Luke 6:36
New Testament
34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to be repaid, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, so that they may be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Date: 75-85 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Sifre Deuteronomy 49
Halakhic Midrash
Rabbinic
(Devarim 11:22) "to walk in His ways": Which are the ways of the Holy One Blessed be He? (Shemoth 34:6-7) "The L-rd, the L-rd, G-d of mercy and grace, slow to wrath and abundant in mercy and truth, keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving transgression, offense, and sin, and cleansing …" And it is written (Yoel 3:5) "All who will be called by the name of the L-rd will escape": Now how is it possible for a man to be called by the name of the Holy One Blessed be He? But, (the intent is) just as the L-rd is called "merciful and gracious," you, too, be merciful and gracious, and give gratuitously to all. Just as the Holy One Blessed be He is called "righteous," viz. (Psalms 145:17) "Righteous is the L-rd in all His ways and saintly in all His acts" — you, too, be righteous. Just as the Holy One Blessed be He is called "saintly," — you, too, be saintly. This is the intent of "All who will be called by the name of the L-rd will escape." And it is written (Isaiah 43:7) "… everyone that is called by My name. For My honor I have created him, and formed him, and fashioned him." And it is written (Proverbs 16:4) "The L-rd has created all for His sake." (Devarim, Ibid.)
Date: 200 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
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Notes and References
"... In addition to the idea that benefactors are rewarded (or punished if they refuse to give), the notion that people who give alms are imitating God is also presented in rabbinic texts. In the Mekhilta De-Rabbi Ishmael, we read: אבא שאול אומר אדמה לו מה הוא רחום וחנון אף אתה רחום וחנון. Abba Shaul says: I shall be like Him. As He is gracious and merciful, so [shall] you [be] gracious and merciful. (Mekhilta De-Rabbi Ishmael, Tractate Shirata 3; Horvitz-Rabin 127) ... (A very similar teaching occurs in the New Testament: 'Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.' Luke 6:36) ... This teaching occurs again as a baraita in the Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Peah 1:1, 15b), immediately preceding the story of a rabbi who wanted to distribute all of his property to the poor, and the story about King Monbaz. In later Amoraic texts - especially Qoheleth Rabbah (7:2-3) - this idea is developed further, in reference to gemilut ḥasadim (acts of lovingkindness) and specific categories for which God acts as a model. Whereas Tannaitic and Amoraic texts emphasize both the concept that those who support the poor imitate God and the promise that great rewards (whether in this world or in the world to come) are secured for those who give to the poor, in Amoraic midrashim we also find teachings that describe an interdependence between the wealthy and the poor ..."
Wilfand, Yael
Poverty, Charity and the Image of the Poor in Rabbinic Texts from the Land of Israel
(pp. 249-250) Duke University, 2011
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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