The Meaning of Luke 6:11 Explained

Luke 6:11

KJV: And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.

YLT: and they were filled with madness, and were speaking with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Darby: But they were filled with madness, and they spoke together among themselves what they should do to Jesus.

ASV: But they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  they  were filled  with madness;  and  communed  one with another  what  they might do  to Jesus. 

What does Luke 6:11 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Understandably the response of Jesus" critics was violent. "Rage" or "furious" translates the Greek word anoia, which refers to senseless wrath (cf. 2 Timothy 3:9).
"He humiliated the religious leaders and healed the man all at the same time without even breaking the Pharisees" law. It is no wonder that the religious establishment was furious and sought a way to get rid of Him." [1]
Luke 6:11 is the climax of Luke"s section that describes the beginning of Jesus" controversy with the religious leaders ( Luke 5:12 to Luke 6:11). Luke did not say that this incident led them to plot Jesus" death, as Matthew and Mark did. The intensity of the conflict did not interest Luke as much as Jesus" sovereign authority over His enemies.

Context Summary

Luke 6:1-11 - The Right Use Of The Sabbath
It was a brave and bold step for Jesus to set Himself against the ritualistic proscriptions of the ruling religious party of His age. How many who had hoped that He would redeem Israel, must have been hurt by what seemed to be ruthless iconoclasm. But there was no hope of the holy thoughts of God ever emerging from the mass of hide-bound rules and regulations with which the Pharisees had covered them, unless the frost of literalism was broken up with a strong hand. Christ was not destroying religion, but freeing it from the formalist. Reality, reality! Be true and real!
The grave question today is, whether, in our revolt from Puritan strictness in observing Sunday, we have not gone to the other extreme. The Church of God will have to stand for God's day, not only for God's sake, but for the sake of the masses, who are menaced by a seven-days' working week. The Sabbath was made for man; he needs it. If God made it for him, let God's children preserve it. [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 6

1  Jesus reproves the Pharisees;
12  chooses apostles;
17  heals the diseased;
20  preaches to his disciples before the people: the beattitudes;
27  Love your Enemy
37  Do not Judge
43  A Tree and Its Fruit
46  The House on the Rock

Greek Commentary for Luke 6:11

They were filled with madness [επληστησαν ανοιας]
An old word, but only here and 2 Timothy 3:9 in the N.T. [source]
Communed [διελαλουν]
Luke puts it in a less damaging way than Mark 3:6; Matthew 12:14. This aorist optative with αν — an is the deliberative question like that in Acts 17:18 retained in the indirect form here. Perhaps Luke means, not that they were undecided about killing Jesus, but only as to the best way of doing it. Already nearly two years before the end we see the set determination to destroy Jesus. We see it here in Galilee. We have already seen it at the feast in Jerusalem (John 5:18) where “the Jews sought the more to kill him.” John and the Synoptics are in perfect agreement as to the Pharisaic attitude toward Jesus. [source]
What they might do to Jesus [τι αν ποιησαιεν Ιησου]
Luke puts it in a less damaging way than Mark 3:6; Matthew 12:14. This aorist optative with αν — an is the deliberative question like that in Acts 17:18 retained in the indirect form here. Perhaps Luke means, not that they were undecided about killing Jesus, but only as to the best way of doing it. Already nearly two years before the end we see the set determination to destroy Jesus. We see it here in Galilee. We have already seen it at the feast in Jerusalem (John 5:18) where “the Jews sought the more to kill him.” John and the Synoptics are in perfect agreement as to the Pharisaic attitude toward Jesus. [source]
They were filled with madness []
Peculiar to Luke. Ἄνοια , madness, is, properly, want of understanding. The word thus implies senseless rage, as distinguished from intelligent indignation.sa40 [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 6:11

Matthew 12:14 Took counsel against him [συμβουλιον ελαβον κατ αυτου]
An imitation of the Latin concilium capere and found in papyri of the second century a.d. (Deissmann, Bible Studies, p. 238.) This incident marks a crisis in the hatred of the Pharisees toward Jesus. They bolted out of the synagogue and actually conspired with their hated rivals, the Herodians, how to put Jesus to death (Mark 3:6; Matthew 12:14; Luke 6:11). By “destroy” (απολεσωσιν — apolesōsin) they meant “kill.” [source]
Matthew 15:1 From Jerusalem [απο Ιεροσολυμων]
Jerusalem is the headquarters of the conspiracy against Jesus with the Pharisees as the leaders in it. Already we have seen the Herodians combining with the Pharisees in the purpose to put Jesus to death (Mark 3:6; Matthew 12:14; Luke 6:11). Soon Jesus will warn the disciples against the Sadducees also (Matthew 16:6). Unusual order here, “Pharisees and scribes.” “The guardians of tradition in the capital have their evil eye on Jesus and co-operate with the provincial rigorists” (Bruce), if the Pharisees were not all from Jerusalem. [source]
Mark 3:6 And straightway with the Herodians took council [ευτυς μετα των ηρωιδιανων]
The Pharisees could stand no more. So out they stalked at once in a rage of madness (Luke 6:11) and outside of the synagogue took counsel (συμβουλιον εποιησαν — sumboulion epoiēsan) or gave counsel (συμβουλιον εδιδουν — sumboulion edidoun as some MSS. have it, imperfect tense, offered counsel as their solution of the problem) with their bitter enemies, the Herodians, on the sabbath day still “how they might destroy him” (οπως αυτον απολεσωσιν — hopōs auton apolesōsin), a striking illustration of the alternatives of Jesus a few moments before, “to save life or to kill.” This is the first mention of the Herodians or adherents of Herod Antipas and the Herod family rather than the Romans. The Pharisees would welcome the help of their rivals to destroy Jesus. In the presence of Jesus they unite their forces as in Mark 8:15; Mark 12:13; Matthew 22:16. [source]
Luke 1:65 Fear [ποβος]
Not terror, but religious awe because of contact with the supernatural as in the case of Zacharias (Luke 1:12). Were noised abroad Imperfect passive. Occurs in Polybius. In the N.T. only here and Luke 6:11. It was continuous talk back and forth between (δια — dia) the people. [source]
2 Timothy 3:9 Folly [ἄνοια]
Only here and Luke 6:11(note). The senselessness of their teaching, with an implication of its immoral character. [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 6:11 mean?

They themselves then were filled with rage and were discussing with one another what - they might do - to Jesus
αὐτοὶ δὲ ἐπλήσθησαν ἀνοίας καὶ διελάλουν πρὸς ἀλλήλους τί ἂν ποιήσαιεν τῷ Ἰησοῦ

αὐτοὶ  They  themselves 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Nominative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
ἐπλήσθησαν  were  filled 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Passive, 3rd Person Plural
Root: πίμπλημι  
Sense: to fill.
ἀνοίας  with  rage 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: ἄνοια  
Sense: want of understanding, folly.
διελάλουν  were  discussing 
Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: διαλαλέω  
Sense: to converse together, to talk with.
ἀλλήλους  one  another 
Parse: Personal / Reciprocal Pronoun, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: ἀλλήλων  
Sense: one another, reciprocally, mutually.
ἂν  - 
Parse: Particle
Root: ἄν  
Sense: has no exact English equivalent, see definitions under AV.
ποιήσαιεν  they  might  do 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Optative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: ποιέω  
Sense: to make.
τῷ  - 
Parse: Article, Dative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Ἰησοῦ  to  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.