Luke 6:35 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

NIV: But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

NASB: But love your enemies and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil people.

CSB: But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High. For he is gracious to the ungrateful and evil.

NLT: Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.

KJV: But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

NKJV: But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.

Jesus comes to the climax of His teaching on how His followers should treat their enemies. He summarizes the message of Luke 6:27–34. "Enemy" refers to someone who actively seeks to harm us, in this context particularly because we follow Jesus (Luke 6:22). They are rich, satisfied, jubilant, and well-respected (Luke 6:24–26). They curse and hate their enemies, demand vengeance for insults, and only lend money if they're sure it will be paid back (Luke 6:27–30).

Christ's way is the opposite. His followers are to actively work for their enemies' welfare, give to those who will never be able to repay, and remain steadfast and open in the face of insults and persecution.

Jesus gives two reasons. The first is that God will reward His faithful followers. The poor will inherit God's kingdom, the hungry will be fed, the mournful will laugh (Luke 6:20–21). God's blessings will overflow (Luke 6:38). This reward will not be on earth; a believer's enemies prioritize rewards on earth, which will be all they receive (Luke 6:24). Our reward will be in paradise in eternity.

Second, we do so because God is our Father, and we want to emulate Him (Romans 8:16–17). God "makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45). Even more, God loves us so much that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). We were God's enemies, but Jesus reconciled us to God through His sacrifice (Romans 5:10). Because of His mercy to us, we should show mercy to others (Luke 6:36).

Luke 6:27–36 continues Jesus' teaching to a crowd about how His followers should live. He's explained how those who are burdened in this life due to faithfulness will find relief and those who are satisfied due to their unfaithfulness will find eternal hardship (Luke 6:20–26). Here, He commands His followers to love their enemies, a theme He will expound upon when He speaks about judging others (6:37–42). This is possible if the promises of Luke 6:22–23 are true. After explaining that our actions come from our hearts, Jesus will invite the crowd to base their identity in Him (Luke 6:43–49). Matthew 5:38–48 also speaks of loving one's enemies.

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.