Luke 6:17-36

Luke 6:17-36 (New International Version)

Blessings and Woes

¹⁷He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, ¹⁸who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil^[a]spirits were cured, ¹⁹and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.

²⁰Looking at his disciples, he said:
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
²¹Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
²²Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.

²³"Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.
²⁴"But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
²⁵Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
²⁶Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.

Love for Enemies

²⁷"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. ³⁰Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ³¹Do to others as you would have them do to you.

³²"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. ³³And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. ³⁴And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

DEVOTIONAL

I find it interesting that the people Jesus describes as blessed in this passage hardly seem so by today‘s standards. I mean, I rarely look at someone who is poor, hungry, weeping, or hated as someone who is blessed. Typically in today‘s world when someone has been given much we consider him or her blessed. And perhaps they are, but we see in this passage that being blessed involves more than our possessions. You see the word blessed describes more than just happiness, it means favored and approved by God. By God‘s standards, when we are blessed we experience hope and joy despite what our outward circumstances may appear to be. This is the kind of person I want to be. I want to see God‘s favor on my life regardless of what it may appear I do or don‘t have to the world.

PRAYER

Father, thank you for all of the blessings you give me. Help me to see that those blessings extend beyond my material possessions or this physical world. Help me to have joy and hope in all things, knowing that you love me and have a plan for my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.