John Calvin Commentary Luke 6:37

"And judge not, and ye shall not be judged: and condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: release, and ye shall be released:" — Luke 6:37 (ASV)

Forgive, and it shall be forgiven to you. Give, and it shall be given to you. This promise, which Luke adds, means that the Lord will cause the one who is indulgent, kind, and just to his brethren to experience the same gentleness from others and to be treated by them in a generous and friendly manner.

Yet it frequently happens that God's children receive the very worst reward and are oppressed by many unjust slanders; and this occurs even when they have injured no one's reputation and have even spared the faults of brethren. But this is not inconsistent with what Christ says, for we know that the promises relating to the present life do not always hold true and are not without exceptions.

Besides, though the Lord permits his people, when innocent, to be unjustly oppressed and almost overwhelmed, he fulfills what he says in another place: “their uprightness shall break forth as the morning,”⁴⁶⁴ (Isaiah 58:8). In this way, his blessing always rises above all unjust slanders. He subjects believers to unjust reproaches so that he may humble them, and that he may eventually maintain the goodness of their cause.

It should also be taken into account that believers themselves, though they endeavor to act justly towards their brethren, are sometimes carried away by excessive severity against brethren who were either innocent or not so greatly to blame. Thus, by their own fault, they provoke a similar judgment against themselves. If they do not receive good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, though this is attributable to the ingratitude of the world, yet they ought to acknowledge that it was partly deserved. For there is no one who is as kind and indulgent as one ought to be towards one's brethren.

⁴⁶⁴ In the French version our Author quotes a similar passage from the book of Psalms, (37:6; ) “and he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the ;) “and he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noon-day ” —— Ed