'And He lifted up His eyes on His disciples, and said,
Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God,
21. Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be
filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall
laugh. 22. Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you,
and when they shall separate you from their company,
and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as
evil, for the Son of man's sake. 23. Rejoice ye in
that day, and leap for joy; for, behold, your reward
is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their
fathers unto the prophets. 24. But woe unto you that
are rich! for ye have received your consolation.
25. Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger.
Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and
weep. 26. Woe unto you when all men shall speak well
of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
27. But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies,
do good to them which hate you, 28. Bless them that
curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use
you. 29. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one
cheek, offer also the other; and him that taketh away
thy cloak, forbid not to take thy coat also. 30. Give
to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that
taketh away thy goods ask them not again. 31. And as
ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them
likewise.'--LUKE vi. 20-31.
Luke condenses and Matthew expands the Sermon on the Mount. The
general outline is the same in both versions. The main body of both
is a laying down the law for Christ's disciples. Luke, however,
characteristically omits what is prominent in Matthew, the polemic
against Pharisaic righteousness, and the contrast between the moral
teaching of Christ and that of the law. These were appropriate in a
Gospel which set forth Jesus as the crown of earlier revelation,
while Luke is true to the broad humanities of his Gospel, in setting
forth rather the universal aspect of Christian duty, and gathering
it all into the one precept of love.
The fragment which forms the present passage falls into two parts--the
description of the subjects of the kingdom and their blessedness,
contrasted with the character of the rebels; and the summing up of
the law of the kingdom in the all-including commandment of love.
I. The subjects and blessedness of the kingdom, and the rebels. It
is to be well kept in view that the discourse is addressed to 'His
disciples.' That fact remembered would have saved some critics from
talking nonsense about the discrepancy between Luke and Matthew, and
supposing that the former meant merely literal poverty, hunger, and
tears. No doubt he omits the decisive words which appear in Matthew,
who appends 'in spirit' to 'poor,' and 'after righteousness' to
'hunger and thirst,' but there is no ground for supposing that Luke
meant anything else than Matthew.
Notice that in our passage the sayings are directly addressed to the
disciples, while in Matthew they are cast into the form of general
propositions. In that shape, the additions were needed to prevent
misunderstanding of Christ, as if He were talking like a vulgar
demagogue, flattering the poor, and inveighing against the rich.
Matthew's view of the force of the expressions is involved in Luke's
making them an address _to the disciples.,_ 'Ye poor' at once
declares that our Lord is not thinking of the whole class of
literally needy, but of such of these as He saw willing to learn of
Him. No doubt, the bulk of them were poor men as regards the world's
goods, and knew the pinch of actual want, and had often had to weep.
But their earthly poverty and misery had opened their hearts to
receive Him, and that had transmuted the outward wants and sorrows
into spiritual ones, as is evident from their being disciples; and
these are the characteristics which He pronounces blessed. In this
democratic and socialistic age, it is important to keep clearly in
view the fact that Jesus was no flatterer of poor men as such, and
did not think that circumstances had such power for good or evil, as
that virtue and true blessedness were their prerogatives.
The foundation characteristic is poverty of spirit, the
consciousness of one's own weakness, the opposite of the delusion
that we are 'rich and increased with goods.' All true subjection to
the kingdom begins with that accurate, because lowly, estimate of
ourselves. Humility is life, lofty mindedness is death. The heights
are barren, rivers and fertility are down in the valleys.
Luke makes hunger the second characteristic, and weeping the third,
while Matthew inverts that order. Either arrangement suggests
important thoughts. Desire after the true riches naturally follows
on consciousness of poverty, while, on the other hand, sorrow for
one's conscious lack of these may be regarded as preceding and
producing longing. In fact, the three traits of character are
contemporaneous, and imply each other. Outward condition comes into
view, only in so far as it tends to the production of these
spiritual characteristics, and has, in fact, produced them, as it
had done, in some measure, in the disciples. The antithetical
characteristics of the adversaries of the kingdom are, in like
manner, mainly spiritual; and their riches, fullness, and laughter
refer to circumstances only in so far as actual wealth, abundance,
and mirth tend to hide from men their inward destitution,
starvation, and misery.
