Sixth Sunday after Epiphany 2/1107 Text: Luke 6:17-26 Title: Blessed
Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
2/11/07
Text: Luke 6:17-26
Title: Blessed
In our Gospel reading for today we find Jesus healing great multitudes of people. He healed those with diseases and drove out unclean spirits. As I read that he drove out unclean spirits, I wondered if they were different than evil spirits. So I did some research and found out that they are different.
Unclean spirits are those spirits that would make a person unclean in that the person could not enter the temple, by their presence. Unclean spirits would show their presence in all types of ways, such as behavioral, emotional, or physical manifestations.
We now see that Jesus not only has power over evil spirits, the worst of all, but also unclean spirits and diseases. To Jesus it does not make any difference. He has power overall everything that people struggle with in their lives, whether they are physical, emotional, behavioral, are sinful.
We see in verse 20 that Jesus is talking to those who were calling themselves his disciples. We are not told how many disciples there where, only that he was speaking to his disciples.
Jesus in giving his Sermon on the Plain turns the legalistic world of Judaism on its head. He shows them that the Kingdom of God is just the opposite of their standards. The popular belief at the time was that if you were poor, or hungry, or sick, it was the result of you being punished by God. There was no way that you could be blessed if your were poor, sick, or hungry.
On the other end of the scale, and it is still believed today; if you are rich, have more food than you know what to do with, lead, for the most part a happy and blessed life, and are held in esteem by those around you, could only mean that God was blessing you and that was a good thing.
Before we go any further into our scripture study for this morning we need to understand the definition of the word “blessed.” In classical Greek, the word blessed is used to describe the joy of the gods and those fortunate wealthy people who lived undisturbed by the world’s woes.
However, in common Greek, the Greek the Bible was written in, the word refers to the religious joy that a person has when he or she knows that they are saved. They have the peace that passes all understanding
If you look at verses 24 through 26 you see that the four “blessed are you” are counterbalanced with four woes. This can only mean that when Jesus was giving his talk to the people, there were unbelievers there as well as believers.
He was telling them that those who have everything, at least as far as the world is concerned, but do not have faith in Christ; will have in their eternal life just the opposite of their present life. They will be justly punished, since they put their earthly life ahead of God and his saving grace.
Those believers he is talking to that day, are not blessed in their being poor, or hungry, or sorrowful, or being spoken against. They were not going to be blessed for that, for none of those things gives you salvation, or some better reward in the new heaven and earth, that Jesus will create when he comes back in all his glory.
What he is speaking about is that when you are a follower of his, you will be blessed because what is happening to you, is happening because you are steadfastly following him. To be poor, for Jesus sake is being blessed. To be hungry, for Jesus sake is to be blessed. To be weeping, because of persecution, for Jesus sake is to be blessed. To be hated by people, for Jesus sake is to be blessed.
You are not blessed because of what you are going through, for that would imply that you have something to do with your salvation. You are blessed and will be blessed in the new heaven and earth, because those things are proof that you have kept the faith, in spite of all that happened to you while living on this earth.
Before I move on to the four woes, let us back up and take a look at verse 21 again, especially the last half of that verse. There is a Gospel nugget there that I do not want you to miss. “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” Notice the kingdom is already here. Jesus is not referring to some far off event, but to the here and now. As a follower of Christ you are living in God’s kingdom now.
I wanted to point that out, for the other three beatitudes are speaking of being blessed in the future. Jesus is saying being poor is just temporary. Being hungry is just temporary. Weeping is just temporary. Being persecuted because of your faith is just temporary.
None of those, what we would call bad things, are any different than what has been happening to Christians for almost 2000 years. When you stand up for your faith, the chances are good that you will be persecuted in some form or fashion.
Let us look at the four woes. Notice they are just the opposite of the four “blessed are you”. Just as the four beatitudes do not talk of being rewarded just because a person is poor, hungry, sad, or persecuted, the woes do not say that just because you are blessed in this life that you will not be blessed in the next.
