Jesus was laughing

JESUS WAS LAUGHING
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Luke 6:21 21Blessedare you who hunger now, for you
will be satisfied. Blessedare you who weep now, for
you will laugh.
NOTE: Jesus is saying and promising that sorrow is never
permanent. There is always a happy ending to every life in Christ.
Laughter will be the final stage in the life of all believers. Heaven
will be a place of eternal laughter where we laugh with our heavenly
Father and His Son the Lord Jesus.
We will laugh forever with our Savior and all the weeping will be
forever gone, for there will be no more tears and weeping in our
home of eternal bliss. Laughter is forever because it is a basic part
of who God made us to be. Some people debate if Jesus laughed
when He was on earth, but there is no doubt that He will be
laughing with the redeemed forever. The last word is never weeping,
but laughter.
Jesus goes on in Luke 6:25 to show the opposite end for those not in
Christ. Luke 6:25 Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will
hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
The lost have no hope for laughter and joy, but only sorrow and
weeping. The lost cry forever while the redeemed laugh forever.
There is no happy ending for those who have no Savior. Jesus alone

can promise and then provide a happy ever after with eternal
laughter.
I could have titled this book JESUS WAS THE SOURCE OF
ETERNAL LAUGHTER, but I wanted to focus on His earthly life
and what many think and write about His laughter during His
experience in living a human life.
BIBLEHUB COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(21) Blessed are ye that hunger now.—In the second beatitude, as in
the first, we note the absence of the words that seem to give the
blessing on those that “hunger and thirst after righteousness” its
specially spiritual character. The law implied is obviously the same
as before. Fulness of bread, a life abounding in comforts and
luxuries, like that of the Rich Man in the parable of Luke 16:19,
tends to dull the edge of appetite for higher things. Those who know
what the hunger of the body is, can understand better, and are more
likely to feel, the hunger of the soul.
Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.—The clause is
remarkable as being (with its counterpart in Luke 6:25) the only
instance in the New Testament of the use of “laughter” as the
symbol of spiritual joy. In James 4:9 it comes in as representing
worldly gladness; but the Greek word was too much associated with
the lower forms of mirth to find ready acceptance. It is probable

that the Aramaic word which our Lord used, like the mirth or
laughter which entered into the name of Isaac (Genesis 21:6), had a
somewhat higher meaning. Hebrew laughter was a somewhat graver
thing than that of Greek or Roman. It had had no comedy to
degrade it.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
6:20-26 Here begins a discourse of Christ, most of which is also
found in Mt 5; 7. 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!
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
That hunger now - Matthew has it, "that hunger and thirst after
righteousness." Matthew has expressed more fully what Luke has
briefly, but there is no contradiction.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
21. laugh—How charming is the liveliness of this word, to express
what in Matthew is called being "comforted!"

Matthew Poole's Commentary
See Poole on "Luke 6:20"
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Blessed are ye that hunger now,.... Not only suffer hunger and thirst
in a literal sense, in this present life, but who have hunger and thirst
in a spiritual sense, after righteousness and eternal life, as in
Matthew 5:6 where it is also said as here:
for ye shall be filled: with righteousness and life; See Gill on
Matthew 5:6.
blessed are ye that weep now; under afflictions and pressures of life,
and mourn for sin, their own, and others:
for ye shall laugh; be filled with spiritual joy and pleasure, and be
comforted with the consolations of the Spirit; See Gill on Matthew
5:4.
Geneva Study Bible
Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye
that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

21. Blessed are ye that hunger now] Comp. Luke 1:53; Psalm 107:9.
St Matthew here also brings out more clearly that it is the beatitude
of spiritual hunger “after righteousness.”
ye shall laugh] See 2 Corinthians 6:10; Revelation 21:4.
Bengel's Gnomen
Luke 6:21. Νῦν, now) This particle is added to those particulars
which apply to both worlds, according to the different characters of
the men referred to.[61]
[61] i.e. Those who do not hunger or weep now in this world, shall
hunger and weep in the world to come, and vice versa.—ED.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 21. - Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. A
similar question probably to the one suggested above, brought out
the addition reported in St. Matthew's account - " after
righteousness." Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
There is a mourning which, as Augustine says, has no blessing from
heaven attached to it, at best only a sorrow of this world and for the
things of this world. What Jesus speaks of is a nobler grief', a
weeping for our sins and the sins of others, for our weary exile here.
This is "the only instance," writes Dean Plumptre, "in the New
Testament of the use of 'laughter' as the symbol of spiritual joy ....
The Greek word was too much associated with the lower forms of

mirth .... It is probable that the Aramaic word which our Lord
doubtless used here had a somewhat higher meaning. Hebrew
laughter was a somewhat graver thing than that of Greek or
Roman. Comedy was unknown among the Hebrew people." It is
observable that we read of our Lord weeping. His joy is mentioned,
and his sorrow. He sympathized with all classes and orders, talked
with them, even ate and drank with them; but we never read that he
laughed. There was a tradition in the early Church that Lazarus,
after he rose from the dead, was never seen again to smile. Luke
6:21
STUDYLIGHTRESOURCES
THE BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR
Blessedare ye that weepnow: for ye shall laugh
The blessednessoftears and mourning
It sounds a paradox l We are wont to regard mourning and tears as evil things
that come of sorrow and suffering. But here we are told of a mourning that,
coming from some hidden source, flows onuntil it pours itself into the ocean
of everlasting consolation. Whatcan it mean? Certainly not that God really
likes us to be always sad. The world of seenthings around us, so bright, so
beautiful, tells a very different tale. And yet methinks it tells us, too, that tears

and blessings have to do with one another. Nature has its storms and rain; it
has the bleak winds of spring, the thunder-clouds of summer, the falling
leaves
of autumn, the cold, dark days of winter, and we know now that this sad side
of things is not the evidence of the existence ofangry deities who dwell in the
unseen, but that under the overruling hand of a wise and loving God there is
in these things a blessing brought to us, and to the world in which we live. Ah,
yes, it is true. Continual laughter is not profitable. There are times when
laughter is unseasonable. Eventhe world pronounces those happy who can
weep. Too much ease, andpleasure, and happiness, as the world counts
happiness, weanthe spirit awayfrom Him in whom alone true blessednesscan
be found. There is need of sorrow to bring us back to Psalms 119:67). God
chastens to bless. His punishments are always corrective, nevervindictive.
Testby this touchstone all that men say of God’s dealings with mankind. Ay,
answerwith it the troubled promptings of your own conscience in the hour of
trial and mourning. (C. J.Ridgeway, M. A.)
The seriousnessofthe kingdom
This is expressedin the same proverbial form as the two preceding beatitudes;
and in proverbs, it is to be observed, that one example is selectedto represent
a class, orone feature to suggesta whole character. Thus, as weeping is
generallyaccompaniedwith a serious frame of mind, or is the external
symptom of sorrow, so it was probably employed to representsuch a state (see
Ecclesiastes7:2-3). Neverdid any teacherpresentreligion to the world with
an aspectso forbidding as it is done by our Saviourin this passage.The Jews
expectedthat the reign of the Messiahwould be distinguished by wealth,
grandeur, and joy. Our Saviour, therefore, took an early opportunity of
undeceiving them, by showing them that those who possessedfew or none of
the goodthings of this world were much better fitted to be subjects in that

