The word of Jesus found in Luke 6:20-26 are the opening statements of His Sermon on the Plain. As with any other passage there are translation differences, literary, historical, linguistic, economic and sociological backgrounds for this passage. It is sometimes difficult to discern the original, or real, meaning of biblical passages and Luke 6:20-26, and beatitudes in general, are no different.
The Sermon on the Mount, found in Mark 5-7, is generally referred to as the greatest sermon ever preached. Jesus begins His sermon by stating the eight beatitudes, and the passage in Luke 6:20-26 contains a subset of these beatitudes combined with a corresponding set of woes.
There are two genres used in this passage. Each of the first four statements begins with “blessed are.” These statements are called beatitudes and are used commonly throughout scripture in both the New and Old Testaments. Each of the last four statements begins with “woe to you who.” The woe literary form functions “as an expression of pity for those who stand under divine judgment.” (Talbert 70) Each woe in Luke 6:24-26 is the reverse of a beatitude found in Luke 6:20-23. (E.g. Verse 20 and verse 24 are corresponding statements). Each woe pities the opposite group of people that its corresponding beatitude blesses. This pairing of blessings and woes is also found in Ecclesiastes 10:16-17.
There are several differences among the New International Version (2011 release), New Living Translation, and New American Standard Bible translations. At the beginning of verse 20, Jesus is looking at his disciples in the NIV, He turned to His disciples in the NLT, and He turned His gaze toward His disciples in the NASB. These phrases mean essentially the same thing: Jesus was fa...
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...ke 6:23, 26 also mentions how the prophets were treating by the audience’s ancestors. In the Old Testament, the Prophets of God were ignored and persecuted while the false prophets for other gods and idols were supported by the people. This set of verses presents a reversal of outcomes based on the person’s social acceptance or rejection. Those who are rejected because of Jesus will receive an unspecified reward in Heaven. The audience is instructed to rejoice in this fact. Jesus is encouraging His followers to be happy when people persecute their faith because their reward in Heaven is worth any pain this world can cause.
All things considered, Luke 6:20-26 is not really as counter-cultural as it seems. When you look at the spiritual meaning of the words rather than the more commonly used economic definitions, you see that these words of Jesus are very insightful.
Our readings from Luke’s Gospel portray those in poverty as the people who will inherit the earth and be by Christ’s side in the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel of Luke, it states, “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours” (6:20). Our readings from scripture paint a picture that suggests that those who are suffering in the world during their lifetime, will be
The book of Matthew chapter 5 through 7 was known as, “The Sermon on the Mount”. Which were words spoken by Jesus Christ. The purpose of this Sermon was to show representation of the normative foundation of Christian Morality. For instance, this passage was more so fixated on whole hearted benevolence towards others around you and genuine devotion to God.
In the beginning of chapter 12 he writes, “Present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice”, and “Do not be conformed to this world” . Much of the errors and trials that Paul dealt with in his “Epistles”, were because the believers had conformed their lives to the world and not to God. The Lord wants us to see His glory. He has created an incredibly beautiful and marvelously expanding universe to proclaim His glory and omnipotence. He has given us Jesus Christ to reveal Himself to us. He does not withdraw Himself, cover Himself and hide Himself. He is bringing a revelation of His glory throughout all His creation and He will be seen in all the earth. This is the beauty of the gospel message. The scriptures declare that the earth is filled with the glory of God. "The whole earth is full of His glory." (Isaiah 6:3) At present we are not aware of it, but it will be manifested throughout the earth. "Nevertheless, as surely as I live, and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth” (Numbers
Luke 4:34; 5:37; 6:9; 8:24; 9:24-25; 11:51; 13:3,5,33; 15:4,6,8,9,17,24,32; 17:27,29,33; 19:10,47; 20:16; 21:18 Additionally, it occurs twice in Acts, 17 times in the Gospel of Matthew, 9 times in the Gospel of Mark, and 10 times in the Gospel of John.
