Righteous Reversal Luke 6:20-26

Luke’s Beatitudes as a Summary of Jesus’ Kingdom Teaching

Please turn with me to Luke chapter 6 verses 20 to 26. Luke chapter 6 verses 20 to 26. Then he lifted up his eyes toward his disciples and said, blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. 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. Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for indeed your reward is great in heaven.

For in like manner their fathers did so, the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets. This is the word of the Lord. Let us pray. Father, we are thankful that your son Jesus has brought us into his kingdom at the cost of his life.

And we pray that you would help us through your spirit to live according to the principles of his kingdom, that we would find encouragement and joy in living as we ought, as Jesus taught. In Jesus' name, amen.

Luke and Matthew, Summary and Translation, Not Contradiction

So this section is Luke's version of Matthew's Sermon on the Mount. It's important to note here that this is more than just the physical context. And the reason is the content of this teaching allows for a spiritual and eschatological context to the poor, right?

The poor, theirs, for theirs is the kingdom of God. There is this spiritual aspect to this. Now, this is not a transcript of Jesus' teaching. It's important to know that the gospel authors, when they wrote out their whole book, they had to cut it short, or else we would be here a longer period of time unpacking what Jesus said.

This is not a transcript, but rather a summary of Luke's account of the Sermon on the Mount. And for that reason, because it's a summary, Luke and Matthew have different emphases and different angles.

There are similarities, but don't be surprised if Luke and Matthew have different contents. And that's because both Luke and Matthew are not trying to write a transcript, but really summarize the core of Jesus' teaching, the characteristic of Jesus' kingdom.

So this is to lead us away from any worries of, oh, no, the Bible is contradicting itself. It's not. It's just Luke is giving us his angle, and Matthew is giving us his angle. There are just two different cameras in place, and we get to see two different sides.

And note also that this is a translation. Remember the whole New Testament is written in Greek. Jesus did not teach in Greek. He probably spoke Aramaic. So there is a difference in translation as well, just as we have difference in translation in our modern English versions.

We have to also account for that. Now, this section is the preamble to Jesus' sermon. This is the introduction. Right? And it shows us the principle and characteristics of Jesus' kingdom. Right? Every kingdom has its own culture.

Every kingdom has its own standard and characteristic. And Jesus' kingdom also has its own characteristic and principles. And note that Jesus' kingdom and the principles are totally dependent on the king.

Every kingdom is dependent on the reigning monarch, and it is still the case for Jesus' kingdom. We cannot talk about Jesus' kingdom without the king. And any time a nation, society, culture try to reach God's kingdom without the king, try to reach the paradise on earth without the king, Jesus, they actually make hell on earth.

Any ideology that tries to make the poverty go away, the hungry go away, injustice go away, without Jesus, they have utterly failed and caused even more wicked acts than ever before. And for Christians, we have to read this section in the context of what our king has accomplished.

And that is that he's accomplished full restoration and reversal that's shown here through his own reversal on the cross. The king, who is royal and noble and highly exalted, dies a humiliating, atoning death for his people.

The reason why any of us can enter into the reality of Jesus' kingdom is because the king laid down his life for his subjects. And that concept itself sets the tone for the reversal that we see in this text.

The Meaning of Blessing and the Poor in Spirit

Second, we do need to define what blessing is. We have such a twisted view of blessing. I've mentioned it before. Blessing is not the fact that you get to have a cappuccino coffee, a cup of coffee with a heart in it, right?

And to take a picture and hashtag blessed, right? Blessing in the Bible is totally dependent on God. And that's what the hymn even affirmed that. It's what God does, right? Blessing is not earned. Blessing is graciously given to us by God.

It is God's action. So that's what we need to remember when we see this repeated phrase, blessed are, blessed are. The poor didn't earn it. The hungry didn't earn it. They're blessed because of God's gracious gift.

Now, the main question that this text asks us this morning is, what characterizes the principles of Jesus' kingdom? What characterizes the principles of Jesus' kingdom? First, those who depend on Christ must rejoice during the present hardship because God will fulfill his righteous reversal upon the fulfillment of his kingdom.