What Jesus is talking about in the woes is not letting your earthly goods or blessings get in the way of receiving eternal blessings from God. For if they get in the way, then there are the perils of hell to deal with in the future.
I wonder; how many Christians, even those that believe in the bodily resurrection, would say that they would rather be blessed with fame and good fortune now, instead of taking their chances on being blessed after they die?
If you had to think about that question for even a second, it might be good to know exactly what it means to be have blessings now or blessings later. Remember now is temporary, while later is eternal. Would you rather have the temporary blessedness of this life, or the permanent blessedness that is to come, the blessedness that Jesus has won for you on the cross and in his resurrection?
When you let the standards of the world guide you, you will have great woe, even while being blessed now. But when you let God determine who you are, you will be greatly blessed here and in eternity. When you let your looks, your wealth, your education, your knowledge, your family, or any of the other things that mean so much in our lives today be the final word about the meaning and significance of your life, you will end up in hopelessness and despair.
But when you let the kingdom of God have the final word about the meaning and significance of your life, you will have true joy and know without a doubt that you are blessed by God.
Those that try to rationalize the Beatitudes say that what was relevant in Jesus time may not necessarily be relevant now. They argue that Christ was speaking to the people of that particular generation and that His words were not intended for the present and future generations because times and circumstances change as years go by.
However, those that say that neglect to consider the Gospel which tells us that Jesus never changes. He is the same today as He was yesterday and He will be the same tomorrow. Yes, circumstances do change with time, but the idea, the concepts, the truths remain timeless and can be applied to any generation, past, present or future. Here is what J.J. Lynch writes about Jesus and His relevance to all generations: “His wisdom is sublime, His heart profoundly kind; God never is before His time, and never behind.”
God is here for you right now. Are you letting him work through you? Are you being blessed by God right now? I hope so, because God does want to bless you. He wants to bless you, not as those of the world think of being blessed, for that blessing is only temporary. God wants to bless you for eternity. Amen
2/11/07
Text: Luke 6:17-26
Title: Blessed
In our Gospel reading for today we find Jesus healing great multitudes of people. He healed those with diseases and drove out unclean spirits. As I read that he drove out unclean spirits, I wondered if they were different than evil spirits. So I did some research and found out that they are different.
Unclean spirits are those spirits that would make a person unclean in that the person could not enter the temple, by their presence. Unclean spirits would show their presence in all types of ways, such as behavioral, emotional, or physical manifestations.
We now see that Jesus not only has power over evil spirits, the worst of all, but also unclean spirits and diseases. To Jesus it does not make any difference. He has power overall everything that people struggle with in their lives, whether they are physical, emotional, behavioral, are sinful.
We see in verse 20 that Jesus is talking to those who were calling themselves his disciples. We are not told how many disciples there where, only that he was speaking to his disciples.
Jesus in giving his Sermon on the Plain turns the legalistic world of Judaism on its head. He shows them that the Kingdom of God is just the opposite of their standards. The popular belief at the time was that if you were poor, or hungry, or sick, it was the result of you being punished by God. There was no way that you could be blessed if your were poor, sick, or hungry.
On the other end of the scale, and it is still believed today; if you are rich, have more food than you know what to do with, lead, for the most part a happy and blessed life, and are held in esteem by those around you, could only mean that God was blessing you and that was a good thing.
Before we go any further into our scripture study for this morning we need to understand the definition of the word “blessed.” In classical Greek, the word blessed is used to describe the joy of the gods and those fortunate wealthy people who lived undisturbed by the world’s woes.
However, in common Greek, the Greek the Bible was written in, the word refers to the religious joy that a person has when he or she knows that they are saved. They have the peace that passes all understanding
If you look at verses 24 through 26 you see that the four “blessed are you” are counterbalanced with four woes. This can only mean that when Jesus was giving his talk to the people, there were unbelievers there as well as believers.
