Luke 6:39-49

Luke 6:39-49

³⁹ He also told them a parable: "Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?

 ⁴⁰ A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher.

 ⁴¹ Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?

 ⁴² Or how can you say to your neighbor, 'Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye.

 ⁴³ "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit;

 ⁴⁴ for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.

 ⁴⁵ The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.

 ⁴⁶ "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell you?

 ⁴⁷ I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them.

 ⁴⁸ That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built.

 ⁴⁹ But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house."

Luke 6:39-49 (Year C Epiphany 8) Jesus concludes his inaugural sermon in Galilee with a series of parabolic sayings urging his audience not only to listen but to really hear and obey his message. We may recognize a heightened concern with doing, that is, with the need for changed dispositions and commitments to manifest themselves in changed behavior. Jesus stresses his disciples need to value him as their teacher and build their lives upon what he taught. He strongly contrasts his teaching with other teachers.

³⁹ He also told them a parable (Matt 15:14b): "Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?[1] Such a saying has the ring of a proverb and thus of common wisdom of the time. Yet, it also has an edge it to it that is typical of the sayings of Jesus. In the context Luke provides for this saying, the point is how can you set yourself up for a judge, since you are blind, for there is only one judicial authority, Jesus.[2] Jesus further insults the leaders by calling them "blind guides of the blind." This rub denies the Pharisees the privilege of claiming their celebrated title as "leaders of the blind." Because they themselves are blind, Jesus scoffs, these authority figures would only lead others into a pit with them.  Paul also refers to Jews in the congregation who are sure that they are sure guides for the blind, light to those in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, and a teacher of children (Rom 2:19-20).

⁴⁰ A disciple is not above the teacher. The saying finds a reflection in John 13:16 as well. Such a proverb reinforces the traditional superior and inferior relationship that Jesus usually sought to modify.[3] Everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher.

Part of the proclamation of the rule of God is that Jesus challenges us not to judge (6:41-42=Matthew 7:3-5). ⁴¹Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?  ⁴² Alternatively, how can you say to your neighbor, 'Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye. The grotesque comparison of a speck or sliver and timber is an exaggeration we come to expect from the sayings of Jesus, designed to provoke thought. The image is vivid, exaggerated, and humorous that calls attention to faultfinding. Critics should concentrate on correcting themselves. This saying is consistent with the counsel to love enemies, forgive others, and imitate divine tolerance.

Verses 43-45 are best approached as individual sayings of Jesus. They are observations on life, rules of prudence and popular morality, a product of humor or skepticism. The sayings are concerned with the fruits of human sentiment whether in words or deeds. They are secular wisdom. They were used for moral exhortation.[4]

 ⁴³ "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit.  ^44a For each tree is known by its own fruit (Matthew 7:16a, 20).[5] ^44bFigs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.[6]  We have here a quip about thorns and brambles.  It is striking, involving pairs not normally associated. They dramatize a point that the text leaves unexplained. The rhetorical question is provocative and absurd. It sounds like a retort ⁴⁵ The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.[7] This group of sayings is part of proverbial wisdom. 

Since the sermon on the plain has focused upon love for enemies, it would seem appropriate to discuss that love here. If we were to believe in nothing we cannot see, then we should have to give up believing in love. One might slip through life without love. Yet, from all that we know in the New Testament, eternity will not allow us to escape love. Without love we have lost everything. Love is the way we build eternity into our temporal lives. Yet, this love arises from within. The place from which love comes has a hidden quality. Yet, arising from hidden places within, it influences all we do and say. Hidden springs may feed the quiet lake. The love of God is the ground of all human love. Yet, we know this hidden life of love by its fruits. I John 3:18 reminds us that all too often we are content with speaking about love than allowing love to form our lives. True, love comes from the heart, but we also find it true that love forms the heart. We need to hear such a word addressed as a challenge to us. We must not think of the address and challenge for someone else. We need to fear ourselves at this point. Jesus has made us aware that we know each other by our fruits. Our sin is deep enough that such a saying will lead us to judge others. Part of the image here is that like knows like. One who has allowed eternity to shape the heart through love will recognize its fruits.^[8]

 

