Sermon on the Plain

Luke 6:20–26 NKJV

20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: “Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh. 22 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. 23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner 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, For you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, For you shall mourn and weep. 26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets.

These are what scholars have called “Beatitudes”. The root word of Beatitude is “Makarios” which means fortunate, happy ,enlarged, or lengthy. We know this word as “Blessed”. The word “blessing” is one of the most used words in all of Scripture. “Receiving favor from God”. We must first realize that the blessing we refer to as believers is strictly from God. It originates from God. Luke 1:42-45

Luke 1:42–45 NKJV

42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

These Beatitudes were meant to be inner qualities of a true servant.

“BE-Atitudes” “Be these attitudes”

Now, how does this passage relate to the beatitudes in Matthew?

I have found that there is much debate between these two passages. Some have stated that this sermon is the same as the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7, just a different account or angle written by Luke. Others have take the position that these two passages cannot be the same.

1)Mountain vs. Plain

2) Different time frames

3) Only 4 beatitudes vs 9 in Matthew

NOTE: The beatitudes in Matthew seam to be intangible items while Luke appear to be grounded in real-life scenarios. Both are intended to inspire the hearer and reader to live a godly life.

The important piece to pull away from both of these passages is context. We can so often get so distracted about which place we have a stance on and miss the entire main idea of the passage, especially in cases like this. Some suggest that Matthew was written primarily to a Jewish audience while Luke was written with the Gentile in mind. Perhaps the Gentile nation would not be as familiar with the Jewish law and thus the reason for a more practical approach in Luke’s writings.

In Luke, as He looks up at His disciples and the multitude, on level ground, (mind you 12 apostles have been picked now), Jesus covers four statements on who is blessed, and four “woes” on who should be warned.

You who are poor

2) You who hunger now- You will be filled. At what point does our indulgence get in the way and hinder others?

3) You who weep now.-the great hope in the future. Those who sow in tears will reap in Joy.

4) You who are hated for my Name sake

“Poor” - Matthew says Poor in Spirit. The difference could be in relation to the type of book that Matthew is written, the intended audience, and the purpose. It becomes clear as you study these passages that the Holy Spirit was leading and guiding the inspiration of Scripture through the various peoples groups. What is amazing, is how the actual beatitudes can relate to us today. The reason for this is because in many ways, this passage is written for a coming kingdom. For every “blessed” or “Woe” there is an eternal answer. I.E> “Do this now and you will experience “blank” later.

Over the course of our study in Luke we see that Luke is passionate about expounding upon God’s care for the people who are considered to be less within society. People who are sitting on the fringe.

In our perspective we see items that still go on in our daily lives today written and noted in this passage. At times we see these elements in our culture today and we either dismiss them or degrade them.

These seem to be unshakeable from our perspective. “We may even go to the point of saying “if you are poor, then you are poor”. We tend to not see much remedy for these social issues. These beatitudes deal with how to respect economic and social differences. In some cases being poor may be considered a curse. But rather, this passage is dealing with traits and characteristics of those who will enter the kingdom. This is how Christ wants to see his disciples and apostles operate.

“In our perspective the beatitudes seem to be far from blessings- but because God is present with us through difficult times we are actually blessed by Him- in them”.

At times this Gospel of Luke is considered the social Gospel, as it does appear that more sociological issues are being addressed. Jesus is breaking the social trends and norms. His compassion is towards these people on the fringe. Think about the message that the multitude is hearing through this sermon. Perhaps it is an encouragement to many people, and discouragement to people in government leadership. (Theopholis might fit this group).

“Poor”- This is considered “blessed” because when poor- you are forced to rely on something or someone.

-Testimony of PTG bank account- “Great opportunity for God to show up and for us to trust Him.

Consider the journey these disciples have been on. In many ways they have had to been willing to be “empty” or “poor” in preparation for being “filled”. Jesus is really speaking about a self-imposed poverty for His sake. This is not discussing poverty that was incurred by laziness, tragedy, or reasons beyond their control- but rather those who have instead purposefully chosen to be poor in order to share their Savior with others- William Mcdonald.

