Throughout His “sermon,” Jesus has been helping His hearers to actively call to mind the words of Moses from Deuteronomy concerning the blessing and the curse. At the same time, He wanted to turn their hearts towards those to whom they were supposed to be shining as God’s light. While they may have been naturally inclined, upon hearing about those that hate and persecute them, to think “Then the Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies, on those who hate and persecute you” (Deuteronomy 30:7), Jesus implored them to show love and kindness and favorable treatment.
Thinking back to Jesus’ words of “great reward,” we rightly inquire as to what that great reward for loving their enemies, doing good, and lending with no expectation of return would be. Jesus says, “you will be sons of the Most High” (Luke 6:35b). What does it mean to be a son of the Most High? It meant that they would be children of the kingdom of God. This ran counter to the then current mindset, because it was generally believed that the kingdom of God would be established in their land and on their behalf, thereby making them sons of the Most High, by God’s messiah gaining victory over the enemies of God’s covenant people, in the manner of King David. Jesus sets this aside, indicating that the kingdom of God is going to be established through the demonstration of grace, love and compassion. God’s people were not to take up arms to somehow aid God in His work or to force His hand. No, they were to love their enemies, and in so doing, receive the long-looked-to reward of God entering into history on behalf of His people.
Why is it that doing all of these things for their enemies will make them sons of the Most High? It is “because He is kind to ungrateful and evil people” (6:35c). This, of course, could be construed as a direct statement against God’s people. They would have known very well, that throughout their history, their God had been quite kind to them, when it was undeserved. Throughout all of their ingratitude, and throughout all of their turning to idolatry and actions against the covenant that made them be the opposite of the light to the nations and His instrument for dealing with evil in the world that God had intended them to be, God was very kind. Jesus adds, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (6:36). God had chosen Israel for Himself, from all nations, and been merciful towards them in all His dealing, in spite of the evil which had been wrought by their hands. If God could be merciful to those that should rightly have been looked upon as His enemies, then why could His people not be merciful when dealing with those that did not have the advantages of being God’s chosen people and having received His revelations of mercy?
Owing to God’s special revelation to them, and understanding that all of the other nations were at a significant disadvantage when compared to His own people, Jesus says, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged” (6:37a). Unfortunately, Israel continued to stand against and pass judgment against their enemies, rather than coming into union with God’s Messiah (Jesus the Christ) and following His example of love and compassion towards all peoples, Jew and Gentile, so there would come a time of great judgment when the Romans would wipe out Jerusalem and destroy the Temple. Jesus said, “do not condemn, and you will not be condemned” (6:37b). This too, was ignored, so in that day of final Roman domination, condemnation came. Jesus said, “Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (6:37c). Because they did not forgive---because they did not humble themselves, pray, and seek His face, God did not hear from heaven, He did not forgive their sin, and He did not heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14). The curse was not lifted, the exile was not ended, and they would not hear God say to them that He was going to “reverse your captivity and have pity on you” (Deuteronomy 30:3a).
It is then that Jesus says, “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” (6:38). So after this lengthy examination, can we agree that, in no way, does this statement have anything to do with giving as we generally think about it, or as we generally position this verse? What is it that God wanted to give His people? According to Deuteronomy, which would have been the framework for the way that the people understood their situation, God wanted to reverse the captivity and have pity on His people. Jesus was effectively saying, “Look! I have set before you today life and prosperity on the one hand, and death and disaster on the other” (Deuteronomy 30:15). Choosing the way of love and compassion, was choosing the way of life, rather than the way of death, which was judgment, condemnation, and lack of forgiveness. Choosing life, which would be made possible by their trusting in their God by trusting that Jesus was the Messiah, would have God saying, “you will live and become numerous and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you are about to possess” (30:16b). They would become true sons of the Most High.
Jesus expected the people of God---the people who claimed a loyal allegiance to the creative, providential, and covenant God---to give more than they could ever imagine. They were to give love where it may not have been deserved, for they had received love when it had not been deserved. They were to do good to those who hate them. They were to offer blessings to those who cursed them. They were to give compassion to those that struck them. They were to be willing to give up their possessions, even to an enemy. They were to give the withholding of judgment. They were to give the withholding of condemnation. They were to give forgiveness, for they had certainly experienced all of these things through the patience and promises of their God. In giving all of these things, they would come to realize how much they had already been given. Indeed, in that realization, a good measure would be effectively poured into their laps; and indeed, they would come to understand that loving their enemies stemmed from their love of God (as God loved them even though they had continually been His enemies). Finally, they would realize the measure of mercy they had already received, and in turn, realize that such was the measure that they should be willing to give.
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