Blessings and Woes (Luke 6:20-26)

And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He {began} to say, "Blessed {are} you {who are} poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed {are} you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed {are} you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap {for joy}  for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe {to you} who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe {to you} when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way."

As we have already set the stage for the preaching of the Sermon on the Mount in our previous lesson, Jesus is now ready to take His place and turn His eyes upon those who are waiting to hear Him. Luke tells us that “He {began} to say”, meaning that this was the beginning of this part of the teaching of Christ on this occasion.

With a list of beatitudes (addressed to the supremely blessed) and woes (primary exclamations of grief), Jesus begins this sermon with comfort and encouragement for His faithful followers, while warning those who choose to live contrary to His instructions. We will study today’s text by joining together the parallel beatitude to its corresponding woe so that we completely grasp the message of Jesus on these individual points. What Jesus is about to do is take all of the world's views and turn them upside down. Deissman said of the words of this sermon, “They are spoken in an electric atmosphere. They are not quiet stars but flashes of lightning followed by a thunder of surprise and amazement.” Jesus calls blessed or happy the ones that the world would see as wretched and miserable. Jesus proclaims woes on those that the world would see as blessed and happy. It is certain that with His words, Jesus has the attention of His audience. Are you giving your attention to these words today? These words mean just as much today, if not more, than they did when they were first spoken. We live in a world that needs to hear this message.

Jesus began, “Blessed {are} you {who are} poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” The word “poor” is a vague term in our culture today since the majority of people who exist are living below what is known as the “poverty level”. But is that really all that Jesus is addressing here…being physically poor? In Matthew's account, we read that Jesus added two words that may shed some more light on what He was intending to convey in this address. Notice that Matthew records Jesus as saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” To be poor, all you have to do is be lazy and not exert yourself into any form of labor that affords you the means to provide for yourself the necessities of life. To be poor in spirit, there is much more involved. To be completely emptied in our innermost being is to find ourselves humbled in recognition of our need for God and His eternal blessings. We need more people in the land who are willing to be poor “in spirit”.

It is one thing to become poor, but it requires a great deal more from us to be found poor in spirit. When you look up the word “spirit” as it is found in the parallel account of this text, it means our mental disposition or the rational soul. While we may have some of this world’s possessions, we must be of the understanding that we really have nothing until we have the blessings of heaven. This is being poor in spirit; recognizing our deeper and more pressing needs of the soul.

This means that we may suffer the lack of physical treasures and earthly prestige in this life, but as we realize in our spirit the importance of seeking the treasure laid up above with eternal glorification, God is going to give us His kingdom to enjoy. It is in the kingdom of God where all of the faithful find the blessings of salvation. This kingdom is the grand assembly of the Lord’s people that will one day be delivered into the presence of God for all eternity (I Cor. 15:24-26). You need to be a part of the kingdom in order to have the hope of being saved and taken up into the glories of heaven. It is not easy to go through life with the mindset that we are not to hoard up treasures on the earth. This is the way that our world functions. Perhaps this is why a great number of Bible texts include warnings to the rich (example: James 5:1-11). When we live each day with the understanding that we are to lay up treasures in heaven, we will stay focused on eternity, and we will remain poor in spirit, receiving the kingdom of God as our inheritance.

Are you poor spiritually or are you poor in spirit? This is a vital question that must be answered by each and every one of us today. The difference between the two can be a matter of gain or loss in eternity. To be poor spiritually is to lack the qualities and characteristics of a solid spiritual life before God. To be poor in spirit is to have the qualities and characteristics of a focused and dedicated disciple of Jesus. Where are you at spiritually?

The corresponding woe that goes with this first beatitude is, “But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.” When a woe is pronounced, there is always a hidden plea for repentance being made as well. To proclaim a woe upon a certain people was to announce the pending grief coming upon them. Jesus began by stating the ideal qualities for being blessed by God, but then informs his audience about the coming judgment that will be upon those who do not hear and heed the message.

The warning here is directed to the rich. Jesus is teaching them that if all that they desire and live for are the things pertaining to this life, then that would be their reward or their compensation of comfort. The words, “you have received” or “you are receiving,” come from one Greek word meaning “to have out…paid in full”. In other words, Jesus was saying to the rich, if only you take pleasure in the riches of this life, then that is the extent of what you will receive…you will not have the treasures and comforts of heaven. Jesus often taught that the rich had their payment in full when they did not live their life for the Lord and would not repent of their covetousness [Rich young ruler - Luke 18:18-25; Wealthy farmer – Luke 12:16-21; Rich man and Lazarus – Luke 16:19-31]. May we all heed the warning and guard our hearts from such hindrances to the kingdom of God. It is okay to be rich, as long as it is rich in faith (See James 2:5).

