The passage
      v39-40. A student can only understand their situation in the terms of their training. When fully trained they are not going to have more understanding than their teacher. If the teacher is blind then they too will be blind; both teacher and student will come to a disastrous end. This first parable, or more properly, applied proverb, identifies the general state of human ignorance such that all are lost in blind musings - like teacher, like student. We are all in a pit, along with our teachers.
      v41-42. Jesus takes a common illustration used by the rabbis to expose the judgmental spirit that is so evident in the human race. In principle it is true that, "reform must begin with one's own character, for only in a changed and reborn spirit, inspired by a love like God's, will true perception exist of the character of others", Manson. Yet here, Jesus' words do not have the purpose of moral reform to enable a proper assessment of the failings of others, but rather serve to expose our own condition of loss. Our belief that we can properly assess the failings of others, when we ourselves fall far short of God's demand for nonjudgmental compassion, evidences our need to hide our own dire state.
      v43-45. The "evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart." As a bad tree produces bad fruit, so a person's corrupted character influences their conduct; what they are is reflected in what they do. A failure to practice nonjudgmental compassion identifies a heart stored with evil. Such a person faces judgment, and we are all such people.
      v46-49. There is no use saying "Lord, Lord", for the one who hears the words of Jesus and does not do them inevitably faces destruction. It is often argued that the purpose of this parable is to push us toward radical discipleship, but it more likely serves to identify our condition of loss. We have all heard the words of Jesus and not done them and thus we are like the man who built his house without any foundations. Like that man, we face complete destruction; only the mercy of God can save us.

A good foundation
      I wonder whether, like me, you have at times confirmed your standing before God by condemning the unrighteousness of others? We call it "righteous indignation" and we are quick to point out that Jesus was himself indigent on a number of occasions. We can justify anything if we want to! Then there is Christian love. I wonder whether you have ever said to someone "I'm only saying this to you out of Christian love"? Oh dear, I have!
      Do we claim to keep the perfect law of love ourselves? Do we hear the words of Jesus and claim to do them - albeit imperfectly? Do we think God is pleased with our faithful service to Christ? Do we think we have laid down a good foundation?
      What if our state of loss was evident to us? What if we knew our house was built on poor foundations and faced complete destruction? What if we admitted that we do not, actually cannot "love our enemy"? Here lies the enigma; the "poor", those broken before God, those who admit their state of loss, can end up blessed. The obvious question is how, how is this possible?
      Jesus is the one person who has actually built his house on good foundations. He has done God's will and done it perfectly. He is the one righteous man who has heard the word of God and done it, and as a gift of his kindness he shares his righteousness with all those who ask him. Those who seek will find; those who knock, the door will be opened so that they may freely enter and find eternal security within Christ's house, a house built on firm foundations.
      In our passage for study we are reminded that the law, as the apostle put it, "was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith", Gal.3:24. The passage forces us to examine ourselves and recognize that we have fallen far short of the nonjudgmental compassion demanded of us by God, Lk.6:27-38. We are forced to recognize our sin and return again to the central truth of our Christian faith, namely, that our standing before, our being just-if-I'd never sinned, our being holy in his sight, now and forever, has nothing to do with our paltry struggle to love and everything to do with Christ's love. Only in Christ, by grace through faith, will I stand the bursting river in that shaking day. I do love the old chorus "build on the rock". Of course it's not quite on the mark, but it's close. I was taught that Christ was the rock, but the rock, or as Luke has it, the good foundation, is actually Christ's righteousness. Establishing our standing in the sight of God on the basis of Christ's righteousness is the only way to escape eternal "ruin". I guess we would call this contextualizing a Sunday School chorus to properly fit Biblical theology. Anyway, the point is simple enough, "none are righteous, no not one", but thankfully, in Christ and his righteousness the "poor" may possess "the kingdom of God", Lk.6:20.

Discussion
      Consider the chorus "Trust and obey for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey." Identify the theological flaw and discuss.

The covenantal form of the Great Sermon
      The Great Sermon is in the form of a covenantal agreement between God and his people. The gist of the Old Testament Covenant, read to the people of Israel by Moses, is found in the Ten Commandments. The Old Testament covenant, which is a forerunner of the covenant now declared by Jesus, contained the following elements:
        i] Preamble - "I am the Lord your God". God declares that he has taken this people to himself. He has entered into a relationship with them.
        ii] Historical prologue. God reminds them of what he has done. He has redeemed them from bondage. "Who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." He saved them.
        iii] Stipulations - The "Ten Words". These represent the response behavior of a faithful child of God.
        iv] Covenant ratification - Blessings and Cursings. Old Testament law is usually followed up with blessings and cursings - the consequence of faithfulness or unfaithfulness, Deut.27-28.
      In Luke 6:20-49 we have a New Testament covenantal statement. This time Jesus declares the agreement.

