesus, like any good evangelist, creates a contrast. 

Jesus preached this sermon to His disciples, including the Apostles.

MacArthur points out the difference between the two:

Verse 20 tells us that He was talking to disciples.  That’s a broad generic word for learner, student.  There were lots of people following Him, not just the twelve apostles. 

Don’t confuse the disciples here with the apostles.  The apostles were disciples but they are set apart from the disciples as apostles.  Disciple means student, learner; apostle means messenger, sent one.  And they had been identified, as we know, back in verse 12 to 14 as apostles.  So the apostles are the twelve apostles.  The rest of those following Jesus and learning Jesus’ teaching to one degree or another, being students of Jesus are in the broad category of disciples.  Jesus then speaks to this broad category of people and says you’re either blessed or cursed; you’re either in one category or the other.  You’re either in the Kingdom of God or outside the Kingdom of God.

Those who are in the kingdom of God bless those who curse them and pray for their abusers (verse 28).

This was a radical departure for the works-based salvation system that the Jews had at that time. The Jew obeyed as many of the laws of Moses as he could. That was where his religion began and ended. However, Jesus was calling — and does call — for something greater, an imitation of divine love.

MacArthur says that loving one’s enemy was not part of the Jewish mindset at that time:

Roots in the Old Testament, the true religion that developed a [hybrid] of Judaism that was part Old Testament, part human tradition and invention, and the end result was an apostate form of Judaism.  But it was a very complex kind of religion and very highly codified and defined.  And in their system…listen to this…it was a sin to love your enemy.  It was a sin to love your enemy.  So when Jesus stepped in front of the crowd in the Sermon on the Mount…and He’s got Pharisees there and scribes there; they followed Him everywhere.  He’s got priests and rabbis and local synagogue rulers and the popul[ace]…and He says, “Love your enemies,” that, to the Jews, is a statement that is immoral.  It is ungodly to say that.  It’s not right.  That’s offensive to them because they tied their spiritual virtue to their hatred …

They hated the Romans because the Romans were idolatrous gentile pagans.  When they came in with their poles on which they had the image of Caesar, that was a violation of the commandment to make no graven images because they worshiped Caesar as a God.  And so here they had blatant idolatry in the land.  Every time a Roman coin passed through a Jew’s hand, it was something to spit on because it had the image of Caesar engraved upon the coin and that was an idol.  There was a group of Jews connected with the Zealots called the Sicari, who were the terrorists, the Jewish terrorists who went around stabbing Romans.  They were obviously clandestine.  They were murderous.  The Jews hated them.  And they thought they hated them with holy hatred; they thought they hated them with a righteous hatred.

They also had developed a hatred of people who violated the law and traditions.  And they thought that that was a righteous thing to do … 

Here’s what the Essenes say, and I quote some of their literature.  “Love all that God has chosen and hate all He has rejected.”  They also wrote, “Love all the sons of light and hate all the sons of darkness.”  That was prescribed in their ethical, moral, religious code.  Hate sons of darkness, unbelievers.  In fact, they went to far as to curse all non-Essenes, which means hate the Pharisees, hate the Sadducees, hate the Zealots, hate everybody who is a non-Essene, hate them all.

And the Pharisees weren’t much better than that.  I’m quoting from one of the Maxims of the Pharisees.  “If a Jew sees a gentile fallen into the sea, let him by no means lift him out of there, for it is written, ‘Thou shalt not rise up against the blood of thy neighbor but this man is not thy neighbor.’” Why?  Because he’s a gentile, let him drown.  It’s a sin to lift him out of the water.  Don’t rescue a gentile.  Now this had become a point of their virtue.  In fact, the Romans…you can find in Roman writings…the Romans actually accused the Jews of hating the human race.  Nice reputation.  We would like to think that Christians are known by their love.  In the ancient world Jews were known by their hate.  It is not unlike contemporary Middle Eastern and other places in the world…Islam.  Strange parallel.

Then we get to the troublesome verse about showing the person striking you your other cheek and the exhortation from Jesus to give your shirt to someone who has stolen your coat (verse 29).

Matthew Henry has a simple explanation:

Let him have that too, rather than fight for it.

The first part of the verse is about being struck on the cheek in the synagogue, which was part of the ritual of being expelled from it.

MacArthur has more:

What is it about?  Jesus said in John 16, … “The time is going to come when they throw you out of the synagogue.  He was telling His followers that.  They’re going to throw you out of the synagogue … That was not a small deal because Jewish society circled around the synagogue.  That was both the circumference and core of life.  The greatest single humiliation, the greatest shame was to be excommunicated from the synagogue.  You were then constituted as a reprobate, very serious.  And they took it very seriously.

