Luke 6:20-26: Upside down Kingdom

If you are a person of means, don’t miss the challenge of these words; don’t try to evade them.

But don’t misread them either. Jesus is not saying that all the poor get into the Kingdom by default, and that all the wealthy don’t get so much as a sniff. Take the big picture that is the total Bible story. It is a basic principle of Biblical interpretation that you must compare Scripture with Scripture. Don’t take verses in isolation from other parts of the Word. We know from elsewhere in the Bible that there were godly people who were blessed with great wealth. It is also possible to be poor and live far from God. But Jesus was speaking here to His disciples who were poor (20). He was telling them that in the next life they would be more than compensated for their sufferings and privations now. But the rich people who don’t follow Jesus have got all their good things now. There is nothing to look forward to in the life to come. ( Remember the story of the rich man and Lazarus: Luke 16:19-31).

This passage shows how truly counter-cultural the Kingdom of God is. The culture says you can’t be happy in conditions such as those described in (20-23). But Jesus says His disciples truly are ‘Blessed’ (happy) whatever their outer realities.

I like the way this section opens with Jesus lifting up His eyes on his disciples. Of course eye contact is important for a preacher. But surely there is more than that here. Jesus really saw His congregation. He knew their circumstances, and He had compassion on them. He felt for them in their ‘present tense’, and rejoiced over what was coming their way in the future.

In recent readings we have seen something of the hostility faced by Christ (1-11). Following this Jesus we should not be surprised if we too are persecuted (22,23, 26).

Prayer: Lord, don’t let me be seduced by material things. Help me to look at everything in life through your eyes. Enable me to use my blessings at your direction and for your glory.