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.
The Lord Jesus Christ than having chosen His twelve Apostles and having all His disciples now gathered all around Him, now tells them (and us all) that:
“Blessed are you poor,
For yours is the kingdom of God.” Vs. 20
In striking contrast then to what people generally think as being blessed by God is, Jesus turns being poor (for His and the Gospels sake) as having God’s greatest blessing. For it is being in the Kingdom of God where true and everlasting riches only are. Everything else then down here is temporary and should be used to forward God’s purposes. And so being poor down here for the Gospels sake means making many rich, as the Apostle Paul once said (2 Cor. 6:10; also consider Prov. 13:7). For there is no other way to evangelize a lost world than to forsake all and follow Jesus Christ. Therefore, Jesus knew that His disciples would (and we will) have to endure poverty, (i.e. suffer loss), as part and parcel of faithfully following Him. For Christian discipleship is not a life of pursuing wealth and privilege, or of seeking one’s own ease and comfort, or of trying to keep what one cannot forever possess, but at its heart is a life of self-denial and service. That is what Jesus is referring to here, faithfully following Him means that we will have to endure poverty (in all its forms). Not that being poor in of itself grants one admittance into the Kingdom of God; though being poor often makes one far more receptive to receive it than those who are “self-made” and rich; who cling to their riches, wealth, and privileges like the rich young ruler did to the poverty and detriment of his own soul (see Luke 18:18-27; also consider James 2:1-12, vs. 6; 5:1-6); but that those who are poor now are truly blessed, for theirs is the Kingdom of God.
Vs. 21 “Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh.”
Vs. 22-23 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.
Jesus knowing then the hostility, hatred, rejection, and opposition that being loyal to Him will bring to His disciples (John 15:18-21; 1 John 3:13-15), now pronounces His blessing on us, so as to encourage us, and remind us that these persecutions will come with obeying and faithfully following Him. For neither the world, nor the ruler of it, will like it when you stand up for Gospel, which alone brings salvation to one’s soul and righteousness and truth into this world which has forsaken it (Isaiah 26:9), and thus is ever hostile towards it (consider 2 Tim. 2:8-9). Therefore, Jesus says when men hate you, and exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as being evil for the Son of Mans sake, rejoice and leap for joy, for great is your reward in heaven! For just as they persecute you for your faith in the Son of Man, (for holding fast to God’s Righteousness and Truth), so did their fathers persecute the prophets who were before you. Therefore, do not be alarmed, or discouraged by such things, for such things must happen to us, so that all the Word of God is fulfilled. Therefore, rejoice in that day and leap for joy because God has counted you worthy to suffer such things for the Son of Man’s sake, and so great is your reward in heaven!
Vs. 24-26 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.
No one then who is faithfully following the Lord Jesus Christ will be well thought of by those of this world. Because neither the world, nor the ungodly of it, will like the one who preaches and teaches God’s righteousness and truth. Only the false prophets and false teachers who embrace the morals and values of the day will hold their favor, for these will always pass over (or seek to change) the everlasting moral judgments of God; who for their own financial gain will make the Gospel into a means that one can make oneself financially “blessed” or “rich” (consider 1 Tim. 6:5-10; 2 Peter 2:1-22 etc.).
Commentary
Vs.
20
“Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: “Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of
God.”The Lord Jesus Christ than having chosen His twelve Apostles and having all His disciples now gathered all around Him, now tells them (and us all) that:
“Blessed are you poor,
For yours is the kingdom of God.” Vs. 20
In striking contrast then to what people generally think as being blessed by God is, Jesus turns being poor (for His and the Gospels sake) as having God’s greatest blessing. For it is being in the Kingdom of God where true and everlasting riches only are. Everything else then down here is temporary and should be used to forward God’s purposes. And so being poor down here for the Gospels sake means making many rich, as the Apostle Paul once said (2 Cor. 6:10; also consider Prov. 13:7). For there is no other way to evangelize a lost world than to forsake all and follow Jesus Christ. Therefore, Jesus knew that His disciples would (and we will) have to endure poverty, (i.e. suffer loss), as part and parcel of faithfully following Him. For Christian discipleship is not a life of pursuing wealth and privilege, or of seeking one’s own ease and comfort, or of trying to keep what one cannot forever possess, but at its heart is a life of self-denial and service. That is what Jesus is referring to here, faithfully following Him means that we will have to endure poverty (in all its forms). Not that being poor in of itself grants one admittance into the Kingdom of God; though being poor often makes one far more receptive to receive it than those who are “self-made” and rich; who cling to their riches, wealth, and privileges like the rich young ruler did to the poverty and detriment of his own soul (see Luke 18:18-27; also consider James 2:1-12, vs. 6; 5:1-6); but that those who are poor now are truly blessed, for theirs is the Kingdom of God.
Vs. 21 “Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh.”