In chapter 6 the disciples were found plucking the heads of grain on the Sabbath. These guys were hungry. Perhaps, when many of the disciples turned back and away from following Jesus, they had considered that they were not this empty and this hungry when they were about their trade business.

Here Jesus is explaining what a great blessing it is in the long term- and how rich one really is to be able to consider the kingdom of God / heaven as their own. The kingdom of God belongs to those who are satisfied with what they are supplied so that the remainder can be used for the work of the Lord.

Verse 24 warns the disciples and us of the danger in focusing on earthly riches versus the reward in the kingdom to come. You receive your consolation now.

Unfortunately, in the eyes of humanity back then and today, these woes are the means in which someone is considered to be great! By being rich, (in Matthew’s writing) and confident in oneself typically elevates someone in the business world today. These are characteristics that even customers look for in their salesmen. But it is the opposite of what Jesus is saying here.

Consolation= the comfort recieved by a person after a loss or disappointment

Perhaps this idea was difficult for someone like Matthew who was a tax collector. I’m not a tax collector or any sort of accountant, but perhaps he would see the financial statuses of people within the community and have a few presuppositions on these people.

Perhaps Jesus is saying- you may seem to have more on the surface but you have missed out! - (NEA Call in Fee vs. Family, Church, or Conference).

Perhaps, when we seem to need God the most is when we are at our lowest. Being poor or poor in spirit (not haughty or self reliant, self righteous, or self centered) puts the focus and reliance on God. Our soul becomes fully satisfied.

What we focus on and what we fear controls us. It masters us. If the focus is on being rich now, we will be poor later. Our pride, self assurance, and self reliance will hinder our walk with God who granted us access to the coming Kingdom. James 2:5

James 2:5 NKJV

5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

The four blessings in Luke describe the ideal person in the kingdom of God. Christ’s focus on the kingdom has many eschatological means but the core of the matter lies within the spiritual reality of the reign of God in the hearts of those who serve Him. This is to say that there is much to discuss when it comes to the teachings of the kingdom, but the main focus that makes up the very foundation of the kingdom is the heart condition between man and God. The many kingdom teachings are expanded through the various phases on inward life and spiritual growth.

This is not a matter of saying or even doing- but “being”. These are characteristics that God desires to see in His disciples moving forward. The elements at which we have reviewed tonight cannot inter mix- woes are not coupled with blessings. The two oppose. New and old wine cannot mix.

Through the help of the Holy Spirit we can improve on these topics and heed the warnings. Acts 7:51

Acts 7:51 NKJV

51 “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.

Woe to you who are full and feel the need to be constantly filled with the finest of items. This could be clothing, material, tools, and do I dare say food??

Woe to you who laugh now and are constantly consumed by amusement / entertainment. “You only live once”- Enjoy the ride! Your right, we only live on this earth once, whats our focus?

Woe to you when all men speak well of you. People should see fruit of your relationship with God. There is a vast difference between “living peaceably among all men”, versus having all men speak well of you. Somewhere along the lines there will and should be opposition if you are aiming and seeking on following the Lord. If this is the case- there might be a good chance that we are not remaining faithful when it comes to sharing the message of Christ. These type of people become more interested in the favor of people than in the praise of God. If there is no opposition while you are professing to seek and grow closer to the Lord there may be an issue. If someone is preparing to be more involved within church or even consider the mission field, and not experience any opposition, some else may be in question. Is the motive, focus, and heart in the right place?

So as the transition between Christ and the disciples only gets closer, Christ is essentially saying “When you see the poor remember it is better when you see the hungry, remember it is better to be desiring food (manna) than to be fully; when you see those who are weeping, remember that you have hope., and those who are persecuted for my Name- They are blessed! For it is better to be empty socially and eternally full.

“Wow that man literally has nothing- but yet he has everything!