When someone was unsynagogued, which they were for their faith in Jesus Christ, frequently they were whipped before whoever wanted to watch.  Clothes were taken of their backs and they received 39 lashes, leather thongs probably imbedded with bits of stone that lacerated their back 39 times.  The apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:24 says, “They did it to me five times.”  Five times the Jews did it to me.  Acts 5:40 talks about those in the early church who preached the gospel being flogged.  That was the physical punishment connected to the shame of being unsynagogued for the sake of Jesus Christ.

But there was something else that they did.  The way you dishonored someone, one of the ways you dishonored someone, was to slap them across the face.  And while there was a real flogging, actual physical pain, there was also a symbolic humiliation in front of the synagogue congregation.  One of the officials would slap the person across the face as a symbolic indignity and humiliation.  That’s what is in view here.  When they bring you in front to humiliate you and they slap you across the face, offer the other cheek, accept your humiliation.  Now don’t get too literal with this.  Turn to John 18 for a moment.  Let me show you something. 

John 18 verse 19.  This is Jesus before the High Priest.  He had been arrested.  The High Priest questioned Jesus, verse 19, about His disciples, about His teaching.  And Jesus was going to be legal about this, even if they weren’t.  We still have a law in this day in time about no man incriminating himself.  Jesus knew that if there was to be any accusation, it had to be confirmed in the mouth of two or three witnesses.  So the high priest is really in violation of the law when he says, “Tell us about Your teaching.” 

“Jesus answered him,” calling him back to what was right according to law, “I have spoken openly to the world.  I always taught in synagogues and in the temple where all the Jews come together.  I spoke nothing in secret.  Why do you question Me?  Question those who have heard what I spoke to them, behold, these know what I said.  Bring in the witnesses, they’ll tell you exactly what I said, I never said anything in private.”  He was rebuking this man for putting Him in an illegal position of incriminating Himself rather than calling the witnesses which was the just thing to do.  The reaction, verse 22, “When He had said this, they read it for what it was, a rebuke of the High Priest.  One of the officers standing by gave Jesus a blow.  It’s exactly the same thing.  He smashed Him across the face.  “Is that the way You answer the High Priest?” 

This is not so much punishment, this is not so much the flogging, lashing, which later the Lord received at the hands of the Romans, as the indignity and the humiliation and the shame of the slap across the face.  And you’ll notice that Jesus did not say, “Here, hit the other side.”  He didn’t interpret even His own words in that literal fashion.  He answered and said, “If I’ve spoken wrongly, bear witness of the wrong.  If rightly, why do you strike Me?”  Why are you hitting Me, why don’t you just bring the witnesses in?

So what then does it mean, “to turn the other cheek?”  It simply means this, when you have been treated with humiliation, when you’ve been treated with shame, when you’ve been treated with sort of the anger and hostility, when you have been despised and scorned and rejected, just keep on loving and get ready to be hit again.  Don’t retaliate.  The love that has been called for here doesn’t retaliate.  It doesn’t defend itself against this kind of humiliation and rejection, hostility.  It doesn’t get angry.  It doesn’t hate when it is hit. 

The second half of the verse, about the cloak and shirt, also relates to the persecution of Christians that would come:

And the second reaction in verse 29 is another abuse that happened to Christians and still does in some form.  “Whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.  Whoever takes away your outer garment, don’t withhold your inner garment.  This is very similar to Matthew 5:40, to Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount.  And this goes back to an issue.  Many of the people, of course, living in Palestine were not wealthy.  It was common that people had one outer cloak.  They didn’t have wardrobes like we do today.  And they needed that outer cloak to protect them, to keep them warm and even to use as a blanket at night.  Exodus 22:26 and 27 says, “If you ever take your neighbor’s coat as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun sets for that is his cloak for his body.  What else shall he sleep in?”  You don’t want him lying at night in the cold.

One of the ways that they persecuted the believers, the early believers, was to take their cloak so that they were left naked.  Believe me, the land of Israel can be very cold in the winter.  It snows in Jerusalem.  This was a severe abuse of these believers.  And He says, “If they take your cloak, keep loving them even if they take your shirt.”  Don’t retaliate.  Don’t seek vengeance.  They never really are the enemy; they are always the mission field.

We are to give to those who beg from us and, should anyone take our goods, we are not to ask for their return (verse 30).

Henry says that we are not to fight for our possessions:

And (Luke 6:30; Luke 6:30) of him that taketh thy goods” (so Dr. Hammond thinks it should be read), “that borrows them, or that takes them up from thee upon trust, of such do not exact them; if Providence have made such insolvent, do not take the advantage of the law against them, but rather lose it than take them by the throat,Matthew 18:28. If a man run away in thy debt, and take away thy goods with him, do not perplex thyself, nor be incensed against him.”

