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Luke 6:38Sermon on the Plain
Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to you. For with the same measure you measure it will be measured back to you.
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Interpretation

Jesus teaches a giving that is worked out in solitude and community in Luke 6:38—look for "measure" and "given". Choose giving with time and attention—bind joy to obedience.

Context

Luke speaks here as gospel narrative writing, developing giving. Read in Luke 6, its force becomes clearer. Listen for “measure” alongside “given”.

Authorship & Historical Background

Long‑standing tradition credits Luke to Luke the physician (companion of Paul). Modern scholarship on Luke sees Anonymous; author also wrote Acts; polished Greek historian‑theologian.. Date: AD 80–90. Readers in view for Luke include Broader Greco‑Roman audience.. Genre and setting: gospel narrative, in the Sermon on the Plain. A careful historian-theologian frames a universal horizon.

More details
Traditional:Luke the physician (companion of Paul)
Modern scholarship:Anonymous; author also wrote Acts; polished Greek historian‑theologian.
Date:AD 80–90
Audience:Broader Greco‑Roman audience.
Manuscripts & Textual Witnesses
The Greek text is preserved in 5,800+ manuscripts, surpassing other ancient works in manuscript count. Early papyri from the 2nd-3rd centuries like P46, P66, P75 provide text within about 100-150 years of its writing. Major uncial codices (Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, 4th century) contain complete or near-complete texts. The Byzantine text family represents the majority of later manuscripts. Textual variants exist but are mostly minor: word order, articles, spelling. No central Christian doctrine depends on any disputed text. Modern critical editions compare all manuscript families to determine the most likely original reading.
Sources & witness notes
SinaiticusVaticanusP46