6:1 Jesus and the disciples had been working hard and learning so much. As they traveled, the disciples began to pluck and eat some of the grain they passed through.
6:2 The Pharisees, obsessed with rules rather than common sense, reprimanded the disciples for eating on a day which was set aside for God.
6:3-5 Jesus reminds them of scripture in which David and those who were with him were allowed to eat because of their hard work done in God's name. Be able to discern rules made by men and guidelines given by God. Of course a person can eat whenever they are hungry! God's day is everyday. Everyday we devote our time to focusing on His word. The disciples were focused, they were actively learning and therefore were doubly welcome to eat.
These verses refer to 1 Samuel 21.
6:6-7 These verses (previous and following) truly teach us to pay attention to common sense in our lives. The Pharisees wait and watch for Jesus to make a mistake and break one of their rules. Jesus is not under their command. Jesus continues to teach and heal regardless of their random, senseless rules.
6:8 Jesus knew their thoughts -- God sent Jesus on a mission and He properly equip Him with the wisdom He would need to complete it. Jesus' perception is a lesson for us as much as the messages He actually spoke: observe and analyze your surroundings so that you're always informed and prepared. Jesus plans to heal this man with the withered hand and also to teach a lesson.
6:9 Jesus questions their common sense: of course the answer is that in any opportunity we are able, we should do the right thing: helping, supporting, loving,... regardless of a rule. It's always an appropriate time to do and be good.
6:10 Jesus heals the man, solidifying the point that senseless rules should never hold us back from doing the right thing.
6:11 The Pharisees are not looking for truth or logic, they only want to protect their control over the city and Jesus' teachings were challenging their authority. There are plenty of people who are like this today in our world -- people who protect their own agendas, oppressing people only to retain their power and wealth.
6:12 Truly beautiful. Jesus allocates time to speaking with God... even an entire night. We derive our strength and our wisdom from God. His compassion motivates us and propels us through life. Discussions with God are filled with empathy as He pours courage and understanding into our souls. It's a complex world, we need a resting place and our perfect God contemplates every issue with us and becomes our rest and our wisdom.
Jesus accomplished so much despite having such a worldwide, difficult task. He communicated with God in order to do it properly, effectively and fully. Jesus is going to be the Teacher of the world, the creator of teachers to come... He pulls the lost out of the muck and gives them purpose and love -- to do this, He works directly with God.
6:13-16 Jesus chooses His disciples. These men will continue after Jesus' crucifixion to become teachers of the world, spread out to reach so many more: Peter, Andrew, John, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, Simon and Judas and Judas Iscariot.
Jesus accomplished so much despite having such a worldwide, difficult task. He communicated with God in order to do it properly, effectively and fully. Jesus is going to be the Teacher of the world, the creator of teachers to come... He pulls the lost out of the muck and gives them purpose and love -- to do this, He works directly with God.
6:13-16 Jesus chooses His disciples. These men will continue after Jesus' crucifixion to become teachers of the world, spread out to reach so many more: Peter, Andrew, John, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, Simon and Judas and Judas Iscariot.
6:17 The disciples accompany Jesus as He teaches multitudes of people. Their rich lessons are in the experience of being with Jesus, watching Him and listening to the teachings He shared with all people.
6:18 Jesus heals all ailments. No matter what you're facing, God has dealt with it before in caring for others Ecclesiastes 1:9-10. God has power over everything and when you develop your relationship with Him, He gives that power to you -- the ability to overcome all things, mental or physical.
(Side note: The Book of Ecclesiastes is a resplendent book of healing and guidance. Perfect for the weary or disheartened).
6:19 Everyone wanted to touch Him, to be a part of Him... the amazing news is, we are all a part of Him if we chose to be. God will put His hand into our lives the instant we ask Him to with all of our hearts, Jeremiah 29:13.
The next few verses are instructive of the compassion we should develop within ourselves and also are informative of the type of love God gives and protects.
6:20 Blessed are those who lack but are kind... blessed are those who give all that they have, all of their energy and compassion to others for this is the way of the kingdom of God.
6:21 Blessed are those who are hungry now, hungry for God's truth, for He will fill your hunger with abundance. When you desire it, God will fuel you with knowledge and love.
6:22 Blessed are those who remain kind and strong despite being unfairly treated and excluded. Blessed are those who are unfairly labeled and hated for their faith. Blessed are you who is a pillar in support of God's house... He hears you, He is with you.