These words place the audience of Jesus in a position to make a serious decision…and that decision comes to us today: follow the ways and values of the world OR follow the ways and values of Jesus; concentrate on earthly gain OR concentrate on heavenly treasure; have my full reward now, where it will ultimately be lost in eternity OR have my full reward in heaven where it will be preserved and will last through all eternity. The choice is yours to make. I pray that we will all choose to be poor in spirit and receive the blessings of heaven.

Now that we have an example for how we are planning on dealing with the first part of this Sermon on the Mount, let us continue with the second beatitude and its woe. Jesus said, "Blessed {are} you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied” and then added as a woe, "Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry.” As we questioned whether Jesus was dealing wholly with the physical nature of being poor, we will also ask if physical hunger is the only thing that Jesus has in mind here. Does Jesus want us all to starve and lack our daily bread? NO…he even told us to pray for our daily bread. Jesus is getting to a greater spiritual application when dealing with the hunger of mankind in this passage.

When you are hungry, it is certain that you will seek something to eat. That is the nature of the human body based upon how we were created. When we realize that God is our maker, provider and sustainer and we find ourselves hungry and thirsty, we turn to Him and follow His lead and He gives us everything that we need (Matt. 6:33). But those who are full of the things of this life at times may feel like they are self sustained and they have no need of God or any other source from which to receive their necessities. The idea behind this text is that we can actually forget our God in the midst of having an abundance of this world's material stock.

To take this one step further, we will look again at Matthew’s account where he included a very important phrase in this part of the Sermon on the Mount. He recorded, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matt 5:6). Matthew makes it clear that what Jesus wants us to hunger and thirst for is the spiritual necessities of life. We are to hunger and thirst after righteousness. It is only when we receive the spiritual food that we need that we will truly be satisfied. This world’s goods can never fully satisfy the soul of man. Interestingly, notice that we are not blessed only when we eat the spiritual sustenance of our God, but the text says we are blessed even when we are hungering and thirsting for the heavenly provisions. The blessing upon those who are hungering and thirsting is that God can work within those who are seeking His care. Those who say they are satisfied are deceiving themselves, and God cannot bless those who do not desire or accept His gifts. But when we express to God, “I am hungry and thirsty for you, Lord, and I need you to fill me up,” that is when God will satisfy the longings of the soul. Another meaning of the word “hunger” is “to crave”. Do you crave the food that only the Lord (Bread) can give you? Another meaning of the word “filled” is “to gorge.” Are you starving for God? Are you in need of the bountiful blessings of the Lord? Come be truly satisfied today.

Next, we notice the third beatitude and its woe. Jesus said, “Blessed {are} you who weep now, for you shall laugh.” Just as with the first two beatitudes, we will find that Jesus has a spiritual meaning behind what he is saying here.

-Jesus doesn’t want us to walk around crying all the time. He also doesn’t want us to refrain from moments of laughter and enjoyment (See Eccl. 3:4). Jesus even says in the next few verses that those who are persecuted for His name’s sake should leap for joy. Unfortunately, there are some who think that life is a big joke and they do nothing to prepare for eternity. There has to be a balance.

So, what is the point here? Looking at the woe that is parallel to this text can clear up the concept of what is being taught here. Jesus said, “Woe {to you} who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep”. If mourning and weeping are in contrast to the laughter of this passage, then it becomes obvious that Jesus wants us to find repentance before we are content to find joy. In reality, you cannot have real joy until you have repented and reconciled your relationship with God.

If we never recognize our sins so as to mourn and weep over them, but we only laugh and overlook our error, then we will have no joy when this life is over. If we do not find the remorse within ourselves to take sin and unrighteousness seriously to the point of being forgiven by the Lord, then we are destined for an eternity of weeping (Compare Rev. 7:15-17 with Rev. 14:11-13 and Rev. 20:10-15). When the Lord forgives us of sin, we not only find great joy in this life, but we will certainly find a greater joy in the life to come. Some people have hardened their hearts, and they lack the ability to weep and mourn over what is supposed to bring tears. Sinning against God is one of those things that should make us cry. We need to find it within ourselves to remove all sin and shame from our lives so that we can live the joy-filled life both here and in eternity (See Psalm 51:6-17).

