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Luke

Luke 
Day 
Day 76

Luke 6:20-36 "BLESSED ARE YOU..."

Day 76 – Luke 6

Text: Luke 6:20-36

“BLESSED ARE YOU…”

Many came to Jesus and sought His blessings. There were essentially two types of blessings the Lord Jesus offered those who came to Him.

There were those who came and sought only physical blessing. These were the sick, and tormented of the Devil. They sought physical relief. They sought release from the burdens of life, and bondage from the evil one. They went away feeling blessed. The Lord healed them.

There were those who sought the Lord at a different level. These realized that there was more to life than the physical realm. They were once part of the multitude. They wanted more than mere physical blessings. They wanted to walk in the way of the Lord. They desired to become Disciples of the Lord Jesus. They were challenged to find spiritual blessings via the cultivation and practice of Christian virtues.

They must not mind whatever suffering they may be asked to undertake. They may be called upon to suffer poverty, or to hunger. Tears may mark their pathway. They may also be asked to suffer ostracism. How could they be asked to undertake such hardship?

The Disciples need only to take a look at the Life of Jesus, and they would see that He, their Teacher practised what He preached. With all the power that He displayed, He endured hardship! With the all the wisdom He possessed, He nevertheless chose the narrow path of pain and suffering! Jesus would not ask them to suffer unnecessarily. He would never ask them to endure that which He Himself did not accept and embrace in His own life!

Do we really want to have the best of God’s blessings? Let us go beyond the external, physical blessings that Jesus graciously offers to all. Let us in wisdom, choose the path of Discipleship. Therein lie the blessings that last for eternity!

“WOE TO YOU…”

The number of people who followed the Lord Jesus as Disciples was certainly lots smaller than those who belonged to the multitude. The Disciples were always distinctly smaller, and thus Luke was able to distinguish between the multitudes and the Disciples.

There were many who never went beyond the obvious, the superficial. These always belonged to the peripheral. They were always just on the fringe. They never belonged to the core.

There were those who rejected Jesus, whether overtly or subtly. These never chose the path of Discipleship. They chose the way of the world. The path chosen may not have been obvious to the less discerning. However, Jesus read the hearts of all who came to Him. He saw, He knew, He distinguished between the true from the false. He saw the difference between those who would always be on the fringe, and those who would become faithful and true disciples of His.

Many were oblivious of the impact and the significance of the words of woe pronounced against those who never chose to become Disciples. Not to choose to truly follow, was in itself a choice.

The choice between “Blessed are you…” and “Woe to you…” remains the same. We must all decide one day, whether we want to belong to those who are blessed, or whether we will hear the words of woe pronounced against us.

“LEAP FOR JOY…”

What is the context of this pronouncement of the blessing of great joy? It is not in the context of being healed. It is also not in the context of being released from the power of demons!

Strange as it may sound, the fullness of joy Jesus proclaimed belongs to those who are prepared to endure suffering! Those appear to be “strange” words indeed!

What did Jesus mean when He spoke of finding the greatest sense of joy when one is called upon to endure pain and suffering? How can there be joy at all?

1. What Jesus said was actually proven to be true by His Disciples years down the road. In Acts 5, we have recorded an incident where the Apostles were sentenced to jail. They were also physically beaten for their faith in Jesus. Instead of being daunted by this experience, we read these famous words,

“So they (the apostles) departed from the presence of the (Sanhedrin) council, REJOICING that they were counted worthy to SUFFER shame for His Name.”Acts 5:41

2. This joy was real. You can’t fake joy when you have been imprisoned. You can’t fake joy when you have been brutally beaten. This joy is either genuine or it is artificial. The joy that comes from the Lord is His reward. It is His gift to the faithful and courageous Disciples who are not afraid to suffer. True faith leads to powerful joy.

3. This joy must have been something experienced by the prophets of old. They also experienced great hardship and pain. Nevertheless, they were able to speak of drawing joy from the wells of salvation. Consider the words of the prophet Isaiah,

“Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song;
He also is become my salvation.
Therefore with JOY you will draw water
From the wells of salvation.”Isaiah 12:2-3

CHOOSING JOY

Would you like to have Joy in your life? Do not seek the temporary happiness. Choose the path of Discipleship, and you will be able to “Rejoice… and leap for Joy” even though that pathway is one filled with pain and hardship.