Luke 6:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon,

NIV: He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon,

NASB: And then Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon,

CSB: After coming down with them, he stood on a level place with a large crowd of his disciples and a great number of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon.

NLT: When they came down from the mountain, the disciples stood with Jesus on a large, level area, surrounded by many of his followers and by the crowds. There were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon.

KJV: And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;

NKJV: And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases,

Luke's account of Jesus' ministry before the crucifixion is thematic, not strictly chronological. First, he presents several occasions that differentiated Jesus' followers from the Pharisees and scribes who are planning to destroy Him. Then Jesus chooses twelve lead disciples (Luke 5:1—6:16). Now, Luke records Jesus' ministry to and teaching of the larger group of disciples.

The audience is made of three groups. "Them" are the twelve apostles. The "disciples" are the larger group that follow Jesus; more than just the Twelve travel with Him and consider Him their teacher (Acts 1:21) although not all of them stay with Him (John 6:66). The "great multitude" are most likely there to find physical healing and freedom from demons. Luke points out that Jesus' popularity has spread.

The Greek for "level place" is translated literally, but it can mean a mountain plateau, so this could be Luke's synopsis of Matthew's Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5—7). Even so, it's highly likely that Jesus taught the same truths on multiple occasions.

It's interesting to note that Jesus' teaching is aimed at His crowd of disciples, but the multitude—including Gentiles from Tyre and Sidon—is welcome to learn and listen, as well. In fact, Jesus finishes His presentation of what it looks like to be His disciple with an invitation to make Him the basis of their lives (Luke 6:46–49). Discipleship is more than receiving healing and passively listening to stories. It's about founding one's life on Jesus, and all are welcome to do so.

Judea is the primary district of the Jews and surrounds Jerusalem from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. It appears that sometimes Luke uses the term to mean any place where Jews have a significant population, like Galilee. Tyre and Sidon are north of Galilee, on the coast of the Mediterranean. Jesus visits Tyre and Sidon where He heals a Syrophoenician woman's demon-possessed daughter (Mark 7:24–30).

Luke 6:17–19 transitions away from the separation of Jesus' followers from His detractors into a series of teachings on the promised blessings for and responsibilities of His followers. This passage is called the ''Sermon on the Plain'' or ''Sermon on the Level Place.'' Matthew's Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5—7) could be the same event; ''plain'' can mean a high plateau. But Luke, writing to a Gentile audience, removes all references to the Jewish law and, as is his habit, summarizes the teachings even more than Matthew. The corresponding passage for this section would be Matthew 4:23—5:1.

Luke 6 contains two main sections of teaching and calls to discipleship. Luke 6:1–16 continues the pattern of Luke 5. The two ways in which Jesus sets aside tradition—this time by taking authority over the Sabbath—are paired with His call for the Twelve disciples. Luke 6:17–49 records Jesus' teaching on the ''level place,'' or His ''Sermon on the Plain,'' and a call to a crowd for general discipleship. Much of this material has parallels in Matthew 5 through 7, but it's not clear if the two accounts are of the same event. As a travelling teacher, Christ likely gave the same general message multiple times.

Luke 6 completes Jesus' call for disciples and followers that started in Luke 5. Luke 5:1—6:16 consists of three calls for disciples, each paired with two revolutionary teachings about Jesus' authority that increasingly infuriate the religious leaders. Luke 6:17–49 continues the theme with a general call for followers and a description of their responsibilities. In Luke 7:1—8:3, Jesus interacts with the other: Gentiles, women, and even the dead. This is followed by another general call (Luke 8:4–21), a series of miracles (Luke 8:22—9:17), and a final call for the Twelve to follow Him even more deeply (Luke 9:18–50).

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.