But what paradoxes to praise all that flesh abhors, and to declare
that it is better to be poor than rich, better to feel gnawing
desire than to be satisfied, better to weep than to laugh! How
little the so-called Christian world believes it! How dead against
most men's theory and practice Christ goes! These Beatitudes have a
solemn warning for all, and if we really believed them, our lives
would be revolutionised. The people who say, 'Give me the Sermon on
the Mount: I don't care for your doctrines, but I can understand
_it,' have not felt the grip of these Beatitudes.
Note that the blessings and woes are based on the future issues of
the two states of mind. These are not wholly in the future life, for
Jesus says, 'Yours _is_ the kingdom.' That kingdom is a state
of obedience to God, complete in that future world, but begun here.
True poverty secures entrance thither, since it leads to submission
of will and trust. True hunger is sure of satisfaction, since it
leads to waiting on God, who 'will fulfil the desire of them that
fear Him.' Sorrow which is according to God, cannot but bring us
near Him who 'will wipe away tears from off all faces.'
On the other hand, they who in condition are prosperous and
satisfied with earth, and in disposition are devoid of suspicion of
their own emptiness, and draw their joys and sorrows from this world
alone, cannot but have a grim awaking waiting for them. Here they
will often feel that earth's goods are no solid food, and that
nameless yearnings and sadness break in on their mirth; and in the
dim world beyond, they will start to find their hands empty and
their souls starving.
The fourth of Luke's Beatitudes contrasts the treatment received
from men by the subjects and the enemies of the kingdom. Better to
be Christ's martyr than the world's favourite! Alas, how few
Christians wear the armour of that great saying! They would not set
so much store by popularity, nor be so afraid of being on the
unpopular side, if they did.
II. The second part of the passage contains the summary of the laws
of the kingdom from the lips of the King. Its keynote is love. The
precept follows strikingly on the predictions of excommunication and
hatred. The only weapon to fight hate is love. 'The hate of hate,
the scorn of scorn,' are not Christian dispositions, though Tennyson
tells us that they are the poet's. So much the worse for him if they
are! First, the commandment, so impossible to us unless our hearts
are made Christlike by much dwelling with Christ, is laid down in
the plainest terms. Enmity should only stimulate love, as a gash in
some tree bearing precious balsam makes the fragrant treasure flow.
Who of us has conformed to that law which in three words sums up
perfection? How few of us have even honestly tried to conform to it!
But the command becomes more stringent as it advances. The sentiment
is worth much, but it must bear fruit in act. So the practical
manifestations of it follow. Deeds of kindness, words of blessing,
and highest of all, and the best help to fulfilling the other two,
prayer, are to be our meek answers to evil. Why should Christians
always let their enemies settle the terms of intercourse? They are
not to be mere reverberating surfaces, giving back echoes of angry
voices. Let us take the initiative, and if men scowl, let us meet
them with open hearts and smiles. 'A soft answer turneth away
wrath.' 'It takes two to make a quarrel.' Frost and snow bind the
earth in chains, but the silent sunshine conquers at last, and evil
can be overcome with good.
Our Lord goes on to speak of another form of love--namely, patient
endurance of wrong and unreasonableness. He puts that in terms so
strong that many readers are fain to pare down their significance.
Non-resistance is commanded in the most uncompromising fashion, and
illustrated in the cases of assault, robbery, and pertinacious
mendicancy. The world stands stiffly on its rights; the Christian is
not to bristle up in defence of his, but rather to suffer wrong and
loss. This is regarded by many as an impossible ideal. But it is to
be observed that the principle involved is that love has no limits
but itself. There may be resistance to wrong, and refusal of a
request, if love prompts to these. If it is better for the other man
that a Christian should not let him have his way or his wish, and if
the Christian, in resisting or refusing, is honestly actuated by
love, then he is fulfilling the precept when he says 'No' to some
petition, or when he resists robbery. We must live near Jesus Christ
to know when such limitations of the precept come in, and to make
sure of our motives.
The world and the Church would be revolutionised if even approximate
obedience were rendered to this commandment. Let us not forget that
it _is_ a commandment, and cannot be put aside without disloyalty.
Christ then crystallises His whole teaching on the subject of our
conduct to others into the immortal words which make our wishes for
ourselves the standard of our duty to others, and so give every man
an infallible guide. We are all disposed to claim more from others
than we give to them. What a paradise earth would be if the two
measuring-lines which we apply to their conduct and to our own were
exactly of the same length!