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Reading Luke 6:20 and 24, where Jesus says blessed are you who are poor, and then issues a contrasting woe to those who are rich, that we may see our need for Christ. Visit wwutt.com for all our videos!
Just like the Sermon on the Mount, the Sermon on the Plain begins with Beatitudes. It's those blessed are statements so that we might know that in Christ Jesus, we indeed are truly blessed when we understand the text.
This is When We Understand the Text, a daily Bible study in the word of Christ. For he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Tell your friends about our ministry at www .wutt .com.
Hey, once again, it's Pastor Gabe.
Thank you, Becky. In our study of Luke chapter six, we come back to the Sermon on the Plain. And just like the Sermon on the Mount begins with the Beatitudes, so it is the same with the Sermon on the Plain.
So let me start reading here in verse 20 through verse 26. Hear the word of the Lord. 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. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets. Now you can easily identify similarities between this list of Beatitudes and what it is that we have in Matthew at the start of the Sermon on the Mount.
And you can also see the differences as well. What Matthew did not have in his Beatitudes were woes, which Luke includes in his. Matthew also featured eight Beatitudes, whereas Luke has only four Beatitudes followed by the four woes.
Let me go back to the Beatitudes in Matthew chapter one. At the start of the Sermon on the Mount and look at the structure of these Beatitudes and kind of compare that with what we have in Luke six. So as I mentioned, there are eight Beatitudes in Matthew chapter five.
Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Blessed are the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers and those who are persecuted for righteousness sake.
Now there is a ninth technically verse 11, but it really goes with the one that's in verse 10. It's kind of, it's elaborating on what was in verse 10. Matthew 5, 10 says, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
And then Jesus continues with that in saying, blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
And that's very similar to what we have there in the sermon on the plane. Now you may not think that the Beatitudes in Matthew five follow a particular structure. You can almost more easily identify the structure in Luke six than you can in Matthew five, but there is a structure here as well.
The first four Beatitudes have to do with a desire for God. And then the next four Beatitudes have to do with the Christian's interaction with man. Now you've probably heard it said that the Sermon on the Mount is a manifesto for how a Christian lives in this world.
You are now a citizen of the kingdom of God. How are you to live that you are still in the world? And that's what the Sermon on the Mount is a little more particular toward that than what we have in Luke chapter six.
So given that that is the kind of the mission behind the Sermon on the Mount, then again, those first four Beatitudes have to do with man's relationship with God. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Poor in spirit meaning that we can do nothing of ourselves. I can't help myself. I can't bring myself out of this destitution. It is only God who can lift me up. So recognizing that we have nothing and we reach toward God, we are poor in spirit.
We desire him. What do we receive? The kingdom of heaven. And again, since this has to do with living in the kingdom of God or living in this world as a citizen of the kingdom of God, you have a mention of the kingdom of heaven as bookends on these Beatitudes.
Verse three, theirs is the kingdom of heaven and verse 10, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. It is said there in both places. So the second Beatitude, blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.
Mourning over sin, desiring God, they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. One who does not expect anything in return from this world and yet God will give them the world.
They will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Again, desiring the righteousness of God, they shall be satisfied. So there is the Christians longing for the Lord and then verses seven through 10 are the way that the Christian interacts with people among whom he lives.
Verse seven, blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God, keeping themselves from the world and those desires, those enticements of the flesh.
Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God, making peace with one another. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. So there's the structure that you have of the Beatitudes in Matthew chapter five.
Now let's look at those in Luke chapter six in the Sermon on the Plain. Now, just like chapter five, just like Matthew five, it says in verse two, Matthew five two, he opened his mouth and taught them saying, and you have the Sermon on the Plain begin the same way.
He lifted up his eyes on his disciples and said, that's Luke six 20. Then you have these four Beatitudes. Blessed are you who are poor for yours is the kingdom of heaven. That's the same as the first Beatitude or almost the same as the first Beatitude in the Sermon on the Mount.
But what's different about it? In Matthew five three, it says blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Luke has blessed are you who are poor for yours is the kingdom of God.
