Luke 6:37-38 meaning

The parallel Gospel account for Luke 6:37-38 is Matthew 7:1-2.

Jesus taught His disciples to practice “the Mercy Principle.”

The Mercy Principle is: God gives us the same measure of mercy that we give to others.

In the Sermon on the Mount as recorded by Matthew, Jesus taught the Mercy Principle in both the “Makarios/Blessed” chiasm of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-12 and in what is commonly referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer” in Matthew 11:2-4. “Makarios [‘blessed, fulfilled’] are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7). “Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12).

These are all positive commands. They tell us what we should do—in these cases we should be merciful.

Similarly, in the “Sermon on the Plain” as recorded in Luke’s account, Jesus teaches His disciples to be merciful,e

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
(Luke 6:36)

But immediately following this positive command, Jesus addresses the same principle ‘negatively.’ He words it in such a way as to tell us what we should not do:

Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned (v 37a).

Do not judge. What Jesus means by judge is to take offense at another person’s actions, words, expressions, etc. or to hold something against them. He was commanding His disciples: Do not keep track of the wrongs of another. Do not judge another person’s behavior or attitude to see if they are morally wrong and you are morally superior. This attitude is often called judgmentalism. Judgmentalism can be silent and inward thoughts and sometimes judgmentalism can be expressed externally through words or actions. Judgmentalism is any thought of condemnation toward other people and their behavior.

Judging others is the opposite of how Paul describes love in 1 Corinthians 13:5, “[love] does not take into account a wrong suffered.” Regardless of whether or not someone’s behavior harms you, Jesus says do not judge.

The reason why Christ teaches not to judge is because the inverse of the Mercy Principle also applies. Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged. As those who show mercy will receive mercy (Matthew 5:7) so will those who judge receive judgment in the way they judge others.

The same truth applies to condemnation. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. While similar to judgement, condemnation can also imply the act of sentencing to punishment for wrongdoing. When taken with the final statement in verse 37, pardon, and you will be pardoned, this seems a likely interpretation. The act of condemning is also spoken of in the same way as judging. If you condemn others when you have the chance, you should expect to be condemned yourself.

Jesus shows the heart of this principle in John 8 when the Pharisees present to Him a woman caught in adultery. The Pharisees know that the Law states that the penalty for being caught in adultery is to be stoned to death and they are testing Jesus to see what He says.

Instead of falling into their trap, Jesus states, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). When the Pharisees understood that their own sin made them equal with the woman caught in her sin, they begin to leave. Eventually Jesus and the woman were left alone. Jesus then says to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” (John 8:10).

The Pharisees realized the heart of the principle do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. If they had condemned the woman to the lawful punishment of stoning, then they must be held to the same unchangeable standard of the Law that they were upholding and were also guilty of violating.

Jesus continues by stating the Mercy Principle positively: pardon, and you will be pardoned (Luke 6:37b).

The Greek word translated as “pardon” is ἀπολύω (G630—pronounced “ap-ol-oo'-o”). It means to release, set free, or dismiss. Not only does Jesus command His disciples to not condemn, but to actively pardon those who have wronged them and are justly deserving of punishment. The story of the adulterous woman in John 8 ends with Jesus fulfilling His own teaching: “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more” (John 8:11).

Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return (v 38).

Jesus continues, give, and it will be given to you. We will all be measured and judged according to our own judgment and standard of measure. If we want a lenient measure of mercy, we should be merciful. If we want a strict measure of judgment and condemnation, we should be quick to judge and condemn others. If we desire pardon, we should pardon others. We should be quick to give to others as we wish to receive.

Jesus continues by sharing an example from the daily trading of grain to highlight this principle of giving and receiving.

They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over.

This example describes the practices of an honest and generous merchant who would fill a measuring basket or jar to its full capacity by shaking the grain and pressing it down during the pouring process. This would reduce the empty space inside the jar or basket, providing the maximum amount to the buyer. Jesus even describes this process to include the running over of grain to be caught by the buyer as it overfills the top of the container.

This example illustrates His next teaching, that by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.

If we are a buying valuable spices, we would want our seller to fill up our jar and press it down and shake it so that everything was full and running over. If we want so much mercy for ourselves that our jar is running over and it is difficult to screw the lid on, then we ought to give others the same standard of mercy. This example illustrates His next teaching that by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return. 

Here, Jesus presumes His disciples understand that every believer will give an account to God for the deeds done during their lifetime. This principle is confirmed many times in the epistles (1 Corinthians 3:11-15; 2 Corinthians 5:9-10; Romans 14:10-14; Hebrews 4:12-13).

Of course we all want mercy and pardon for ourselves, which is why Jesus teaches His disciples to show mercy and be quick to forgive, and not to judge others for their faults. This is another version of treating others the way we desire to be treated. In this case, we should judge or grant mercy in precisely the same way we want God to judge or grant mercy to us. Further, Jesus promises that this is exactly what we are going to get. God will judge us by the measure or standard we set for judging other people during our lifetime.