Typically I try to be vague and philosophical to garner new thoughts and ideas. I’m going to be closing this in a bit for a certain frame of reference. But lets start with this:
What is evil?
Ephesians 5:14-17 –
So evil in this sense and most of the bible reads:
- full of labours, annoyances, hardships
- pressed and harassed by labours
- bringing toils, annoyances, perils; of a time full of peril to Christian faith and steadfastness; causing pain and trouble
Throughout the New Testament, this definition is used 50+ times. Its only 6 times that it is translated as, “the evil/wicked one.” This changes the way we look at the new testament. These are slight and subtle changes, but they can mean a big mental shift in the way that we perceive Jesus’ words.
So with that in mind, we are going to be looking through the first few beatitudes with some compare and contrast between Matthew and Luke.
Matthew 5:1-12
When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the [a]mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2 He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,
3 “[b]Blessed are the [c]poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the [d]gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Luke 6:20-26
20 And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are [j]you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are [k]you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
22 Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.
23 Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to [l]treat the prophets.
24 But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.
25 Woe to you who [m]are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to [n]treat the false prophets in the same way.
Why do you think these are different?
The interesting thing, it says blessed are those who are poor in spirit…. but what about someone who is full in spirit? We see our Pastors as those who are full in spirit, and I’m not suggesting that they are the meaning of luke 6:24-26. I however do want to interject the idea that the notion that these verses describe the “perfect” christian, is possibly a tradition that has been mis-interpreted.
This was brought to my attention a few years ago when Rob Bell was doing a sermon series on this scripture. He brought up the idea that there is nothing good about being poor in spirit. He isn’t giving them a praiseworthy condition or to celebrate being poor in spirit. Jesus never even said, “thou shalt” or command, or suggest we even be like this. One strange translation of “blessed” is happiness, which makes Luke 6:21b read,
“Happy are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.”
That doesn’t quite work…
So what happens if we interpret it that God cares about the sinners? That God is with those who are not good enough, that are actively sinning, those who are poor in spirit, that God wants to heal and save those who are not christians. This is evident in the book of Jonah specifically, and Jesus even says to the pharisees, I will show you the Sign of Jonah. Meaning the kingdom of God is here for those who are unsaved.
However, even though we have liked to put ourselves in that category of being poor in spirit, and humble before God, blessed are us who have worked hard for what we have and been responsible with our lives.
What does that mean for us? That we truly have earned it?
The fact then becomes, we are already are full in spirit.
So then, we come to the place of, if we are already full in spirit, and we have the great commission to spread the gospel…. Why then do we only minister to those we feel are “worthy” or have “earned” it in our eyes, or are easy to work with?
This is a heavy point and I want to specifically repeat it: Have you ever not told someone about God, who was obviously poor in spirit, yet felt they were not worthy in our own eyes or just because we thought they were “unapproachable?”
Jonah 4:11
“And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”