And there's not any difference between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God. It's just one prefers one term over the other. Matthew is the only gospel that uses the expression kingdom of heaven.
It's only in Matthew and it appears over 30 times. Kingdom of God is the expression that Luke prefers and it appears over 30 times in his gospel. Kingdom of God also appears in Matthew's gospel but it's only like three or four times or something like that.
So kingdom of heaven is what Matthew prefers. Kingdom of God is what Luke prefers and there's no great difference between them. So blessed are you who are poor is what Luke says for yours is the kingdom of God.
You don't have that distinction of being poor in spirit but it does mean the same thing. Why is it then that Luke would just feature it this way instead of saying poor in spirit? A couple of reasons. First of all, it may have been exactly the way that Jesus said this.
So like I said yesterday, there are differences between these two sermons but not to the point that they contradict one another as the skeptics would like to claim. Jesus is preaching in the Sermon on the Mount on a mountain in Galilee.
In the Sermon on the Plain, it's a level place somewhere around the Sea of Galilee. And he has similar talking points between both sermons like any itinerant preacher would have who probably has just a few sermons and he maybe changes up the sermon from one place to another but it's not like he's preparing exegetical sermons, a different sermon everywhere he goes.
He might have several sermons that he rotates through. So Jesus, in order to get to everybody is probably gonna preach similar talking points over here and then similar talking points over there. And they may not be exactly the same but the substance of it will be largely the same.
And then he will also repeat things just for the sake of repetition. You heard a sermon one time doesn't mean that you remember everything about that sermon. So sometimes Jesus is repeating the same things over and over again.
And he's got great crowds that have come to him and wanting to hear him teach and be healed by him. That's what we had in verses 17 to 19. So that's one reason why that first beatitude is different. Blessed are you who are poor for yours is the kingdom of God versus Matthew saying blessed are you who are poor in spirit for yours is the kingdom of heaven.
A second reason why that first beatitude is different is because this goes with what Luke wrote down that Jesus preached in Nazareth. He's keeping with the theme of the things that he's been laying out over the course of his gospel.
If you'll remember back to Jesus teaching at Nazareth he read from Isaiah and in Luke 4, 18 this was what he read. The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind to set at liberty those who are oppressed to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. So taking that teaching and staying consistent with what has previously been read in Luke's gospel therefore he doesn't find it necessary to add the distinction to this beatitude blessed are you who are poor in spirit.
And like I said, Jesus can teach it just like that. He can say blessed are you who are poor in spirit blessed are you who are poor and the two things still mean the same. Someone who is poor, who doesn't have a lot of money who doesn't have property maybe they don't have anything at all.
They're poverty stricken. They can't survive if not for the charity of others. Somebody who is that poor is not blessed by virtue of being poor. A person's not automatically blessed by God because they're poor.
If they were, then where's the line? Like how far down do you have to go in your income or your possessions or how much money you have in the bank account before suddenly, oh, now I'm blessed of God. Where is that line?
The Bible doesn't say that anywhere but rather poor is being used here as a reference to those who recognize their own estate and how low they are and how they have nothing no matter how rich they might be in the world they still recognize I am a sinner before God.
What I deserve is judgment. And though the world may see me as being wealthy and successful and prosperous, I am dirt poor. I have nothing if I do not have Christ. Jesus is absolutely speaking spiritually here.
Blessed are you who are poor. You recognize that. You recognize that you have nothing without Christ. And what you will receive is the kingdom of God. You must first see your own low position in order to see that you need Christ.
And when you've recognized that you receive his kingdom you become a fellow heir of the kingdom of God with him. So we are all poor beggars. We are all reaching out to Jesus, holding out a hand needing to be lifted up by him.
We cannot get out of that condition without him. Now, having said that, even though Jesus is not speaking here about your income or how much money you have in your bank account or what class you live in, whether you're middle class upper class or lower class, or just down there at the bottom of the poverty line Jesus is not addressing that.
But still that said, it is easier to speak this good news to the poor and it be good news to their ears than it is to say such a thing to the rich. Because those who are wealthy, who have a lot of possessions don't think that they need anything.
