The Living Bible (321 page)

Luke
6

One Sabbath as Jesus and his disciples were walking through some grainfields, they were breaking off the heads of wheat, rubbing off the husks in their hands and eating the grains.

    
²
 But some Pharisees said, “That’s illegal! Your disciples are harvesting grain, and it’s against the Jewish law to work on the Sabbath.”

    
³
 Jesus replied,
“Don’t you read the Scriptures? Haven’t you ever read what King David did when he and his men were hungry?
⁴
 
He went into the Temple and took the shewbread, the special bread that was placed before the Lord, and ate it—illegal as this was—and shared it with others.”
⁵
 And Jesus added,
“I am
*
master even of the Sabbath.”

    
⁶
 On another Sabbath he was in the synagogue teaching, and a man was present whose right hand was deformed.
⁷
 The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees watched closely to see whether he would heal the man that day, since it was the Sabbath. For they were eager to find some charge to bring against him.

    
⁸
 How well he knew their thoughts! But he said to the man with the deformed hand,
“Come and stand here where everyone can see.”
So he did.

    
⁹
 Then Jesus said to the Pharisees and teachers of the Law,
“I have a question for you. Is it right to do good on the Sabbath day, or to do harm? To save life, or to destroy it?”

    
¹⁰
 He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man,
“Reach out your hand.”
And as he did, it became completely normal again.
¹¹
 At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to plot his murder.

    
¹²
 One day soon afterwards he went out into the mountains to pray, and prayed all night.
¹³
 At daybreak he called together his followers and chose twelve of them to be the inner circle of his disciples. (They were appointed as his “apostles,” or “missionaries.”)
^14-16
 Here are their names: Simon (he also called him Peter), Andrew (Simon’s brother), James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James (the son of Alphaeus), Simon (a member of the Zealots, a subversive political party), Judas (son of James), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).

    
^17-18
 When they came down the slopes of the mountain, they stood with Jesus on a large, level area, surrounded by many of his followers who, in turn, were surrounded by the crowds. For people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon had come to hear him or to be healed. And he cast out many demons.
¹⁹
 Everyone was trying to touch him, for when they did, healing power went out from him and they were cured.

    
²⁰
 Then he turned to his disciples and said,
“What happiness there is for you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours!
²¹
 
What happiness there is for you who are now hungry, for you are going to be satisfied! What happiness there is for you who weep, for the time will come when you shall laugh with joy!
²²
 
What happiness it is when others hate you and exclude you and insult you and smear your name because you are mine!
*
²³
 
When that happens, rejoice! Yes, leap for joy! For you will have a great reward awaiting you in heaven. And you will be in good company—the ancient prophets were treated that way too!

    
²⁴
 
“But, oh, the sorrows that await the rich. For they have their only happiness down here.
²⁵
 
They are fat and prosperous now, but a time of awful hunger is before them. Their careless laughter now means sorrow then.
²⁶
 
And what sadness is ahead for those praised by the crowds—for
false
prophets have
always
been praised.

    
²⁷
 
“Listen, all of you. Love your
enemies.
Do
good
to those who
hate
you.
²⁸
 
Pray for the happiness of those who
curse
you; implore God’s blessing on those who
hurt
you.

    
²⁹
 
“If someone slaps you on one cheek, let him slap the other too! If someone demands your coat, give him your shirt besides.
³⁰
 
Give what you have to anyone who asks you for it; and when things are taken away from you, don’t worry about getting them back.
³¹
 
Treat others as you want them to treat you.

    
³²
 
“Do you think you deserve credit for merely loving those who love you? Even the godless do that!
³³
 
And if you do good only to those who do you good—is that so wonderful? Even sinners do that much!
³⁴
 
And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, what good is that? Even the most wicked will lend to their own kind for full return!

    
³⁵
 
“Love your
enemies!
Do good to
them!
Lend to
them!
And don’t be concerned about the fact that they won’t repay. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as sons of God: for he is kind to the
unthankful
and to those who are
very wicked.

    
³⁶
 
“Try to show as much compassion as your Father does.

    
³⁷
 
“Never criticize or condemn—or it will all come back on you. Go easy on others; then they will do the same for you.
*
³⁸
 
For if you give, you will get! Your gift will return to you in full and overflowing measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use to give—large or small—will be used to measure what is given back to you.”

    
³⁹
 Here are some of the story-illustrations Jesus used in his sermons:
“What good is it for one blind man to lead another? He will fall into a ditch and pull the other down with him.
⁴⁰
 
How can a student know more than his teacher? But if he works hard, he may learn as much.

    
⁴¹
 
“And why quibble about the speck in someone else’s eye—his little fault
*
—when a board is in your own?
⁴²
 
How can you think of saying to him, ‘Brother, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the board in yours? Hypocrite! First get rid of the board, and then perhaps you can see well enough to deal with his speck!

    
⁴³
 
“A tree from good stock doesn’t produce scrub fruit nor do trees from poor stock produce choice fruit.
⁴⁴
 
A tree is identified by the kind of fruit it produces. Figs never grow on thorns, or grapes on bramble bushes.
⁴⁵
 
A good man produces good deeds from a good heart. And an evil man produces evil deeds from his hidden wickedness. Whatever is in the heart overflows into speech.

    
⁴⁶
 
“So why do you call me ‘Lord’ when you won’t obey me?
^47-48
 
But all those who come and listen and obey me are like a man who builds a house on a strong foundation laid upon the underlying rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against the house, it stands firm, for it is strongly built.

    
⁴⁹
 
“But those who listen and don’t obey are like a man who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it crumbles into a heap of ruins.”

Luke
7

When Jesus had finished his sermon he went back into the city of Capernaum.

