Luke 6 is the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, traditionally attributed to Luke the Evangelist, a companion of Paul the Apostle on his missionary journeys. Jesus' teaching about the Sabbath enrages the religious authorities and deepens their conflict. The selection of twelve apostles is recounted and this is followed by the "Sermon on the Plain", where key aspects of Jesus' teaching are presented.
Text
The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 49 verses.
Textual witnesses
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: Papyrus 4 (AD 150-175; extant verses: 1-16) Papyrus 75 (175-225) Codex Vaticanus (325-350) Codex Sinaiticus (330-360) Codex Bezae (~400) Codex Washingtonianus (~400) Codex Alexandrinus (400-440) Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (~450)
The Sabbath conflict (6:1-11) Luke relates two events which relate to Jesus' actions on the Sabbath and the differences between his teaching and that of the Pharisees regarding the significance of the sabbath day. These events lead to a widening conflict between Jesus and the religious authorities.
Lord of the Sabbath
This story is told in the synoptic gospels (, , ). Jesus' disciples are accused of breaking the Law () by the Jewish authorities who see them pluck wheat, rub it and eat it during the Sabbath. Jesus invites his audience to recall the actions of David and his men who when hungry received the showbread (). Jesus indicates that he - the Son of Man - is the Lord of the Sabbath. Mark's text on the purpose of the Sabbath, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath, is not repeated in Luke.
Luke places the event at a specific date: (en sabbatō deuteroprōtō), translated in the King James Version as "on the second Sabbath after the first". This phrase is not found elsewhere in the Gospel, and it is omitted in some ancient manuscripts, the New International Version and some other modern versions. Evangelical writer Jeremy Myers suggests this could have been the day of Shavuot (Festival of Weeks), which would give the action of Jesus an added significance. Only the priests were allowed to collect wheat and process it on the Sabbath to bake the showbread (which they could eat). Jesus extends this privilege to his disciples: in essence, in his teaching, priesthood is open to all. This action represents a radical departure from traditional ways and structures, and undermines the special status of the priests.
Insertion after verse 4
The Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis manuscript contains an additional verse which the Jerusalem Bible calls "interesting, but probably spurious": When on the same day he saw a man doing work on the sabbath, he said to him: "Man! If you know what you are doing, you are blessed! But if you do not know it, you are accursed and a transgressor of the law." The reference to knowledge suggests this verse might reflect gnostic influence.
The healing on the Sabbath
The story is told in the synoptic gospels (, , ). In a synagogue, Jesus calls forward a man with a withered hand on a Sabbath. The synagogue was possibly the one in Capernaum, but many commentators argue that "it is impossible to say where the synagogue was to which [the] Pharisees belonged". Healing him by the verbal command: "Stretch forth thy hand", Jesus challenges the priestly authorities. They do not argue with him directly, but are "filled with anger" (verse 11 in the New Life Version, NLV). On the Sabbath they begin to plot against Jesus, ignoring his question: "I will ask you one thing. Does the Law say to do good on the Day of Rest or to do bad? To save life or to kill?" (NLV).
The choosing of the twelve apostles (6:12-16)
After retreating in prayer on a mountain, Jesus chooses twelve apostles, according to Luke ():Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.Jesus' habit of spending time in prayer is mentioned several times in Luke: 3:21, 5:15, here, 9:18, 9:29, and 22:41. The commissioning of the Twelve is also recounted in and .
The Sermon on the Plain (6:17-49)