A Study of the Book of Luke
Sermon # 12
How to Live Successfully
Luke 6: 17-26
Jesus went into the hill country with His disciples during this night of prayer he was directed by the father to disciple an inner core of men, the apostles who would then disciple others and thus reach out into the multitudes. Sometime during the night the father had placed twelve names on his heart (Luke 6:13-16). (Simon called Peter, Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alpehaeus, Simon called Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot). What an interesting group of men! They illustrated the principle declared by Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:26 which says, “after the flesh, not many mighty not many noble, are called.” This should be a great encouragement to us, if God could use these men as disciples, He can use us. Of the twelve perhaps seven of them were fishermen, one was a tax collector and four of them we do not know their former vocations. They were ordinary men; their personalities were different; yet Jesus called them to be with Him, to learn from Him and to go out and represent Him.
So it was that Jesus came down to a level place (6:17), there he selected and set apart the Twelve, ministered to the sick and preached perhaps the greatest sermon of all time.
“And he came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases (18) as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. (19) And the whole multitude sought to touch Him for power went out from Him and healed then all. (20) Then he lifted up His eyes toward his disciples, and said: Blessed are you poor For yours is the Kingdom of God (21) Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled, Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh. (22) Blessed are you when men hate you and when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man’s sake. (23) Rejoice in that day and leap of joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.”
Luke’s account gives us four Beatitudes whereas Matthew’s account gives nine. Because of the similarities with the sermon found in Matthew 5-7 some believe that it is the same sermon. But because of the numerous difference it is also possible to see Luke’s account as a separate sermon, preached on a different occasion, with a distinct purpose.
The sermon is introduced in verse 20 with the phrase,
“Then he lifted up His eyes toward his disciples, and said”
this clearly indicates that what he has to say is specifically for His personal followers. He also uses the second person plural as he addresses the disciples “blessed are you.” The King James Version uses “ye” a plural you meaning “you, all of you.” Here he gives a profile of what a disciple is to be. Those who follow Jesus must operate under a set of values different from and often opposite of that of the world. The Lord explained that a blessed life was not found in “getting” or from “doing” but from “being.”
The four descriptions of the righteous are not four separate groups, but four parts of a portrait describing those who are blessed. The Lord then turned to those in the crowd who were living only for the blessings of this earth and gave them the flip side of the coin. For each of the blessings there is a corresponding woe. Again with the woes he is not describing four different individuals or groups but rather four parts of a single portrait of those who stand in opposition to God’s kingdom. The four woes all share a common truth, beware of what you take from life, for you will pay for it. The Point seems to be that life involves choices. We must choose what in life to pursue. Every choice had both benefits (blessings) and a price to pay.
1. BEWARE OF SETTING YOUR SIGHTS TOO LOW (vv. 20, 24)
“… Blessed are you poor For yours is the Kingdom of God”
There is nothing innately righteous able being poor, nor is there any automatic evil in being rich. The writer of Proverbs (30:8-9) says that poverty can either be a curse or a blessing. “… Give me neither poverty nor riches—Feed me with the food allotted to me; (9) Lest I be full and deny You, And say, “Who is the LORD?” Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God.”
Jesus taught that when a choice must be made between money and god, God must always come first (Matt. 6:24). “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
Money is not evil, unless it takes the place that only God should have (1 Tim. 6). In the story of the rich young ruler found in Luke 18 we discover that his money meant too much too him. When forced with the choice of following Jesus or being rich, he chose to remain rich (Luke 18:18).
Jesus follows this teaching of blessings on the poor in a few verses with a corresponding woe in verse twenty-four, “But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation.” The word “woe” is an expression of dismay, regret and compassion rather than a threat. Jesus is expressing disappointment as well as condemnation for the actions and attitudes of those who will not accept the kingdom he offers. Listen to this modern translation of this woe (The Message) “It’s trouble ahead for those who think they have it made, What you have is all you’ll ever get.”
Psalm 34:18 says , “The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit” Another translation buts it this way “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (NIV).