He was telling them that those who have everything, at least as far as the world is concerned, but do not have faith in Christ; will have in their eternal life just the opposite of their present life. They will be justly punished, since they put their earthly life ahead of God and his saving grace.
Those believers he is talking to that day, are not blessed in their being poor, or hungry, or sorrowful, or being spoken against. They were not going to be blessed for that, for none of those things gives you salvation, or some better reward in the new heaven and earth, that Jesus will create when he comes back in all his glory.
What he is speaking about is that when you are a follower of his, you will be blessed because what is happening to you, is happening because you are steadfastly following him. To be poor, for Jesus sake is being blessed. To be hungry, for Jesus sake is to be blessed. To be weeping, because of persecution, for Jesus sake is to be blessed. To be hated by people, for Jesus sake is to be blessed.
You are not blessed because of what you are going through, for that would imply that you have something to do with your salvation. You are blessed and will be blessed in the new heaven and earth, because those things are proof that you have kept the faith, in spite of all that happened to you while living on this earth.
Before I move on to the four woes, let us back up and take a look at verse 21 again, especially the last half of that verse. There is a Gospel nugget there that I do not want you to miss. “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” Notice the kingdom is already here. Jesus is not referring to some far off event, but to the here and now. As a follower of Christ you are living in God’s kingdom now.
I wanted to point that out, for the other three beatitudes are speaking of being blessed in the future. Jesus is saying being poor is just temporary. Being hungry is just temporary. Weeping is just temporary. Being persecuted because of your faith is just temporary.
None of those, what we would call bad things, are any different than what has been happening to Christians for almost 2000 years. When you stand up for your faith, the chances are good that you will be persecuted in some form or fashion.
Let us look at the four woes. Notice they are just the opposite of the four “blessed are you”. Just as the four beatitudes do not talk of being rewarded just because a person is poor, hungry, sad, or persecuted, the woes do not say that just because you are blessed in this life that you will not be blessed in the next.
What Jesus is talking about in the woes is not letting your earthly goods or blessings get in the way of receiving eternal blessings from God. For if they get in the way, then there are the perils of hell to deal with in the future.
I wonder; how many Christians, even those that believe in the bodily resurrection, would say that they would rather be blessed with fame and good fortune now, instead of taking their chances on being blessed after they die?
If you had to think about that question for even a second, it might be good to know exactly what it means to be have blessings now or blessings later. Remember now is temporary, while later is eternal. Would you rather have the temporary blessedness of this life, or the permanent blessedness that is to come, the blessedness that Jesus has won for you on the cross and in his resurrection?
When you let the standards of the world guide you, you will have great woe, even while being blessed now. But when you let God determine who you are, you will be greatly blessed here and in eternity. When you let your looks, your wealth, your education, your knowledge, your family, or any of the other things that mean so much in our lives today be the final word about the meaning and significance of your life, you will end up in hopelessness and despair.
But when you let the kingdom of God have the final word about the meaning and significance of your life, you will have true joy and know without a doubt that you are blessed by God.
Those that try to rationalize the Beatitudes say that what was relevant in Jesus time may not necessarily be relevant now. They argue that Christ was speaking to the people of that particular generation and that His words were not intended for the present and future generations because times and circumstances change as years go by.
However, those that say that neglect to consider the Gospel which tells us that Jesus never changes. He is the same today as He was yesterday and He will be the same tomorrow. Yes, circumstances do change with time, but the idea, the concepts, the truths remain timeless and can be applied to any generation, past, present or future. Here is what J.J. Lynch writes about Jesus and His relevance to all generations: “His wisdom is sublime, His heart profoundly kind; God never is before His time, and never behind.”
God is here for you right now. Are you letting him work through you? Are you being blessed by God right now? I hope so, because God does want to bless you. He wants to bless you, not as those of the world think of being blessed, for that blessing is only temporary. God wants to bless you for eternity. Amen
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 5:01 PM
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