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. – Luke 6:38 (NET)
This is a passage that we both love and hate. We love it because it is always presented in the context of us giving our time, talent, and our treasure. We love it, because when this verse is quoted, we are told that if we will freely give in these areas, then God will pour out tremendous blessings upon us. In all honesty, who among us would not want that. We also hate it because most of us tend to be a bit selfish when it comes to our time, our talent, and our treasure (time, skills, money, and possessions), and secretly wish that we did not have to give of these things in order to receive those blessings. Unfortunately, one has to rip this passage right out of its context in order to make it apply to what we generally associate with giving. Beyond that, to make this passage apply to our giving not only lifts it from its context, but it makes it a free-floating aphorism, almost completely disconnected from what comes before it. This was not Jesus’ method.
His words applied to the situations in which the people found themselves. Though He spoke timeless truths, they are only timeless because they are grounded in historical reality. If Jesus walked around simply offering high-minded principles that offered His people nothing useful for dealing with their present, historical, every-day concerns, rather than words that were specifically associated with the expectation that God had obligated Himself to act within history on behalf of His people, then He would have been completely dismissed as just one more wandering preacher. However, because Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God that was the hope and expectation of God’s people---which provided the context for everything He said and did---as He spoke with authority and confirmed His speaking with signs and wonders, the people listened and followed and even tried to make Him king.
So in this passage from which our text comes, of course, Jesus is speaking. He has been speaking at length. To whom was Jesus speaking? He was speaking to “a large number of His disciples” that “had gathered along with a vast multitude from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon” (6:17b). Though Luke here is recording one particular instance, we have to keep in mind that it is quite likely that Jesus would have spoken the words recorded here in the sixth chapter of Luke on more than one occasion (the “Blessed are’s” of this chapter are spoken in a different setting in the fifth chapter of Matthew). Here, Luke reports that Jesus’ hearers consist of people from Judea, Jerusalem, Tyre and Sidon. This indicates that it is a mixed group, being comprised of both Jews and Gentiles, as Tyre and Sidon were cities that were predominantly populated by Gentiles.
The fact that there are both Jews and Gentiles in His audience is an important point and must be taken into consideration as we examine His words. Not only are there Gentiles present, but we must never lose sight of the fact that they are in Roman-controlled territory. It is Rome that is in power here. For quite some time, and up to that day, there was a strong under-current of revolutionary fervor against the Roman oppressors. God’s people (Israel/Judah) wanted to escape from Rome’s oppression, and Rome was their enemy. While holding that fact in our minds as we embark upon an examination of the text, we can continue adding more and more realism to the situation, by being aware of the fact that there are most likely Roman soldiers present and within ear-shot of Jesus.
Why would that be the case? Well, to this point Jesus has invoked near-riots in Nazareth, He has attracted crowds in Capernaum, He has begun calling together a close-knit and hand-picked group of chosen followers, He has managed to convince a tax collector to leave his work and follow Him, and He was regularly drawing attention from the religious leaders. All of these things, taken together, could very well be viewed by the Romans as the beginnings of yet another messianic/revolutionary movement that was designed to come against their rule by force of arms. It is quite reasonable to presume that the Roman authorities would have heard reports about this Jesus fellow, and would have their eye on Him at some level. By this time, the Romans have had plenty of experience in identifying and dealing with those that opposed them, especially in Palestine, and would be keeping a watchful eye on situations that might quickly escalate. Large gatherings of a diverse group of people around a charismatic and dynamic individual would be one of those situations. So as not to give Rome a reason to move against Him, we can imagine that Jesus takes all of this into consideration and is going to be measuring His words quite carefully.
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