LUKE 6:17, 20-26
17 And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. 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 for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation.
25 Woe to you who are full, For you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, For you shall mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets.
JESUS IS SEARCHING
Jesus is searching for you, for me, for each one of us. His loving heart draws him to every single person. Here, in Luke 6, Jesus is announcing his blessing on those who have begun to follow him.
Jesus describes the different reasons that people may be moved to follow him. The poor are blessed because they know that they have no financial secuirty. The hungry cannot count on getting their next meal, and they lean on God even more. Those who weep are dealing with losses of people which they cannot bear. All of these are blessed because they know their need for God. They are promised the kingdom, fulfillment, and joy.
Why does Jesus say that some others face woe? All of those who are satisfied with the world do not know their need for Jesus. They may feel that they can count on their money, or the many other things to which we cling, like pleasure or popularity.
Jesus is truly searching, but he is also letting us know how to hear his call. When we lessen our dependence on money, or any of these other worldly things, we may realize that none of them can really fulfill us.
This may be hard to accept. We tend to reach for the familiar, especially when it’s worked for us before. Maybe that’s why God has a way of getting our attention, by showing us that none of these props will be there for us. When we are broken, we are like the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and we are blessed because we can know our need for him.
Jesus divides up his listeners into those who are blessed, and those who face woe. The whole world is judged by Jesus, and he is turning us all upside down. What an amazing Kingdom he brings, with a cross for a throne, and death as the door to victory. This is hope for all of us, because Jesus is truly searching for everyone. When we know our need, we turn to him. We can know and trust that he intends blessing for all of us, to fill us to overflowing!