The function of Law in the Great Sermon
      Most commentators argue that the moral demands in the sermon serve as ethical requirements for discipleship. So for example, Leaney argues that the demands are tests of a disciple's true standing. They show us whether we are with the "blessed" crew, or the "cursed" crew, for how can we say "Lord, Lord", and not do what he tells us? Nolland sums up this position by describing the sermon as teaching "love of enemies and non judgmental generosity" directed to those who "profess discipleship, but settle for less". Jeremias regards the ethic of the sermon as an invitation to manifest our faith in cross-bearing discipleship empowered by the Holy Spirit.
      Yet, it is more than likely that the prime purpose of the ethical demands in this sermon serve to "fulfill/complete" the law in the sense of proclaiming it in all its purity. This perfect law then serves the purpose of exposing the human condition of loss (in that none can obey it) and thus driving us to God for mercy, inevitably finding that mercy in the shadow of the cross, in Christ's righteous life. Few theologians presently hold this position, but see Bill Dumbrell "The Logic of the Role of the Law in Matthew 5:1-20", published as a pamphlet, but also to be found in Novum Testamentum 23/1, 1981.
      This particular understanding of the function of the law, revealed by Christ in the Great Sermon, is taken up by Paul. As we know, Paul claims his gospel did not come to him via the other apostles, but rather directly from Christ. When it comes to the law, Paul makes the point that "the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith", Gal.3:24.
      So, Jesus is not into giving us a more demanding version of the law to obey so that our righteousness might exceed that of the Scribes and the Pharisees, but rather he is into exposing the true nature of God's perfect demands so that they might drive us to the foot of the cross where we will find a righteousness given as a gift of grace through faith. It is only "in Christ" that our righteousness will exceed that of the Scribes and the Pharisees and so enable us to "enter the kingdom of heaven."
      This is not to say that Jesus' teaching on nonjudgmental compassion does not serve a secondary ethical function; it does indeed push us toward the person we already are in Christ. At this point Jeremias is right when he says that the sermon is an invitation to manifest unconditional love and non judgmental acceptance in the power of the indwelling Spirit of Christ. The Great Sermon presents ideals that give direction to the renewing work of the Spirit within. Yet, this is only a secondary purpose; Jesus' prime purpose is to identify the true condition of humanity. We have all built a house doomed to destruction.
      We must admit that Jesus' teaching at this point seems rather lateral, if not perverse. Still, there is nothing unusual in Jesus being less than forthright. The kingdom parables are perfect examples of "riddle" style prophecy. Jesus teaches in mysteries to cloud the sight of those who claim to see, but at the same time open the way to those who want to see, Matt.13:10-17. The parable of the Good Samaritan is a perfect example of Jesus' use of the "riddle" in his teaching on the law. The point of the story is not to encourage us to be "good sams", but rather to show us that we aren't "good sams." The lawyer wanted to get to heaven and thought the law was the way. If he was truly seeking, rather than just testing, then the parable would have clearly shown him where he stood. Who can be neighborly as the good Samaritan was neighborly? Of course, no one! The Great Sermon makes the same point, and thus, for those with eyes to see, teaches us that grace transcends law.

The Beatitudes
      When Jesus says to his disciples "blessed are you", he is certainly not suggesting they are blessed because their righteousness exceeds the Scribes and the Pharisees, ie. they past the test of compassionate love. They are blessed because they are "poor", "hunger", "weep" and are rejected. They are blessed because they are this way. It is interesting how Matthew identifies the spiritual nature of these qualities. They are the "poor in spirit" ie. humble broken ones, those hungering and thirsting after righteousness. They are the repentant sinner, broken before the Lord, and for this reason they are the blessed ones. Luke drops the qualifications, possibly in line with his more radical view of discipleship (or did Matthew add them?). Yet, this is unlikely; it is more likely that Luke is influenced by Pauline theology. Christ is all these things, and we are them when we are in Christ. It is then, by being in Christ, that we begin to become what we are. At any rate the "blessed" ones have nothing in common with the "woe to you" mob who need to see that's who they are.

