Luke 6:19-20 (ESV)
[19] And all the crowd sought to
touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.
[20] And he lifted up his eyes on
his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the
kingdom of God.
The crowd had gathered from north
and south “to hear him and to be healed” (vs 17). Verse 18 says that those
troubled with evil spirits were cured, but the message Jesus had for them was
not what they expected. “Blessed are you who are poor . . .” Their culture and Scriptural
understanding were that those who were rich had been blessed. Those who were poor
were rejected by God. The poor were obviously sinners. The wealthy were clearly
God’s élite.
Jesus turned their world upside
down. He hung out with tax collectors, Gentiles, and unclean people. He said
that he came for sinners not saints. He allowed people who were unclean
according to the Law to touch him. And then he said that the poor were blessed.
It forced them to rethink everything they knew about their world. But isn’t
that what the Scriptures are supposed to do?
How often we reject God’s word or
twist it slightly to fit our needs, our desires, our expectations, our
understanding of the world. How often we read the Word assuming that we already
know what it says. How often do we teach it as we have been taught it without
looking closely to see if we are actually correct? How often do we read the
Scriptures through the lens of our own culture and language and assume that we
have a clear understanding of God’s will and ways? The truth of God’s Word
should turn our world upside down. But to do that, we must first come to it
with humility and allow the Spirit of God to open our eyes.
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