kingdom, and even to exercise authority, than those who were favoured in a
high degree with opulence and plenty. (J. Thomson, D. D.)
The blessing to Christian weepers
It is obvious that this blessing cannotapply to every kind of weeping; for there
are tears shed for reasons altogetherearthly, and there is a sorrow of the
world that workethdeath. But on all who weepas the disciples of Christ, or
for the sake ofChrist, or because ofany penitential or truly Christian feeling,
on all such this blessing rests. All such “shalllaugh,” that is, shall greatly
rejoice. (James Foote,M. A.)
The true joy of Christianity
He bade them even rejoice;not merely be resigned, but jubilant, and here He
struck that keynote of resounding triumph and exhilaration which remains to
this day the most original and characteristic signof the Christian life.
Inextinguishable joy in the dungeon--at the stake--amidstruin and physical
pain and loss;that isChristianity. The Stoic bears;the Epicureansubmits; the
Christian alone exults--“sorrowful, and yet always rejoicing.” (H. R. Haweis,
M. A.)
Spiritual mourning
For the first, I may expound the point and the text both under one. You see
the proposition what it is, every goodmourner is in a happy condition. Here
let us considera little the terms to explicate them. Who is the party in speech?
“Blessedis the mourner,” saith Christ, in Matthew;“Blessed,”saithHe, in

Luke 6:21, “are the weepers.” Boththese, mourning and weeping, are fruits of
the same tree and root. There is a carnal mourning, when a man mourns for
the presence ofgoodness,and for the absence of sin, because he is restrained,
and cannotbe so bad as he would be. There is a natural mourning, when a
man mourns upon natural motives, when natural losses andcrossesare upon
him. There is a spiritual mourning, when a man mourns in a spiritual
manner, for spiritual things, upon spiritual motives, as afterwards we shall
show;when he mourns, because goodthings that are spiritually goodare so
far from him, and spiritual ills are so near to him. This is the mourner that
Christ here speaks of, and this is the mourning that hath the blessing. Other
mourning may occasionthis through God’s blessing, and may give some
overture to this mourning, but the blessing belongs to the spiritual mourner
and the spiritual mourning. “Blessedare the mourners, for they shall be
comforted.” This reasonwill not hold in all kind of mourning and all kind of
comfort. It is no goodargument to say, Blessedis the man that is in pain, for
he shall be refreshedand relieved; blessedis the man that is hungry, for he
shall be fed and have his wants supplied. But yet this argument holds good,
“Blessedare they that mourn, for they shall be comforted”;namely, with
God’s comforts, with the comforts of the Spirit, with the comforts of the
Word, the comforts of heaven. The comforts of God are beyond all the
miseries and sorrows that a man canendure in this life; and though he do
mourn and weep for them, yet notwithstanding, the comforts, the wages, will
so far exceedall his sorrows that he is happy in this. He cannot buy spiritual
comforts too dear, he cannothave them upon hard terms possibly. Yea,
further, spiritual mourning carries comfort with it, besides the harvestof
comfort that abides the mourner afterwards. There are first-fruits of comfort
here to be reaped, so it is that the more a man mourns spiritually, the more he
rejoiceth;the more his sorrow is, the more his comfort is.
1. He that mourns spiritually hath a goodjudgment, and therefore is happy.
Spiritual affectionit argues a spiritual judgment and understanding. For the
affections work according as they receive information. A creature that is led
by fancy hath brutish affections;a man that is guided with matter of reason

hath rational affections, as we term them; but a man that hath his mind
enlightened and sanctified hath holy affections.
2. It argues a goodheart too.
3. As he is happy in the cause, so he will be happy in the effect, too, of his
godly mourning. For godly sorrow and mourning brings forth blessedfruits
and effects;the apostle in 2 Corinthians 7:10, seq., delivers divers of them, as
there you see.
4. He is happy in regard of the event and issue of his mourning, because all
shall end well with him, and all his tears shall one day be wiped away, and joy
and gladness shallcome in place; yea, he is happy in this, that spiritual
mourning it is always accompaniedwith joy: that is a happy estate that tends
to happiness.
Use 1. If it be a happy man that mourns aright, we have reason, first, to
bewail our unhappiness; unhappy time and unhappy men may we well say,
touching ourselves, that vary so much from the mind and prescription of our
blessedSaviour. “Blessed,” saithour Saviour Christ, “are they that mourn,
for they shall be comforted.” “Woe to you,” saith He, “that now laugh.” We,
on the other side, say, Woe to them that here mourn; happy are they that can
here laugh and be merry. And as we vary in our judgment from our Saviour,
so much more we vary in our practice from His direction and counsel. God
saith, “Humble yourselves that you may be exalted.” We on the other side say,
Exalt ourselves, and we shall not be humbled. God saith, Throw down
yourselves;we say, Secure ourselves. Godsaith, Afflict yourselves, and then
you shall have comfort. The Lord saith, Let your laughter be turned into
mourning, that so you may laugh. We on the other say, Let our mourning be
turned into laughter, that so we may not mourn. And therefore when any

grief, natural or spiritual, begins to breed or to grow on us, presently we
betake ourselves to company, to sports and exercises, thatmay drown the
noise of conscience, that may put out of our minds motives to spiritual grief
and sorrow, and that may provoke us to carnal, or at the best to natural mirth
and rejoicing. We think many times carnalsorrow, which in truth is but
poison, will do us good, a great dealof ease;and when men have crossedus,
and disappointed us, or dealt unkindly with us, we think we will go and weep
it out; and when we have cried and blubbered a while, we think that we give
ease to our souls, and content to our hearts. But when we come to spiritual
mourning, which only is comfortable mourning, we think that undoes us.
Many a man thinks he forfeits all his joy, all his peace, allhis liberty, all his
happiness, and he shall never see a merry day again in this world if he gives
way to mourning for sin, to sound repentance, to works ofhumiliation, and
examination of his own heart and ways.
Use 2. Well, in the next place, we have another use, to take Christ’s direction
for comfort. Who would, who can be without it? Life is death without
comfort. Every man’s aim is to leada comfortable life. Mark the waythat
Christ chalks out: “Blessedare they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
1. We must first show you how spiritual mourning differs, and is discerned
from other mourning.
2. How it is gotten.
3. How it is exercised.
1. Forthe first of this: Spiritual mourning is known by the objects. Such as the
objectis, such is the faculty. Spiritual mourning hath spiritual objects, either

materially or formally, as they speak in schools. This spiritual mourning is
busied about spiritual goods and spiritual ills. We will instance in this first.
For, first, if a man would know whether his sorrow be spiritual sorrow or no,
let him see how he mourns for the absence ofspiritual goodthings, how he
mourns for the absence ofGod, the chief good. That is spiritual sorrow, when
a man mourns because he hath lost God in his graces, in his communion, and
in his comforts. Now, in the next place, how shall a man do to get this spiritual
mourning? First, He must labour to have a heart capable of grief and sorrow
that is spiritual, a tender and soft heart. He must see that he have a disposition
to holy mourning, able and inclinable so to do, when just opportunity and
occasionis offered. Now how shall a man get this tender heart? Why surely he
must go to God in His means and ordinances, who hath promised, as you
heard, in the covenant, to take “the stone out of our hearts, and to give us soft
and fleshy hearts.”
1. Considerof a method that he must use; and then--
2. Of motives to stir him up thereunto.
1. Formethod.
2. There is another thing to be done for the order, and that is this, that a man
must be sure to give over carnal mirth and carnalmourning, if he will mourn
spiritually. His carnallaughter must be turned into mourning, as James
speaks (James 4:9);and his carnalmirth must be turned into spiritual
mourning, too, or else he will never come to spiritual mourning. The motives
are many. He that will mourn must look to these. Now, in particular, consider
these motives.