Greek Notes

v39
      Although a reference to the Pharisees obviously lies behind the proverb and its exposition, v39-40, cf. Matt.15:14, Luke's focus is on those who are led, thus identifying the human condition, which condition needs to be recognized. We are all in the pit, along with our teachers. Although probably not Luke's point, many commentators still argue that these verses are directed at teachers, rather than students, but are divided on who these teachers are, eg.: Pharisees, disciples, Christian ministers... Where the teacher is identified as Christian, numerous interpretations are suggested, eg., Don't teach while still blind; don't teach in a judgmental fashion; let Jesus do the teaching....
      autoiV "them" - Presumably disciples / seekers.
      kai "also" - and. Transitional, "He spoke to them a parable as well", Nolland.
      parabolhn (h) "this parable" - a parable, proverb (variant: the). "Jesus went on to use an illustration", Barclay.
      mhti "-" - Interrogative particle introducing a question where the expected answer is negative.
      ouci "-" - Interrogative particle introducing a question where the expected answer is positive.
      empesountai (empiptw) "will they [not] fall" - will fall in, upon.
      baqunon (oV) "a pit" - Referring to a deep hole, not just a ditch.

v40
      "Pupils are no better than their teacher - [their] training only leaves them like him", Rieu.
      uJper + acc. "above [his teacher]" - beyond. "A student does not surpass his teacher."
      kathrismenoV (katakrizw) perf. pas. part. "who is fully trained" - having been mended, restored, created. Here obviously with the particular meaning of `to make adequate, to furnish completely, to cause to be fully qualified, adequacy.'* The participle is possible temporal, "but when he is fully trained"; or possibly conditional, "but if he is perfectly trained", Moffatt.
      estai wJV "will be like" - will be as. The subject is not identified and may be the student, "he", REB, but more likely Gk. "all"; "every disciple", RSV., "everyone", NIV.

v41
      Verses 41-45 further prompts self-examination, first as the test of a judgmental spirit, followed by the test of obedience. The tests immediately tells us that we are "cursed"; we are all into speck removal, our fruit is poor. As the apostle puts it, "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." As Nolland notes, many interpretations of v41-42, follow the "self improvement" line (eg. "any effort at moral improvement of others without taking stock of oneself is utterly ridiculous", Danker), although he himself follows a similar line: "it is sheer hypocrisy to seek to help others with ethical minutiae while failing to attend to [Jesus'] central demands of discipleship" [namely] ... nonjudgment and love of enemy." Yet, surely the point is sharper than this, nonjudgmental compassion is beyond us; we are all into speck removal, and continually so.
      ti "why" - Interrogative particle governing both coordinate clauses.
      blepeiV (blepw) pres. "look at" - see. The present tense is durative, "Why do you continually observe ...?" The sense is figurative, "perceive."
      to karfoV (oV) "the speck" - the twig, speck, splinter. Referring to something small and hard. "Speck of dust", Barclay.
      tou adelfou "brother" - [in the eye] of the brother [of you]. The genitive is possessive. "Brother" in the sense of "fellow believer", or more generally, "fellow member of a group."
      ou katanoeiV (katanoew) pres. "pay no attention to" - you do not notice, consider carefully, look at attentively. This verb is much stronger than "see". We constantly note, in passing, the sins of others, but rarely do we examine our own.
      thn dokon (oV) fem. "the plank" - the log, beam. As of a roofing or flooring beam in a house. Bock rightly observes that what we should "take careful notice of" is our "sin in general."
      tw/ idiw/ "your own [eye]" - one's own.

v42
      afeV (afihmi) aor. imp. "let me" - allow, permit me.
      ekbalw (ekballw) aor. subj. "take" - I may cast out, remove.
      ou blepwn (blepw) pres. part. "when you [yourself] fail to see" - not seeing. This is the only time Luke uses this negation with a participle. Probably a temporal participle as NIV, although possibly concessive thus introducing a subordinate circumstantial clause, "although"; "and yet you never notice the plank in your own eye?", Moffatt.
      uJpokrita (hV ou) "hypocrite" - The secular meaning of "play-actor" is certainly present, although the intended meaning probably pushes more toward the Hebrew equivalent of "liar / godless / deceitful", so "frauds", Phillips, rather than "show offs", CEV. Jesus elsewhere describes the Pharisees as "hypocrites" and so he may well be using them as an example of "the self-righteous person trying to improve others while he ignores his own weakness", Danker.
      ekbalein (ekballw) inf. "to remove" - The infinitive is probably consecutive, serving to express result, as NIV; "you will then see clearly with the result that you will be able to remove..."
      diableyeiV (diablepw) fut. "you will see clearly" - In classical Gk. the word "means `look fixedly as in deep thought.' Plato notes it as a habit of Socrates", Plummer.

