Luke 6:17–26
17 And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.
20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so 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 now, for you shall be hungry.
“Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
26 “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.”
Section Overview
The Pharisees have turned against Jesus, but he has appointed the apostles as his messengers to go out into the world. Jesus remains immensely popular with the crowds, and he explains what it means to be his disciple. Jesus teaches a massive crowd, heals the sick and ailing, and cures those troubled by evil spirits. The crowds long to get a touch from him, since he heals by the power of the Lord all who are troubled. Jesus also begins to teach what it means to be his disciple. In Luke this sermon is on the plain, while in Matthew it is on a mountain. The Lukan sermon is much shorter, and many complexities are involved in sorting out the relationship of the Gospels to one another. Doubtless Jesus repeats the things he teaches many times as an itinerant teacher, and this could be part of understanding the relationship between the two Gospels’ sermons.
Section Outline
III. Jesus Proclaims Salvation in Galilee by the Power of the Spirit (4:14–9:50) . . .
C. Good News for the Poor (6:12–8:3) . . .
2. Sermon on the Plain (6:17–49)
a. Introduction and Blessings and Woes (6:17–26)
Response
We often weigh our influence and stature in society to decipher whether our lives are significant. Jesus reminds us that our valuing of some things—money, food, entertainment—may signal that we do not belong to God. We are blessed if we belong to God, even if we are on the margins socially, live in a downscale neighborhood, and struggle to get by financially. Jesus is not saying that believers must be poor, but he challenges us to consider what we value and what we worship. Jesus is building his kingdom in places and persons we are prone to miss. May the Lord keep us humble and remind us of our great need of him. May we be willing to say to the world that we belong to the Son of Man.
6:17–19 After calling the apostles, Jesus comes down to a level place as crowds surge around him (cf. Luke 9:37; 19:37). Some are identified as disciples, while the rest are said to be a large gathering of people. The number of people coming to see Jesus is astonishingly large. Those who flock to Jesus come from Jerusalem, Judea, and up the coast from Tyre and Sidon. Both Jesus’ teaching and his healing attract people; his word and works are extraordinary. People are healed of their diseases, and those troubled by unclean spirits are also freed from their bondage (cf. 5:15). Since the power of the Lord flows from Jesus (5:17), the people long to touch him (cf. 5:13; 7:39; 8:44–47), for when they do so they are healed. The Pharisees are now opposed to Jesus, but his popularity soars with the people. He is showering them with the love of God.
6:20 Beginning in verse 20 we read four blessings and four woes that stand in radical contrast to one another. We should note that Jesus specifically addresses his disciples, and thus the blessings are not for those who are poor, hungry, mournful, and persecuted in general but for those who belong to Jesus in those categories. The word “blessed” (Gk. makarioi) is very difficult to translate. We could render it “happy,” though in English that word is tied to circumstances. Pennington has suggested “flourishing” as a good rendering. We can use “happy” if we remove the ideas of sappiness and superficiality. Being blessed does not necessarily mean life is easy, since those who are persecuted are “blessed” and happy in Christ.
Jesus begins by saying that the poor are flourishing and happy because the kingdom is theirs. Certainly the kingdom does not belong to them in its fullness, since death and suffering and sin still exist. Jesus is referring to the inauguration of the kingdom, the coming of the kingdom in his ministry. The kingdom has come in the person of Jesus (17:20–21), in his expulsion of demons (11:20) and his healings. The power of the kingdom is unleashed in the life of the poor, and Jesus has come to proclaim the good news of the coming kingdom, the return from exile of the poor (4:18; Isa. 61:1; cf. Luke 7:22; 14:13, 21; 16:20, 22; 18:22; 21:3). Although literal poverty and hunger (6:20–21) are in view, Luke is not teaching that the materially deprived trust in God by definition, though those who are poor and deprived may be more inclined to put their trust in the Lord instead of the comforts of this age.
In the OT the poor are the economically deprived who trust in Yahweh (1 Sam. 2:8; Pss. 9:18; 10:2; 34:6; 40:17; 70:5; 72:12; Isa. 29:19). Jesus does not include all of the materially poor but limits the blessing to those disciples that are persecuted for his sake (Luke 6:22–23). Marshall writes, “It is not poverty as such which qualifies a person for salvation: the beatitudes are addressed to disciples, to those who are ready to be persecuted for the sake of the Son of man.” Thus the Lukan rendering is not far from Matthew: “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matt. 5:3). Nor is it the case that all are required to give up everything and become poor to be Jesus’ disciples. Zacchaeus did not sell everything but repaid debts fourfold and gave half of his possessions to the poor (Luke 19:8).
