(35) Love ye your enemies.--The tense of the Greek verb may be noted as implying a perpetual abiding rule of action.
Hoping for nothing again.--Better, in nothing losing hope. It is possible that the Greek verb may have the sense given in the text, but its uniform signification in the LXX. (as in Ecclesiasticus 22:21-24; Ecclesiasticus 27:21), which must be allowed great weight in interpreting a writer like St. Luke, is that of "giving up hope," despairing. And this gives, it is obvious, a meaning not less admirable than that of the received version, "Give and lend according to the law of Christ, and do not let the absence of immediate profit make you lose heart and hope." There is a "great reward." The last words at least remind us of the promise made to Abraham, and may be interpreted by it. God Himself is our "exceeding great reward" (Genesis 15:1). One or two MSS. give a masculine instead of a neuter pronoun after the verb, and in that case the verb must be taken as transitive. We have accordingly to choose between in nothing despairing, or driving no man to despair. On the whole, the former seems preferable. So taken, we may compare it with St. Paul's description of "charity" or "love," as "hoping all things" (1 Corinthians 13:7), and his counsel, "Be not weary in well doing" (Galatians 6:9).
The children of the Highest.--Better, for the sake of uniformity with the other passages where the word occurs, sons of the Most High. The passage is noticeable as the only instance in which our Lord Himself applies this name to the Father.
He is kind.--The generalised word takes the place of the more specific reference to the rain and sunshine as God's gifts to all, in Matthew 5:45. The word rendered "kind" is applied to God in the Greek version of Psalm 34:8, quoted in 1 Peter 2:3, and is there rendered "gracious."
Verse 35. - Andyour reward shall be great,and ye shall be the children of the Highest. It has been objected by the enemies of Christianity that, after all, Jesus offered his followers a reward by way of payment to them for their self-sacrificing lives on earth. What, however, is this reward? Is it not a share in that Divine and glorious life of God, who is all love; a hope of participation in that eternal work of his which will go from blessing to blessing, from glory to glory; a certain expectation of dying only to wake up in his likeness, satisfied? The Eternal had already made a similar promise to his faithful servant Abraham. when he bade him fear not, because here on earth God was his Shield, and after death would be his exceeding great Reward.
6:27-36 These are hard lessons to flesh and blood. But if we are thoroughly grounded in the faith of Christ's love, this will make his commands easy to us. Every one that comes to him for washing in his blood, and knows the greatness of the mercy and the love there is in him, can say, in truth and sincerity, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Let us then aim to be merciful, even according to the mercy of our heavenly Father to us.
But love ye your enemies,.... As before urged in Luke 6:27
and do good and lend; not to your friends only, but to your enemies;
hoping for nothing again; either principal or interest, despairing of seeing either; lending to such persons, from whom, in all appearance, it is never to be expected again. The Persic version renders it, "that ye may not cause any to despair": and the Syriac version, "that ye may not cut off", or "cause to cease the hope of men"; and the Arabic version, "that ye do not deceive the hope of any" that is, by sending such away, without lending to them, who come big with expectations of succeeding:
and your reward shall be great: God will bless you in your worldly substance here, and will not forget your beneficence hereafter:
and ye shall be the children of the Highest: that is of God; one of whose names is "the Most High"; Psalm 82:6 the meaning is, that such who from principles of grace, and with right views do such acts of kindness and beneficence to their fellow creatures and Christians, shall be, made manifest, and declared to be the children of God; since they will appear to be born of him, and made partakers of the divine nature, and bear a resemblance to him, by their imitating him:
for he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil; by causing his sun to rise, and his rain to fall on them, as on the righteous and the good; for as Jews (w) observe,
"there is no difference with him, whether on the right hand or the left; for he is gracious, and does good, even to the ungodly.''
And elsewhere they say (x), that
"he does good, and feeds the righteous and the ungodly.''
(w) R. Abraham ben Dior in Sepher Jetzira, p. 19. (x) Zohar in Exod. fol. 69. 2, 3.
Hoping for nothing again.--Better, in nothing losing hope. It is possible that the Greek verb may have the sense given in the text, but its uniform signification in the LXX. (as in Ecclesiasticus 22:21-24; Ecclesiasticus 27:21), which must be allowed great weight in interpreting a writer like St. Luke, is that of "giving up hope," despairing. And this gives, it is obvious, a meaning not less admirable than that of the received version, "Give and lend according to the law of Christ, and do not let the absence of immediate profit make you lose heart and hope." There is a "great reward." The last words at least remind us of the promise made to Abraham, and may be interpreted by it. God Himself is our "exceeding great reward" (Genesis 15:1). One or two MSS. give a masculine instead of a neuter pronoun after the verb, and in that case the verb must be taken as transitive. We have accordingly to choose between in nothing despairing, or driving no man to despair. On the whole, the former seems preferable. So taken, we may compare it with St. Paul's description of "charity" or "love," as "hoping all things" (1 Corinthians 13:7), and his counsel, "Be not weary in well doing" (Galatians 6:9).
The children of the Highest.--Better, for the sake of uniformity with the other passages where the word occurs, sons of the Most High. The passage is noticeable as the only instance in which our Lord Himself applies this name to the Father.
He is kind.--The generalised word takes the place of the more specific reference to the rain and sunshine as God's gifts to all, in Matthew 5:45. The word rendered "kind" is applied to God in the Greek version of Psalm 34:8, quoted in 1 Peter 2:3, and is there rendered "gracious."
and do good and lend; not to your friends only, but to your enemies;
hoping for nothing again; either principal or interest, despairing of seeing either; lending to such persons, from whom, in all appearance, it is never to be expected again. The Persic version renders it, "that ye may not cause any to despair": and the Syriac version, "that ye may not cut off", or "cause to cease the hope of men"; and the Arabic version, "that ye do not deceive the hope of any" that is, by sending such away, without lending to them, who come big with expectations of succeeding:
and your reward shall be great: God will bless you in your worldly substance here, and will not forget your beneficence hereafter:
and ye shall be the children of the Highest: that is of God; one of whose names is "the Most High"; Psalm 82:6 the meaning is, that such who from principles of grace, and with right views do such acts of kindness and beneficence to their fellow creatures and Christians, shall be, made manifest, and declared to be the children of God; since they will appear to be born of him, and made partakers of the divine nature, and bear a resemblance to him, by their imitating him:
for he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil; by causing his sun to rise, and his rain to fall on them, as on the righteous and the good; for as Jews (w) observe,
"there is no difference with him, whether on the right hand or the left; for he is gracious, and does good, even to the ungodly.''
And elsewhere they say (x), that
"he does good, and feeds the righteous and the ungodly.''
(w) R. Abraham ben Dior in Sepher Jetzira, p. 19. (x) Zohar in Exod. fol. 69. 2, 3.