author: Ryan Hayden Take your Bibles with me and turn to Luke 6. Luke 6.
I read a fascinating book this year that has a confusing title. The book is called "The Insanity of God" by Nick Ripken, and it's the memoir of a missionary leader who has served persecuted people his whole life. First in Somolia during the Somoli war, then to persecuted people in the former USSR and countries in Asia.
I've mentioned it before, but I want to talk about it again for just a minute.
In the book, Ripken details the hardships he went through - losing a son on the mission field, seeing years of his work just disappear, laboring for years with no converts or success to speak of. But more than that, he speaks of the hardships that are just normal for Christians around the world.
He speaks with Christians in muslim countries that have to hide lest they be mercilessly beaten and stoned. For instance, he worked in Somolia for years, and in all that time, he got together with Christians one time. Just a small group of a couple people who had communion together. They were super careful about how they met, everyone coming a different way. Within a week of their meeting, all of the Somali participants were murdered.
He speaks with Russian men who spent decades in jail for the crime of having a church service. But one of the biggest things that stuck out to me was how he described the underground church in China.
Do you know there are probably more Christians in China today than anywhere else in the world. Christianity is huge in communist China - but much of it is underground. We'll have a missionary coming in February that can tell us some first hand stories.
Anyways, these Chinese Christians have elaborate ways they have to meet together and fellowship, and the author got to be a part of one of these country fellowships. In it, you had all these men and women who had been in prison for at least a year for being a Christian. In fact, the pastors in the underground church in China treat their prison time as Bible College. That is where they get trained, and Ripken wrote that if you are a Christian and you haven't been to prison for at least a year yet, then you aren't trusted as a leader in this group.
That is the reality for Christians today. The statistics say
- that 1 in 7 Christians in the world face severe persecution for their faith.
- Last year, over 5,600 Christians were killed for their faith.
- That means every day, an average of 13 Christians are killed for their faith in Christ.
But most persecution doesn't get that far, the most common types of persecution are:
- intimidation
- disinformation (lies about who you are and what you believe)
- stereotyping
- legal attacks
- attacks on churches
- abduction
- rape
- physical abuse (like being beaten or having scalding water poured on you)
- and displacement (being forced from your home)
Let me tell you something: there have been times in our country and around the world where it was permissible to be a nominal Christian. Where the world kind of payed a lip service to tolerating Christians.
But it has never been popular to live as a true Christian. To truly follow God puts you at odds with the world system that has always been under Satan's control. And there are consequences for that - a true Christian is living in enemy territory.
In are text today, Jesus is going to contrast the hard life of believers with the easy life of those who reject God. Followers of Christ (on the whole) will face difficulty that their persecutors will not. But followers of Christ are truly blessed and their persecutors, though rich now, are truly cursed.
Let's read the text.
Luke 6, starting in verse 17:
[Luke 6:17-19 KJV] 17 And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; 18 And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed. 19 And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed [them] all.
Ok, so Jesus has just chosen His apostles. He's chosen the twelve. That's what we talked about last Sunday.
Now, Jesus comes down from the mountain and preaches in a plain. In a valley. And a huge crowd of people come to hear Jesus speak.
This would have happened in Galilee - in the north of Israel. But there are people there all the way from the very bottom of Israel (Judea), from the capitol city (Jerusalem) and there are even people there from what is today Lebanon (Tyre and Sidon) - they are all there to hear Jesus preach and to be healed by Him.
And they were healed. Jesus didn't always do this, but He allows in this instance for anyone who touches him to be healed.
So I want you to picture this scene: Jesus is preaching to a huge crowd. Maybe the biggest crowd He ever spoke to.
It was probably laid out like a wifi signal, with concentric groups gathered around Jesus.
Closest to Jesus are the newly minted 12 apostles. No doubt they were helping organize the chaos.
The second circle would be a bigger crowd of disciples - long time followers of Jesus.
And around them was this great multitude of people from all over Israel and even Gentile countries.
And Jesus is going to speak. Look at the next verse:
[!Bible] And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
Now, before I read the rest of the text, I want to make something clear.
This is called "the sermon on the plain." It is very, very similar to what we see in Matthew, which is called "the sermon on the mount." But I believe they are two different messages, spoken at two different times and with two different main points.
We are going to look today at four statements that start with "blessed." These are typically called "beatitudes." But I think they are very different from the beatitudes you see in Matthew.
Let me explain why and then I'll read the rest and tell you what I think they mean:
- First, the location is different. Jesus is on a plain here, in Matthew, Jesus is on a mountain.
- Second, the number is different. In Matthew Jesus gives seven beatitudes, here we see only four.
- Third, the tone is different. The beatitudes in Matthew include positive things (like meek and merciful), here we see only negative things (like being poor and hungry.) Jesus also ends this part of the message with a bunch of woes that we don't see in Matthew.
- But most importantly, the target is different.
Look at verse 20 again and let me show you a couple of things:
[!Bible] And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
Notice two things here:
First, who Jesus is looking at and speaking to. It's not the crowd, it's His disciples. It's His followers.
Second, notice that Jesus specifically says "ye poor." There is a very big difference in saying "Blessed are THE poor" and "Blessed are YOU poor." Jesus was targeting His words to the people He was speaking to, which this verse tells us is His disciples.
I believe there has been this great misconception that Jesus was praising poverty in general. It's been the justification for all kinds of bad ideas throughout history. But that's not what is going on here at all.
Let's read the rest of our text today, through verse 26, and I'll tell you what I think Jesus was saying.
[Luke 6:20-26 KJV] 20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed [be ye] poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed [are ye] that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed [are ye] that weep now: for ye shall laugh. 22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you [from their company], and shall reproach [you], and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. 23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward [is] great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. 24 But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. 25 Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. 26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
Remember - Jesus is talking to His disciples - to His followers when He says "Blessed are ye" and to his rejectors when He says "Woe unto you."
