Blessings and Woes On Israel (6:20-26).
‘And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said,
a Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingly Rule of God (Luke 6:20).
b Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be filled (Luke 6:21 a).
c Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh (Luke 6:21 b).
d Blessed are you, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake (Luke 6:22).
e Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy (Luke 6:23 a).
f For behold, your reward is great in heaven (Luke 6:23 b).
e For in the same manner did their fathers to the prophets (Luke 6:23 c).
a But woe to you who are rich! for you have received your consolation (Luke 6:24).
b Woe to you, you who are full now! for you will hunger (Luke 6:25 a).
c Woe to you, you who laugh now! for you will mourn and weep (Luke 6:25 b).
d Woe to you, when all men speak well of you! for in the same manner did their fathers to the false prophets (Luke 6:26).
Opening Blessings and Woes (6:20-26).
Perhaps before we look at the detail of the narrative we should set the scene, for here interpretation, at least to begin with, depends on context. We need to ask why He spoke as He did. The answer is probably not hard to find.
Jesus had been on the mountain top with his disciples and had chosen His Apostles. Now He has come down with them to a level plain half way down the mountain where large crowds have gathered. As we have seen in Luke 6:17 the crowds had gathered from many places. There before Him He saw large numbers of ordinary people, people whom, as He had reason to know, were struggling to feed their households, and faced many problems in their lives. They were poor, they knew what it meant at times to go hungry, they knew what it meant to weep at the vicissitudes of life. And many He had healed, and many wept for that reason too, some with joy and some with a deep sense of sin in His presence. They had come to see and hear the great Prophet because they were seeking God.
But gathered there also would be the sightseers and the curious. News of His activities would unquestionably draw such people, especially from among the wealthy. There would thus almost certainly be a group of such, standing apart from the main crowds, and watching with sceptical interest or unseemly hilarity. Some had come to see this new phenomenon for themselves. Others had come because their wives had pressed them into it. and still others had come to criticise and to try to counter His teaching. But they did not want anyone to think that they were part of the rabble. So as they stood there they would be quite obvious to Jesus.
Thus as we consider this beautifully balanced opening passage from Luke 6:20-26 comparison with Matthew 5:3-11 clearly reveals that while in the Beatitudes in Matthew Jesus is describing the inner heart of individuals and their attitude towards life, here in Luke His emphasis is on the people to whom He is speaking, and the outward daily circumstances of their lives about which, externally, little could be done. But it was their very need which partly resulted from those that had brought them here, together with the consciousness that it gave them of their dependence on God. This together with their desire to have the thirst of their souls satisfied.
What Jesus has in mind here therefore in His words is how these ‘poor' who are before Him (‘you') are reacting to their poverty by seeking spiritual blessing from Him, how these who are hungry in front of His very eyes (‘you') are responding to their hunger by looking to the living bread for sustenance, how these who are weeping (‘you') even in front of Him are leaving behind their sorrow by coming to the Consoler and finding comfort and strength. And He makes clear, very clear, to them that God has a purpose to bless them. And that they are truly blessed because they are listening to Him in order to do what He says. They are building on a sound foundation (see Luke 6:47-48).
On the other hand He also wants them to recognise that in hearing Him and responding to Him they are putting themselves in danger of being ‘persecuted for the Son of Man's sake'. He wants them to know that the storms will necessarily come, for he knows that we must ‘through much tribulation enter under the Kingly Rule of God' (Acts 14:22).
In contrast are those who stand off from Jesus because they are wealthy, materially well satisfied, and kept amused by the pleasures of the world, and somewhat supercilious or filled with levity. They do not seek Him for what He is, but out of curiosity and amusement, a position which in the end can only confirm their spiritual bankruptcy. He can see who they are, even as they sit or stand before Him. They follow certain of the Scribes, many of whom are ‘false prophets', and will therefore suffer their just end, for they are building on no foundation.
Thus the whole impact of Luke is different from Matthew's. To make them extracts from the same sermon is to miss their genius. Luke's message is complete in itself, and so is Matthew's. And both have different emphases.
It will be noted that the four blessings parallel the four woes, with a central comment separating them. The words are addressed to ‘His disciples' in the widest sense. The term ‘disciple' signifies any who have come genuinely seeking to learn. That should be noted. What is said, is said to them as disciples. It thus applies to them as such, and indicates that the intention was not specifically evangelistic. He is building up those who have already to some extent responded, while keeping in mind that not all there have responded.