Those who depend on Christ must rejoice during this present hardship because God will fulfill his righteous reversal upon the fulfillment of his kingdom. We see here a glimpse of Jesus' teaching ministry.

We've been seeing Jesus' miracles and his authority through these miracles. We get to see what he has to teach us. So first, he addresses his followers. Then he lifted up his eyes toward his disciples and said.

And it is important to note that the audience of the lecture are his followers. They're followers of Christ. They're the disciples of Christ. They have committed themselves to Jesus. This is important because if we lose whom Jesus is talking to and try to apply these following verses in a political context, it inevitably leads to a false application, which is political revolution.

We must do something for the poor. We must do something for the hungry. But here, the context is the disciples of Jesus and the one who's doing something for them is God himself. Jesus is not addressing all the poor and oppressed.

That's also another thing, right? Blessed are you who are poor. He's speaking to the disciples. He is addressing his disciples who have nothing to depend on but God. That's also important because many false teachers try to take these verses and say that poor in themselves are blessed just because they're poor.

But we have to take note that the blessing of God does not go out to every poor in the whole world in history. The context is in terms of those who are following Christ. Those who are filled will ultimately be those who depend on Christ.

Now, the following three verses address four groups of people who are in need or are oppressed. The poor, the hungry, the mourners, and the persecuted. And using the modern worldview, and in fact, not even just the modern worldview, any worldview, these are far from blessed.

These people, these groups of people are not what we would characterize as blessed. Yet, Jesus starts out his preamble of the principles of his kingdom with blessed. Blessed are ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

First, blessed means fortunate, contented, they're content. Blessed is this inner joy of experiencing God's faithfulness. And of course, this concept is mentioned above is very prominent in the Psalms, right?

Psalm one starts with blessed are those who do not identify with the wicked, but meditate on God's word day and night. And Psalm two, blessed is the one who takes refuge in the Lord. And more as we go on, blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.

Blessing relates to who God is in these people's lives. You can't separate God from blessing. Now, the first group whom Jesus declares blessed are ironically the poor. The ones whom we assume to be farthest away from the contentment are considered content in Christ.

Now, it is important to not see just the purely materialistic view, right? Not to see the poor just as in a physical sense. It's more than that. Remember in Luke 4 .18, Jesus read from the Isaiah scroll how the poor heard the gospel.

And in the context of Isaiah 61, the poor are those who responded to God's mercy because they have nothing else to count on. In fact, this is prevalent in the Old Testament. Psalm 34 .6, this poor man cried out and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.

The reason why the poor man cries out to the Lord is because he knows that he has nothing to rely on and no one else to call upon except the Lord himself. And it is not his poverty that satisfied the requirement, that satisfies the requirement for the Lord's deliverance as if he's earned it through his poverty.

It is Lord's gracious act of deliverance because of his faithfulness to whomever calls on his name. Their physical lack clearly illustrates their spiritual humility and spiritual hunger. In fact, that may be why Matthew interprets his account of the beatitude as blessed are the poor in spirit.

Matthew saw that this is more than just the physical aspect but it totally accounts for the spiritual reality. Of course, there are poor who do not call upon the Lord. This is not an end-all law. But it's generally true that those who cannot rely on anything else in their lives because they have nothing, they're eagerly willing to call upon God.

Now, why are they blessed? For theirs is the kingdom of God. The reason for the blessedness is in fact purely spiritual. It is not blessed are the poor for theirs is the kingdom of Herod as if go out, kick that man out and take his palace.

This is not a political revolution. It's also not blessed are the poor for theirs is the Roman Empire. No, it is the kingdom of God. They are blessed because God's kingdom is composed of those who are desperately in need of God for every sustenance, both physical and spiritual.

Those who have nothing to depend on except God are those who make up Jesus' kingdom. That's why they're blessed. Many kingdoms in order to be part of a victorious, powerful kingdom, unless you're born into it, it's very difficult.

In order to be a Roman citizen who was not natural born, it took a lot of money and influence. But this kingdom's different. The kingdom of God is different. Your only requirement is the admitting and crying out to God for help.

That's the only requirement. The second group shows us those who face the consequences of poverty. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. The hungry are those who lack the very things that they need to survive.

