Luke 6:36 → Leviticus 19:2

Jesus' command "Be merciful (oiktirmones), just as your Father is merciful" (Luke 6:36) reformulates the holiness command of Leviticus 19:2 — "Be holy (qĕdōšîm) because I, the LORD your God, am holy" — by substituting mercy for holiness as the defining divine attribute to be imitated. This is not a contradiction but a hermeneutical move: Matthew's parallel reads "Be perfect (teleios), as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48), while Luke highlights mercy, drawing out what holiness looks like in relational terms. The imitatio Dei principle — conform your character to what God is — runs through Leviticus 19 (echoed repeatedly in "I am the LORD") and is now applied by Jesus to the concrete posture of love toward enemies. Jesus thus interprets the Holiness Code through the lens of God's own merciful character, revealing that biblical holiness was never mere ritual separation but always included moral conformity to the compassion of the covenant God.