Luke 6:17-26
Blessings and Woes
17He 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 coast of Tyre and Sidon, 18who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, 19and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
20Looking at his disciples, he said:
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22Blessed are you when men 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 fathers treated the prophets.
24"But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.
There were two brothers, that both worked hard...The two brothers loved each other and loved God...The first brother was a good manager and saved and retired early...The second brother worked hard as a logger, and continued to work, even in his later life...The good manager was first to buy a car...The first to build a nice comfortable house...The second brother later bought his car and then later a small house...The first brother had what he wanted, was comfortable, and the latter brother, worked and had what he needed...
One day the first brother also owned a second home...It was nice, small and very comfortable for him...The latter brother continued to work everyday and really enjoyed his occupation...
The first brother was wanting to add on to his second house and prayed to God that he would help...After all, he loved God and wanted God involved in his life...
The latter brother later got hurt while working...A tree he was cutting, fell on him and his leg was broke...He could not work with his bad leg and had to go back home...He went back home and his father helped him until he was able to go back to work...The first brother continued to go back and forth to his two houses and was in comfort... The latter brother took several months to heal and could not make a living until his leg was healed...
The second brother prayed to get well so he could return to work...The latter brother loved God and he knew God could help him heal, so he could be working again and on his own...
God was looking down watching this...God hears all prayers...Jesus teaches us that the first will be last and the last will be first...God teaches us that blessed is the poor for theirs is the kingdom of God...Woe to those, who are rich, for they have already received their comfort...
Jesus teaches us in Luke 16:25 about heaven and hell...Abraham talks to the rich man Lazarus and tells him, "Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony, besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to there cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us."...
God's Son is called Immanuel-which means God with us (Matthew 1:23)...
We are the fingers, muscles, and touch of Jesus and He works through us...Jesus is in us...Christ is operating through us...When Paul was struck down off his horse by Jesus, that is why He said, Saul why are you persecuting me...Saul (Paul) had never met, so he knew he never persecuted Jesus...But Paul had persecuted Jesus' people, therefore Paul was persecuting Him...What you do to the least of my brothers you have done to me (Matthew 25:40)...
We learn in Job, that his regular custom was to offer a burnt sacrifice to God for his children...He did this because he thought maybe his children had sinned or cursed God in their hearts (Job 1:5)...Sometimes we know we sin and sometimes we do not know...For some of us our hope is like the taxpayer in Luke 18:13...We must stand a distance...Do not look at heaven, and say God have mercy on me, I am a sinner...Jesus tells us the taxpayer goes home justified before God...We must thank God that He has mercy on us, and forgives us...There is only One who is good (Matthew 19:17)...God alone is good...