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!