    
²
 Just at that time the highly prized slave of a Roman
*
army captain was sick and near death.
³
 When the captain heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave.
⁴
 So they began pleading earnestly with Jesus to come with them and help the man. They told him what a wonderful person the captain was.

    
“If anyone deserves your help, it is he,” they said,
⁵
 “for he loves the Jews and even paid personally to build us a synagogue!”

    
^6-8
 Jesus went with them; but just before arriving at the house, the captain sent some friends to say, “Sir, don’t inconvenience yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of any such honor or even to come and meet you. Just speak a word from where you are, and my servant boy will be healed! I know, because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my men. I only need to say ‘Go!’ and they go; or ‘Come!’ and they come; and to my slave, ‘Do this or that,’ and he does it. So just say, ‘Be healed!’ and my servant will be well again!”

    
⁹
 Jesus was amazed. Turning to the crowd he said,
“Never among all the Jews in Israel have I met a man with faith like this.”

    
¹⁰
 And when the captain’s friends returned to his house, they found the slave completely healed.

    
¹¹
 Not long afterwards Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, with the usual great crowd at his heels.
¹²
 A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The boy who had died was the only son of his widowed mother, and many mourners from the village were with her.

    
¹³
 When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with sympathy.
“Don’t cry!”
he said.
¹⁴
 Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped.
“Laddie,”
he said,
“come back to life again.”

    
¹⁵
 Then the boy sat up and began to talk to those around him! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.

    
¹⁶
 A great fear swept the crowd, and they exclaimed with praises to God, “A mighty prophet has risen among us,” and, “We have seen the hand of God at work today.”

    
¹⁷
 The report of what he did that day raced from end to end of Judea and even out across the borders.

    
¹⁸
 The disciples of John the Baptist soon heard of all that Jesus was doing. When they told John about it,
¹⁹
 he sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask him, “Are you really the Messiah?
*
Or shall we keep on looking for him?”

    
^20-22
 The two disciples found Jesus while he was curing many sick people of their various diseases—healing the lame and the blind and casting out evil spirits. When they asked him John’s question, this was his reply:
“Go back to John and tell him all you have seen and heard here today: how those who were blind can see. The lame are walking without a limp. The lepers are completely healed. The deaf can hear again. The dead come back to life. And the poor are hearing the Good News.
²³
 
And tell him, ‘Blessed is the one who does not lose his faith in me.’”
*

    
²⁴
 After they left, Jesus talked to the crowd about John.
“Who is this man you went out into the Judean wilderness to see?”
he asked.
“Did you find him weak as grass, moved by every breath of wind?
²⁵
 
Did you find him dressed in expensive clothes? No! Men who live in luxury are found in palaces, not out in the wilderness.
²⁶
 
But did you find a prophet? Yes! And more than a prophet.
²⁷
 
He is the one to whom the Scriptures refer when they say, ‘Look! I am sending my messenger ahead of you, to prepare the way before you.’
²⁸
 
In all humanity there is no one greater than John. And yet the least citizen of the Kingdom of God is greater than he.”

    
²⁹
 And all who heard John preach—even the most wicked of them
*
—agreed that God’s requirements were right, and they were baptized by him.
³⁰
 All, that is, except the Pharisees and teachers of Moses’ law. They rejected God’s plan for them and refused John’s baptism.

    
³¹
 
“What can I say about such men?”
Jesus asked.
“With what shall I compare them?
³²
 
They are like a group of children who complain to their friends, ‘You don’t like it if we play “wedding” and you don’t like it if we play “funeral”!’
*
³³
 
For John the Baptist used to go without food and never took a drop of liquor all his life, and you said, ‘He must be crazy!’
*
³⁴
 
But I eat my food and drink my wine, and you say, ‘What a glutton Jesus is! And he drinks! And has the lowest sort of friends!’
*
³⁵
 
But I am sure you can always justify your inconsistencies.”
*

    
³⁶
 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to come to his home for lunch and Jesus accepted the invitation. As they sat down to eat,
³⁷
 a woman of the streets—a prostitute—heard he was there and brought an exquisite flask filled with expensive perfume.
³⁸
 Going in, she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping, with her tears falling down upon his feet; and she wiped them off with her hair and kissed them and poured the perfume on them.

    
³⁹
 When Jesus’ host, a Pharisee, saw what was happening and who the woman was, he said to himself, “This proves that Jesus is no prophet, for if God had really sent him, he would know what kind of woman this one is!”

    
⁴⁰
 Then Jesus spoke up and answered his thoughts.
“Simon,”
he said to the Pharisee,
“I have something to say to you.”

    
“All right, Teacher,” Simon replied, “go ahead.”

    
⁴¹
 Then Jesus told him this story:
“A man loaned money to two people—$5,000 to one and $500 to the other.
⁴²
 
But neither of them could pay him back, so he kindly forgave them both, letting them keep the money! Which do you suppose loved him most after that?”

    
⁴³
 “I suppose the one who had owed him the most,” Simon answered.

    
“Correct,”
Jesus agreed.

    
⁴⁴
 Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon,
“Look! See this woman kneeling here! When I entered your home, you didn’t bother to offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
⁴⁵
 
You refused me the customary kiss of greeting, but she has kissed my feet again and again from the time I first came in.
⁴⁶
 
You neglected the usual courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has covered my feet with rare perfume.
⁴⁷
 
Therefore her sins—and they are many—are forgiven, for she loved me much; but one who is forgiven little, shows little love.”

    
⁴⁸
 And he said to her,
“Your sins are forgiven.”

    
⁴⁹
 Then the men at the table said to themselves, “Who does this man think he is, going around forgiving sins?”

    
⁵⁰
 And Jesus said to the woman,
“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”