Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionJesus had just told His hearers to love their enemies (Luke 6:27). This question explains why ordinary love is not enough. Loving people who love you back is something everyone does. There is nothing in it that shows the grace of God at work.
Barnes, on the parallel in Matthew, explains that such love is "not genuine love for the 'character,' but love for the 'benefit,' and you deserve no commendation." Gill reads the question as "what grace have ye?" Such love is no evidence of grace and no special kindness to the one loved. The question invites the hearer to look honestly at whom they love and why.
The Response
What Scripture recordsJesus answered His own question at once: "for sinners also love those that love them" (Luke 6:32). He pressed the same point with doing good and lending (Luke 6:33-34). Then He gave the positive command: "But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest" (Luke 6:35).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsThe word translated "thank" is the Greek charis, the common New Testament word for grace or favor. The ESV renders it "benefit." The same question, with the same word, is repeated in Luke 6:33 and Luke 6:34.
Matthew's version of this teaching asks, "what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?" (Matthew 5:46). Gill notes the link: "thus it is expressed in Matthew, 'what reward have ye?'" Luke speaks of "sinners" where Matthew names publicans, the tax collectors whom Barnes describes as "objects of great detestation."
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThis question points beyond human fairness to the character of God. Jesus' reason for loving enemies is that "he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil" (Luke 6:35), and so He calls His people to "Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful" (Luke 6:36). Love that reaches past those who love us is a family likeness of God.
Matthew Henry, writing on this teaching, admits that "These are hard lessons to flesh and blood." But he adds that those who know Christ's love can say, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" The question is not meant to shame ordinary love. It invites a love that comes from grace.
Look Closer
What command comes just before this question?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Father, You are kind to the unthankful; whom have I limited my love to, and how would You have me love beyond them?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- Jesus said even sinners love those who love them. What do you think makes love distinctly Christian?
- Share a time when someone showed you love you could not repay. How did it affect you?
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Loving family and friends is good, but it is not the mark that makes a follower of Jesus different. The love Jesus calls for reaches people who may never return it: the difficult coworker, the neighbor who ignores you, the person who has wronged you.
This does not mean you must trust everyone or pretend wrongs did not happen. Jesus' command is to love, do good, bless, and pray (Luke 6:27-28). Start with one person who has nothing to give you back, and ask God for the grace to love them as He has loved you.
Scripture's own application: Romans 12:20-21
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye?”
“And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye?”
“For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same?”
“And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so?”