1. It is needful for us to mourn.
2. It is seasonable forus to mourn.
3. It is profitable. And--
4. It is comfortable.
1. It is needful to mourn in a spiritual manner. Whosoeverhathsin must
mourn.
2. As it is needful, so also it is very Seasonable. The very time tends that way,
as it were; the seasonis the time of weeping;the Church of God weeps
abroad. For sin is now grownto a fulness, to a ripeness.
3. As it is seasonable, so it is profitable: for godly mourning it never hurts, it
always helps. Carnal sorrow leaves a man worse than it finds him. It makes
him more sick and weak than it finds him. Spiritual sorrow leaves him better.
4. It is very comfortable. It doth wondrously refresh a man. We pass,
therefore, from the doctrine here delivered, “Blessedare the mourners,” and
come to the reasonof it, “for they shall be comforted.” Let us join these
together, and see how they do depend.
The point will be thus much--

1. That spiritual mourning it ends in spiritual mirth. He that can mourn
spiritually and holily, he shall undoubtedly and certainly be comforted.
Holy tears, they are the seeds ofholy joy. For the clearing of it further, let us
know that we have goodsecurity for it,
1. The promise of God: and then--
2. The experience of God’s people. The best proofs that may be.
First, the Lord undertakes in His promise two things touching our comforts.
1. That all our godly sorrow shall end in true comfort. The next is--
2. That all our godly mournings are attended and accompaniedwith comfort
for the present.
1. Forthe first of these, you know the promise, sorrow and weeping shall fly
away, and joy and gladness shallcome in place (Isaiah35:1-10., lastverse),
which place will refer you to many more. God hath made a successionofthese
things, as of day and night. His children’s day begins in the night and in
darkness, and ends in the day. God hath promised it shall be so;God hath
appointed Christ, and fitted Him, and enabled Him to this word, that so it
may be. God will take off the garment of mourning, and put on the garment of
gladness in due time.

2. To this promise of God let us add the experience of God’s people.
If all this suffice not, let us considerof these reasons, and then we shall see
that it is but reasonthat we should do so.
1. The first reasonis drawn from the nature of sorrow and mourning. Sorrow
is a kind of an imperfect thing, as it were. It is not made for itself, but for a
higher and for a further end, to do service to something else, as it fares with
all those that we call the declining affections. Hatred is servant to love; fear
doth service to confidence;so likewise doth sorrow to joy. For God hath not
appointed sorrow for sorrow’s sake, but to make way for joy and true
comfort. The physician doth not make a man sick for sickness’sake, but for
health’s sake. Butnow the joy of a Christian man, a spiritual joy, it is a safe
joy. It hurts no man, but doth a man good; it settles a man’s mind, it
strengthens his thoughts, it perfects his wits and understanding. It makes him
to have a sound judgment; it makes for the health of his body; it makes for the
preservationof his life; it doth a man goodevery way. There is no provocation
in it, there is no dangerin it. Thirdly, as a Christian’s joy is best in that
respect, that it is the safest, so in this, that it is the surest joy. For this joy is an
everlasting joy. The righteous, then, hath the start of the wickedfor matter of
comfort and joy. He hath a more solid, a more safe and sure joy, a more sweet
joy, a more reasonable joy a greatdeal than the other hath. As he is beyond
him in his joy, so, in the next place, he is beyond him in his sorrow too. Our
life must have comfort and sorrow. It is compounded of sweetand sour. As
the yearis compounded of winter and summer, and the day of day and night,
so every man’s life is made up of these two. He hath some fair and some foul
days, some joy and some sorrow. Now, as the righteous is beyond the wicked
in his joy and comfort, so is he beyond him in his sorrow. First, his sorrow is
far better; it is a more gainful, a more comfortable sorrow than others’is.
They are beyond the sorrows ofthe wickedin all the causes andin all the
circumstances ofthem.

2. The secondreasonmay be drawn from the nature of this spiritual comfort
and joy that we speak of. For spiritual joy is very strong: “The joy of the Lord
is your strength “ (Nehemiah 8:10). A strong thing is spiritual joy, and
therefore it will overmatch, and overcome, and drink up, as it were, all our
sorrows and fears in due time, as the sun overcomes the darkness of the night,
and the fogginess ofthe mist in the morning.
3. A third reasonmay be drawn from the cause ofour spiritual mourning and
spiritual joy; for these are fruits that grow both from the same root. Spiritual
joy and spiritual mourning, they come from the same fountain, from the same
Spirit. The same Spirit, it causethus to weep overHim whom we have
pierced, and it causethus also to rejoice in the Lord whom we have pierced:
“The fruit of the Spirit is joy,” saith the apostle Galatians 5:22). The same
Spirit manageth and guideth both the one and the other. Carnal passions and
affections they oppose one another, they fight one with another, because they
are carriedon headlong, without any guide or order at all. But spiritual
affections they are subordinate and subservient one to another; the one
labours to further and to advance another. Thus the more a man joys, the
more he grieves;and the more he grieves, the more he joys. Joy melts the
heart, and gives it a kindly thaw; grief, on the other side, it easeththe heart,
and makes it cheerful and lightsome.
4. Lastly, a reasonmay be drawn from the effects of godly mourning. If they
be considered, it will be cleared, that he that mourns spiritually shall end in
comfort at the last; for this spiritual mourning, what will it do? First, it takes
off the powerand strength of corruption. It weakens sin, it pricks the bladder
of pride, and lets out our corruption. Spiritual mourning it takes down a man,
it humbles him; and an humble heart is always a cheerful heart, so far as it is
humbled. Spiritual mourning, again, makes way for prayer. For spiritual
mourning sends a man to God. It causethhim to utter himself in petition, in
confession, andcomplaints to his Father;to pour out himself to the bosomof

his Godin speeches, in sighs, and tears, in lamenting one wayor other. All this
tends to comfort. The more a man prays, the more he hath comfort. “Pray,”
saith Christ, “that your joy may be full” (John 16:24). Now, the more a man
mourns spiritually, the more he prays; and therefore the more he is filled with
true joy. Again, this spiritual mourning, it is a wondrous help of faith. It is a
hopeful mourning; it helps a man’s faith in the promises touching remissionof
sins. Now, the more a man’s faith and hope is furthered, the more his joy is
furthered. Still, the apostle speaks thatthey should rejoice in believing. Now,
the more he mourns, the more reasonhe hath to believe that that furthers his
faith; and therefore it advanceth his joy and comfort. This point, then, being
thus cleared, let us a little make some use of it to ourselves. The use is
threefold.
1. Here is one use of information touching others. Who is the happiest man in
the world? And for the deciding of this question we must not go with it to
Solon, to Plato, or to the philosophers, but come to a judge, the Lord Jesus.
And what saith He to the point? Blessedandhappy, saith He, are they that
mourn. His reasonis, “ for they shall be comforted.” So that here, then, is the
trial of a man’s state that is blessed. So that that man, then, that hath the best
sorrow and the best joy, that man, then, is the happiest man. Now the
Christian man is this man.
3. wickedman hath no matter of comfortwithin himself, but his comforts they
hang upon outward things. His comfort sometimes lies in the bottom of a pot;
sometimes it lies in the bottom of a dish; sometimes in the heels of a horse;
sometimes in the wings of a bird; sometimes in some base lust, or in some such
filthy sin. Here lies the comfort of a wickedman; but now the comfort of the
godly is not so. The joy of the righteous, it is a massy and a substantialjoy. His
afflictions indeed are light and momentary, but then his joy is everlasting, as I
shall show anon. It is a joy that hath substance in it. The joy of the wicked, at
the best, it is but a little glazed, it is but gilt over, but it is naught within; but
the joy of the righteous it is a golden joy, it is beatengold, it is massyand

