08-21-2021 – Are You Blessed or Cursed?
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August 21, 2022
“Are You Blessed or Cursed?”
Luke 6:17-26
Last week we finished Luke’s narrative that closed with Jesus having gone up on the mountain to spend the night praying to the Father. Jesus then called the Twelve to Himself, and afterward brought them down to a plateau on the side of the mountain. This is where we pick up our study today.
Read Luke 6:17-19…
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,
18 who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured.
19 And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all.
By this time in Jesus’ ministry, He is very popular, and wherever He went the crowds would follow Him, to listen to His marvelous words, and witness His healing of every kind of illness, disease, infirmity, and oppression.
Jesus finds a level place on the side of the mountain where He begins to preach and teach what is known as, the Sermon on the Mount. Luke gives a shortened version in
29 verses (Luke 6:17-49), of what Matthew records in 3 full chapters (Matthew 5-7).
Luke mentions three separate groups of people: the Twelve Apostles; a large crowd of people who were regular followers of Jesus, some genuine, some not; and a great congregation of people from all Judea (all the people of Israel), Jerusalem (some of the religious leaders), along with people from Tyre and Sidon (prominent Gentile seaport cities, NW of Galilee) where some Jews lived.
Jesus is standing and hasn’t started teaching (rabbis normally sat down to teach). He is healing those who are physically ill,
and (Luke 6:18)
18 who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured.
casting out demons. Jesus is performing miracles among the people
(Luke 6:19),
“for power was coming from Him and healing them all”
(pp. Luke 5:17;
17 One day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing.
Luke 8:46)
46 But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me.”
Jesus was able to minister to the whole person, mind, body and soul; he taught God’s sovereign Truth, healed diseases, and cast demons out of the possessed. But His main purpose was to preach the good news of salvation; to offer forgiveness for sins and eternal life
(see Luke 4:40-43).
40 While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them.
41 Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Christ.
42 When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them.
43 But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”
Everywhere Jesus went He preached how God would forgive and save those who were spiritually deaf, blind, and captive, to sin; if they would repent and believe the good news, and follow Him
(Mark 1:15),
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
(Mark 1:17),
“Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
Jesus spoke with supernatural wisdom, with complete and sovereign authority.
Jesus claimed absolute equality with the Father
(cf. John 10:30),
30 I and the Father are one.”
using the covenant name of God “I AM” for Himself
(John 8:24),
“unless you believe that I am He [Savior and Lord], you will die in your sins” [unforgiven, condemned to hell] to .”
(John 8:58),
“before Abraham was born, I am."
Matthew 7:28-29,
“When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”
John 7:32,
“The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about Him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to seize Him.”
John 7:45-46,
“The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, [who] said to them, ‘Why did you not [arrest and] bring Him?’ The officers answered, ‘Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.’”
Jesus’ teaching is in opposition to that of the world system that rejects God’s Son, Lord and Savior, Crucified, Resurrected, Coming Again. Jesus taught that He had “come from God” the Father
(cf. John 8:42),
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.
was “going back to God”
(John 13:3),
3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God,
that He is
(cf. John 4:7-14)
“the living water,”
(John 6:35)
“the bread of life,”
(John 10:11)
“the good shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep,”
(John 11:25)
“the resurrection and the life,”
(John 12:46)
“the light of the world,”
and
(cf. John 14:6)
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
He is the only Way to the Father, only Truth from the Father, and only Life with the Father.
Colossians 2:8-10,
“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority.”
Luke records, a shortened version of what is called the Beatitudes, from the Latin beati (blessed), Greek makarios (happy, fortunate, to be envied). Jesus is declaring a state of being and heart attitude in the life of those who have received eternal forgiveness for sins and eternal life with God through belief in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior. Saving belief brings genuine happiness and blessing; whereas, those who continue to reject Jesus Christ are unhappy and cursed.
Read Luke 6:20-23…
20 And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
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.
23 Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.
As Jesus begins to preach, He directs His attention to His true disciples who are among this large crowd of mostly Jews, both the uneducated and religious scholars, the poor and the wealthy, the religious elite and the irreligious, all those who need healing of their mind, body, and soul.
What a way to start a sermon: happy are those who are poor, hungry, mournful, those who are hated, ostracized, insulted, and scorned because of Christ. Wow!
Jesus
(Luke 6:20)
20 And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
is not teaching that those who are economically poor or physically hungry are blessed. Matthew’s recording of this event gives us more clarity
(Matthew 5:3),
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Those who understand their spiritual poverty, realizing their greatest need, that apart from the merciful saving grace of God through Christ we cannot obtain God’s favor, nor be considered acceptable to the Holy and Righteous God of Creation, by anything we might personally acquire, obtain, or do
(see Luke 18:9-14).
9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:
10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’
13 But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’
14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
In His very first sermon, Jesus described the human condition apart from the saving knowledge and presence of God
(see Luke 4:14-21).
14 And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.
15 And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.
16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.
17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,
18 “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME,
BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR.
HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES,
AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND,
TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,
19 TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”
20 And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus is bringing the good news, the loving kindness of God poured out on mankind, so that those who confess their need to be made right with God will be received in the kingdom of heaven, immediately
(Romans 8:17)
“as heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,”
(Romans 14:17)
“the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
2Peter 1:3,
“His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”
Philippians 4:19,
“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
Jesus (Luke 6:21a)
21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
speaks of a hunger that has nothing to do with physical food
(Matthew 5:6),
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied”
[satisfied = unable to eat anymore, completely satiated], this is speaking of spiritual hunger that can only be satisfied with God’s provision.
Psalm 107:1,
a“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,”
Jeremiah 31:14,
“I will fill the soul of the priests with abundance,
and My people will be satisfied with My goodness,” declares the Lord.
Jesus goes on to say
(Luke 6:21b),
"blessed are those who weep now.”
This is speaking of deep sorrow of repentance, the realization that we have sinned against God
(Matthew 5:4),
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
James 4:9-10,
“Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
Isaiah 61:2,
“To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn.”
Isaiah 35:10,
“And the ransomed of the Lord will return and come with joyful shouting to Zion, with everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”
The first three Beatitudes are from the perspective of the repentant sinner, whereas the final Beatitude in Luke’s narrative
(Luke 6:22),
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.
is from the perspective of how the world views a believer and follower of Christ.
Jesus uses four strong verbs (hate, ostracize, insult, scorn) to describe the way the unbelieving world views and responds to believers and followers of Christ.
When a person genuinely repents of sin and believes in God’s Son to save him, that person becomes a member of God’s family, a Christian, who will demonstrate a changed life that seeks to obey God’s Word, while bringing honor and glory to God.
Jesus told the Twelve
(cf. John 15:18-19),
18 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.
19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.
that the world would hate them and persecute them, just as it did Him. But we have what we need to be victorious in this world
(1John 4:4),
“You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
How should we respond to a godless world when we are persecuted?
Jesus says
(Luke 6:23)
“be glad in that day, leap for joy, for [our] reward is great win heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.”
As children of God, the world we see is not our home; we are citizens of God’s kingdom, a world we can’t yet see
(1Corinthians 2:9),
“which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.”
Whatever pain or sorrow or trouble we experience on this earth does not even begin to compare to the eternal joy that is ours
(2Corinthians 4:17-18),
“For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Read Luke 6:24-26…
24 But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.
25 Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.
Jesus now shifts from the blessings belonging to God’s children, to the “woes” or curses that belong to those who reject God’s salvation.
Jesus (Luke 6:24)
24 But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.
is not speaking of those who are materially rich; but of those who presume they are rich in a spiritual sense, through their works, rituals, or ancestry, through which they have obtained a righteousness that can save them from sin’s condemnation.
Jesus says they have received their reward in full, the comfort in which they have lived their life on earth; whereas, their eternity will be spent in a place of torment, and gnashing of teeth, where they will receive absolutely no comfort at.
Next (Luke 6:25a)
25 Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
Jesus speaks to the curse that belongs to those “who are well-fed now,” i.e., those who are full of themselves, totally satiated with their own self-imposed righteousness. This is in contrast to those
(Luke 6:21a)
21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
who hunger for the righteousness and are blessed; these so-called “well-fed” hypocrites believe they lack nothing and have attained righteousness based on their own merits.
Jesus says to those who are cursed
(Luke 6:25b),
25 Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
those who are laughing now, actually thinking they have “made it,” maybe even contemplating what it is going to be like in heaven, perhaps even better than they are experiencing on earth.
In Matthew 8 Jesus gives a reality check to those righteous Jews who think they are going to heaven just because they belong to Israel…
Matthew 8 11-12,
“I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the [earthly] kingdom will be cast into the outer darkness; [and] in that place [the Lake of Fire] there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” forever and ever.
The final “woe”
(Luke 6:26),
26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.
speaks to the self-centeredness of the wicked unbelieving.
Back in Luke 6:23,
23 Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.
Jesus spoke of how those who believe in and live for Him will be mistreated and scorned, just like people treated God’s prophets.
Those who reject God’s Word, God’s Son, gladly receive others of the same mindset, i.e., those who are dead in their sins, unwilling to acknowledge their need to repent and believe in Christ; therefore, there is no hope for them, only an expectation of judgement
(Hebrews 10:26-27),
“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries” [of God].
There are only two types of people on this planet:
- The Blessed - True followers of Christ who have repented of their sins and believed in Jesus alone for salvation.
- The Cursed, Unbelievers who reject Christ, trusting in their self-righteous works and/or other human acquisitions, or attributes to save them.
Whether you are blessed or cursed for eternity, depends solely upon what you do with Jesus Christ while you are alive.
Matthew 16:13-16,
“When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’”
The question is, Who do you believe Jesus to be?
1John 5:4-5,
“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
1John 5:11-13,
“And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.“
Everyone who repents of their sins, believing in Jesus Christ for salvation, will be saved.
Pastor Mike
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