The final portion of the Sermon on the Plain begins with a rhetorical question. ⁴⁶ “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ (κύριε, a title that is more than a courtesy, showing the confidence in the goodness and compassion of Jesus[9]) and do not do what I tell you (Matt 7:21)?[10] The rejection of those who say Lord but do not do is a reflection of the prophetic self-consciousness with which Jesus speaks.[11] The test of qualifying as a follower of Jesus is doing what Jesus commands. This address of Jesus as Lord has its origin in the invocatory prayer of the first Christians.[12] It has a reference to the person of Jesus. It contrasts two responses to the teaching of Jesus, one that produces action and another that does not. This is a common complaint by teachers. Any teacher or sage could have said it. Becoming a faithful doer of the word is the only way to reflect a life ruled by God. Paul wonders if Jewish teachers practice what they preach and teachers others to do (Romans 2:21-23).

In Luke 6:47-49, we learn what genuine hearing means. It contrasts two responses to the teaching of Jesus and two eschatological consequences. The sermon closes with final judgment. Lady Wisdom builds human lives using the image of a house (Prov 9:1-6, 14:12). The emphatic use of the personal pronoun here stresses Jesus as the representative of God. The rabbis had a similar thought in saying that one who receives a scribe receives the divine glory.[13]

⁴⁷ I will show you what someone is like who comes to me (John 6:35), hears my words, and acts on them.  ⁴⁸ That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house, representing the tests that any human life will encounter, but could not shake it, because it had been well built. Such persons will be vindicated. ⁴⁹ However, the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, for these will encounter the same tests of life in this world, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house (Matt 7:24-27)." The image of the two foundations belongs to common Israelite, Judean, and rabbinic lore.  Several rabbis of the late first and early second centuries created similar parables to stress the need of putting teaching into practice. Those who recognize the eschatological moment in which they live are those who build their lives on the right foundation, for they hear the word of Jesus and act upon it, for everything depends on obedience.[14] Those who listen to Jesus’ teachings but do not act on them lay one kind of foundation; those who listen and then act build the other kind of foundation.  The first invites destruction in the deluge, the second will withstand the final test. One displays wisdom when one builds one’s life on being a faithful doer of the word of Jesus. Those who listen to Jesus’ teachings but do not act on them lay one kind of foundation; those who listen and then act build the other kind of foundation.  The first invites destruction in the deluge, the second will withstand the final test. One displays wisdom when one builds one’s life on being a faithful doer of the word of Jesus. re-read this sermon, realize the importance of these words to the point where you do not just read them as words on a page, but take them to heart and let them guide how you live.

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[1] (Bultmann, The History of the Synoptic Tradition, 1921, 1931, 1958), 93, where he suggests that the interrogative form is more original, since it better matches the argumentative character of the mashal.

[2] (Bultmann, The History of the Synoptic Tradition, 1921, 1931, 1958), 99, 169, although he thinks it unlikely it referred to religious leaders.

[3] (Bultmann, The History of the Synoptic Tradition, 1921, 1931, 1958), 150, where he considers this as referring to the person of Jesus.

[4] (Bultmann, The History of the Synoptic Tradition, 1921, 1931, 1958), 104, 169.

[5] (Bultmann, The History of the Synoptic Tradition, 1921, 1931, 1958), 83, an unattached saying

[6] (Bultmann, The History of the Synoptic Tradition, 1921, 1931, 1958), 74, where the interrogative form in Matt 7:16b is more original than the saying in Luke, which was an unattached saying.

[7] (Bultmann, The History of the Synoptic Tradition, 1921, 1931, 1958), 84, an originally unattached saying.

[8] Inspired by Soren Kierkegaard Works of Love, Chapter 1.

[9] (Jeremias, New Testament Theology: The Proclamation of Jesus, 1971), 163.

[10] (Bultmann, The History of the Synoptic Tradition, 1921, 1931, 1958), 116-7, where he considers the version here more original than in Matt 7:21.

[11] (Bultmann, The History of the Synoptic Tradition, 1921, 1931, 1958), 151.

[12] (Hahn, 1969), 91. 

[13] (Jeremias, New Testament Theology: The Proclamation of Jesus, 1971), 254.

[14] (Jeremias, The Parables of Jesus, 1972), 194.