2. BEWARE OF SETTLING FOR TOO LITTLE
(v 21a)
“Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled…”
The Old Testament does directly equate blessing with physical hunger, but it does commend a different kind of hunger. The Psalmist declares (42:1-2) “As the deer pants for the water brooks: So pants my soul for You, O God (2) My soul thirsts for God, for the Living God….” “ O God, You are my God; Early will I see You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.” David’s imagery is passionate. His soul thirsts. His spiritual longing is like a bodily ache. Jesus blesses spiritual hunger- “Blessed are you who hunger now for you will be satisfied.” With his coming, Christ became the source of all satisfaction.
Jesus follows this teaching of blessing on the hungry in a few verses with a corresponding woe in verse twenty-five, “Woe to you who are full, For you shall hunger,” Listen again to the translations from (The Message) “It’s trouble ahead if you’re satisfied with yourself, Your ‘self’ will not satisfy you for long.
3. BEWARE OF WHAT YOU LAUGH AT
(vv. 21b, 25)
“…. Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh.”
This statement was not an attack on laughter, Jesus does not mean, “Blessed are grim, cheerless Christians.” Actually, humor and laughter are good and necessary for the believer. Solomon says, “a cheerful heart is good medicine.” (Proverbs 17:22.) What Jesus was attacking is the superficial, shallow humor that characterizes the world, the inability to weep at the right things and the ability to laugh at the wrong things.
“We are called to weep over lost souls, people who will go into eternal darkness without Christ. We are to weep over the world’s misery, over injustice that falls on so many helpless people, over the unfairness that victimizes the weak, child abuse, battered spouses, over marriages destroyed by adultery, over homes destroyed by divorce, over rejection, over those who laugh now but who, unless they turn to Christ, will suffer (an eternity apart from God.) [Hughes. Luke: That You May Know the Truth. Vol. 1 (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1998). p. 220]
Jesus follows this teaching of blessing for those who weep in a few verses with a corresponding woe in verse twenty-five, “ Woe to you who laugh now, For you shall mourn and weep.” Laughter indicates satisfaction and contentment. Listen to this modern translation of this woe (The Message) “It’s trouble ahead if you think life’s all fun and games, There’s suffering to be met and you’re going to meet it.”
4. BEWARE OF SEEKING THE WORLD’S APPROVAL (v. 22, 26)
“Blessed are you when men hate you and when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man’s sake.”
The sad truth is that many Christian’s are persecuted not for the sake of their faith but simply because they are so unpleasant. They are rude, insensitive, thoughtless and piously obnoxious. Some are rejected because they are thought to proud and judgmental. Peter warned in (1 Peter 4:14-16) “If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of Glory and of God rests on you. On their part he is blasphemed, but on your part he is glorified. (15) But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. (16) Yet if any suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.” There is no intrinsic merit in being rejected and persecuted, but only in being thus treated on account of our service for Christ.
But the truth is that everyone who true follows Jesus will be persecuted. In John 15:20 Jesus states, “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you….” Paul advised Timothy, (2 Timothy 3:12), “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”
He also warned the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 3:3-4) “That no one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this. (4) For, in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, just as it happened, and you know.”
Jesus warns in verse twenty-six. “ Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets.” The Message translates this last woe this way, “There’s trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contest ….:Your task is to be true not popular.”
This last woe is “beware when all men speak well of you,” and it should be recognized that this usally will not happen to Christian apart from some sacrifice of principle. A person who is persecuted because of Christ is the only one truly living. There is an old saying, “Even a dead dog can swim with the tide.” To swim against the tide you have to literally be alive and kicking.
We should not be surprised with the Lord’s position on material possessions, hunger, weeping and rejection. “Jesus’ disciples are generally poor (though God does sometimes give them material riches). His disciples do not compromise with fallen culture. Their belief system is firmly rooted in Christ and his divine Word. They believe that Jesus Christ is the only hope of the world, that he is the only way to the Father. They stand true in their relationships and in their public conduct. Whatever wealth they have does not come through ethical compromise or the adoption of “everybody is doing it” business practices. They do not love money. They do not hold their earning tightly, for they have given everything to Jesus. They know he is their only hope – he is their life.” [ Hughes. p. 216.]