substantial and precious. As we said before, the root of his joy he hath it in
himself, he hath matter of comfort in himself. There is faith and grace, there is
truth. Nay, it is not rooted in himself only, but the rootof it is in heaven, in his
Head, in Christ.
2. Now the next use is to the godly. First, a word of exhortation, and then a
word of consolation. Stopup, my brethren, all the passages, damthem up if
you can, that make way for worldly sorrow and for carnal grief, for this will
come but too fast upon you; but, on the other side, pluck up the floodgates,
and open all the passages, andgive all the way to spiritual mourning and to
godly tears.
1. Look to the object, that it be universal, So in spiritual things: he that is
spiritually sorry he mourns for the want of goodness wheresoeverhe seethit,
be it in himself or in other men, nay, be it in his enemies.
2. Our sorrow will be spiritual and holy if it be accompaniedwith prayer; for
holy mourning makes way for prayer.
3. Again, it is spiritual sorrow, when it is accompaniedwith thankfulness. A
carnalman, when he is pinched and twinged, and knows not which wayto
turn himself, he will be glad to cry, when he sees there is no other refuge in the
world, but either he must cry or sink. But a man that is a spiritual mourner,
he will be thankful as well as prayerful. (R. Sibbes, D. D.)
Godly mourners shall be comforted

1. There is a foolish mourning, in which men and women are not blessed--that
is, they mourn they know not for what.
2. A natural mourning; when there is a mourning merely because nature is
pinched, and some evil hath befallen it, and you go no further. This hath not a
blessednessin it.
3. A worldly mourning; worldly sorrow causes death;to mourn for the loss of
worldly things as the greatand the chief loss of all. This is not blessed, it
causethdeath; and--
4. An envious mourning; when men mourn and are grieved for the goodof
others. Surely this is not blessed, but cursed.
5. And there is, further, a devilish mourning; when men and womenmourn
that they cannothave opportunity to satisfytheir lusts.
6. And lastly, there is a hellish, desperate mourning; when men and women
mourn in despair. This is hellish, and not blessed. These mourners are not
blessed. And then all those that mourn in a gracious way. You will say, When
doth one mourn in a gracious wayand manner? Now, the ground of the
blessednessariseth, first, from the mourning itself; secondly, from the
promise.
Surely it is a blessedthing to be such a mourner.

1. Becausethatthe lowerour hearts are in our subjection to God in this
mournful condition, the higher are our respects to God that brings us into this
condition.
2. A mourning condition, when it is ordered by grace, it is a means of much
goodin the soul; it is that that takes awaythe rankness in the hearts of men.
As weeds grow very rank in summer time, now in the winter the frost nips the
weeds and keeps them under; but if it be a long frost it kills them.
3. It is that that delivers from many temptations. You think that jollity and
bravery is the only happy life, but know there are a greatmany more
temptations in that life than in a mournful condition.
4. They are blessedthat are in a mournful condition, because Godhath chosen
for them that mourning condition in the most seasonable time. You know
when a man is sick, then bitter things are more seasonable than sweet. Now
we are all sickly poor creatures, and it is a greatmercy of Godin this time of
our lives to choose forus a mournful condition--bitter things rather than
sweetand luscious things.
5. And then especiallyhere in this text, because they shall be comforted; it is
but to make the comforts sweeterunto thee when they do come. You know
that when a man would build a structure, a statelybuilding, the stones that he
intends principally to build withal are hackedand hewn, that so they may be
comely and fit for his building; but as for other stones, they are not regarded
as those that are thus polished which he intends to lay.

So it is an argument that the Lord hath greatthings for thee, greatcomforts
for thee; He is now preparing thee in this thy mournful condition for great
comforts.
1. They shall be comforted. When? Why, they shall be comforted when the
wickedshall be sorrowful (Isaiah65:13).
2. And then, you shall be comforted; there is a time when the Lord will
communicate unto you the choicestofHis mercies. Now the Lord
communicates Himself, but in a very small and little way in comparisonto
what He doth intend. And this comfort that the mourners shall have, shall be,
first, a pure comfort. We have something that is sweet, but there is a great
deal of mixture with our sweet. And then they are spiritual comforts. Their
comforts shall come more firstly in their souls, and so they shall have comfort
to their bodies by way of the eradiation, as I may so say, of the comfortthat
they shall have to their souls.
3. Divine comforts they are that they shall have--that is, all comfort is from
God one wetor other, but from God more immediately. Here we have our
comforts at secondor third or fourth hand, but now there shall be comfort
that shall be from God more immediately. And such comforts as are from the
very nature of God Himself--that is, such comfort as God is comforted in, such
joy as God joys in, and God joys with them in 2:4. It is a full comfort, “Ask
and you shall have, that your joy may be full.”
5. And then it shall be a strong comfort(Hebrews 6:18).
6. An eternal consolation;so yon have it in 2 Thessalonians 2:16;in 2 Timothy
2:11. As we read concerning Egypt, as there were more venomous creatures

there than in other countries, so there was in no country more antidotes to
cure them than in theirs. So, though religion may bring sorrow and trouble,
yet there is nothing brings more cure and more help. (J. Burroughs.)
The folly of men rebuked who are all for mirth
1. If thy mourning be gracious, thy very tears and sorrows is a greatdeal
better than the wine of the men of the world; thy tears are more sweetand
pleasing to God than the mirth of wickedmen can be to them.
2. Considerthis for thy comfort, it may be, if thou hadst not been a-mourning
thou wouldst have been a-sinning, thou wouldst have been a-doing that
whereby thou wouldst have darkened the glory of God.
3. Considerthat all thy sorrows are measuredout by God, who is thy Father;
thou dost not lie at the dispose of wickedmen to mourn how much they will,
or when they will, but thou art at the dispose of God, who is thy Father.
4. Considerfor thy comfort that Christ was a man of sorrows, and in thy
sorrowing thou art but conformable unto Him; and why shouldst thou think
that to be a burden wherein thou art made like to Jesus Christ?
5. Let this be for thy comfort, to considerthou hast an interest in Him that is
the Godof all consolation;the darkness ofthy condition cannot hinder thine
interest in God. And then considerthat God suffers more by thy sins than
thou canstsuffer from God’s hand in thy afflictions. The darkening of His
glory in the leastdegree is a greaterevil than any affliction that thou canst
endure; and this should support thy spirit, to considerthat God suffers more;

