In The Word
Read: Luke 6:12-36
Choosing the Twelve
12 Now it was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer with God. 13 And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles: 14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and his brother Andrew; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew;15 and Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
17 And then Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled by unclean spirits were being cured. 19 And all the people were trying to touch Him, because power was coming from Him and healing them all.
The Beatitudes
20 And He raised His eyes toward His disciples and began saying, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.21 Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 22 Blessed are you when the people hate you, and when they exclude you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice on that day and jump for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For their fathers used to treat the prophets the same way. 24 But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. 25 Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. 26 Woe to you when all the people speak well of you; for their fathers used to treat the false prophets the same way.
27 “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who are abusive to you. 29 Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic from him either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. 31 Treat people the same way you want them to treat you. 32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil people. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
It seems by now, after Jesus sees all of this humanity, the sick, lost, and without hope, compelled Him to begin speaking to them about blessings. Beatitude means “blessings,” and Jesus mentions blessings toward the poor, the hungry, the broken-hearted, and the mistreated. They will all find blessings in Heaven because Jesus said that if you’re a believer, your future is blessed.
Visiting Africa often, I always ponder if the poor in that country understand that their heavenly Father does see their plight. Is it enough to know that, while you may be suffering here, there awaits a glorious eternity for you on the other side? Do you ever think of how blessed you are in this country? By the grace of God, you were born at a time like this, given so much compared to others; we, in America, are truly blessed indeed. For those of us, Jesus says in Luke 6:35, “Love your enemies, do good, lend without expecting return.” It is important though for us to be merciful, for our Father in Heaven is merciful. He has forgiven you of much; He expects the same from us. If you don’t think He should expect this from us, check out the “woe” section in our readings today. I don’t know about you, but I’ll take the “have mercy” route every time instead of falling into the hands of our God without mercy. Are you sharing? Are you aware of those around you who Jesus says, “Blessed art thou”? Be the hands and feet of Jesus in their life. See if you can bring a little Heaven down today in their lives!