The hungry are those who must go to God for every provision or they will die. Again, there's both spiritual and physical aspects to this group. Those who have pleaded with God for their physical nourishment know that they must beg God for the spiritual nourishment.

The promise here points to the future reversal. They may lack now, but they will be filled. Their hungry state is not the end. They will be filled. The one doing the filling, of course, is none other than God.

The hungry, too, will be comforted by God. They will be satisfied by God. The third group shows us those who are presently troubled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. In the Old Testament, there are many reasons for weeping.

A more common reason is injustice. Jesus knew that his disciples, who are not in power, who commit to him now, will face all sorts of injustice. To those, Jesus provides the promise of full restoration of justice.

When the core reason of weeping is dealt with by God, the weepers will laugh. When the wicked are removed and justice served, the mourners will be filled with joy. For Christ's followers, who suffer injustice now, are blessed because there will be a righteous reversal.

And this is important for those of you who may have faced injustice at a higher level. You never know what the human court will do. You never know the verdict. You know your case is just. You know that righteousness must be served.

But, you never know. Totally depends on the judge. Depends on the prosecutor. Depends on the jurors. You don't know. You're never guaranteed the verdict that you desire, that you need. But for those who are in God's kingdom, your verdict is sealed.

Those of you who are mourning, you will laugh. There is indeed a happily ever after for those who weep now in Christ's kingdom. There will be a righteous reversal. Now next, the hardship for the fourth group escalates and so do the reasons for their blessing.

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. There's a clear increase in persecution in much more detail, intensity and detail.

First, men hate you. They despise you. They seek to destroy you. They harm you. They look forward to your errors. There are people like that against Christians. Even though you might not have personally affected them in any way.

They seek to see your demise. Second, it becomes more social. They exclude you. From the internal hatred, it shows up externally and socially. They leave you out. This is social separation. Third, they revile you.

Revile, also here, cast out your name as evil means to completely slander. Now the idiom for name in the ancient Hebrew culture is that the name was more than just the identity marker. Your name represented who you were as a person.

Your name represented the family you come from, people you associate with, your character, your history. That was in the name. And this is why, again, taking the name of the Lord in vain is more than just blurting out his name in an inappropriate circumstance.

It means to completely mischaracterize God as who he's not. It is to bring shame upon God's name, even through our actions. That's blasphemy. And here, these people, these wicked people are doing the same thing to Christ followers.

They're completely mischaracterizing, reviling Christians. And now what's the core cause of all this persecution? For the son of man's sake. The son of man is the title from Daniel 7. He's this mysterious figure who has these divine qualities.

He's on the clouds, and he's powerful. He gets one of the thrones. They're thrones, they're plural. And the Lord is sitting in one, the Ancient of Days. And he comes before the Ancient of Days, and the Ancient of Days gives the son of man all the nations over.

And Jesus calls himself the son of man, and he has done so a couple of times before in Luke. So for the sake of Christ, you're persecuted. The blessing is tied to reviling and persecution directly tied to one's identity in Christ or one's commitment to Christ.

You're not blessed nor persecuted for Christ if you're pulled over on the highway for going 20 miles over, right? That's not persecution for the son of man's sake. All these blessings are inseparably tied to one's identity and allegiance to Christ.

In another sense, there's no blessing apart from Christ. And during the painful persecution, Jesus commands his followers to rejoice. Rejoice in the day and leap for joy. Ironically, the persecution itself leads to rejoicing.

Rejoicing, be filled with joy. Externally, show that the joy outflows. Leap for joy is the same language that was used when John the Baptist in Elizabeth's womb leapt out upon the presence of Jesus when Mary visited.

This is a complete rejoicing, not just internally. It's not just internal feeling good, but it cannot be contained just inside. And now what are the reasons for rejoicing? First, Jesus gives an eschatological or spiritual reason for rejoicing.

For indeed, your reward is great in heaven. There's a future promise of a heavenly reward. You may not find justice now. Your honor may not be restored in the court of public opinion, but the heavenly father will fully compensate.

Not only that, give you more than what you've lost. In another sense, the heavenly father is fully aware of what you're going through. He hasn't blinked and he will make it right. He will reward heftily.

