Luke 6:20

Luke 6:20

The Bible says in Luke 6:20-23, "And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be you poor, for your’s is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice you in that day, and leap for joy: for behold your reward is great in heaven: for in like manner did their fathers unto the prophets."

In this passage of scripture Jesus said that four kinds of people would be blessed by God: the poor, the hungry, those who weep, and those who are hated. These are things that no one aspires to, but they are things that happen to many, many people. Jesus looked at the multitudes and He knew what lives they lived. He knew what happened to people in this world. But Jesus spoke of another world, another kingdom.

Why did Jesus say, "Blessed are the poor?" In our society today most people think that you have been blessed if you have become rich. Are the rich blessed? Not if you look at things from the perspective of the possibility of entering the Kingdom of God. In His lifetime Jesus had things to say about rich people. He said that "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter heaven." In order to enter heaven a person must see their need of God. Someone who is rich always has a bank account to trust in, and their money can become a stumbling block that keeps them from being willing to serve God. If someone goes to hell because of their riches, then they were not blessed at all. They would have been much better off in the long run if they had been poor. It’s just like Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor, for their’s is the Kingdom of God." You can be poor in regards to the wealth of this world, but rich in regards to the things of God. God will turn the tables. Many of those who have suffered in this life will be given a glorious entrance into the riches of the Kingdom of God. They might walk barefoot on the dusty roads of the world now, but they are the ones most likely to one day tread the streets of gold.

Jesus pronounced a blessing for the poor, and He also pronounced a woe and a warning to the rich. In Luke 6:24 Jesus said, "But woe unto you that are rich, for you have received your consolation." The message of the gospel centers around the fact that life will continue throughout eternity beyond the grave. You will live on the earth for only a few short years, but you will live somewhere else forever. What happens to you in eternity is infinitely more important than what happens to you while you are on the earth. Someone who suffers for a few years on the earth and then who lives in eternal bliss forever is much better off than someone who prospers for a few years but who then lives in eternal torment. It’s no wonder that Jesus said, "Woe to you that are rich." Think of how much the rich will be held accountable when they stand before God. If God has given you more than you need, then you will be held accountable for what you did with it. The measure of your responsibility is the measure of your opportunity.

Jesus said, "Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be filled." Again we are shown that Jesus cares for those of the world who suffer. He spoke to them of a better future. God has a plan for the future. In that plan there will be no more suffering. If you want to be a little bit like God, then find ways to help alleviate the suffering in the world. No one in this world should ever suffer the pains of hunger. No child should ever go to bed without having had the proper food that day. There is plenty to go around in this world. If only more people who had the means were willing to help those in desperate straits. Of course, there are many kinds of hunger. Some people have a hunger for the things of God. They are the ones who shall be filled with the knowledge of God. Everyone else shall stay empty and ignorant of the truth. Seek and you shall find. Hunger and you shall be filled. Those who have their bellies full and who have never known the kind of hunger that leads people to God are not blessed at all, not if they stay alienated from God. Jesus warned them in Luke 6:25, "Woe unto you that are full, for you shall hunger."

Jesus also said, "Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh." It’s not what happens to you today that is the most important, but it’s what happens to you in eternity. Yes, you may sorrow now. You may cry now. You may weep now. But God knows and He has a better future planned for you. No one has more empathy than God. He knows the sufferings of mankind. He knows the tears that have been cried and the hearts that have been broken, but the day will come when He will wipe away all tears from our eyes. Through Christ the day will come when our joy will be so great that our sorrows will be forgotten forever.

Jesus said that tears can result in laughter and joy and happiness. That depends upon what kind of tears and what kind of sorrow that you have. If you have never had it, the best sorrow to have is sorrow because of your sins. That kind of sorrow will lead you to repentance and to Christ. There are those who enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, and who never know sorrow in this life. Unless they repent of their sins they will know sorrow throughout eternity. Jesus warned those who have never known sorrow in this life. He said in Luke 6:25, "Woe unto you that laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep." Every word that Jesus said is true. There can be a great benefit to having been given tears and weeping by the providence of God. Jesus said, "Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh."

In this passage there is one more blessing that Jesus pronounces, a blessing on those that are hated for His name’s sake. There are many things that provide a strong evidence to the truthfulness of the Bible. One of the strongest is how much the name of Jesus Christ is hated in the world. Why would anyone hate Jesus? He went about doing good, healing the sick, and offering forgiveness and hope for a bright future in the everlasting Kingdom of God. The name of Jesus Christ is hated because of the spiritual darkness in the heart of man and because the forces of evil that stir up the hatred. Jesus was hated in the world. He came into the world, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own and His own received Him not. It’s no wonder that Jesus promised a reward to those who are also hated simply because they are followers of the Christ.

