Luke 6:27-36
6:27 a love your enemies! People were commonly taught in the ancient world to love their family and friends and hate their enemies. Jesus announced a radical new ethic of loving even one’s enemies and overcoming evil through self-sacrificial love for others, not through violence and hatred (cp. Rom 12:14-21 b).6:30 c when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back: Jesus’ point is that the cycle of hatred and violence that characterizes human nature can only be broken by responding with good, not evil (Rom 12:17 d). We win the world through self-sacrificial love. Jesus was not promoting injustice, as though believers should let criminals take advantage of the weak. God established governments to punish evildoers (Rom 13:1-5 e).
6:31 f Do to others as you would like them to do to you: While the Golden Rule appears in some form in various religious and philosophical traditions, only in Jesus’ teaching is love for all people, including enemies, the fundamental ethic that governs all behavior.
Summary for Luke 6:34-36: 6:34-36 g The law of Moses prohibited charging interest on loans to other Israelites in order to prevent exploitation of the poor (Exod 22:25 h; Lev 25:35-37 i; Deut 23:20 j). Jesus further instructed his followers to lend ... without expecting to be repaid. By doing good even to those who do evil, we act as children of the Most High and imitate our Father in heaven, who is kind to all people (cp. Rom 5:8 k).
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