MacArthur says that this, too, was — and still is — a form of persecution:

One of the things that also happened to these early believers was people robbed them.  They humiliated them, slapped them, mistreating them, abusing them in that fashion.  Took away their clothes.  They came trading on their goodness, borrowing money they never intended to pay back.  And they robbed them.  And they still do.  Even up until modern times, Christians being persecuted in some parts of the world have their possessions taken.  That’s happened all through history.  Christians persecuted, their personal belongings taken, their homes looted.  But when they do that, don’t demand it back.

We then come to the verse that some refer to as the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would be done by (verse 31).

MacArthur explains that the verse refers to the sort of love those who hate us are incapable of:

Frankly, that sums up the whole idea of loving your enemies.  Don’t treat them the way they’re treating you.  The world does that.  The world of sinners treats people the way they treat them.  You treat people the way you would like them to treat you.  We assume they’re not treating you that way.  They are hating you.  They are cursing you.  They are mistreating you.  They are hitting you on the cheek.  They are taking things from you, stealing them, borrowing them.  They’re already your enemies.  They’re manifesting that in the way they treat you.  This is all abuse, mistreatment.

So what do you do?  Well, if you’re a normal person, you give them back what they gave you:  vengeance, retaliation, hostility, vindictiveness.  And Jesus says that’s not the way you do it.  Treat them the way you would like them to treat you, even though they’re not treating you that way.  That’s the point.  Treat them the way you would like them to treat you.

Now this golden rule is singularly Christian.  I know you hear that this is a sort of a universal law of religion, but let me sort of sort that out a little bit for you.  Every time you find something like the golden rule that appears in some religion or some philosophical system, it appears in a negative form.  What I mean by that is it’s don’t treat people the way you don’t want to be treated.  It’s a negative.  It’s reversed or lowered …

In every case, the emphasis is negative.  Don’t do to someone what you don’t want them to do to you because there’s a universal principle in life.  Whatever you do to people, they will do back.  You got that?  That’s how the world works.  That’s human life.  Whatever you do to them, they’re going to do back to you.  So don’t do what you don’t want back.

In the next three verses, Jesus talks about going beyond normal human behaviour in our approach to loving one another.

There is nothing distinctive in reciprocating love to someone who loves us; even sinners do that (verse 32).

Performing good deeds to someone who has shown us a good deed is normal; sinners do that, too (verse 33).

Similarly, lending to someone who is likely to lend to us is easy; sinners do the same thing (verse 34).

Henry explains that Jesus wants us to go well beyond social norms and imitate heavenly norms instead:

To love those that love us has nothing uncommon in it, nothing peculiar to Christ’s disciples, for sinners will love those that love them. There is nothing self-denying in that; it is but following nature, even in its corrupt state, and puts no force at all upon it (Luke 6:32; Luke 6:32): it is no thanks to us to love those that say and do just as we would have them. “And (Luke 6:33; Luke 6:33) if you do good to them that do good to you, and return their kindnesses, it is from a common principle of custom, honour, and gratitude; and therefore what thanks have you? What credit are you to the name of Christ, or what reputation do you bring to it? for sinners also, that know nothing of Christ and his doctrine, do even the same. But it becomes you to do something more excellent and eminent, herein to out-do your neighbours, to do that which sinners will not do, and which no principle of theirs can pretend to reach to: you must render good for evil;” not that any thanks are due to us, but then we are to our God for a name and a praise and he will have the thanks.

Jesus makes the point that when we go above and beyond — by loving our enemies, doing good to all and lending freely — our reward with God will be great and we will be children of the Most High, He who is kind to the ungrateful and to the wicked (verse 35).

Similarly, we are to show each other mercy in the same way that God the Father shows us mercy (verse 36).

Henry says:

What is given, or laid out, or lent and lost on earth, from a true principle of charity, will be made up to us in the other world, unspeakably to our advantage. “You shall not only be repaid, but rewarded, greatly rewarded; it will be said to you, Come, ye blessed, inherit the kingdom.“

MacArthur expands on the heavenly reward and the example we show the rest of mankind:

The reward we’re going to receive in heaven for suffering persecution – there will be a heavenly reward.  But this is in the world of men.  You’re loving sinners the way sinners are not used to being loved.  You’re loving those who don’t love you.  You’re loving those who don’t do good to you.  You’re loving those who don’t lend to you, and you’re asking no love, no goodness, and no loan back.  This is unconditional, free, transcendent love.  You’re just loving them the way they ought to love you, even though they don’t.  You’re showing them a love that they can’t experience, doesn’t belong to their world, and your reward will be great.