And so, I think the main point Jesus was making here is this:
Following Jesus is often a tough life marked by poverty, hunger, sorrow and rejection, but that life is blessed both here and now and in the afterlife. Rejecters of Christ may be rich, full, and popular - but there is woe in their lives both now and in the the afterlife.
Let me break that down for you into four headings.
First, let's talk about...
1. The most common reality for a disciple.
When Jesus said "blessed are ye poor", "blessed are ye that hunger now", "blessed are ye that weep now", and "blessed are ye when men shall hate you" - I believe He was just addressing a harsh truth: most of the time, being a follower of Jesus is a hard life.
Poverty. Dedicated Christians are usually not the richest people in town. This has a lot to do with our differing priorities.
My priority as a Christian is not to love money. I do not believe more money is the answer to all my problems. I do not believe that money makes me a better or a bigger person. I do not wrap my life up in financial achievement.
And that, in practice, means that I'm very likely going to fall behind those who do make money everything.
Because the people who were that rich, for the most part, have no need for Christ. They scoff at religion. They think they are better than that.
We had a lot of people who were poor, or who were just making it, and a good number who were middle class. But almost no big wig rich people.
Because if you are going to give your life to following Jesus, you have to understand that your mansion isn't coming here and now - your mansion is in heaven.
Jesus said "Blessed are ye that hunger now." Fortunately, hunger isn't something most of us deal with - but that isn't the case in the rest of the world.
I was listening to a missionary last month who spent time in North Africa - and in that place, hunger was a real problem. Typically, when a church in America grows, it gets more resources. It gives the church a little bit of wiggle room.
But in much of the world, the more the church grows the more it is strained because people are just that poor and hungry.
What about sorrow? Jesus said "blessed are ye that weep now." There can be no doubt that believers face their fair share of sorrow and hardship. Much of that comes from the next thing Jesus said:
"Blessed are ye when men shall hate you." So much of the hardship and sorrow that disciples of Christ face comes out of persecution. It comes out of being at odds with the world.
Family members mocking you and writing you off. Children calling you a bigot and a hater. Being excluded and overlooked because of your faith.
It happens. And the disciples Jesus was preaching to - it definitely happened. Many of them were disowned by their families. Many of them faced martyrs deaths. They suffered persecution.
So the most common reality for followers of Christ is dealing with poverty, hunger, sorrow and hate.
And that brings me to the second heading:
2. The hidden blessedness of this reality.
Jesus said "blessed are ye poor", "blessed are ye that hunger now", "blessed are ye that weep now", and "blessed are ye when men shall hate you" - notice that in each case, Jesus actually said those people were blessed. They were happy. They were the lucky ones.
Why? Because
- the poor disciple is actually a title holder to the kingdom of God.
- the hungry disciple can count on being filled by God.
- the weeping disciple can count on laughing and joy soon.
- The hated disciple will be venerated and rewarded by time and in heaven.
I love how Romans 8 puts it:
[Romans 8:36-39 KJV] 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We followers of Christ may have to deal with sorrow and poverty - but we are the blessed ones.
- We have Christ.
- We have the help and provision of a good loving God.
- We have an inheritance in heaven that is reserved for us that fadeth not away - that moth and rust can't corrupt.
- Our lives have eternal meaning.
- We have a spiritual family to help us and love us.
Our lives are like trees planted by rivers of water that are fruitful and resilient.
And on top of all of it, we get Heaven. Any injustice in the here and now will be greatly rewarded in Heaven.
So yes, follower of Jesus, it may seem like you are getting the short end of the stick in the here and now, but you are truly blessed.
So we've talked about the most common reality for a disciple. We've talked about the hidden blessedness of that reality.
Now, let's move onto the third heading:
3. The common reality of those who reject Christ.
Jesus didn't just say here "blessed are ye poor", He said "woe unto you that are rich!", "woe unto you that are full!", "woe, unto you when mens shall speak well of you!."
No doubt in this crowd there were Pharisees and Sadducees - the leaders of society, sitting at the top of the pack who were rich and wealthy, who ate lots of great meals and who were the talk of town. But they had rejected Christ and despised Christ's disciples.
And many of them would go on and lead very normal lives. Very prosperous lives. But Jesus said to them "Woe."
Which brings me to the fourth heading...
4. The hidden woe of this reality.
"Woe" basically means "I wouldn't want to be you." It's an expression of grief.
- These rich men may have their riches, but that is all they are going to get.
- They may have their full bellies, but hunger is coming.
- They may have their popularity now - but it wouldn't last. Mourning and weeping is coming.
I think this obviously is pointing to the day when these rejectors of our Lord stand before God at a great judgment seat and are judged.
The Bible says "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." (Psalm 9:17)
Their wealth will be no shield, their popularity no protection. They will be cast into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
In other words, they are going to get theirs. Their judgment is coming. And it will be far worse for them.
Remember the rich man who died and went to Hell. He had mocked poor Lazurus through his life, but he didn't mock him anymore.
There will come a time when all of the mockers of Christ, all of the haters of Christianity, will no longer mock. Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Conclusion
So what we have is a choice. We can fall on Jesus and be broken, or we can resist Him, have Him fall on us in the end and be ground to powder. (Matthew 21:44, Luke 20:18)
We can be God's hated disciples now, or we can take what this world has to offer and face God's judgment.
So what should we do? We should follow Christ. We should take the free gift He's given us. But we shouldn't be naive about what that means. There will be hardships. There will be inequity. There will be sorrows. But all of them are blessed.
Which one are you choosing today: the blessings of following Christ, or the woes of the world. That choice will make all the difference.
Let's stand for prayer.