6:21 The second blessing is for those who are hungry in the present era. They will experience satisfaction and fulfillment eschatologically. The kingdom is present now for those who are poor, but here we see that the blessing is also eschatological, as future satisfaction is promised. If we put the first two blessings together, the blessing is both now and not yet; it belongs to this age and also to the one to come. By way of contrast, Matthew says that the blessing is for those “who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matt. 5:6), and what we find in Luke accords with the Matthean saying. The blessing is not given carte blanche to those who suffer from hunger; it belongs to those who suffer material deprivation and who love the Lord. Mary praises the Lord for providing for the poor and for frustrating the rich (Luke 1:53; cf. 6:25). Those on whom the Lord sets his favor will not hunger ultimately (Isa. 49:10).
The flourishing that results from God’s blessing is for those mourning now; on the last day they will laugh. Again, the blessing is not for all those in the world who weep, since unbelievers weep as well. We think of the humble poor: the widow of Nain, who wept over the death of her son (Luke 7:13), or the sinful woman whose tears fell on Jesus’ feet as she wept over her sin (7:38). Those who weep over the death of beloved believers will rejoice on the last day (cf. 8:52). Jesus as the servant of the Lord (cf. 4:18) has come to “comfort all who mourn” (Isa. 61:2). This mourning is over the consequences of sin in the world: sin, death, disease, disasters, and demonic oppression. A new world is coming in which believers will enjoy gladness forever (Isa. 65:18).
6:22–23 These blessings are shocking and counterintuitive; it is not typically considered a blessing to be poor, hungry, or grief stricken. But Jesus reorients the way his disciples think about the world. And thus he says that we are blessed and flourishing if people despise us (cf. Luke 6:27), if they shut us out from the center of power, and if they criticize us and say we are evil and dangerous. Jesus’ disciples will be hated (21:17). We see here that this is not a general blessing for all who are hated and despised; this same truth applies to all the blessings. It is those who are hated and shunned because of their devotion to the Son of Man who are blessed (cf. John 15:18). If we are loathed because of our identification with Jesus, we should respond with joy and exultation (Acts 5:41; 1 Pet. 4:13), since this loathing is a sign we belong to God. The prophets (2 Chron. 36:16; Neh. 9:26; Jer. 2:30), who spoke in God’s name to Israel, were treated in the same way. Furthermore, a great reward, a heavenly reward, an everlasting reward, is promised to those who are rejected and hated for Jesus’ sake (cf. 1 Pet. 4:14).
6:24 Jesus has pronounced four blessings, and he follows up with four woes that stand in contrast to the blessings just pronounced. Woe oracles are common in the OT, threatening Israel with judgment (e.g., Isa. 3:9, 11; 5:8, 11; Jer. 6:4; 22:13; 23:1; Ezek. 13:13; 16:23). Woes should not be understood as inevitable curses; they forecast what will happen if one does not repent and turn to God. In the first case a woe is impending upon the rich, who stand in contrast to the poor (Luke 6:20), because the rich have received their joy and comfort in this life. Mary declared that “the rich” would be “sent away empty” (1:53). The desire for riches may choke out the word of the kingdom (8:14). The rich fool provided lavishly for his retirement but did not treasure God (12:15–21). Similarly, the rich man lived a life of luxury and delight but ignored poor Lazarus, forgot about the judgment, and ended up in torment (16:19–31). The rich ruler could not part with his possessions when Jesus called him to discipleship (18:18–30). The rich are not automatically excluded from the kingdom, if they use their money for Jesus’ sake, repenting of evil they have done and giving generously to the poor. We think of Levi, who left all to follow Jesus (5:27–28). At the same time, not all are required to quit tax collecting; some remain in the profession and work responsibly and ethically (3:12–13; 19:1–10). John Mark’s mother uses the large house she owns, which is doubtless expensive, for a gathering of disciples (Acts 12:12–16).
6:25 The reverses continue, standing as a contrasting mirror to the blessings. If those who are hungry are blessed (Luke 6:21), then those who are full must beware, for a day of judgment is coming. We see a similar thought in Isaiah 65:13: “Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame.” The last day will turn upside down what happens in this world (cf. James 4:9). We should not read this to say that no one who is full will enter the kingdom; if the full invite to their banquets “the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,” they will be recompensed on the last day, the day of resurrection (Luke 14:12–14).
A woe is also declared against those who laugh now, for those who mourn are blessed (6:21). The enemies of Israel laughed with derision when she was judged (Lam. 3:14). Of course, the godly are to rejoice now as well (Luke 6:23), and thus here we have the laughter of the uncaring and selfish rich, those who are successful and happy but also self-absorbed and narcissistic.
6:26 Those who are hated and despised for Jesus’ sake are blessed (6:22–23), but a woe impends for those who are celebrated and welcome by all. The false prophets were immensely popular. We remember how four hundred prophets of Baal predicted Ahab’s victory while Micaiah stood alone, warning of disaster (1 Kings 22; cf. Mic. 2:11). People want to hear that everything is fine, that no trouble will come (Isa. 30:10). Jeremiah 5:31 points to the problem: “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?” Being loved by all seems to be a sign of blessing, but discernment is needed, since such love may signal that one is on the wrong side.