The gospel of Luke, chapter 12, presents to us a wonderful group of stories in
Isaiah 53:1-12 is discussing the crucifixion of Jesus and man’s response to it. It states that there was no characteristic of Jesus that would draw man unto him, but rather he was hated and outcast among the people. Then the passage gives man hope. Jesus died to open a pathway for forgiveness and took on our sin, so that even men who despised him would have an opportunity to enter into a relationship with Him. The passage also declares that Jesus died the perfect death since He was blameless at the time of the crucifixion and no unholy word was uttered from His mouth. Finally, the passage discusses the Lord’s joy in Jesus’s death. The Lord was glad at the crucifixion, because now fallen man could return to a loving and personal relationship
· Mark 10: 17-22 (The Rich Man), In which a rich man runs up to Jesus
Teachers around the time when Jesus lived thought that learning was such that the people who wanted to learn should come to them to be taught. But Jesus felt differently and rather than waiting for people to come to him, he went out to find them and then chose them to be his followers. He called them disciples and this word means one who learns. But Jesus chose his disciples carefully as we are told in Mark 1:16-20 and also in Mark 3:13-19. In the first passage, Jesus appoints his first four disciples, Simon, Andrew, James and John. Jesus said to them “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mark 1:17) In Mark 2:13-17, Jesus calls up the fifth disciple, Levi who was a tax collector, and Jesus later renamed him Matthew. But Levi was not called in the same way as the other four disciples. Jesus was with him at the tax collector’s booth and Jesus simply said, “Follow me” (Mark 2:14) and he rose and followed Jesus.
Stefanovic, Ranko. “The Sermon on the Mount.” NTST 617: Theology of Matthew. Class lecture, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI, October 8, 2013.
The book of Luke, found after the books Matthew and Mark, focuses on the ministry of Jesus Christ but it also gives us a look into His birth and growth in totality. In this chapter we see a historical account of some of the journeys that Christ experienced. It is important to keep in mind that the Bible and all of its books do serve as historical accounts but each book is unique in the fact that they incorporate a theological timeline. The Bible is, conceivably, the most important book that has ever been written. It gives the world eyewitness accounts to historical events that helped not only shaped a region of the world but the whole entire world. It is nearly impossible to go through some formal societal education and have never once read a part of the bible or have heard a story that adapts from the stories within the bible. The bible has helped formed institutions, associations and so much more. By reading the Gospel of Luke we are truly reading what is meant for us to read as Christians. The principal plot in the book of Luke is the life of Jesus Christ, his sacrifice, His ability to beat death and remain perfect as the son of GOD despite being human as well. Jesus is seen as the perfect savior for humans in the book of Luke. Luke not only gives multiple examples of the power of Jesus but also it gives us a look at The Lord’s triumph over temptation. Luke also depicts Jesus as a man/GOD who had a very deep concentration on people and relationships. The book of Luke gives Jesus a loving characteristic but doesn’t shy away from showing that at times Jesus got angry too. Jesus showed a great deal of compassion to the sick, those in pain, the poor, and unambiguously the sinful. Jesus had genuine love for everyone. Throughout this...
...f God’s glory and for those that have questioned their faith. The book urges the reader to consider the sacrifices Jesus made, his role as a messenger and mediator, and the ability of people to find salvation through the acceptance of Jesus. These are central messages that other portions of the Bible touch on but do not discuss with the same degree or urgency.
Jesus however, has much different beliefs. He believes there is a certain way to live in order to achieve the greater things in the after life. For doing the right thing for god is the way we all need to live. At times in the story “Sermon on the mount,” it can sound very radical. Saying things such as "Whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery," and "If you say, 'You fool, ' you will be liable to the hell of
One of the greatest debates that continues to rage on amongst theologians, as well as others, is in regards to the balance between the humanity and the divinity of the person of Jesus Christ (also known as Christology). This debate can be especially challenging in the Scripture passage of Matthew 26:36-46 where the reader finds Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Many of the ancient and medieval theologians worked to explain away apparent humanistic characteristics seen in this section of the text, while more modern theologians seem to be more open to embracing these characteristics. While the ancient and medieval theologians may not have embraced the humanity of Jesus, the translations and backgrounds of the words “cup”, “grieved”, and “agitated”, along with the translation of the passage itself, the humanity of Jesus is not only present in the passage but also a necessity to the salvation of humanity through the sacrifice of Jesus. Simply put, for the salvation through death to be relatable for humanity, Jesus had to also be, at least in part, fully human as well as being fully divine.
Willson, S. (1990). Discipleship according to Jesus : a sermon on Mark 3:13-19. Presbyterion, 16(2), 73-80.
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