Luke 6:47 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like:

NIV: As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like.

NASB: Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like:

CSB: I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them:

NLT: I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it.

KJV: Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:

NKJV: Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:

Jesus completes His challenge to a crowd who came to be healed and stayed to hear His words. "Everyone who comes to me and hears my words" is a bookend to the opening words, "a great multitude of people…came to hear him" (Luke 6:17–18). The crowd has learned that to follow Jesus means not only persecution but that they must forgive their persecutors, be slow to judge them, and work for their benefit. This is a difficult command to follow. Yet Jesus shows them the benefit.

This is not the first blessing Jesus promises His followers. Earlier in the Sermon on the Plain, He said that those who weep will laugh. Those who are hungry will be satisfied. Those who are poor will inherit the kingdom of God, and those who are persecuted will receive a great reward in eternity (Luke 6:20–23). If they can love their enemies, they will be called children of the Most High (Luke 6:35).

Here, Jesus explains that if they make the hard choice to obey His words, their lives will be steady. No matter what hardships deluge their lives, they will not be shaken (Luke 6:48). Paul will write, "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7). When we obey Christ, we receive an inner peace that is resistant to the challenges of the world. Even more, we receive an eternal peace with God that nothing can take away (Romans 8:38–39).

Luke 6:46–49 records Jesus' call for general discipleship. He has chosen the Twelve out of His enormous number of followers (Luke 6:12–16). He revealed some difficult things that He expects of His people, including forgiving their enemies (Luke 6:17–42). To do so requires a good heart (Luke 6:43–45). Now He extends an invitation to the crowd to build their lives on the sure foundation of His words. This concludes the Sermon on the Plain. Next is a series of stories about Jesus' relationships with the other, including a Gentile and several women (Luke 7:1—8:3).

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.