In Luke 6 there is a passage that many of us will consider to be baffling. At the time that Jesus gave this teaching, a large group of His disciples and many others had gathered to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. As we study this passage, we can begin to see that the ways of God are contrary to the ways of the world and the understanding of men.
Beginning in Luke 6:20 we read:
And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. 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. 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.
“But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. 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. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.” (Luke 6:20-26)
Many of us might reason that things appear to be backwards in this passage. Contrary to what Jesus taught, most of us will see no blessing at all in being poor, hungry, or in mourning. And at the same time, we would consider that those who are blessed would obviously be those who are rich and well fed, and who enjoy their comforts and consolations in this life.
However in Jesus’ teaching here, we see that such is not the case. God’s thoughts and His ways are not like the thoughts, ways, and understanding of men, as we learn in the book of Isaiah where God spoke through the prophet saying:
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)
God has different thoughts about the blessing of His people, and He has different ways in which He will bring these blessings to pass. We will soon see revealed through several passages of Scripture the ways that God has chosen to bring about the eternal blessing of His people together with His Son.