17 Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place ; and there was a large crowd of His disciples , and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon , 18 who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases ; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured . 19 And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all .
20 And turning His gaze toward His disciples , He began to say , " Blessed are you who are poor , for yours is the kingdom of God . 21 "Blessed are 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 treat the prophets . 24 "But woe to you who are rich , for you are receiving your comfort in full . 25 "Woe to you who 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 treat the false prophets in the same way .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Luke 6:17-26
Commentary on Luke 6:12-19
(Read Luke 6:12-19)
We often think one half hour a great deal to spend in meditation and secret prayer, but Christ was whole nights engaged in these duties. In serving God, our great care should be not to lose time, but to make the end of one good duty the beginning of another. The twelve apostles are here named; never were men so privileged, yet one of them had a devil, and proved a traitor. Those who have not faithful preaching near them, had better travel far than be without it. It is indeed worth while to go a great way to hear the word of Christ, and to go out of the way of other business for it. They came to be cured by him, and he healed them. There is a fulness of grace in Christ, and healing virtue in him, ready to go out from him, that is enough for all, enough for each. Men regard the diseases of the body as greater evils than those of their souls; but the Scripture teaches us differently.
Commentary on Luke 6:20-26
(Read Luke 6:20-26)
Here begins a discourse of Christ, most of which is also found in Matthew 5. But some think that this was preached at another time and place. All believers that take the precepts of the gospel to themselves, and live by them, may take the promises of the gospel to themselves, and live upon them. Woes are denounced against prosperous sinners as miserable people, though the world envies them. Those are blessed indeed whom Christ blesses, but those must be dreadfully miserable who fall under his woe and curse! What a vast advantage will the saint have over the sinner in the other world! and what a wide difference will there be in their rewards, how much soever the sinner may prosper, and the saint be afflicted here!