and therefore thou shouldst not be unwilling to suffer something, seeing God
suffers more than thou canst.
6. If thou wouldst be comforted, considerthis: the way that God takes to
comfort His saints, though thou hast it not in sense, thou mayest have it in
faith; and therefore exercise faith, and fetch it in that way. Set faith on work
in the promise, and let that bring out the comfort of the promise. Sense is not
the wayby which God comforts His people, and if we look for comfort in a
sensualway we mistake ourselves;therefore let us labour to fetch in comfort
from the exercise offaith. And indeed we should more prize those comforts
that come from the exercise ofour graces than from any sensible
apprehensions.
7. Consider, though it be long before comfort come, yet this is no strange thing
that thou art kept without comfort for a while.
8. Consider, that this is the time of mourning, and we know things are
seasonable and bestin their time. This is a Christian’s seed-time. In the world
we must have trouble, and through many tribulations we must enter into
heaven. We know the husbandman; he is contentedto endure storms and
hardships in seedtime, with this consideration--the harvest is a-coming. So,
though thou now sowestin tears, there is a time of reaping in joy.
How we may so order our mourning that it may comfort us. Now for this I
would entreat you to take notice of these rules.
1. In your mourning be sure that you keepgoodthoughts of God. Whatsoever
your troubles be, let them not raise tumults and hard thoughts of God.

2. Be sure to take notice of all the mercy thou hast from God in the afflictions
thou art in. Let not any affliction drown the mercy thou hast. It is very sad
many times to see how one or two afflictions hinders the sight of many mercies
that the saints do enjoy. A little thing will hinder the sight of the eye; a penny
laid upon the eye will keepit from beholding the sun or the element above;so
a little affliction, it darkens and hinders the soul from seeing a multitude of
mercies;every little trouble darkens God’s mercies.
3. Take heedof a sullen, doggeddisposition, either towards God or man in thy
sorrows. It is very usual for men in a troubled condition, when they are in
sorrow, to add frowardness to mourning; but we should labour to take heed of
this as a greatevil. Labour for a quiet and meek spirit.
4. Take heedof determining againsta comfortable condition in sorrow, that it
will never come. Say not that comfort will never come, because thou hastit
not for the present. (J. Burroughs.)
How mourners should order their mourning
Now, then, such as mourn thus for sin are blessed;for--
1. By this they do much honour God. The sovereigntyof God is honoured, and
the holiness of God is honoured, and the justice of God is honoured.
2. It is a blessedthing to mourn for sin, because it is an evangelicalgrace.

3. Surely they are in a blessedcondition, for it appears that they come now to
have a right judgment. Their judgment is enlightened to understand what is
truly goodand truly evil, and to have a right temper of spirit.
4. This mourning for sin, it helps againstall other mourning, it helps against
other sorrows.
5. It is a means to prevent eternalsorrows. CertainlyGod will have every soul
to know what sin means at one time or other.
6. It is that that fits for the grace of God. There is none that taste the
sweetness ofthe grace of God in Christ more than those that are mourners for
sin. Now one drop of mercy, how sweetis it; now it is worth more than ten
thousand thousand worlds!
7. There is one more, and that is, they are blessed;why? because there are
many promises that are made to those that mourn. That is certain--either a
man’s sin will make an end of his mourning, or a man’s mourning will make
an end of his sin, one of the two. If so be a man goes onin sin, he will leave off
mourning, but if he doth not leave off mourning, he will leave off sinning; for
certainly mourning for sin hath a specialefficacyin it, it helps againstthe sin
that thou dost mourn for. This bitter aloes that now thou hastis a special
means for the helping againstthose crawling worms that are in thy soul.
Hence, in the first place, the use might be very large, what shall become of
those that rejoice in sin? And then surely mourning for sin is not melancholy;
for one to mourn and be troubled for their sin is not to grow heavy and
melancholy. It is the work of the Spirit of God that lays that weight of sin now
upon the soul, because the Lord intends that this soul shall be blessedto all
eternity. And do not think it a foolishthing for people to be troubled for their
sin. (J. Burroughs.)

Copyright Statement
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Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
BibliographicalInformation
Exell, JosephS. "Commentary on "Luke 6:21". The Biblical Illustrator.
https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tbi/luke-6.html. 1905-1909. New
York.
return to 'Jump List'
Coffman Commentaries on the Bible
Blessedare ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessedare ye that weep
now: for ye shall laugh.
Hunger is a dreaded state among men; but Christ here pointed out that the
hungry of earth are to be enriched by his teachings, that the alleviation of
their hunger shall follow acceptanceofhis message. Has not this been true
whereverChristianity has gone? The best goodnews the hungry ever had is
that they shall eat. Christ's teaching assures this. A queen said, "Let them eat
cake";but Jesus saidto the hungry, "Ye shall be filled." WhereverChrist is
preached, there the hardships of the poor are relieved. This beatitude says, in
effect, "Blessedare you hungry people; you shall be filled as a result of the
compassionthat shall flow from Christ's teaching."
Copyright Statement
Coffman Commentaries reproduced by permission of Abilene Christian
University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. All other rights reserved.

Coffman, James Burton. "Commentary on Luke 6:21". "Coffman
Commentaries on the Bible".
https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/luke-6.html. Abilene Christian
University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
Blessedare ye that hunger now,.... Notonly suffer hunger and thirst in a
literal sense, in this present life, but who have hunger and thirst in a spiritual
sense, afterrighteousness andeternal life, as in Matthew 5:6 where it is also
said as here:
for ye shall be filled: with righteousness and life; See Gill on Matthew 5:6.
blessedare ye that weep now; under afflictions and pressures of life, and
mourn for sin, their own, and others:
for ye shall laugh; be filled with spiritual joy and pleasure, and be comforted
with the consolations ofthe Spirit; See Gill on Matthew 5:4.
Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernisedand adapted
for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rights Reserved, Larry
Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855

Gill, John. "Commentary on Luke 6:21". "The New John Gill Expositionof
the Entire Bible". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/luke-6.html.
1999.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
laugh — How charming is the liveliness of this word, to express what in
Matthew is called being “comforted!”
Copyright Statement
These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text
scannedby Woodside Bible Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-BrownCommentary is in the
public domain and may be freely used and distributed.
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on
Luke 6:21". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible".
https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/luke-6.html. 1871-8.
Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament
Now (νυν — nun). Luke adds this adverb here and in the next sentence after
“weep.” This sharpens the contrastbetweenpresent sufferings and the future
blessings.
Filled (χορταστησεστε — chortasthēsesthe).Future passive indicative. The
same verb in Matthew 5:6. Originally it was usedfor giving fodder (χορτος —
chortos)to animals, but here it is spiritual fodder or food exceptin Luke
15:16;Luke 16:21. Luke here omits “and thirst after righteousness.”

Weep(κλαιοντες — klaiontes). Audible weeping. Where Matthew 5:4 has
“mourn” (πεντουντες — penthountes).
Shall laugh (γελασετε — gelasete). Here Matthew 5:4 has “shallbe
comforted.” Luke‘s words are terse.
Copyright Statement
The Robertson's WordPictures of the New Testament. Copyright �
Broadman Press 1932,33,Renewal1960. All rights reserved. Used by
permission of Broadman Press (Southern BaptistSunday SchoolBoard)
Robertson, A.T. "Commentary on Luke 6:21". "Robertson'sWord Pictures
of the New Testament". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/rwp/luke-
6.html. BroadmanPress 1932,33. Renewal1960.
Vincent's Word Studies
Now
Peculiarto Luke.
Shall be filled
See on Matthew 5:6.
Weep( κλαίοντες )
Strictly, to weepaudibly. See on πενθοῦντες , mourn, Matthew 5:4.

