Luke's Beatitudes

Luke's Beatitudes

Today, were going to look at the Beatitudes, a set of teachings that Jesus lays out for the disciples. We know from Matthew that this is part of the sermon on the mount, when Jesus goes on the mountainside and monologues, pouring out some of the most wise and hotly debated teaching in history.

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:
"Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
"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! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. (Luke 6:20-23 ESV)

How is it a blessing to be crying, starving, and hated?

Jesus says we will have a reward in heaven if we suffer for his name, but that is a future blessing and the phrasing is "blessed are you", not "blessed-will-you be-at-some-vague time-in-the-future".   I'm not sure exactly how to drive this point home, but I'm pretty sure this terrible theology is what a lot of Christians believe, or at least is their experience: that God made the world and did some awesome things. . .that Jesus came to earth, did some awesome things. . .that Paul and the apostles did some awesome things too after Jesus went back to heaven. . .but that was back in Bible times and nothing like that happens anymore. "Yes, I believe Jesus loves me and I believe I will go to heaven when I die, but right now God is on the other side of the galaxy playing tiddlywinks with supernovae and couldn't care less about me."

Question - if God does these amazing things for the people in the Bible who love him and serve him, why, when he promises to do the same for us, would he not follow through in his promise?

That is not how God rolls. . .lets look at some scripture:
He is not the God of the dead, but of the living". (Luke 20:38).
For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, NOW is the time of God’s favor, NOW is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2 NIV)
God has not set us on earth, given us a curse of toil and suffering and pain and then abandoned us - look at Adam and Eve, he cursed them and then killed a lamb to provide them clothing - even amidst the curse, God was caring for them (Genesis 3:14-21)

My favorite bible name for Jesus is Immanuel - what does that mean?
God with us. God with us. God with us.

Be strong and courageous; don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For it is the Lord your God who goes with you; He will not leave you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6 HCSB)

Jesus's last words: Surely, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20 HCSB)

For we ARE the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (2 Corinthians 6:16 NIV). Right now, today, the spirit of the living God is living in us: "for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose" (Philippians 2:13 NIV). RIGHT NOW God is working in you, around you, and through you.

So, that said, how is poverty, hungriness, and weeping a blessing?

Check out this story about Elijah after his showdown on the mountain with the prophets of Baal:

Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord ,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord , for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord , but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.” (1 Kings 19:1-18 NIV)

Elijah fled in such a hurry that he had nothing, no money, no food, and no idea of where to go. He was destitute, scared literally to death, and like Simba in the lion king, he laid down to die. If you asked Elijah in that moment if he felt blessed, he would have punched you in the face. He did not look blessed and he did not feel blessed.

But this is exactly why I think Jesus is saying what he is saying. We are blessed when there is no option but God. No plan B, running home to grandma's house for a meal, or tapping into the emergency fund for cash. If God doesn't provide, I won't make it. If there is a plan B, we will take it; we will depend on ourselves rather than God, we will beg, borrow, and steal rather than pray. But when there is no other option but for God to provide, and we cry out to him, God provides.

Elijah has laid down to die, but an angel with lunch wakes him up: All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank.

"Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied". (Luke 6:21 ESV) - this literally happens to Elijah.

Then he walks 40 days to the mountain and all manner of chaos happens - there is fire, there is an earthquake. . .but then in the stillness and silence Elijah hears God whisper.

Elijah pours out his heart - he is mourning the downfall of his nation, the downfall of his life. You can bet there are tears falling as he says this: “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

God answers gently, "Go on back and anoint a new king, anoint some new prophets. . .you think you are alone, but there are still faithful men you can depend on. I am not finished with my chosen people. I am up to something amazing, and I will take care of you. You are weary and heavy burdened, but come learn from me for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. You have mourned, but I heard your voice just as you now hear mine.

Poverty, hunger, and weeping are not a blessing in and of themselves, they are a blessing if they allow someone, like Elijah, to encounter and depend on God. Blessed are you when your life sucks but you trust God anyway.