Jesus
having pronounced His blessing on His disciples who are poor now, follows that
up by also saying that those who are hungry now shall be filled. That is all of
Christ’s disciples, who for the Kingdom of God’s sake endure hunger for it, or
because of their loyalty to it, shall be filled in it. For when the Lord Jesus
Christ reigns, He shall satisfy the poor and hungry with an overflowing of
abundance and goodness (consider Psalm 22:26). God’s people then who once
suffered poverty and hunger down here will never again suffer hunger and
poverty up there. For in the Kingdom
of God when Jesus reigns, He will reward and repay and give great consolations
and comfort to His disciples for what they did and endured and sacrificed in
following Him down here (Matt. 19:27-29). Thus, those who once hungered down
here shall be filled, and those who once wept shall now forever laugh! There is
then a great and blessed future for all who suffer and are suffering for the
Kingdom of heaven’s sake. For in this world believers will mourn and weep, just
look at the life of David in the Psalms, or the Apostle Paul, or all the
Apostles (1 Cor. 4:9-13), or more specifically just read Hebrews chapter eleven
to get a sense of the suffering of
the saints down through the ages. Therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ does not want
us to be discouraged by those things that now bring sorrow to us, because as He
says later to the disciples, “20 Most
assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will
rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. 21 A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour
has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer
remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.
22 Therefore you now have sorrow; but I
will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take
from you.” John 20:20-22 There is then God’s Promise of everlasting Joy and Comfort for those who mourn now (consider
Rev. 21:4).
Vs. 22-23 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.
Jesus knowing then the hostility, hatred, rejection, and opposition that being loyal to Him will bring to His disciples (John 15:18-21; 1 John 3:13-15), now pronounces His blessing on us, so as to encourage us, and remind us that these persecutions will come with obeying and faithfully following Him. For neither the world, nor the ruler of it, will like it when you stand up for Gospel, which alone brings salvation to one’s soul and righteousness and truth into this world which has forsaken it (Isaiah 26:9), and thus is ever hostile towards it (consider 2 Tim. 2:8-9). Therefore, Jesus says when men hate you, and exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as being evil for the Son of Mans sake, rejoice and leap for joy, for great is your reward in heaven! For just as they persecute you for your faith in the Son of Man, (for holding fast to God’s Righteousness and Truth), so did their fathers persecute the prophets who were before you. Therefore, do not be alarmed, or discouraged by such things, for such things must happen to us, so that all the Word of God is fulfilled. Therefore, rejoice in that day and leap for joy because God has counted you worthy to suffer such things for the Son of Man’s sake, and so great is your reward in heaven!
Vs. 24-26 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.
“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your
consolation.”
The Lord Jesus
Christ in taking His stand with the poor of His people now pronounces His woes
on those who are rich now, because as He says they have received their
consolation. Therefore, in the Kingdom of God the rich now are not counted as
blessed, as people always count people who are rich now as being blessed
(consider Psalm 49, vs. 18), rather Jesus pronounces His woes on them, because
they’re lot is found (and stored up for themselves and their own) in this life
(consider Psalm 17:14). Those then who turn being a Christian into something by
which one can make profit for themselves, or satisfy their greed and covetous
desires, or live a life of ease and comfort, are only enemies of the Cross of
Christ (consider Phil. 3:18-21; 1
Tim. 6:5-10; James 4:1-4; 2 Peter 2:1-3;
1 John 2:15-17 etc.). Therefore, if
anyone proclaims the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and has this
worlds goods and riches let them be rich in good works, ready to give, willing
to share, and thus lay up for themselves treasures in heaven (1 Tim. 6:17-19; 1
John 3:17-18). For as Jesus warns us all, “where your
treasures is there your heart will be also” (consider Matt. 6:19-21, 24).
“Woe to you who are full, For you shall hunger.”
Jesus’ Words here should
stand as a warning to all who make filling their own bellies priority one,
while utterly neglecting or ignoring the immense needs all around us. In some
ways Jesus’ Words remind me of His parable about the rich man and Lazarus (Luke
16:19-31). And in the NKJV in the center column reference notes they cite in
brackets Isaiah 65:14 as sort of having a parallel to what Jesus is saying here,
that those who hunger now shall be filled, while those who are full now shall
hunger. Therefore, in the Kingdom of God there will be a reversal of what once
was and now is.
“Woe to you who laugh now, For you shall mourn and weep.”
Those then who
laugh now, who do not see their own need for salvation from their own sins, and
the death that follows, will not laugh when the Lord Jesus Christ Reigns.
“Woe to
you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false
prophets.”
No one then who is faithfully following the Lord Jesus Christ will be well thought of by those of this world. Because neither the world, nor the ungodly of it, will like the one who preaches and teaches God’s righteousness and truth. Only the false prophets and false teachers who embrace the morals and values of the day will hold their favor, for these will always pass over (or seek to change) the everlasting moral judgments of God; who for their own financial gain will make the Gospel into a means that one can make oneself financially “blessed” or “rich” (consider 1 Tim. 6:5-10; 2 Peter 2:1-22 etc.).
Scripture Quotations
New King James Version. (1982): Thomas Nelson
No comments:
Post a Comment