Think of Jesus addressed to the church at Laodicea in Revelation chapter three. You think that you have it all. You think that you don't need anything at all. As Jesus said in Revelation 3 .17, for you say, I am rich, I have prospered and I need nothing.
Not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, not actual gold. But of course, Jesus is saying that you have nothing apart from me.
You think you have everything, but you're actually wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked. This is even for believers. Jesus is talking to a church. This is the mindset of a person who thinks that they have everything.
It's a lot harder for them to see their need for Christ. It's easier for a person who is poor. And though they suffer and they struggle and they don't have much, this assurance of Christ is given to them.
You'll receive the kingdom of God. You can go the rest of your life poor. You have riches stored up for you in heaven, in glory. We also know of the encounter that Jesus had with the rich young ruler.
Remember he told the rich young ruler to give away all of his possessions, sell it to the poor and you'll have treasure in heaven, then come and follow me. And the rich young ruler walked away sad because he had many great possessions.
Mark chapter 10, one of those places where Jesus encounters this rich young man. And he says to his disciples, what? It's easier for a camel to do what? To go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
A person who puts their trust and their satisfaction and contentment and all their stuff. It's a lot harder for them to give all that up for the sake of the kingdom than it is for a person who already doesn't have anything at all.
The apostle Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 6, 17, as for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.
So there once again, it's as if Paul is saying to Timothy, remind the rich they don't have anything without God. They need to rely on God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. All the stuff you have in the world is not that stuff.
What God gives way more important. Verse 18, they are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
Your life is not in this stuff. It's not what you have here on earth. It is in Christ and that which is laid up for us in glory. There's nothing in the Bible anywhere that says being rich is a sin, but there are constant warnings about having too much stuff because then your heart and your passions go after your things and you forget about God.
You forget your need for God. I've got everything that I need right now and I'm fully satisfied in all of my stuff. No, you need Christ. And so hence this good and needed reminder, even without the qualification of spirit, it is good for us to hear, blessed are you who are poor for yours is the kingdom of God.
We should desire that the most. Now let's look at the woe that contrasts with that. So verse 24, but woe to you who are rich for you have received your consolation. That goes along with all the other warnings that we've read here.
You've received your comfort. You've got everything that you are going to get if you have put your trust in your riches. Jesus is not saying here, it's a sin to be rich because most of us who live in the United States of America, we're rich by the world standards.
So like what standard are we going after? Are you basing your wealth or poverty on what the American standard is or the global standard? Because here in the United States, even people who are poor are still doing better than most of those folks in the world that live destitute.
So there's a warning about being rich. Don't be too comfortable. Don't put your trust in those things that you have. You've already received your comfort and you will not have treasure in heaven. You will not have reward in life after death.
As Jonathan Edwards has said, this life for the Christian, this life is the only hell that we will ever know. But for the unbeliever, this life is the only heaven that they will ever know. So we need to not put our trust in this world depending on these things to make us comfortable.
We need to be ready to give it up. We need to have a very, very loose grasp on those things that God has blessed us with and what he has blessed us with. As Paul said in 1 Timothy 6, we are to use to bless others.
Have such a loose grip on the stuff that God has blessed you with that you have no problem giving it away and using it to bless someone else because then you have treasure in heaven above with Christ in glory.
Let's finish there. We'll come to the second beatitude and the second woe next week when we resume the Sermon on the Plain on Monday. Heavenly Father, we thank you for what we have read and these reminders with regards to this beatitude, this instruction in this particular sermon that we would recognize we are blessed when we are poor, poor by the world's standards, poor by spiritual standards.
We are blessed when we don't rely upon our stuff or ourselves or even the desire for riches, but we desire Christ and we rely on him knowing that in him our sins are forgiven and we have everlasting life above with God in glory.
Lead us in the righteousness that Christ has given us by our faith. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.
You've been listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Gabe will be going through a New Testament study. Then on Thursday, we look at an Old Testament book.
On Friday, we take questions from the listeners and viewers. Tomorrow, we'll pick up on a Old Testament study When We Understand the Text.