6:23 Rejoice... your work is important. Rejoice, many prophets before you have devoted their lives to defending equality and truth and it's a blessed mission. You are seen, you are heard, you are acknowledged and loved by God. You join a valiant army.
Appreciate yourself for your courage in the defense of others' safety and just treatment -- it's a magnificent purpose to have.
6:24 Woe to the people who place value in wealth and defend and protect their wealth before (or instead of) defending and protecting others. A greedy person rejects the principles God has created and therefore their only life is this life (which is often lived unhappily by the greedy -- their acquirement never reaches a point of satisfaction or contentment). Fulfillment is created by kindness.
6:25 Woe to the people who are filled with the ways of the world: competition, lust, greed, wealth, selfishness. Woe to them because theirs is an empty, superficial life.
6:26 Woe to the people who are praised and celebrated for living hypocritical lives. Woe to the people who receive fame and wealth from living selfish lives. Be able so discern a true, honest person from a hypocrite who is revered by others without having done anything beneficial in their lives.
6:25 Woe to the people who are filled with the ways of the world: competition, lust, greed, wealth, selfishness. Woe to them because theirs is an empty, superficial life.
6:26 Woe to the people who are praised and celebrated for living hypocritical lives. Woe to the people who receive fame and wealth from living selfish lives. Be able so discern a true, honest person from a hypocrite who is revered by others without having done anything beneficial in their lives.
The following verses seek to teach you this message: While you should never let any person use or abuse your kindness, you should give your attention and compassion to all people who need and deserve it. In your interactions with people: always be fair and generous. If someone rejects you or uses you, shake the dust off your feet and move on -- Matthew 10:14, Luke 9:5, Mark 6:11.
6:27 Never reduce yourself to the standards of cruel people. As Jesus did, interact with all people fairly. Have love in your heart at all times, it gives you life, hope and optimism.
6:28 The best gift and worst thing you can do for your enemy is to bless them and pray for them. For an evil person to one day realize their actions and feel sorrow and shame for them, is the heaviest burden they will ever carry and at the same time, the forgiveness they receive for working to be a different person will transform the world -- it will create a light where there once was darkness -- Matthew 5:46-47.
6:29 As many times as someone sincerely needs your support, offer it to them. Humans are fallible, oh are they fallible! We make a lot of mistakes and sometimes we don't learn from them the first... or second time. Use your perception to decide when a person is truly trying to be better and help them if you are able. Our ultimate focus should be on inspiring light in the world.
6:30 If people are in need, do not haunt or hunt them for repayment. Do not make someone work or earn something you could give them freely. If they deserve it and need it, give it to them as selflessly as God gives to you.
6:31 This verse truly simplifies any challenge you will ever face: Do to others what you would want to be done to yourself. God wants us to be as fair with our fellow humans as we are with ourselves.
6:32 There is so much sense in this verse, I love it: what more are we doing if we are only kind when it's easy? What more are we doing if we are only giving when it does not effect us?
6:33 Even evil people are nice to their friends -- they aren't kind to anyone outside of their circle. We do not want to be like that! We want to be kind and fair to all people.
6:34 When you give something, your love... your time... your energy... do not require repayment for it. Give freely and fairly. Do not give in order to receive something for yourself... that is not an act of kindness, it is an act of selfishness.
6:35 Exude love. Exude kindness without discrimination. Let it, humility, be your trademark... your compassion should be visible to all. God loves all of His children, when they make mistakes He works with them to fix them and learn from them (if they are trying!). God wants us to learn from His example, He loves all of us even though we fall short (sometimes frequently!).
6:36 Be merciful. You were created by a merciful entity, it's in your soul's genetic makeup. Let compassion illuminate your eyes.
6:37 It is sometimes easy to look with disfavor at something, someone or some idea that is unfamiliar to us because we do not understand it. Remember that each person experiences their own unique experience on Earth and that we cannot possibly understand the reasons behind their actions -- but God understands and He asks us not to judge each other. Life is complex, sometimes difficult, and we are surrounded by competing ideas and nations... we are fallible and sometimes easily influenced (by things we shouldn't be!) We are vulnerable beings and so we should be merciful with each other. Our circumstances shape who we are and sometimes it's a little bit out of our control... in order to gain control, we need people around us who support us and teach us with their compassionate actions.