Second, Jesus gives a present reason for rejoicing. For in like manner, their fathers did to the prophets. This is an encouragement to show that you are following the footsteps of the faithful spiritual giants.

Most of the prophets in the Old Testament were disrespected and sometimes killed for their faith. In fact, most of them, their intended audience did not listen to them. One of the few ones who actually was heard was Jonah, and he didn't even like that.

For example, Elijah had to flee Israel after a great miracle against the prophets of Baal because his life was in danger. Daniel was slandered and thrown into the lion's den. Isaiah was sawn in half. Translation, when the world hates you for your commitment to Christ, it's a testament that your faith is genuine.

Like the faithful prophets who came before you, the world did the same to the prophets whom God sent in the past. The world hasn't changed, so don't expect them to treat you any differently. It's almost of a seal of approval that, oh yes, you must really belong to Christ.

Now, the world says you're blessed if you have the right stuff and have the right reputation. Here, true blessing, however, depends on your relationship to Christ, your dependence on Christ. This morning, like the poor and hungry, if you're only holding on to Christ for your ultimate security and comfort, you belong to Christ and he will ultimately satisfy you.

The promise of blessing apply, the promises of blessing apply to you this morning. And the weepers this morning, like the weepers, if you're dissatisfied with the current world order, when wrong will not be called right, when the wrong people, evil people, are rewarded, when the righteous are punished, this promise that there would be a righteous reversal through Christ, this promise applies to you.

Jesus will make it right. It may not be immediate, but it is guaranteed. It's much better to hold fast to a guaranteed unknown time, timeline for a verdict, a righteous verdict, than an immediate not guaranteed righteous verdict.

The persecuted this morning, if you are the weird relative who brings up Jesus too much during family gathering, if your coworkers think you're an idiot because of your commitment to Christ, if you have been uninvited to a social event because of your identity in Christ, if your business suffered because you stand with Christ, Jesus says rejoice, because your reward will be great in heaven.

The reward you didn't get from the world will only be a drop in a bucket compared to the reward that's waiting for you in heaven. Not only that, your faithfulness does not go unnoticed. By the God of heaven, the king is not ashamed to be associated with you.

In fact, the king died so that you'd be brought into his kingdom. That's the promise we have in Christ. That's why we can rejoice. It's both present and future promises. It's here, but not yet at the same time.

The Woes on the Rich, the Full, the Self-Satisfied, and the Popular

Second, those who rely on themselves instead of Christ will experience a ruinous reversal. Those who rely on themselves instead of Christ will experience a ruinous reversal. Following the blessing of the four groups, Jesus pronounces woes against the different, yet parallel four groups.

But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe is the opposite of blessing. It is the pronouncement of pain and judgment that is to come. In the Old Testament, oftentimes blessings and woe actually go together.

The order might be different. It might be woe first and then blessing. But this is a prophetic message. Now, parallel to the poor, the first woe is toward the rich. Now, it is important to know that Scripture does not vilify the rich for their wealth.

In fact, Luke 19, the same book, accounts that Jesus will stay with Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector, who's very wealthy. And after he declares Zacchaeus saved, he's a rich man who's been blessed. Also, some of the faithful men of the New Testament are followers of Christ, and they're rich.

Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus, and they were well-known and very rich. And Barnabas, he sold a whole field to give to the church. He was rich. And in the Old Testament, God blessed Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and even Solomon with wealth.

So wealth itself does not make someone evil, but rather what their relationship to their wealth is. Just as the poor, who totally depended on Christ, was blessed, the rich, who depends on his wealth, is cursed.

And this is because they find their worth and value in what they possess rather than God. And because their identity is in their wealth, they seek comfort and security in their wealth rather than God.

Rather than calling out to God in humility, they depend on their possessions and power. And to those people, Jesus pronounces, whoa, for you have received your consolation. For those who are comforted by their wealth rather than God will not be receiving any comfort from God himself.

And that makes sense. If they're not seeking God out, they're not seeking God for comfort, why would God entrust his comfort on them? Those who trust in their wealth rather than God will not be delivered by God.

And ironically, they will not be delivered by their wealth either. They will not be comforted by their wealth eternally. Their days are numbered. In the same order, Jesus pronounces the woe to the full, those who are content.