Laugh ( γελάσετε )
Matthew, shall be comforted.
Copyright Statement
The text of this work is public domain.
Vincent, Marvin R. DD. "Commentaryon Luke 6:21". "Vincent's Word
Studies in the New Testament".
https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/vnt/luke-6.html. Charles
Schribner's Sons. New York, USA. 1887.
The Fourfold Gospel
Blessed[are]ye that hunger now1:for ye shall be filled. Blessed[are]ye that
weepnow: for ye shall laugh.
Blessed[are]ye that hunger now, etc. These three beatitudes given by Luke
(Luke 6:20,21), like the two closing beatitudes of Matthew 5:9-11 are
pronounced not upon character, but upon those in certain trying conditions.
They are addressedto the disciples (Luke 6:17), and are meant to strengthen
and encourage them to continue in the life of sacrifice when discipleship
demanded. For light upon the meaning of these beatitudes, see suchpassages
as these: Matthew 10:37-39;Matthew 16:24-26 Mark 10:28-30;Matthew
10:22-25. The service to which Jesus calledmeant poverty, hunger, and tears,
but it led to rich reward (1 Corinthians 11:23-33 1 Corinthians 12:1-5).
Copyright Statement

These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website. These files
were made available by Mr. Ernie Stefanik. First published online in 1996 at
The RestorationMovementPages.
J. W. McGarveyand Philip Y. Pendleton. "Commentaryon Luke 6:21". "The
Fourfold Gospel". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tfg/luke-6.html.
Standard Publishing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. 1914.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
21 Blessedare ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessedare ye that
Ver. 21. {See Trapp on "Matthew 5:4"} {See Trapp on "Matthew 5:6"}
Copyright Statement
Trapp, John. "Commentary on Luke 6:21". John Trapp Complete
Commentary. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/luke-6.html. 1865-
1868.
Expository Notes with PracticalObservations onthe New Testament

Hunger and thirst are not blessings in themselves, nor are they yet curses in
themselves. Sanctifiedhunger is a far greaterblessing than surfeiting fullness:
Blessedare they that hunger and thirst after righteousness. Matthew 5:6
Learn thence, 1. That such as spiritually hunger and thirst after Christ and
his righteousness, are certainly in a happy and blessedcondition.
1. That the happiness of those who do hunger and thirst after righteousness,
consists in being filled, Blessedare ye that weepnow, for ye shall laugh.
As if Christ had said, "You, my disciples, that are now in a sad, mournful, and
afflicted state, are blessed;for there will come a time when you shall be
comforted, a time when God shall wipe away all tears from your eyes:" yet we
must not think that we have nothing to do but to mourn; there is a time to
rejoice, as wellas to mourn; not that bare mourning and weeping in itself, and
for its own sake, is acceptableunto God; but when we mourn rationally for
our sins, and the sins of others, God will comfort us in this world by his word
and Spirit, and in the world to come with the sight of himself.
Copyright Statement
Burkitt, William. "Commentary on Luke 6:21". ExpositoryNotes with
PracticalObservations onthe New Testament.
https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wbc/luke-6.html. 1700-1703.

Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament
Luke 6:21. νῦν, now) This particle is added to those particulars which apply to
both worlds, according to the different characters ofthe men referred to.(61)
Copyright Statement
Bengel, JohannAlbrecht. "Commentary on Luke 6:21". Johann Albrecht
Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament.
https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jab/luke-6.html. 1897.
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
See Poole on"Luke 6:20"
Copyright Statement
Poole, Matthew, "Commentaryon Luke 6:21". Matthew Poole's English
Annotations on the Holy Bible.
https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/luke-6.html. 1685.
Alexander MacLaren's Expositions ofHoly Scripture

алчущие Речь идетне о простом желании пищи, а о голодеи жажде
праведности.(см. пояснениек Мф. 5:6).
Copyright Statement
MacLaren, Alexander. "Commentary on Luke 6:21". Alexander MacLaren's
Expositions of Holy Scripture.
https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mac/luke-6.html.
Expository Notes ofDr. Thomas Constable
Following Jesus as His disciple also involved feeling hungry occasionally.
However, Jesus promisedultimate satisfactionto those who chose discipleship.
To those less fortunate, discipleship then and now sometimes involved and
involves giving away some money that one might use for food. Sometimes
students preparing for ministry have to live on meagerrations to pay other
bills associatedwith their commitment to study God"s Word and serve Him.
Likewise discipleshipinvolves weeping and sorrow, but laughter will come
eventually. Kingdom conditions are againin view. In one sense a disciple is to
rejoice always ( 1 Thessalonians5:16). Howeverin another sense the sin that
surrounds us, and the hardness of the hearts of people with whom we share
the gospel, are constantsources ofsorrow.
Copyright Statement

Constable, Thomas. DD. "Commentaryon Luke 6:21". "ExpositoryNotes of
Dr. Thomas Constable". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dcc/luke-
6.html. 2012.
Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Luke 6:21. See on Matthew 5:6; Matthew 5:4.
Copyright Statement
Schaff, Philip. "Commentary on Luke 6:21". "Schaff's PopularCommentary
on the New Testament". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/scn/luke-
6.html. 1879-90.
E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes
now. In contrastwith the future. In Divine reckoning the bestalways comes
last. Peculiarto Luke.
Copyright Statement

Bullinger, Ethelbert William. "Commentary on Luke 6:21". "E.W.
Bullinger's Companion bible Notes".
https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bul/luke-6.html. 1909-1922.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged
Blessedare ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. In the Sermon on the
Mount the benediction is pronounced upon the "poor in spirit" and those who
"hunger and thirst after righteousness."Here it is simply on the "poor" and
the "hungry now." In this form of the discourse, then, our Lord seems to have
had in view "the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom
which God hath promised to them that love Him," as these very beatitudes
are paraphrasedby James (James 2:5).
Blessedare ye that weepnow: for ye shall laugh, [ gelasate (Greek#1070)].
How charming is the liveliness of this word, to express what in Matthew is
calmly setforth by the word "comfort!"
Copyright Statement
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on
Luke 6:21". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -

Unabridged". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfu/luke-6.html. 1871-
8.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(21) Blessedare ye that hunger now.—In the secondbeatitude, as in the first,
we note the absence ofthe words that seemto give the blessing on those that
“hunger and thirst after righteousness”its specially spiritual character. The
law implied is obviously the same as before. Fulness of bread, a life abounding
in comforts and luxuries, like that of the Rich Man in the parable of Luke
16:19, tends to dull the edge of appetite for higher things. Those who know
what the hunger of the body is, can understand better, and are more likely to
feel, the hunger of the soul.
Blessedare ye that weepnow: for ye shall laugh.—The clause is remarkable
as being (with its counterpart in Luke 6:25) the only instance in the New
Testamentof the use of “laughter” as the symbol of spiritual joy. In James 4:9
it comes in as representing worldly gladness;but the Greek wordwas too
much associatedwith the lower forms of mirth to find ready acceptance. It is
probable that the Aramaic word which our Lord used, like the mirth or
laughter which enteredinto the name of Isaac (Genesis 21:6), had a somewhat
higher meaning. Hebrew laughter was a somewhatgraverthing than that of
Greek or Roman. It had had no comedy to degrade it.
Copyright Statement