v43
      See Nolland, p308 for a nice summary of the standard interpretations of v43-45. Given that "what one produces is finally a product of what one is", Nolland, it is surely not possible to hide from what one is, namely, a "bad tree."
      gar "-" - Continuative rather than expressing cause or reason.
      kalon adj. "good" - good, beautiful. In what sense "good": healthy, a good variety, fruit producing... ?
      estin ... poioun "bears" - is .... producing, doing, making. Paraphrastic present, possibly underlining durative action.
      sapron adj. "bad [fruit]" - decayed, rotten / unsuitable, unfit, bad.

v44
      The saying in v44b is a shorthand version of "just as a person can't pick figs from thornbushes, or ......... so they can't pick good fruit from a bad tree."
      gar "-" - for. Here possibly expressing cause or reason, "for / because", or possibly explanatory, "for you see." "As everyone knows", TH.
      ekaston pro. "each" - each, every. Possibly "each of [the] two", Jeremias.
      ginwsketai (ginomai) pres. "recognized" - knows. Probably a gnomic present, expressing an accepted fact, a general truth.
      ek "by" - from. Expressing the source of the knowledge, which source is the state of the fruit. It is from the fruit that the worth of the tree is known.

v45
      Serving as the application of v43-44, and making the point that our Achilles heel is our mouth which serves well to expose the dire state of our heart.
      proferei (proferw) pres. "brings out" - The present tense is probably iterative, expressing repeated action. Note the observation, "the mouth sometimes professes what the heart does not feel", Plummer.
      tou agaqou qhsaurou thV kardiaV (a) "the good stored up in his heart" - the good storehouse / treasure of the heart. Again, commentators often proceed on the assumption that it is possible for a person to have a "good" heart and that this goodness is gained either by obedience and/or identification with Christ, cf. Marshall. The passage prompts "self-evaluation and correction", Bock, is a prompt to "reform" our lives, Ellis, and thus "is a call to a true inner goodness of the heart", Nolland. Surely not! Does not the mouth remind us that "none are good, no not one"?

v46
      This concluding section of the Great Sermon, does not serve, as Marshal and others suggest, "to stress the importance of obedience to what has been heard", but rather to expose the reality of disobedience and therefore inevitable "ruin".
      kaleite (kalew) pres. "you call" - The present tense is probably iterative, expressing repeated action; "why do you keep on saying that I am your Lord", CEV.
      ou poieite (poiew) pres. "do not do" - you do not do. "Refuse to do", CEV, is too strong; inaction is better, "and not do what I tell you", Barclay.

v47
      Luke's version of the parable focuses on the preparation of a good foundation, such is like a person who obeys the divine will and who therefore stands scrutiny at the day of judgment.
      uJpodeixw (uJpodeiknumi) fut. "I will show" - I will inform, show, point out.
      oJ ercomenoV (ercomai) pres. part. "who comes" - [everyone] the one coming [to me and hearing my words and doing them]. The participles, serving as substantives, identify the person who builds on a good foundation as one who comes, hears and does. The present tense is durative, indicating ongoing action, possibly "an abiding attitude", TH. There is no mention of the bad builder, v49, coming to Jesus, but it is surely assumed. Again indicating that the sermon is for disciples / seekers.
      poiwn (poiew) pres. part. "puts them into practice" - [everyone the one] doing. "Everyone who comes to me, listens to my words and obeys", NCV.

v48
      Note variant "for it was founded upon rock" instead of "because it was well built." An obvious leaning toward Matthew's account.
      oJmoioV "[he is] like" - like, similar.
      anqrwpw/ oikodomounti dat. "a man building" - to man building. Dative of indirect object.
      eskayen kai ebaqunen "dug down deep" - dug and went down deep. A hendiadys where two words in the Gk. are joined by "and" to form a single idea.
      genomenhV (ginomai) aor. part. "when [a flood] came" - coming, becoming. Genitive absolute usually forming a temporal clause.
      saleusai (saleuw) aor. inf. "[could not] shake" - [it was not strong, able, had power] to shake [it]. The infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of the verb "able".
      dia + acc. "because" - because of, on account of.
      to .... oikodomhsqai (oikodomew) perf. pas. inf. "[it] was [well] built" - to have been built. Accusative articular infinitive governed by the preposition "because" forming an adverbial causal clause modifying the main verb "was [not] able" with its complementary infinitive "to shake."