Grace to Others - Luke 5-6

 Luke 6:37-38 (ESV)

37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 

38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

In the above couple of verses we have a great truth about the relationship between forgiveness and God’s blessing on our lives.  Many false teachers love to preach on verse 38.   The “prosperity gospel” movement is all centered around God making you prosperous “if you give” to the ministry of the false teacher.  It is actually an artfully devised scam.   They can actually point to a verse that seems to indicate that the more I give (money to them) the more God will give me blessing in “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over ...”.    This is the hook line.   

However, they seldom preach and teach about verse 37.  If would be very unusual for them to tie the truth of verse 38 to the truth of verse 37.   Jesus is telling His disciples that our “giving” ought to be centered around giving grace and forgiveness to those who offend us.  We are not to judge them but give them forgiveness.   Those who give forgives will have, as well, forgiveness (in good measure, pressed down, etc.).    Jesus is teaching that the measure of grace and forgiveness we give others will be given to us.   We tend to like others to give us grace and mercy and to not judge us.   However, Jesus was teaching nothing about money.  He was teaching about the heart of a person and how they treat others.   As we treat others with grace, so will we be treated with grace in great measure, pressed down and running over.   To this phrase, one commentator stated this:

(MacArthur New Testament Commentary Set (33 Vols.)) The Lord’s illustration, taken from a scene His hearers would be very familiar with, vividly pictures the blessing the disciples will receive. J.Jeremias writes,

The measuring of the corn is a process which is carried out according to an established pattern. The seller crouches on the ground with the measure between his legs. First of all he fills the measure three-quarters full and gives it a good shake with a rotary motion to make the grains settle down. Then he fills the measure to the top and gives it another shake. Next he presses the corn together strongly with both hands. Finally he heaps it into a cone, tapping it carefully to press the grains together; from time to time he bores a hole into the corn and pours a few more grains into it, until there is literally no more room for a single grain. In this way the purchaser is guaranteed an absolutely full measure; it cannot hold more (cited in Darrell L. Bock, Luke 1:1-9:50, The Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994], 607-8).

God’s grace is extended to us by His Devine mercy.  He wants us extend the same mercy to others, in the same way it is extended to us: In full measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, poured out into their laps.