After the be-attitudes, Jesus lays out some don't-be attitudes:
But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your comfort.
Woe to you who are now full, for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who are now laughing, for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for this is the way their ancestors used to treat the false prophets. (Luke 6:24-26 HCSB).

I don't think the proper understanding of these passages is to sell everything today, make ourselves miserable, and be a loser, and then God will love us more. But there is a strong warning - if you are rich, be extra careful to depend on God and not your wealth.

If there is food in your fridge, give thanks to God for his providence in providing daily bread, don't pat yourself on the back and think you got it all by yourself. God gave you the brains and abilities to work, he designed a planet with liquid inside it so some guy could invent a car and the liquid could make the car go, so you could drive to the store to buy your food with the money God helped you to earn. You pick out a New York strip, an you might well remember that God made the animals way back when. . .and he gave humans the task of caring for them, knowing all along that one of his humans would figure out the best kinds of cattle to breed and the best butchering techniques, all so you could have your yummy steak. Remember as you are biting into it, the marbling (little lines of fat that give a ny strip it's flavor) - God gave that animal it's fat so it could survive the cold winters. And as you grill, don't pay yourself on the back too hard, because God also made this planet with a bunch of carbon in it and that carbon became coal, and God's coal plus fire plus God's cattle together make the greatest taste ever. Oh, and as you taste it and savor it, remember that God made your tongue with it's taste buds and your nose with its amazing ability to smell, so that you could delight in what you are eating.

Riches, laughter, and the praise of men aren't necessarily evil. Jesus, when he says woe, doesn't mean rich people all go to hell. I think he is giving the same warning that God gave Cain: "sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:7 HCSB). The more comfortable you are, the happier you are, the more self confident you are, the harder it is to remember our utter dependence on God. It's human nature. . .

One last thought about human nature, these words about woe to you are often used in the wrong way. We absoposolutely may not use them to judge others. I may not look at rich guy and say woe unto you! Or the happy kid at school an say woe to you. Jesus does not ask me to be a woe dispenser. Only Jesus is allowed to judge others. These words are meant so that we can judge ourselves, to examine our hearts and attitudes and beg God's forgiveness when we forget his benefits and goodness.

Let's close with Psalm 103

Bless the Lord , O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 

Bless the Lord , O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. 

The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 

He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 

As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. 

For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. 

As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. 

But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. 

The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. 

Bless the Lord , O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word!

 Bless the Lord , all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will! 

Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord , O my soul! (Psalms 103:1-22 ESV)

"It is well there is One who is ever the same, and who is ever with us. It is well there is one stable rock amidst the billows of the sea of life. O my soul, set not thine affections upon rusting, moth-eaten, decaying treasures, but set thine heart upon him who abides for ever faithful to thee. Build not thine house upon the moving quicksands of a deceitful world, but found thy hopes upon this rock, which, amid descending rain and roaring floods, shall stand immovably secure. My soul, I charge thee, lay up thy treasure in the only secure cabinet; store thy jewels where thou canst never lose them. Put thine all in Christ; set all thine affections on his person, all thy hope in his merit, all thy trust in his efficacious blood, all thy joy in his presence, and so thou mayest laugh at loss, and defy destruction. Remember that all the flowers in the world’s garden fade by turns, and the day cometh when nothing will be left but the black, cold earth. Death’s black extinguisher must soon put out thy candle. Oh! how sweet to have sunlight when the candle is gone! The dark flood must soon roll between thee and all thou hast; then wed thine heart to him who will never leave thee; trust thyself with him who will go with thee through the black and surging current of death’s stream, and who will land thee safely on the celestial shore, and make thee sit with him in heavenly places for ever. Go, sorrowing son of affliction, tell thy secrets to the Friend who sticketh closer than a brother. Trust all thy concerns with him who never can be taken from thee, who will never leave thee, and who will never let thee leave him, even “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.” “Lo, I am with you alway,” is enough for my soul to live upon, let who will forsake me.". Spurgeon