What will be your reward?  Follow along in verse 35.  “And you will be sons of the Most High.”  What do you mean?  Well, the people are going to conclude you’re a son of God.  You will manifestly be in their eyes.  He’s not talking about what God is going to give you.  He’s talking about what men are going to think.  They’re going to say, “He’s very much like God.”  Why?  “For he himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.” 

The kindness of God, the grace of God, the forgiveness of God, the mercy, tenderness, compassion of God is all through the Old Testament.  You live like this, the Jews who know the Old Testament, they’re going to know you’re manifesting the kind of love that was true of God.  God is kind, kind even to ungrateful and evil men.  As I said earlier, that’s the only kind of people there are.  We’re all in the category of ungrateful, Romans 1:24.  We’re all in the category of evil, Romans 3:10 and following.  We’re all wicked.  We’re all thankless.  We’re the only people there are to love, and God loves us and is kind.  It’s the kindness, again, of compassion.  It’s the kindness of warning.  It’s the kindness of invitation.  It’s the kindness of goodness.  And when you do that, people are going to make the connection, like Ephesians 5:1, “Walk in love even as your Father loves, and as Jesus loved and gave His life.”

… Further, in verse 36 Jesus added, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”  What you’re trying to do, in the words of Paul, is to adorn the doctrine of God.  What you’re trying to do is manifest your sonship, to demonstrate that the life of God is in your soul, that the divine nature is there in you, that the Spirit of God dwells with you, that you are supernatural in your ability to love.  And people will say, “He’s a son of the Most High.”

“Most High,” by the way, we’ve already discussed that title for God.  It’s a New Testament equivalent to the Hebrew El Elyon, God Most High, used many, many times.  First of all, in Genesis 14, it’s used four times and then El Elyon goes all through the Old Testament referring to God as the sovereign.  “Most High” means “You’re the sovereign ruler.  You’re the ultimate one.”  Here in the Greek hupsistos is “sovereign, the ultimate, supreme ruler.”  It can refer none other than God Himself.  And by the way, Christ is called the “Son of the Most High” in Luke 1:32 and 1:76 …

Jesus says that if we avoid judging and condemning others, then we will not be judged or condemned; if we forgive, we, too, will be forgiven (verse 37).

We often wonder why good things happen to bad people.

MacArthur says that this is because God is good to both evildoers and the faithful in this world:

The reason good things keep happening to bad people is because God is positively kind and merciful.  He gives and He withholds.  He gives kindness and blessing, and withholds judgment out of His own compassionate heart.  And you see that, even the Old Testament, Exodus 34, God is merciful, showing mercy to thousands.  He’s compassionate.  He’s kind.  The prophet Joel talks about that.  The prophet Jonah saw the kindness and mercy of God toward Nineveh and it irritated him.  God has pity over sinners.  He grieves over them.  He’s kind, merciful to them.

So when you are kind, positive good toward your enemies, and merciful, withholding judgment, you are like God.  Therefore you are manifestly sons of the Most High.  You manifestly are giving evidence that God is your Father.  So until the final day when God’s judgment does fall on everybody, God Himself is kind and God Himself is merciful.  That’s His nature.  And if you bear His nature and His name, that is how you need to be, as well.

As for judging and condemning, we would do well to leave that to God and show a good example to others instead, which can have positive benefits in this world:

What it forbids is some kind of harsh, hard, critical, compassionless hostility to enemies.

We’ve already had a pretty good hint at this when back in verse 28 it says, “Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”  That’s the idea.  That’s the idea.  Don’t become their judge.  Don’t pronounce judgment on them.  Speak blessing into their lives.  Don’t pass sentence on them.  Love them mercifully.  Love them kindly.

And the reward for that?  You will not be judged by them, because sinners will give you back what you give them, and if you’re not judgmental, and harsh, and cold, and condemning, they’ll see that and they’ll treat you that way because that’s how sinners do.  They love who they love because they love them.  They’re good to those who do good to them.  They lend to those who lend to them.  That’s how it works in the world. 

So if you, in the midst of being persecuted, and mistreated, and hated, and cursed, will not be their judges, but will love them with kindness, and mercy, and compassion, and goodness, and invitation the way God loves sinners, then what will happen is they will not judge you.  They’ll ease up on you.  You don’t want to do something that’s going to shut the door of evangelism.

Finally, if we give freely, we will receive abundantly. To illustrate our reward to come, Jesus uses an analogy of measuring corn (verse 38), which had to be pressed down into a basket in order to fill every bit of space.

MacArthur explains the verse and the process for measuring corn: