The Book of Luke
James J. Barker


Lesson 16
THE BEATITUDES

Text: LUKE 6:20-46


INTRODUCTION:


  1. Luke 6 and Matthew 5--7 contain the Sermon on the Mount. The account here in Luke 6 is a shorter version of the sermon, though it follows exactly the same flow and progress as Matthew.
  2. "Luke condenses and Matthew expands the Sermon on the Mount" -- Alexander Maclaren. And there are some statements found here in Luke that are not in Matthew's account (cf. Luke 6:38).
  3. Some people say Luke's was probably a different sermon because this one took place "in the plain" (6:17), not on a mount. However, it could refer to a plateau in the mountain.
  4. Both accounts are similar, and as one studies the Sermon on the Mount, it is wise to compare both Matthew and Luke's account.
  5. The word "beatitude" comes from the Latin word meaning "blessed" or "happy" (cf. Luke 6:20-22, 28).
  6. Notice the contrast between "blessed" (6:20-22) and "woe" (6:24-26).
  7. Leon Morris said these beatitudes "make a mocker of the world's values. They exalt what the world despises and reject what the world admires."
  8. This passage deals with Christian behaviour and discipleship. Our Lord sets a very high standard here -- a standard too high for the unregenerate, and a standard even many Christians fail to reach.
  9. Spurgeon said the Lord "ordains a standard far above the common standard of mankind when He says, again and again, 'What credit is that to you? For sinners also do even the same.'" (cf. 6:32-34).

 

I. OUR CIRCUMSTANCES (6:20-26)

  1. The emphasis in the Beatitudes is on the condition of the heart, and not on outward circumstances.
  2. Some people are born into poverty (6:20).
  3. Others fall into poverty through bad health, unemployment, etc.
  4. Nevertheless, our hope is in the Lord. Psalm 34:6 says, "This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles."
  5. Abraham Lincoln said, "God must love the poor. Why else would he have made so many of them?"
  6. Many people mistakenly believe that true happiness comes from having a lot of money and great possessions, or being popular, etc., but the Bible does not teach that (6:20-26).
  7. Our Lord said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23).
  8. Sometimes what is needed is not a change in our circumstances, but a change in our perspective. These Scriptures remind us we shall have a reward in heaven if we are faithful (cf. 6:23).
  9. This passage should be compared with Matthew's account. There our Lord was teaching the same principles more fully.
  10. For example, Matthew 5:3 says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (cf. Luke 6:20).
  11. Matthew 5:6 says, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled" (cf. Luke 6:21).
  12. Though our Lord stated this principle more fully in Matthew 5, He taught the same thing in Luke 6. Our Lord did not glorify poverty. Rather, He was calling for that brokenness of heart that recognizes spiritual poverty. "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3).
  13. G. Campbell Morgan said, "The poor in spirit are the men and the women who are supremely conscious of their own poverty, of their own unworthiness; who are mastered by a great humility...Jesus said, 'I am meek and lowly;' that is poverty of spirit in the sense in which He used it" (Luke).

 

II. OTHER PEOPLE (6:27-38)

  1. Like the book of Proverbs, the Beatitudes give us instructions on how to deal with other people. Some one said life would be easy if it weren't for other people.
  2. Some one else put it this way:

"To dwell above with the saints I love -- why, that will be glory.

But to get along with the saints down here -- that's another story!"

  1. When a Christian is living right, he will certainly run into conflicts with the worldly crowd (6:22, 27-29).
  2. In the Sermon on the Mount, our Lord said, "Ye are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14). Light exposes darkness.
  3. Sinners have various ways of mistreating Christians.
  • They shun us, avoid us, reject us, etc. (6:22).
  • They curse us (6:28). The great Italian preacher, Savonarola, said, "A Christian's life consists in trial and distress, doing good and suffering evil."
  • They beat us (6:29). This is very commonplace in Muslim countries. A recent article:

MUSLIMS MURDERING CHRISTIANS ON LAND AND SEA (Friday Church News Notes, April 24, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - This week at least 28 professing Christians were murdered by Muslim jihadists. Muslim refugees traveling from Libya to Italy across the Mediterranean threw 12 Christians overboard and left them to drown ("Italian Police: Libyan Muslims Threw Christians Overboard," Breitbart, Apr. 16, 2015). ISIS beheaded 15 Christians by the sea shore and shot another 15 in the desert ("You Will Not Have Safety Until You Accept Islam," Christian News Network, Apr. 19, 2015). In Pakistan, a 14-year-old Christian boy was burned to death. He was asked by two masked men if he was a Christian, and when he replied that he was, they doused him with kerosene and set him on fire ("Burned Christian Boy Dies," Voice of the Persecuted, Apr. 18, 2015). We understand that these poor victims were probably Christian in name only rather than by regeneration, but the fact remains that they were targeted as Christians by Muslims who have a burning hatred for the Jesus Christ of Scripture, the Son of God who died on the cross to save men from their sin. In its video of the slaughter of the 30 Christians, ISIS said, "To the nation of the cross, we are now back again. ... You will not have safety even in your dreams, until you accept Islam. Our battle is a battle between faith and blasphemy, between truth and falsehood." This video followed another one in February documenting the beheading of 21 Egyptian Orthodox Coptics.

  1. Our Lord said, "Pray for them which despitefully use you" (6:28). As He was hanging on the cross, our Lord said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).
  2. As Stephen was being stoned to death, his last words were, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge" (Acts 7:60).
  3. Nicholas Ridley had been a chaplain to King Henry VIII and was Bishop of London. Hugh Latimer, the Bishop of Worcester, was renowned for his strong Bible preaching, and his good works, especially his visitations to the prisons.
  4. But when King Henry's daughter Mary ("Bloody Mary") became Queen of England, she worked to bring England back to the Roman Catholic Church. One of her first acts was to arrest Bishop Ridley and Bishop Latimer.
  5. They were examined and when they told their examiners that they did not accept the authority of the pope or the mass, etc. they were burned at the stake in Oxford on October 16, 1555.
  6. As he was being tied to the stake, Nicholas Ridley prayed, "Oh, heavenly Father, I give unto thee most hearty thanks that thou hast called me to be a professor of thee, even unto death. I beseech thee, Lord God, have mercy on this realm of England, and deliver it from all her enemies." (Cf. 6:28)
  7. Latimer encouraged Ridley, "Be of good comfort, Mr. Ridley, and play the man! We shall this day light such a candle by God's grace, in England, as I trust never shall be put out."
  8. The Golden Rule is that we treat others as we would want to be treated (6:31-35). Spurgeon said the golden rule "is the sum and substance of the highest morality. What you would that others should do to you, do that to them...If we did all act to others as we would that others should act to us, how different would the lives of many men become! Ours would be a happy world if this law of Christ were the law of England, and the law of all nations. God send us the Spirit by whom alone we shall be able to obey so high a rule!"
  9. And it is by the Spirit alone that we can be gracious, generous, and merciful (6:30, 36-38). This is the principle of sowing and reaping (6:37, 38).

 

III. OURSELVES (6:39-46)

  1. Luke 6:20 says our Lord "lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said..." Most of this sermon is directed to Christians.
  2. For example, our Lord said in verse 23, "Your reward is great in heaven." Lost sinners will not be rewarded in heaven.
  3. However, verses 39 and 46 seem to refer to unbelievers, especially the Pharisees. In any event, there is plenty of application here for believers.
  4. Perhaps the discourse was addressed to "the whole multitude" (6:19), with the Beatitudes being for our Lord's disciples (6:20-23).
  5. In verse 40, our Lord refers to discipleship. And our Lord said the same thing in Matthew 10:24; John 13:16; and John 15:20.
  6. "The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord" (Matt. 10:24).
  7. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him" (John 13:16).
  8. "Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also" (John 15:20; cf. Luke 6:22, 28, 29).
  9. In Luke 6:40, our Lord promises His disciples perfection. F.B. Meyer said, "Yes, it is true! Some day we shall be perfected. The long discipline will be over, and we shall be able to close our lesson books and go home. We shall then be found to be like Christ, our Lord. The promise of Luke 6:40 is very beautiful, though it sometimes seems far away."
  10. A.T. Robertson said, "The word (translated perfect) is common for mending broken things or nets (Matthew 4:21) or men (Galatians 6:1). So it is a long process to get the pupil patched up to the plane of his teacher" (Word Pictures in the New Testament).
  11. This "patching up" process is called sanctification. Romans 8:29 says we have been predestinated to be conformed to the image of Christ.
  12. It is easy to see the shortcomings of others, but it is often difficult to recognize our own shortcomings (Luke 6:41, 42).
  13. Luke 6:39-46 contain warnings about the danger of following false prophets. Those who follow them "fall into the ditch" (6:39).
  14. False teachers are hypocritical (6:41, 42), and produce bad fruit (6:43, 44).
  15. There are many warnings all throughout the Bible about false teachers. Second Peter 2:1 says, "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction."
  16. When our Lord's disciples asked Him, "What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" (Matthew 24:3), He replied, "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many" (Matthew 24:4, 5).

 

CONCLUSION:


  1. Daniel Webster served in the House of Representatives for 10 years (representing New Hampshire), then in the Senate for 19 years (representing Massachusetts), and was appointed the United States Secretary of State under three presidents.
  2. The day before Daniel Webster died he wrote his own epitaph. I will just quote the last few sentences: "My heart has always assured and reassured me that the Gospel of Jesus Christ must be a Divine Reality. The Sermon on the Mount cannot be a merely human production. This belief enters into the very depths of my conscience. The whole history of man proves it."
  3. Daniel Webster recognized what many others have acknowledged over the last two thousand years -- that the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ are on a higher plane than the words of any mortal man.
  4. This is because His words are the very words of God.
  5. Let me emphasize no man can truly live by the standards of the Sermon on the Mount until he is first born again.


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