Ellicott, Charles John. "Commentary on Luke 6:21". "Ellicott's Commentary
for EnglishReaders". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ebc/luke-
6.html. 1905.
Treasuryof Scripture Knowledge
ye that hunger
25; 1:53; Psalms 42:1,2;143:6;Isaiah55:1,2; 1 Corinthians 4:11; 2
Corinthians 11:27; 12:10
for ye shall be
Psalms 17:15;63:1-5; 65:4; 107:9;Isaiah 25:6; 44:3,4;49:9,10;65:13;66:10;
Jeremiah31:14,25;Matthew 5:6; John 4:10; 6:35; 7:37,38;Revelation7:16
ye that weep
25; Psalms 6:6-8; 42:3; 119:136;126:5,6;Ecclesiastes 7:2,3;Isaiah 30:19;
57:17;Isaiah 57:18;61:1-3; Jeremiah9:1; 13:17; 31:9,13,18-20;Ezekiel7:16;
9:4; Matthew 5:4; John 11:35;16:20,21;Romans 9:1-3; 2 Corinthians 1:4-6;
6:10; 7:10,11;James 1:2-4,12;1 Peter1:6-8; Revelation21:3
ye shall laugh
Genesis 17:17;21:6; Psalms 28:7; 30:11,12;126:1,2;Isaiah12:1,2;65:14
Reciprocal:Judges 2:4 - the people; Job 5:11 - those; Job8:21 - he fill;
Ecclesiastes3:4 - a time to laugh; Isaiah61:2 - to comfort; Matthew 5:3 -
Blessed; Luke 7:38 - weeping; 1 Corinthians 7:30 - that weep; James 4:9 -
afflicted

PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Luke 6:21 "Blessedare you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.
Blessedare you who weepnow, for you shall laugh.
KJV Blessedare ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessedare ye that
you who hunger now Lk 6:25; 1:53; Psalms 42:1,2;143:6;Isaiah 55:1,2;1
Corinthians 4:11; 2 Corinthians 11:27; 12:10
for you shall be satisfied Ps 17:15;63:1-5; 65:4; 107:9; Isaiah25:6; 44:3,4;
49:9,10;65:13; 66:10;Jeremiah 31:14,25;Matthew 5:6; John 4:10; 6:35;
7:37,38;Revelation7:16
you who weepnow Lk 6:25; Ps 6:6-8; 42:3; 119:136;126:5,6;Ecclesiastes
7:2,3; Isaiah30:19; 57:17;Isaiah 57:18;61:1-3; Jeremiah9:1; 13:17;
31:9,13,18-20;Ezekiel7:16; 9:4; Matthew 5:4; John 11:35;16:20,21;Romans
9:1-3; 2 Corinthians 1:4-6; 6:10; 7:10,11;James 1:2-4,12;1 Peter1:6-8;
Revelation21:3
for you shall laugh Genesis 17:17;21:6; Psalms 28:7; 30:11,12;126:1,2;Isaiah
12:1,2;65:14
Luke 6 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Luke 6:20-26 How to Live Happily Ever After - Steven Cole
BLESSED ARE
THOSE WHO HUNGER

Blessedare you who hunger now - Hunger is in the present tense indicating
their hungering is continual. I like this thought because afterwe receive Jesus,
we still should be hungering for Him, for He is infinite and infinitely satisfying
at the same time. NET Note says"Youwho hunger are people like the poor
Jesus has already mentioned. The term has OT roots both in conjunction with
the poor (Isa 32:6–7;Isa 58:6–7, 9–10;Ezek 18:7, 16)or by itself (Ps 37:16–19;
107:9)." Matthew's parallelis more clearly referring to spiritual hunger.
Luke's versiondoes not specify literal poverty or spiritual poverty but it is still
surely a reference to spiritual hunger “Blessedare those who hunger and
thirst for righteousness,for they shall be satisfied. (Mt 5:6+)
Steven Cole - When Jesus blessesthe hungry and pronounces woe on the well-
fed, He is not speaking primarily in physical terms. The main point is
spiritual. Those who are physically hungry are truly blessedif they come to
God in their eed and learn to rely on Him for all their needs as their caring
Father. Those who are physically well-fed are truly to be pitied if they ignore
their spiritual starvation and need for God, who sustains us both physically
and spiritually. (Luke 6:20-26 How to Live Happily Ever After)
Blessed(3107)(makarios)seepreceding note
Hunger (3983)(peinao frompeín = hunger) means to feel the pangs of lack of
food. The majority of the NT uses speak ofliteral hunger. Jesus elevated
feeding the hungry to high level in His teaching in Mt 25:35, 37, 42, 44. The
figurative use as in Mt 5:6-note signifies to have strong desire to attain some
goalwith the implication of an existing lack. Other passagesthat use hunger
with this figurative sense are Luke 1:53, 6:21, 25, John 6:35, possibly Rev 7:16
(could refer to literal and/or spiritual hunger). In summary, peinao may refer
to hunger for earthly produce (eg. Lazarus hungering for crumbs - Lk 16:19-
31) or to an intense desire for spiritual nourishment which is also necessary
for the continuance of life. In classic Greekpeinao means to hunger and by

extensionit means to long for something which is necessaryfor sustenance of
life and can range from simple desire for a meal to starvation brought on by
poverty or disaster. Figuratively, it could even refer to an intense desire for
something other than food, for something that was deemed necessaryfor one's
well-being. In the Septuagint, in the OT, peinao is often used in the context of
famine (Ge 41:55, 2Ki 7:12), for famine is more frequently spokenof then
simple hunger that is an impulse stimulated by short term absence offood.
And for this reason, the Septuagint uses the more intense Greek word limos
(3016). Peinao is occasionallyusedin the context of matters of justice in
reference to the hungry or oppressed(1Sa 2:5, Ps 146:7).
Uses of peinao in Luke - Lk. 1:53; Lk. 4:2; Lk. 6:3; Lk. 6:21; Lk. 6:25.
You shall be satisfied- "Jesus turned human need into human contentment."
(Trent Butler) The passive voice here is the "divine passive" for the
satisfactionreferredto is an inner soul satisfactionthat only God Himself can
fill. NET Note adds that Jesus'"promise you will be satisfiedis the first of
several“reversals”notedin these promises. The beatitudes and the reversals
that accompanythem serve in the sermon as an invitation to enter into God’s
care, because one canknow God cares for those who turn to Him."
THOUGHT - Have you turned to Him? Where do you do for true, lasting
satisfaction? Don'tbe like Mick Jaggerand be forcedto sing "I Can't GetNo
Satisfaction!" Yes you can, but you have to come to Jesus for He declared“I
am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes
in Me will never thirst." (Jn 6:35). Jesus is the fountain of living waterfor as
Jesus promised "whoeverdrinks of the water that I will give him shall never
thirst; but the waterthat I will give him will become in him a well of water
springing up to eternal life.” (Jn 4:14+) Don't rely on your own "broken
cisterns that canhold no water." (Jer2:13).

