²⁰ Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. ²¹ Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. ²² Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil,    because of the Son of Man. ²³ “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets. (Luke 6:20-23)
The Lord Jesus said to his disciples: Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Here we see that the Lord Jesus is gracious to the poor, saying that the kingdom of God belongs to them.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3)
The parallel passage in Matthew says: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Poor in spirit” means humility. The kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are the same thing. The Lord Jesus continued to say: Blessed are you who are hungry, for you will be filled. What does this mean?
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.(Matthew 5:6)
The parallel passage in Matthew says: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. So those who are hungry mentioned earlier are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, those who thirst for God’s righteousness, those who hunger and thirst for God’s word; they will be filled. The Lord Jesus continues to say: Blessed are you who weep, for you will laugh. What does “weep” mean here?
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. (Matthew 5:4)
The parallel passage in Matthew says: Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Those who weep are those who mourn, those who mourn for their sins, those who repent; they will receive God’s comfort and will laugh.
The Lord Jesus continued: “Blessed are you when people hate you, reject you, insult you, and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man!” Here, the Lord Jesus says that blessed are those who are persecuted for the Lord’s sake, for their reward in heaven is great. The Old Testament prophets were also persecuted in the same way.
⁴² And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” (Matthew 10:42)
This speaks of receiving a reward from the Lord for giving a cup of cold water to a brother or sister. If you are persecuted for the Lord, do things for the Lord, for the Gospel, and for the brothers and sisters, you will receive reward.
May God bless you and your family!

¹² One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. ¹³ When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: ¹⁴ Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, ¹⁵ Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, ¹⁶ Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. ¹⁷ He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, ¹⁸ who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, ¹⁹ and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all. (Luke 6:12-19)
This passage is about the Lord Jesus choosing the twelve apostles. The night before the selection, He prayed to God the Father all night. Choosing the twelve apostles was a momentous decision, and Jesus prayed all night, relying entirely on God. In the Old Testament, we see that King David often consulted God; he succeeded when he consulted God and sought His guidance, and failed when he did not consult God.
⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
This passage tells us that when making decisions, we should not rely on our own wisdom, but on God, consult Him, and seek His guidance, so that He will make our paths straight.
Here, the Lord Jesus chose twelve disciples to be apostles; an apostle means one who is sent.
¹⁴ He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach ¹⁵ and to have authority to drive out demons.(Mark 3:14-15)
This parallel passage in Mark talks about the Lord Jesus chose twelve apostles to be with him, sent them out to preach, and gave them authority to cast out demons, including healing the sick.
Here it also takes about the crowds coming to the Lord Jesus to hear his teachings, many being healed from their sickness, and demon-possessed people got demons cast out and healed.
May God bless you and your family!

⁶ On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. ⁷ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. ⁸ But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there. ⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” ¹⁰ He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. ¹¹ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus. (Luke 6:6-11)
On a Sabbath, Jesus was teaching in the synagogue. A man there had a withered right hand. The scribes and Pharisees, were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they watched him to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. They were not seeking truth, but rather to find reasons for accusation. Jesus, the Son of God, knew their thoughts. Jesus healed the man with the withered hand in front of everyone. He then asked them, “which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” Jesus did good and saved life; the Pharisees did evil and destroyed life. Jesus performed a miracle and healed the sick, yet the Pharisees not only did not believe but also plotted what they might do to  Jesus, even to put him to death.
¹¹ He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? ¹² How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”(Matthew 12:11-12)
In this parallel passage, Jesus said that it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath. The Pharisees believed that work was forbidden on the Sabbath, and that healing the sick was considered work. Jesus, however, said that healing the sick, doing good on the Sabbath was lawful .
May God bless you and your family.

¹One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. ² Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” ³ Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? ⁴ He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” ⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” (Luke 6:1-5)
Here we see Jesus and his disciples passing through the grainfields, his disciples picked some heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands and ate the kernels.  Some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” Jesus then quoted from the Old Testament verses about David and his men entering the temple of God when they were hungry and eating consecrated bread which was lawful only for priests to eat.
It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in the sanctuary area, because it is a most holy part of their perpetual share of the food offerings presented to the Lord.” (Leviticus 24:9)
Here it says the consecrated bread was for the priests, Aaron, and his descendants to eat in the temple.
So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the Lord and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away. (1 Samuel 21:6)
Here the priests gave the consecrated bread from the temple to David and his men. consecrated bread was only for the priests to eat, but because David and his men were hungry, the priests gave them some to eat.
but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. (Exodus 20:10)
This passage says that no work can be done on the Sabbath, but it doesn’t specify the details. Jewish tradition defined work, prohibiting many tasks including cooking.
If you enter your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to their standing grain. (Deuteronomy 23:25)
This passage says that picking the kernels of your neighbor’s grainfield with your hands is permissible, but the Pharisees considered this as work.
Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. (Mark 2:27)
Here Jesus says that the Sabbath was made for man, to give them rest and for worshipping God, not as a burden or restriction that prohibits many activities.
Finally Jesus says: “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” The Son of Man is Jesus Christ himself, he is the Son of God, he is the Lord of the Sabbath, and He has the authority to define the true purpose of the Sabbath.
May God bless you and your family!

³³ They said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.” ³⁴ Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? ³⁵ But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.” ³⁶ He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. ³⁷ And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. ³⁸ No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. ³⁹ And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’” (Luke 5:33-39)
From the parallel passage, we know that John the Baptist’s disciples came to Jesus and said: “we and the Pharisees always fast, but your disciples eat and drink, and do not fast.” We know that the Pharisees fasted twice a week. Jesus then said that while the bridegroom was with his friends, his friends did not fast, but when the bridegroom left them, they would fast. Here, the bridegroom was Jesus himself. After his death, the disciples would fast. Jesus was not against fasting, but rather that the time did not yet come. Jesus continued with a parable: “No one patches an old garment with new cloth. For the patch only damages the garment, making the tear worse.” Here, the new cloth represents Jesus’ new teaching, and the old garment represents the old life under the law, and also our old life. Jesus’ teaching is not about reforming the old life, but about putting on new clothes, becoming a new person, and living a new life.
²² You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³ to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24)
Here, the Apostle Paul tells us to put on the new self, to wear new clothes, not patched old clothes. The Lord Jesus continues: “No one puts new wine into old wineskins. If they did, the new wine would burst the skins, and the wine would spill out, and the skins would be ruined.” Here, the new wine represents the Holy Spirit, and the wineskins represent life. The Lord fills the new self with the Holy Spirit, not the person under the law or the old self. People prefer the old life to the new life.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!(2 Corinthians 5:17)
When a person believes in the Lord, is baptized, is born again, and he receives the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit dwells in his heart, it is like the new wine in the new wineskins.
May God bless you and your family!

²⁷ After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, ²⁸ and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. ²⁹ Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” ³¹ Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:27-32)
Here we see that the Lord Jesus called Levi, who is Matthew, the author of the Gospel of Matthew. Levi was a tax collector, and at that time, tax collectors were Jews who collected taxes for the Roman government. They were considered traitors by the Jews, they often overcharged and pocketed the money, so the Jews disliked them. Here we see Levi hosting a great banquet for Jesus at home, inviting many tax collectors and others. The Pharisees and scribes complained to Jesus’ disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus replied, the healthy do not need a doctor, but the sick do. He did not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners. The sick and sinners came to Jesus and were healed, confessed their sins and repented, and Jesus forgave them.” The Pharisees, however, were self-righteous, did not believe in Jesus, and were often hostile towards him. In a parallel passage, Jesus said, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” He has mercy on sinners, calls them to repentance, and forgives their sins. He also wants us to have mercy and forgive others. May God bless you and your family!

¹⁷ One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. ¹⁸ Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. ¹⁹ When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. ²⁰ When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” ²¹ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” ²² Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ²⁴ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” ²⁵ Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. ²⁶ Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.” (Luke 5:17-26)
Here we see that the Lord Jesus was teaching. Some men carried a paralyzed man on a mat to Jesus to be healed. Because there were too many people, they could not go in, they climbed onto the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles right in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Your sins are forgiven.” Here it speaks of their faith, including the faith of those who carried the paralyzed man. Because of their faith in Jesus, the Lord said that his sins were forgiven. But the scribes and Pharisees, hearing this, said that Jesus was speaking blasphemy, because only God can forgive sins. They did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God and had the authority to forgive sins. Jesus asked them, “Which is easier, saying ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or saying ‘Get up and walk’?” Saying “Your sins are forgiven” seems easier because it cannot be proven immediately, both require God’s power. Jesus healed the paralytic with a single sentence, demonstrating His authority to forgive sins and revealing His divinity.
May God bless you and your family!

¹² While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” ¹³ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him. ¹⁴ Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” ¹⁵ Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. ¹⁶ But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. (Luke 5:12-16)
Here we see a man with leprosy, upon seeing the Lord Jesus, he humbly prostrated himself on the ground, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” He believed that the Lord Jesus had the power to heal, and that he could be healed if the Lord was willing. The Lord Jesus reached out and touched him, saying, “I am willing; Be clean!” His leprosy was immediately healed.
Leprosy was considered a very serious matter among the Jews. Nearly two long chapters in Leviticus address this issue (chapter 13, 14). According to the law, a person with leprosy must absolutely not live among the crowd, but must “live alone outside the camp” (Leviticus 13:46). Normally, people should not touch a leper to avoid contamination, but the Lord Jesus touched him, and cleansed him. After his healing, the Lord Jesus told him not to tell anyone, but to show himself to the priest and then offer a gift according to the Old Testament law.
² “These are the regulations for any diseased person at the time of their ceremonial cleansing, when they are brought to the priest: ³ The priest is to go outside the camp and examine them. If they have been healed of their defiling skin disease, ⁴ the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the person to be cleansed. (Leviticus 14:2-4)
Here according to Leviticus, after a leper was cleansed, he should be brought to the priest for verification, and after confirmation of cleansing, a gift should be offered.
⁴⁵ Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere. (Mark 1:45)
Jesus told the man not to tell anyone, but he spread the news, preventing Jesus from openly entering the city and hindering His work.
We see that many people came to Jesus to hear His word and to be healed of their sicknesses, but Jesus withdrew to the wilderness to pray. This shows the importance of prayer.