Finally, we want to examine our last beatitude and woe, which says, “Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap {for joy}  for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.” In the woe, Jesus states, “Woe {to you} when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.”

Notice the contrasts in this text. First, you have the contrast between those who mistreat you and those who speak well of you. Secondly, notice the connection between the fathers and the prophets and false prophets. The fathers used to speak evil of the true prophets, and they would speak well of the false prophets.

-There are so many today who will uphold the teaching of error and will speak evil of those who are trying to follow exactly what the Bible teaches. We live in a time when people are losing their interest in the spiritual things of heaven and are being overwhelmed by the material things of this world. While a false teacher may say what you want to hear, a teacher of truth is going to tell you what you need to hear. In many instances, the false teacher is exalted while the truth teacher is persecuted and sometimes even destroyed.

Again, when examining this portion of our study, we need to find the spiritual application intended here. Jesus is speaking to His disciples about some of the hardships that they were going to face and, in some cases, had already faced. Notice that here the blessedness is said to be found in being mistreated. It wasn’t so much the outcome of the individual after the trial as much as it was that they were facing persecution for being a follower of Jesus.

Obviously, we are even more blessed when we persevere and do not falter in a moment of testing and trial, but here Jesus says we are blessed if we are so involved in His work that we have people speaking evil of us. It is expected in a world of sin to receive ridicule when you are seeking to teach the truth and do what is right. I pray that God will bless such people right now who are dedicated to the preaching and teaching of the truth. 

Some people do such a good job at hiding their faith that they avoid all confrontation and turmoil. This is not what Jesus blesses. As a matter of fact, Paul wrote in II Tim 3:12, “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Have you been persecuted for your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? Blessed are you because Jesus said, “Be glad in that day, and leap {for joy} for behold, your reward is great in heaven.” Jesus shows us in that statement that this point is to be applied spiritually. We are to be prepared for the trouble that may come from being a Christian, and we are to rejoice in those moments of ridicule.

Anybody can make another person angry to the point that they would speak evil against them. The idea is that we aren’t out to make war, but rather to make peace. If someone ridicules us for our efforts, we are to count ourselves blessed for being able to suffer for the cause of Christ (I Pet. 4:12-16). What Jesus is blessing here are those who are so dedicated and committed to His cause that their efforts would actually cause them grief and hardship. We need to see more of this today! Not that I would wish hardship on any one of us…but our prayer needs to be that we no longer are fearful of what might happen if we make a bold move for our Lord…my prayer is that we would be so zealous and motivated in the work of the church that we would either change our hometowns with the gospel or truly find out where the community stands concerning spiritual things. It is time to get up and get out into our neighborhoods with the gospel so that we can do exactly what the Lord commissioned us to do…save souls. If you get your feelings hurt, if you find that you lose a friend or a close acquaintance, if you suffer physically, and if your efforts lead you to your grave, you need to be faithful to Jesus (Rev. 2:10; Heb. 11:37-38; 12:1-4).

Faithful prophets of old were destroyed verbally, emotionally, and physically, but never spiritually. You can take a man’s life, but you cannot take His soul. Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Where is your fear directed today? If towards man, it is directed in the wrong place. You can lose all of your possessions on this earth, but you still have treasure in heaven; you can lose all of the honor of this life, but you will be glorified in the life to come. We need to get our hearts centered on what is most important.

We like it when others think and speak well of us. We especially enjoy those times in life where it seems we have no enemies. Jesus says to us in those moments, “Woe {to you} when all men speak well of you…” If we are doing exactly what the Lord has called us to do, we are sure to find opposition. Make sure that you take that point with you from this study.

We are a people that truly enjoy peace, but Jesus taught in Matthew 10:34-39, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.” Will you find your life in Christ today? You have no life until you have Jesus! You have no hope until you are in the kingdom of God! You have no peace until Jesus saves you! What are your needs today? Do you need to make some serious changes in your life? Jesus can help you even this hour…do not delay until it is too late and your soul is required of you.

Be poor in spirit, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, while you weep and mourn over your sins and rejoice when you are persecuted for the name of Jesus. Jesus says you will be given the kingdom of heaven; you will be satisfied, you will be laughing, and you will receive a great reward in heaven. I am interested…what about you?