Who is blessed? (Luke 6c qa)

Luke 6:17-26
Key verse 6:20

1.     [17-19] Where did Jesus go after choosing the apostles? (17a) Who was there and how many? (17b-18; cf. 5:17) Why were they there? (18a) What did they try to do and why? (18b-19)

1. 17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. : in the previous passage, Jesus chose the twelve at the higher level of the mountain. After choosing the twelve, Jesus came down to where large crowds were waiting for him. ;so the sequence of events seems to be as following
2.  Jesus prayed at or near the top of the mountain; He called all of his disciples to come up to him at this higher place. And then he chose the twelve. With his disciples and apostles Jesus came down to meet the large crowds. So when Jesus was at the top of the mountain, a large crowd was at the level ground or foot of the mountain waiting to see Jesus. Jesus went up high and stayed there and called his disciples up there was Jesus’ design to separate the large crowd from the small number of disciples.  
3. 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, -clearly the number of disciples and number of people were much greater than 5:17 indicating the increase in the size of the crowd. This meant that Jesus’ ministry attracted so many people, reaching to almost the highest point of his ministry as far as it was measured in terms of its size.
4. 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.—the primary purpose of coming to Jesus was healing , receiving the power of cure.

2.     [20-21] Whom did Jesus speak to? (20a) Whom does each “you” refer to and why are they each blessed? How is this different from the ordinary understanding of the blessed and why?

1. 20 Looking at his disciples, -- the great number of people were there to listen to Jesus but Jesus looked at his disciples and addressed as if he was just saying to them only.
1. Though there were so many trying to get healing Jesus did not pay attention to them for now or he set aside healing
2. One thing; those who were troubled by impure spirit were healed.
3. His focus in this teaching was his disciples—those who decided to follow Jesus. These were the ones who believed that Jesus was the coming king and were to restore the kingdom—Jesus was the one who would fulfill the messianic hope for Israel. So it was clear that toward that hope Jesus was addressing to the disciples and then to the crowd.
2. he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. –Jesus was speaking directly to those who were there listening; ‘you’ are blessed even if you are poor because you will enter the kingdom of God.  ; the poor among the crowd considered that they were not blessed relatively to those who were well off and powerful. But this ‘poverty’ led them seek Jesus and that would lead them to the kingdom of God. They had mindset ready for God’s blessing and God would surely lead them to the kingdom of God. In this regard they were blessed.
   Jesus was not defining who or what kinds of people would be blessed in its absolute terms. Among those who sought after Jesus in the hope of God’s kingdom, the poverty was the source of that drive and they would be given the blessings of the kingdom of God.
3. 21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.--
    Hunger: 1 Cor. 4:11; in figurative discourse, οὐ πεινᾶν καί οὐ δίψαν is used to describe the condition of one who is in need of nothing requisite for his real (spiritual) life and salvation, John 6:35; Rev. 7:16. b. metaphorically, to crave ardently, to seek with eager desire:  These came to Jesus because their ‘hunger’ for something good and satisfying. They were not fed to their satisfaction and were in need of ‘food’ that satisfy to cure hunger. In both, literally and figuratively they were in great need and that need can be met in the kingdom of God.
   Contrary those who are not in need and not in hunger, they are ‘in satisfaction’ with what they have now. Since what they have now is without Jesus or godly provision, that satisfaction is from the things of this world and there is no sense of spiritual need or need for truth or justice in them. They cannot enter the kingdom of God.  
4. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh: weeping comes from sorrows of life; the primary source of sorrow is sickness and death or loss of life—when one comes to a keen sense of inescapable predicament under the power of sin and death, and finding no solution for this predicament, weeping in sorrow is the natural response. If we flip this, those who weep surely knows the powerlessness in sin and death.

3.     [22-23] What sufferings might they have and why? (22) How does Jesus encourage them and why? (23)

1. If we take the three previous statement of Jesus as absolute moral dictum for the people of the kingdom of God, then v22-23 is out of place or not in line with the above statement.
   But actually v22-23 is extension of what Jesus taught in v20-21. If so, then we have to look for continuing or common theme within these four verses (20-22)

              i.        The basic frame of understanding of this is in the context of this message;

             ii.        Spiritual context
Jesus as the coming king who would restore the kingdom of God
the Kingdom of God is the place or the kingdom whereby all their need will be met, no matter what they may be
These people, the disciples, set their minds in this periscope.

            iii.        Physical context
Jesus, the king to be, was right there with his twelve apostles, clearly indicating to the crowd/disciples that the leadership of the kingdom is set to go.
Such a large number of people was looking forward intently to the hope of this kingdom and were ready to be the people of coming kingdom
There was a clear sense of moving forward toward that kingdom in regard to growth of the size of the crowd and followers and in regard to the popularity of Jesus spreading to the entire nation Israel including the religious leaders.

2. 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.

              i.        It is a teaching about one’s attitude toward the king-to be, Jesus. If they are persecuted because their decision and will to follow Jesus, then they should not worry but to rejoice.

             ii.        The reason is that that day-the day of the full restoration of the kingdom-is coming soon and they will be honored by the king and those who persecuted will be condemned.

            iii.        Such unwarranted hostility was a typical response to God’s chosen people, particularly to his servants.

            iv.        This teaching anticipates what is yet to come and warned them of coming hardship from oppositions. In addition Jesus put the teachings of the oppositions into the category of opposition to God and his servants so that his disciples might have clear discernment.

4.     [20-23] What is the commonality among the blessed here in terms of their purpose and the outcome?

1. Purpose—toward the kingdom of God
2. The ultimate goal of blessing is to enter the kingdom of God. Or to be included in the kingdom of God.
3. It is not now but what was yet to come. Future focus.
4. It is about one’s attitude toward king and one’s desire for the kingdom in and through Jesus. So how one views Jesus was the key element of the whole story.
5. Inherent dissatisfaction on what they have and what they are is the fertile soil for one’s hope and seeking that hope.  

5.     [24-26] Whom does each “you” refer to? Why do they incur curse upon themselves? What are the common things among them? Why might this surprise the audience? 

1. Rich-poor; Hunger-well fed; Laugh-sorrow ; Applause from people vs. being persecuted because of Jesus
2. By setting one against the other, there is only one alternative choice and they are these qualities opposite to what was addressed in previous verses. That only alternative choice will lead one to incur God’s judgment. 
3. All these will surely incur judgment of God; All these are the goals of our lives in this world and everyone’s mind is focused in pursuit of these goals; It is focused on ‘now’ and ‘present happiness and satisfaction’ based on abundance of the provisions of today. Such mind set is totally devoid of God and His righteousness and holiness.
4. This is an implicit allusion that there are only two choices of life; the life that looks forward to the kingdom of God in Jesus and the life that seeks happiness and satisfaction within this world in the time frame of present life on the earth.