God is going to deal fairly with you. How you have treated others explains to him how you feel you, all people, should be treated. He listens.
6:38 How you measure others is how God will measure you. Take into account the challenges people face (both the ones you can see and the ones you cannot). Give people room for error, they deserve it... just as you deserve room to make mistakes.
6:39 Humanity will make no accomplishments if they are not working together and focused with purpose. Chaos ensues when nobody thinks or works to be productive and inclusive. We rise out of our difficulties together when we work together... likewise we circle in an endless cycle of frustration when we are unfair, unkind and unproductive in interacting with each other.
Work to build bridges between cultures: languages, ideas, customs, traditions! We are all Humanity -- working hard to define our world and survive it. We share a core purpose and there's beauty in learning from the diversity of others. What a fully informed knowledge we would have if we all shared our experiences without judgement or fear.
6:40 Be willing to learn. Be willing to accept yourself as a student of life, a student of nature, humanity of God. A wise person reaches the level of his teacher... but someone who never listens never rises in wisdom.
God is going to deal fairly with you. How you have treated others explains to him how you feel you, all people, should be treated. He listens.
6:38 How you measure others is how God will measure you. Take into account the challenges people face (both the ones you can see and the ones you cannot). Give people room for error, they deserve it... just as you deserve room to make mistakes.
6:39 Humanity will make no accomplishments if they are not working together and focused with purpose. Chaos ensues when nobody thinks or works to be productive and inclusive. We rise out of our difficulties together when we work together... likewise we circle in an endless cycle of frustration when we are unfair, unkind and unproductive in interacting with each other.
Work to build bridges between cultures: languages, ideas, customs, traditions! We are all Humanity -- working hard to define our world and survive it. We share a core purpose and there's beauty in learning from the diversity of others. What a fully informed knowledge we would have if we all shared our experiences without judgement or fear.
6:40 Be willing to learn. Be willing to accept yourself as a student of life, a student of nature, humanity of God. A wise person reaches the level of his teacher... but someone who never listens never rises in wisdom.
6:41 No human is without flaw and therefore it is hypocritical to focus or judge someone on their flaw. We each have shortcomings -- just because ours are different does not mean one is better or worse than the other. Be kind with people... work to understand them.
6:42 Never think that you are better than anyone else. Each human is equal in their fallibility -- we must work together to overcome our errors.
6:43 We return to our tree metaphor: each human as a tree and kindness produces good fruit and meanness produces bad fruit. Our fruits feed the world and so we want to produce fruit that promotes people's health.
6:44 God knows you by what you produce. Your actions are the definition of your soul. Do not be harmful to others. God knows you cannot get good, sweet fruit from a prickly person. Neither can you get bad fruit from a compassionate person -- they feed you well by dealing with you fairly.
6:45 Our actions reveal the character of our hearts -- and God is paying attention.
6:46 Even today there are people who attend church regularly, teach church regularly, speak of God regularly... but do not follow the guidelines given by Him. They are hypocrites. You can sometimes fool an unobservant person but you cannot fool God -- He knows who you really are regardless of what you "say" you do. You can show up to church everyday but if your heart is not kind, it does not matter or count. Likewise, a person who has never set a foot inside of a church can be the most devout, faithful person you ever meet. Your heart reveals who you are. Beware of hypocrites... God looks at us and loves us all equally... no one is above another (regardless of their position in a church!).
6:47 Jesus describes the people who listen to God, absorb His guidance and love, and then actively lives a life devoted to Him:
6:48 These people (from the verse above) are rock solid in foundation! God makes them so strong. This story about the house is a metaphor for a person: No challenge or adversary can shake them or destroy them.
6:49 People who reject God's qualities are constantly vulnerable to trouble... they are never content. They are always burning with discontent, anger, frustration... they are not spiritually strong and therefore become victims to the ways of the world.
6:47 Jesus describes the people who listen to God, absorb His guidance and love, and then actively lives a life devoted to Him:
6:48 These people (from the verse above) are rock solid in foundation! God makes them so strong. This story about the house is a metaphor for a person: No challenge or adversary can shake them or destroy them.
6:49 People who reject God's qualities are constantly vulnerable to trouble... they are never content. They are always burning with discontent, anger, frustration... they are not spiritually strong and therefore become victims to the ways of the world.
