You are blessed when everything is taken away but you still have Jesus. But you are cursed when you have everything but you don’t have Jesus. He is the Treasure – seek Him!
[powerpress]
What Is Your Treasure?
Luke 6:17-26
As we come to this sermon of Jesus in Luke 6:20-49, there are several important questions that we must get answers to.
1) Is this the same sermon delivered on the same occasion as the Sermon on the Mount? It is obvious that it is very similar to the Sermon on the Mount. It has often been debated whether this is the very same sermon, delivered on the same occasion as the one in Matthew 5-7, or whether it was a similar but different sermon delivered on a different occasion. After studying this passage I have concluded that the sermon we have recorded in Luke 6 was a different sermon delivered on a different occasion than the sermon we have recorded in Matthew 5-7. Mt. 5:1 says, “When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain.” Luke 6:17 says, “Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place.” So the settings for each of the sermons is described differently – up on a mountain and down on a level place. Also, in Luke, Jesus spent the whole night in prayer, and then selected His 12 apostles. Directly afterward, He came down with them and stood on a level place. In Matthew, we have Jesus’ sermon on the mount in chapter 5, and then it is not until we get to chapter 10 that Jesus calls His 12 apostles. So, not only is the setting completely different, but the timing is also different.
Not only that, but the content of the 2 sermons is different. The sermon in Luke is much shorter than the sermon in Matthew. Luke’s version consists of 30 verses. Matthew’s version consists of 117 verses. Not only does Luke’s version omit much of Matthew’s version, but Luke’s version adds some things not found in Matthew’s version. Only Luke gives the “woe’s” to those who are rich, comfortable, successful, and popular. So, my conclusion is that we have a different sermon recorded here than the one in Matthew.
2) Is Jesus speaking of spiritual poverty and hunger? There is also one other significant difference. Both tell us that poor are blessed, but Matthew says it is the “poor in spirit” where Luke does not give us that information. Matthew says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness” where Luke just says, “blessed are you who hunger now.” It appears that when Jesus gave the sermon on the Mount, he was emphasizing spiritual poverty and spiritual hunger, whereas in Luke He was emphasizing physical poverty and hunger.
In this sermon Jesus gives us 4 pronouncements of blessedness, and then 4 pronouncements of woes. The word “blessed” means in its most basic form, to be happy. To have a “woe” pronounced against you is to be miserable. Let’s compare the blessings and the woes:
Blessed are you who are poor… Woe to you who are rich
Blessed are you who hunger now… Woe to you who are well-fed now
Blessed are you who weep now… Woe to you who laugh now
Blessed are you when men hate you Woe to you when all men speak well of you
3) Who are the ones who are blessed? He doesn’t say, “blessed is poverty, hunger, sorrow, and persecution. It is not true that every person who experiences poverty inherits the kingdom of God. Poverty, in and of itself, is no blessing. If it were, Jesus would not command us to give to the poor.
Let’s remember what He is saying, and who He is saying it to. He does not say, “Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of God.” Rather, He says, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” Now, who was He talking to, when He said “you”? Well, go back to verse 17. “Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled weith unclean spirits were being cured. And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all. And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say…” There were two kinds of people in the audience on that day. There was a large crowd of His disciples, and then there was a great throng of people wanting to be cured or delivered from demons. Who was Jesus speaking to specifically when He said, “Blessed are you poor”? It was His disciples. “Turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say…”
Remember that Luke has already mentioned twice that His disciples left everything to follow Him.
Luke 5:11, “When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.”
Luke 5:28, “And he (Matthew) left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him.”
So, Jesus is directing these pronouncements of blessing upon His disciples who had given up the pursuit of riches, comfort, success, and popularity to pursue Him. In order to follow Jesus, these disciples would face poverty, hunger, sorrow, and persecution. The result? They would be blessed! They would inherit the kingdom, be satisfied, laugh, and have a great reward.
There is an interpretive clue given us in verse 22, “Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.” This little phrase will open up the meaning of this text for you. You see, this was the reason these disciples were willing to be persecuted. It was for the sake of the Son of Man. It was also the reason they were willing to endure poverty, hunger, and sorrow. It was all for the sake of the Son of Man. Jesus Christ was their pursuit. These are the disciples who were living for eternity.
4. Who are the ones Jesus pronounces woes upon? They are the rich, the well-fed, the ones who laugh, and the ones that all men speak well of. The word “laugh” really has the idea of “to gloat.” This is the person who says, “I won and you lost!” So to laugh speaks of success. So, the four values that drive this group of people are Wealth – Comfort – Success – Popularity. Now, is it true that all wealthy, successful, popular people are condemned and eternally miserable? Many people in the Bible were wealthy and successful (Abraham, Job, Joseph of Arimathea). Many godly are respected and liked by even those outside the church. Paul says that shouldn’t even appoint a man to be an Elder, unless he has a good reputation with those outside the church. Well then, who was Jesus referring to? They are those who are living for here and now. They are living for this world. How do I know?
Verse 24, “But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.” There is no future comfort for them; they are receiving all the comfort they will ever receive in this lifetime.
Verse 25, “Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry.
Verse 25, “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.”
Do you see Jesus’ emphasis? The people He pronounces woes upon are living for what they can get out of this world now – wealth, comfort, success, and popularity. They are not living for Jesus Christ, or for the world to come. They see the good life as getting as much from this present world as possible – period. You’ve seen that bumper sticker, “The one who dies with the most toys wins”? Well, actually the truth is, “The one who dies with the most toys often loses.”
Now, admittedly, Jesus’ words sound strange and far-fetched to us. They don’t make sense. It’s like a guy going to all his college buddies and saying, “My goal in life is to be dirt poor, always hungry, cry a lot, and for people to hate me. When I’ve done that, I know I’ve really made it!” But as so often is the case, Jesus’ words are counter-intuitive. We have an instance here of the upside down kingdom. The values of those in Jesus’ kingdom are completely different than the values of those in the world. The world lives to achieve wealth, comfort, success, and popularity.
I was cleaning the windows on a guy’s home last week. The house was 5,700 square feet. It was on 3 acres right in the heart of a residential neighborhood, not out in the country. When you walked out the back sliding glass door, you walked straight into a pool. He had a full-time groundskeeper whose only job was to maintain this home. The home is valued at about 2 million dollars. He had a red Ferari and a Porsche in his garage. This guy had really made it in the world’s value system, hadn’t he? He has money, comfort, success, and everybody loves him. But the sad truth is that he is obsessed with his possessions. I was cleaning these very high windows inside his house with a tall pole. After I had squeegeed a window, I put a towel on the end of my pole to detail the edges, and he started yelling at me, “No, don’t do that! Don’t touch the walls with that rag!” So, I leaned my pole up against his drapes, and he yelled even louder, “Don’t touch those drapes. They are satin!” He was deathly afraid that some of his possessions might get tarnished or ruined. He was obsessed with every little flaw in his gorgeous home. Do you think this guy spends much time worshipping God and studying His word? No, his home and cars and riches are his God! His possessions have possessed him. So, Jesus is telling us that those who forget Him, and instead pursue riches, comfort, success and popularity are the truly miserable ones.
______________________________
© The Bridge
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by The Bridge.
Follow Us!