Blessed Are the Faithful Excluded Luke 6:17-26
Grace, mercy and peace be with you, from God, our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who was excluded by the world, but has included us in His Kingdom.
Our message is Blessed Are the Faithful Excluded, based on our Gospel, especially verses 22 and 23: 22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
Today’s Gospel is Luke’s account of the beatitudes, which Jesus taught to a large mass of people who had gathered to hear him speak, something that probably happened a number of times.
Never before had the people heard such profound teaching. Jesus spoke with a depth of understanding that they had never before experienced; and they were in awe of it.
Mark says in chapter 1, verse 27, And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching, and with authority!”
Jesus taught as someone who knew what He was talking about.
There are some verses in Scripture that are difficult to understand, but not for Jesus. He knew the Word of God completely, and understood it perfectly.
And what He taught wasn’t new, as some thought it was; it didn’t deviate from the Old Testament: it explained, and interpreted, and fulfilled it.
It seemed new because many of the religious teachers had come to misunderstand and misrepresent Scripture.
As the Son of God, Jesus fully understood the true meaning of Scripture, and He knew it all pointed to Him, the Messiah, who would fulfill all Scripture through His death and resurrection.
And so seen through Jesus, the Old and New Testaments are in perfect harmony.
Among His amazing teachings are the beatitudes, or blessings. It’s possible, even likely that Jesus spoke them a number of times.
Matthew goes into greater detail and provides a more complete list of the beatitudes, than Luke does.
In chapter 5, Matthew lists 8 beatitudes, 4 that have to do with circumstances, and 4 that have to do with character.
Luke lists 4 beatitudes, all of them having to do with one’s circumstances in life.
The greatest or best circumstance or situation in life, is to be a baptized child of God. The greatest or highest character in life, is to believe in Jesus, God’s Son.
Luke also includes the woes or warnings Jesus spoke in contrast to the beatitudes, while Matthew doesn’t mention them.
So, as with other teachings and events in the life of Jesus, the four Gospels all put together, paint a more complete picture of what Jesus taught and did; they all complement each other.
The beatitudes that are similar in both Matthew and Luke can be summarized as:
1. Blessed are the poor.
2. Blessed are the grieving.
3. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst.
4. And blessed are the persecuted.
The first blessing Luke lists is, Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
We may be poor by earthly standards, but when we trust in Christ, we’re rich by eternal standards.
To this blessing, Jesus adds the warning: But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your consolation.
The implication is that they won’t receive the comfort and consolation of Heaven.
This refers to those who are rich at the expense of others, taking advantage of the poor, and, this is key, trusting in money and power rather than in God and grace.
Jesus warns us that it won’t turn out well for us if we love money and possessions more than God and our neighbor.
Next Luke writes, Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied… Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.
Jesus isn’t saying that it’s wrong to have an abundance of food and resources, but that we should share with those who are hungry, or in need.
In Matthew 5, Jesus uses physical hunger and thirst as an analogy for spiritual hunger and thirst.
Jesus says, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Woe to us if we feed the body and starve the soul. Blessed are we when we hunger and thirst for godliness, and our souls are fed with His Word.
Blessed are you who weep now, [Jesus said], for you shall laugh… Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
Although we must mourn and grieve in this fallen world, if we believe in Christ as we live and mourn and grieve, our hearts will be healed and comforted now, and we will laugh and smile and rejoice in eternity,
But if we laugh at and mock God’s Word and His people now, and we refuse to believe the Gospel and live under the cross, we will grieve and regret it forever.
The beatitudes culminate with this great, final beatitude of faithful to Christ: 22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!
Blessed are the faithful excluded, those who are excluded and rejected because they stand and walk with Christ.
It hurts to be rejected and discriminated against for any reason. When you’re excluded and shunned for doing and believing something that’s good, that seems so unjust, and it is; and it hurts.
However, when you know that your pain has a purpose, it becomes more bearable. Knowing the purpose and outcome of His suffering, that His agony on the cross would save us, and lead to His and our rising in glory, gave Jesus the strength to endure the unbearable pain of being crucified.
If you’re injured, and need therapy to recover, that therapy can be difficult, even painful, but if you stick to it and bear the discomfort, it will end well, with healing.
Being rejected by others, and excluded from certain circles, for no other reason than that your faith is in Christ, that stings; it doesn’t seem fair, and it isn’t.
But Jesus tells us not to take it too hard, because it’s a blessing in disguise. He says, 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
Some years ago, I read about a young man in China, who had become a follower of Christ. He was especially brilliant, and he was preparing for college and then medical school, but when he became a Christian, everything changed.
The authorities wouldn’t allow him to receive any advanced education because of his Christian faith. But this young man basically said, I consider it an honor to sacrifice my career for Christ. I’m glad to do it.
Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven.
Blessed is that young man, who’s being excluded on account of Christ, for great is God’s grace for Him now, and great will be his joy forever!
I read on the Voice of the Martyrs website, which identifies religious persecution around the world, that 170 million facial recognition cameras have been installed in China, many around churches, to identify those who attend worship, so that the authorities can keep track of and target them.
Knowing this makes us stop and think when we’re tempted to skip worship and do something else.
We look at the courage God has given our brothers in Christ in persecuted lands, and it inspires us to love and worship and serve our Lord all the more faithfully, with even greater devotion.
Blessed are the persecuted, and targeted, and spied upon, as they courageously gather to serve and glorify God, knowing that they may be imprisoned or punished for it; blessed are they, for they will be free and safe in Heaven. And blessed and honored are we, to pray for them.
Blessed are God’s people when we don’t fit in, when we stick out because of godly beliefs and Christ-like behaviors; when we’re targeted for rejection and ridicule; or when we’re discriminated against or excluded or treated unfairly on account of Christ, and our love for Him.
Great will be our inclusion, our acceptance, our fellowship, our harmony, and our happiness in Heaven.
May God bless and keep His children, here and all around the world, forever faithful to Christ, no matter the price, or persecution, or punishment, or maltreatment, for great will be our rejoicing in Heaven.
And as God keeps us faithful, His peace, which passes understanding, will guard our