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Luke 6:17
ESV And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon,
NIV He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon,
NASB And then Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon,
CSB After coming down with them, he stood on a level place with a large crowd of his disciples and a great number of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon.
NLT When they came down from the mountain, the disciples stood with Jesus on a large, level area, surrounded by many of his followers and by the crowds. There were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon.
KJV And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;

What does Luke 6:17 mean?

Luke's account of Jesus' ministry before the crucifixion is thematic, not strictly chronological. First, he presents several occasions that differentiated Jesus' followers from the Pharisees and scribes who are planning to destroy Him. Then Jesus chooses twelve lead disciples (Luke 5:1—6:16). Now, Luke records Jesus' ministry to and teaching of the larger group of disciples.

The audience is made of three groups. "Them" are the twelve apostles. The "disciples" are the larger group that follow Jesus; more than just the Twelve travel with Him and consider Him their teacher (Acts 1:21) although not all of them stay with Him (John 6:66). The "great multitude" are most likely there to find physical healing and freedom from demons. Luke points out that Jesus' popularity has spread.

The Greek for "level place" is translated literally, but it can mean a mountain plateau, so this could be Luke's synopsis of Matthew's Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5—7). Even so, it's highly likely that Jesus taught the same truths on multiple occasions.

It's interesting to note that Jesus' teaching is aimed at His crowd of disciples, but the multitude—including Gentiles from Tyre and Sidon—is welcome to learn and listen, as well. In fact, Jesus finishes His presentation of what it looks like to be His disciple with an invitation to make Him the basis of their lives (Luke 6:46–49). Discipleship is more than receiving healing and passively listening to stories. It's about founding one's life on Jesus, and all are welcome to do so.

Judea is the primary district of the Jews and surrounds Jerusalem from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. It appears that sometimes Luke uses the term to mean any place where Jews have a significant population, like Galilee. Tyre and Sidon are north of Galilee, on the coast of the Mediterranean. Jesus visits Tyre and Sidon where He heals a Syrophoenician woman's demon-possessed daughter (Mark 7:24–30).
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