Now, woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger. Those who are full are the conditions of the rich. And they will experience the opposite of the fate of the hungry. They will no longer have what they currently have abundantly.

And this is because of the reversal that is to come in Christ. The righteous will be filled, not the wicked. And the third woe strikes the attitude of the rich. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

Laughter here is not out of humor, but out of arrogance. It is the self-sufficient, self-satisfied laughter. It is the hubris of rejecting God because they don't need him. In fact, we see this all the time in the powerful.

Not to say that there are no Christians who are leaders. There are, but there are very few and far in between. Because they rely on their power and wealth rather than God. And one day, their laughter will cease and turn to mourning and weeping.

And in fact, when Jesus describes hell, he talks about how those in hell will be weeping. And remember, weeping is not a sign of repentance. Repentance is out of remorse for offending the holy God. Weeping can come from repentance, but weeping can come from the regret and pain rather than the remorse.

Regret is self-focused. Remorse is God-focused. The fourth woe parallels the fourth blessing. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets. Instead of persecution and reviling, this group are praised and commended now.

Jesus' reason for their woe is the opposite of the reason for rejoicing for the righteous. They're following the path of the false prophets. In the Old Testament, many false prophets prophesied what the audience wanted to hear rather than what God was actually saying.

And in fact, they were highly regarded. Oh, you will defeat these enemies, oh king. When the true prophets may have said, no, these are judgments from God, repent, and maybe God might be merciful. These prophets, the false ones, filled the king's courts.

They placed popularity amongst men over faithfulness to God. Now, they placed reception by men over acceptance from God. They placed the opinions of men, positive opinions of men, over the truthfulness of God's word.

And to them, there's woe. And they're going along the same line of the false prophets. This section, first of all, is a warning to the outsiders, those who are not committed to Christ, those who are not in God's kingdom.

It's a warning of saying, don't get too comfortable with your current state of affairs because the reversal is coming. The days of oppressing the weak are numbered. The days of satisfaction through unjust means will expire.

And the days of controlling and manipulating the powerless are coming to an end. It's a stark warning to the outsiders. Second, this is a comfort to the faithful followers of Christ because the wicked will not last.

They need to endure for only a little bit. Their eternity does not have the wicked written in them because the evil ones will face a reversal they do not need to act upon it themselves to bring about their end.

This is very different from what the modern culture promises and proclaims. If there's an unfair trial or unjust system, we need to overturn it with arms. But for Christians, we know who's going to overturn it.

And we know who's gonna do a better job. It's not up to us to take up arms to reverse the wicked worldly system. Ever since the Garden of Eden, Genesis three, there was not a good worldly system. Let's not get ahead of ourselves to think that we can get a good worldly system through our own means and powers.

Just trust God and he'll do it just fine. We have to just wait and watch. Third, this is a warning to the disciples. God's values and world's values are polar opposites. It is tempting to pursue the world's popularity.

Maybe if you just stay quiet about the Bible's view on homosexuality. Maybe if you co-sign your friend's sin. Oh, is it okay if I live with my girlfriend? Maybe if I approve other religions as valid.

Alongside with Christianity. Maybe then people will like me. Maybe then people will accept me. This text warns us not to trade the eternal blessing bought for you by Christ's atoning death on the cross for a temporary spotlight of fame that belonged to the false prophets.

All of these false prophets after their time, after their life have been regarded as wicked. They had no control over who wrote about them because God wrote about them truthfully. And despite, when we look at this, despite facing any present persecution in the world, Jesus' disciples can rejoice because God will righteously reverse the current state of affairs.

These promises, these wonderful promises are totally dependent on God. And these wonderful promises are given to those who are totally dependent on God. Let us pray. Father, we're thankful that in the end, you will make all things right, and we trust that you will do that.

And we consider ourselves blessed despite what we're going through, knowing that what we're going through, whether trials, temptations, suffering, they're only temporary and they will reverse dramatically upon the return of our King Jesus.

Help us to focus our eyes and hearts on Christ every day, knowing that he is more than capable of reversing the trend at any time. Help us to long for him in a healthy manner, and help us to value what you value and not seek after the fleeting fame of the world.

In Jesus' name, amen.