Text -- Luke 6:36-49 (NET)

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

Do Not Judge Others

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 poured into your lap. For the measure you use will be the measure you receive.” 6:39 He also told them a parable: “Someone who is blind cannot lead another who is blind, can he? Won’t they both fall into a pit? 6:40 A disciple is not greater than his teacher, but everyone when fully trained will be like his teacher. 6:41 Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to see the beam of wood in your own? 6:42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while you yourself don’t see the beam in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. 6:43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 6:44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from brambles. 6:45 The good person out of the good treasury of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasury produces evil, for his mouth speaks from what fills his heart. 6:46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do what I tell you? 6:47 “Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and puts them into practice– I will show you what he is like: 6:48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep, and laid the foundation on bedrock. When a flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. 6:49 But the person who hears and does not put my words into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against that house, it collapsed immediately, and was utterly destroyed!”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Luk 6:36

¹ sn Merciful is a characteristic of God often noted in the OT: Exod 34:6; Deut 4:31; Joel 2:31; Jonah 4:2; 2 Sam 24:14. This remark also echoes the more common OT statements like Lev 19:2 or Deut 18:13: “you must be holy as I am holy.”

NET Notes: Luk 6:37

¹ tn Grk “And do.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² sn As the Gospel makes clear, with the statement do not judge Jesus had in mind making a judgment that caused one to cut oneself off from someone so that they ceased to be reached out to (5:27-32; 15:1-32). Jesus himself did make judgments about where people stand (11:37-54), but not in such a way that he ceased to continue to offer them God’s grace.

³ sn The point of the statement do not judge, and you will not be judged is that the standards one applies to others God applies back. The passive verbs in this verse look to God’s action.

⁴ sn On forgive see Luke 11:4; 1 Pet 3:7.

NET Notes: Luk 6:38

¹ sn The background to the image pressed down, shaken together, running over is pouring out grain for measure in the marketplace. One often poured the grain into a container, shook it to level out the grain and then poured in some more. Those who are generous have generosity running over for them.

² tn Grk “they will give”; that is, “pour.” The third person plural has been replaced by the passive in the translation.

³ tn Grk “by [the measure] with which you measure it will be measured back to you.”

NET Notes: Luk 6:39

¹ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here it is “can he?”).

² sn The picture of a blind man leading a blind man is a warning to watch who one follows: Won’t they both fall into a pit? The sermon has been about religious choices and reacting graciously to those who oppose the followers of Jesus. Here Jesus’ point was to be careful who you follow and where they are taking you.

NET Notes: Luk 6:40

¹ tn Or “student.”

² tn Or “significantly different.” The idea, as the next phrase shows, is that teachers build followers who go the same direction they do.

NET Notes: Luk 6:41

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

² sn A speck (also twice in v. 42) refers to a small piece of wood, chaff, or straw (L&N 3.66).

³ tn Or “do not notice.”

⁴ sn The beam of wood (also twice in v. 42) refers to a big piece of wood, the main beam of a building, in contrast to the speck in the other’s eye (L&N 7.78).

NET Notes: Luk 6:43

¹ tn The explanatory connective γάρ (gar) is often dropped from translations, but the point of the passage is that one should be self-corrective and be careful who one follows (vv. 41-42), because such choices also reflect what the nature of the tree is and its product.

² tn Grk “rotten.” The word σαπρός, modifying both “fruit” and “tree,” can also mean “diseased” (L&N 65.28).

³ tc Most mss, especially later ones (A C D Θ Ψ 33 Ï lat sy sa), lack the adverb πάλιν (palin, “again”) here. Its presence is attested, however, by several good witnesses (Ì⁷⁵ א B L W Ξ Ë^1,13 579 892 1241 2542).

NET Notes: Luk 6:44

¹ sn The principle of the passage is that one produces what one is.

² tn Grk “they do not gather”; this has been simplified to the passive voice in the translation since the subject “they” is not specified further in the context.

³ tn This is a different verb (τρυγῶσιν, trugwsin) for gathering from the previous one (συλλέγουσιν, sullegousin).

⁴ tn This is a different term (βάτος, batos) for a thorn or bramble bush than the previous one (ἄκανθα, akanqa).

sn The statement nor are grapes picked from brambles illustrates the principle: That which cannot produce fruit, does not produce fruit.

NET Notes: Luk 6:45

¹ tn Grk “the”; the Greek article has been translated here and in the following clause (“out of the evil”) as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

² sn Mention of the heart shows that Jesus is not interested in what is done, but why. Motives are more important than actions for him.

³ tn The word “treasury” is not repeated in the Greek text at this point, but is implied.

⁴ sn What one utters from one’s mouth is especially singled out as the example of this principle. James seems to have known this teaching (Jas 1:26; 3:1-12).

⁵ tn Grk “for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

NET Notes: Luk 6:46

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

² tn The double use of the vocative is normally used in situations of high emotion or emphasis. Even an emphatic confession without action means little.

³ sn Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do what I tell you? Respect is not a matter of mere words, but is reflected in obedient action. This short saying, which is much simpler than its more developed conceptual parallel in Matt 7:21-23, serves in this form to simply warn and issue a call to hear and obey, as the last parable also does in vv. 47-49.

NET Notes: Luk 6:47

¹ tn Grk “and does them.”

NET Notes: Luk 6:48

¹ tn Here and in v. 49 the Greek text reads ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), while the parallel account in Matt 7:24-27 uses ἀνήρ (anhr) in vv. 24 and 26.

² tn There are actually two different Greek verbs used here: “who dug (ἔσκαψεν, eskayen) and dug deep (ἐβάθυνεν, ebaqunen).” Jesus is placing emphasis on the effort to which the man went to prepare his foundation.

³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁴ sn The picture here is of a river overflowing its banks and causing flooding and chaos.

⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in the context.

⁶ tc Most mss, especially later ones (A C D Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï latt), read “because he built [it] on the rock” rather than “because it had been well built” (Ì^75vid א B L W Ξ 33 579 892 1241 2542 pc sa). The reading of the later mss seems to be a harmonization to Matt 7:25, rendering it most likely secondary.

NET Notes: Luk 6:49

¹ tn Grk “does not do [them].”

² tn Grk “against which”; because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative clause was converted to a temporal clause in the translation and a new sentence started here.

³ tn Grk “it”; the referent (that house) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Grk “and its crash was great.”

sn The extra phrase at the end of this description (and was utterly destroyed) portrays the great disappointment that the destruction of the house caused as it crashed and was swept away.