Luke 6:30

Give to every one that asketh thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

Luke 6:27-31 have some of the most difficult teaching ever presented by the Son of God; and it is doubtful that any person has ever been fully confident of living up to the standards here exalted by the holy Saviour. Most of the religious commentators who have addressed themselves to an analysis of this passage have consciously aimed at softening their impact. Lamar wrote: "The precept is not thus absolute. Paul protested against the smiting of his mouth contrary to the law (Acts 23:3)."[26] On "Give to every man" John Wesley made it "Give to every man `what thou canst spare!'" and in the same verse, "And of him that taketh away thy goods, `by borrowing, if he be insolvent,' ask them not again."[27] Tinsley pointed out that Jesus had in view acts of physical violence and robbery; but that "these are not to be taken literally."[28] Bickersteth commented that "No reasonable, thoughtful man would feel himself bound to the letter of these commandments."[29] The tenor of these comments appears almost universally. Boles wrote that "This set forth a principle, and is not to be taken too literally."[30] The viewpoint of this writer is also to the effect that these admonitions are hyperbolic for the purpose of emphasis, the meaning being that the principles of non-resistance to evil, submission to wrongs, and refraining from retaliation should be honored by Christians in whatever situation it is possible to do so. Perhaps Christ intended by such injunctions as these to show how far above the abilities of men to fulfill them are the divine laws of the kingdom of God.

The Golden Rule (Luke 6:31), as stated by Luke, is "As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." Negative statements of this principle were known before Christ came; but our Lord was the first to state the ethic affirmatively, thus making the doing of positive good to be the ideal, rather than merely refraining from evil.

[26] J. S. Lamar, op. cit., p. 112.

[27] John Wesley, One Volume Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1972), en loco.

[28] E. J. Tinsley, The Gospel according to Luke (Cambridge: The Cambridge University Press, 1969), p. 70.

[29] E. Bickersteth, op. cit., p. 147.

[30] H. Leo Boles, op. cit., p. 138.