Luke 6:20-26

Some would call this karma, I call it the way of the Lord! Help us Father to care for others in the way that You care for them and be doers not just hearers of Your Word. What do You require of believers? 

Micah 6:8

He has shown you, O man, what is good; 
And what does the Lord require of you 
But to do justly, 
To love mercy, 
And to walk humbly with your God? 

In general, the disciples of Jesus were not wealthy. They were poor men who had come humbly to trust in God. All of the promises of God’s rule both now and in the future belong to such disciples. Identification with Jesus usually leads to rejection and hardship, but the disciple who has left all to follow Jesus understands what placing Jesus first means. He or she also recognizes that God is aware of all suffering. 

Jesus began His sermon with an attention-grabbing, irony-filled series of blessings that have intrigued and puzzled Bible scholars and laymen for centuries. Often referred to as the Beatitudes, these statements contrast worldly goods and values with a heavenly estimation of people’s affairs. The Beatitudes provide us with a heavenly perspective, evaluating the present in the light of eternity. They remind us that things are not always what they seem, and certainly not what they will one day be.

In this view, the poor are seen as God’s chosen people. Though they suffer in this world, and perhaps because they suffer now, they can expect glorious blessing in the world to come. And the adherents of this view believe that while in this world the people of God should do everything possible to alleviate the suffering of the poor. In this way the kingdom of God is extended.

Many interpret the word poor as referring to the “poverty of spirit” that Jesus talks about in a very similar sermon, the Sermon on the Mount. In other words, Jesus was offering hope and joy to those who freely recognize their spiritual poverty before God. These individuals are blessed because they come to God with nothing to offer Him except their great need.  When a person rejects worldly values and embraces the godly teachings of Jesus, then that individual begins to experience the reign of Christ in his or her life. 

All that the rich receive without Christ is what they acquire on earth. Luke records many of Jesus’ critical remarks about the wealthy. Their wealth typically blinds them to their spiritual poverty and their need for salvation. 

Luke 6:20-26

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.