As we look at this passage of scripture and the four blessings pronounced by Jesus, we see that the one He spent the most time explaining and expounding upon was the fourth one that has to do with those who are hated for His name’s sake. Jesus said that you are blessed if men hate you, if they separate you from their company, if they reproach you, and if they cast out your name as evil for His name’s sake. If these things happen to you, don’t be sorrowful. Don’t regret it. Don’t think that some horrible thing has happened to you. The truth is that you have been blessed. It’s an honor and a privilege to suffer the same things that Jesus suffered and to be identified with Him. It’s a great compliment from the world, if they treat you the same way that they treated Jesus. What greater compliment can there be to your manner of life?

God made us all as social creatures. We enjoy and in a certain sense we need the company of our fellow human beings. That’s why it can hurt a great deal to be cast out of the company of others. From a human standpoint it’s not always fun to be an outcast, but on the other side of the coin there can be certain benefits. One benefit Jesus mentioned as being the rewards in heaven that will be given to those who suffer such things. When you are cast out of the company of those who do not serve God, you have the benefit of not being influenced by them in the wrong way. Christians are commanded to be separate from the world in a certain sense. "Come out from among them and be you separate, saith the Lord." "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world." The world is actually doing you a favor when they cast you out of their company. They are helping you earn a great reward in heaven, and they are helping you to obey an important command from the Lord to be separate from the world.

In order to be a witness for Christ, you must be willing to be an outcast. True Christianity will never be popular. If you think you can make it so, you will fail. "The friendship of the world is enmity with God." If you are going to serve God, you must not fear the opinions of man. You must make a choice. Which do you prefer: the favor of God or the favor of man? One of the things that keeps some Christians silent is the fear of man. One of the things that keeps some people from coming to Christ in the first place is the fear of the opinions of others. People know that there will be a price to pay if they speak up for God and for Christ in public. For most people the fear is too great and so they back off and keep silent. For those who love God more than man, according to Jesus, there will be a great reward.

If you seek to be popular, you may find that you have lost things that are much more valuable than popularity. How about your character? How about your commitment to that which is true and honest? How about your opportunity to make a difference? How about your rewards in heaven? How about your own immortal soul? Jesus said in Luke 6:26, "Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets." Notice that Jesus did not say that it’s always bad if someone speaks well of you. It’s good to be positive and to say good things about people. Hopefully you will be encouraged once in a while, and that some people will say good things about you sometimes. But something is terribly wrong with you if "all" men speak well of you.

There is a great competition going on in the world: the contest between good and evil. If you serve God and if you do good, you will have enemies. If you have no enemies, then something is wrong with you. If no one hates you, then you must be doing something wrong. You must be hiding the message or perhaps you are trying to please too many people. Remember that Jesus said, "Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you." If you serve God in this world, you will have enemies. It’s important to realize this and accept it. It’s also important to understand what Jesus taught concerning how to treat your enemies.

Jesus said in Luke 6:27-29, "But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you. Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto them that smite you on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that takes away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also." Jesus said, "Love your enemies." With this statement Jesus may have given the most difficult of all of His commands, but it may also have been the most important. There are religions in the world that teach that it’s good to destroy your enemies. But Jesus taught His disciples to love their enemies. The teachings of Jesus are the highest and most noble of all instructions ever given to mankind.

Jesus said, "Love your enemies." It’s easy to say that you want to do this, but when you are confronted by an enemy, you may find that it’s not so easy. As a matter of fact, it may very well be impossible to love your enemies, unless you are very close to God and have learned to die to yourself. Until you learn to love your enemies, you can at least do what Jesus said in Luke 6:28. You can at least "pray for them." You can also say good things about them. That’s the meaning of the word that’s translated "bless" in Luke 6:28. It comes from the Greek word that means "eulogize." Everyone has something good about them. Even your enemies have something good that can be said about them.

Jesus is not asking us to do anything that He did not do. He was nailed to a cross by His enemies, but He prayed for them while He hung on that cross and He said, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." If Jesus prayed for His enemies, then surely we can also. The only reason that we had the chance to be saved is because God loved us when we were His enemies.

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