Blaise Pascalalludes to man's desperate desire and need for divine filling in
his book Pensées -chapter VII writing “Whatis it, then, that this desire and
this inability proclaim to us, but that there was once in man a true happiness
of which there now remain to him only the mark and empty trace, which he in
vain tries to fill from all his surroundings, seeking from things absent the help
he does not obtain in things present? But these are all inadequate, because the
infinite abyss can only be filled by an infinite and immutable object, that is to
say, only by God Himself. He only is our true good, and since we have
forsakenHim, it is a strange thing that there is nothing in nature which has
not been serviceable in taking His place;the stars, the heavens, earth, the
elements, plants, cabbages,leeks, animals, insects, calves, serpents, fever,
pestilence, war, famine, vices, adultery, incest. And since man has lost the true
good, everything can appear equally goodto him, even his own destruction,
though so opposedto God, to reason, and to the whole course of nature."
IVP BackgroundCommentary - Being “filled” (sustained)was a hoped-for
blessing of the messianic era. Hunger struck poor families in times of famine
(the situation in rural Palestine was better than that of rural Egypt but worse
than that of Corinth or Italy).
Shall be satisfied(5526)(chortazo from chortos = fodder or grass orherbage
of the field in general)means to feed with herbs, grass or hay and then to eat
one's fill resulting in a state of being satisfied. Chortazo was usedof the
feeding of animals until they wanted nothing more. The picture is of animals
who stayedat the feed trough until they wantednothing more to eat. In short
chortazo means to feed to the point of satisfaction. Forexample Matthew
records that "they all ate (multitudes fed miraculously by Jesus with only 5
loaves and 2 fish), and were satisfied(SATIATED). And they pickedup what
was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets."(Matthew 14:20)All
uses of satisfiedin Luke - Lk. 6:21; Lk. 9:17; Lk. 16:21.

BLESSED ARE
THOSE WHO WEEP
Blessedare you who weepnow, for you shall laugh - This beatitude is unique
to the Gospelof Luke and is not found in the Sermonon the Mount (one of the
reasons some see these as similar but distinct sermons).
Matthew has a similar but not identical beatitude
“Blessedare those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. (Mt 5:4-note)
Steven Cole - When Jesus blessesthose who weepnow, He is referring to His
followers who suffer in this wickedworld because oftheir identification with
Him. They will get the lastlaugh because Godwill welcome them to His
sumptuous banquet table. Those who laugh now are like the rich man in
Jesus’parable, who sayto themselves, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for
many years to come;take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.” But God said
to him, “You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who
will own what you have prepared?” (Lu 12:19, Lu 12:20). (Luke 6:20-26 How
to Live Happily Ever After)
Brian Bell quips that “If you want to know someone’s character, find out
what makes him laugh & what makes him weep!” What we laugh at & what
we weep overindicates our values of life & values are a part of maturity.
Weeping was a sign of mourning or repentance. We see this is one of the
largestconversions in the Bible (if not the largest)in the pagannation of
Nineveh in the 8th cent. BC. In Jonahwe read that in response to Jonah's

message“Yetforty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” (Jonah3:4b -
notice Jonah did not even tell them to "Repent!" and yet they did). Jonah goes
on to recordthe king's words stating that "both man and beastmust be
coveredwith sackcloth(the Septuagint adds "and cried earnestlyto God");
and let men call on God earnestlythat eachmay turn from his wickedway
and from the violence which is in his hands (REPENTANCE). “Who knows,
God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning angerso that we will not
perish.” (Jonah 3:8,9)
MacArthur on weep- This is the emotional breakdownthat follows
recognitionof spiritual bankruptcy and lack of righteousness. These
mourners view themselves as the poor, prisoners, blind, and oppressed(cf. Lk
4:18), and are burdened, disappointed, fearful, and hurting. Theirs is the
sorrow of repentance, (MacArthur New TestamentCommentary – Luke 6-
10).
Weep(2799)(klaio)means to mourn, to weep, to lament or to wail with
emphasis upon noise accompanying weeping. It expresses one’s immediate
and outward reactionto suffering. The picture is of one lamenting with sobs
or wailing aloud and was used to describe the wailing that took place when
someone died. Weeping thus was a signof the pain and grief for the entity or
person being wept over. Klaio implies not only the shedding of tears, but also
external expressionof grief. It was a term frequently used to describe the
actions of professionalmourners.
Klaio is in the present tense indicating weeping was a continual practice.
NIDNTT writes that in classicalGreek klaio is "found from Homer onwards
(and ) means intransitively to cry aloud, weep;transitively to bewail. In
secularGreek. klaio does not express remorse or sorrow, but physical or
mental pain which is outwardly visible. (Brown, Colin, Editor. New
International Dictionaryof NT Theology. 1986. Zondervan)

Klaio in Luke and Acts - Lk. 6:21; Lk. 6:25; Lk. 7:13; Lk. 7:32; Lk. 7:38; Lk.
8:52; Lk. 19:41; Lk. 22:62;Lk. 23:28; Acts 9:39; Acts 21:13
Klaio is used by James who describes divine exaltationfollowing a genuine
godly sorrow and repentance overone's sins (cf 2 Cor 7:9,10)...
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you
sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn
and weep;let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. (James
4:8-10)
NET Note on you shall laugh - You will laugh alludes to the joy that comes to
God’s people in the salvationto come.
Future laughter in place of present weeping recalls severalOT passages...
Ps 30:5 For His angeris but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping
may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.
Ps 30:11 Thouhast turned for me my mourning into dancing; Thou hast
loosedmy sackclothand girded me with gladness;
Jer 31:13 “Thenthe virgin will rejoice in the dance, And the young men and
the old, together, ForI will turn their mourning into joy And will comfort
them and give them joy for their sorrow.

Comment: This prophetic promise (and that below in Isaiah61:2-4) applies
directly to the Jews who will be savedwhen the Lord Jesus returns and who
will enter into His glorious Millennial Kingdom.
Isaiah61:2-4; To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD And the day of
vengeance ofour God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To grant those who
mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness
instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So
they will be calledoaks of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He
may be glorified. 4 Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, They will raise up
the former devastations, And they will repair the ruined cities, The
desolations ofmany generations.
Rod Mattoongives an illustration -
Dr. R. A. Torreywas one of the greatBible teachers ofa past generationand
founder of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (BIOLA University). He and
Mrs. Torreywent through a time of great heartache whentheir twelve-year-
old daughter was accidentallykilled. The funeral was held on a gloomy,
miserable, rainy day. They stoodaround the grave and watched as the body of
their little girl was put away. As they turned away, Mrs. Torrey said, "I'm so
glad that Elisabethis with the Lord, and not in that box."
But, even knowing this to be true, their hearts were broken. Dr. Torrey said
that the next day, as he was walking down the street, the whole thing broke
anew—the loneliness ofthe years ahead without her presence, the heartbreak
of an empty house, and all the other implications of her death. He was so
burdened by this that he lookedto the Lord for help.

He said, "And just then, this fountain, the Holy Spirit that I had in my heart,
broke forth with such power as I think I had never experiencedbefore, and it
was the most joyful moment I had ever known in my life! Oh, how wonderful
is the joy of the Holy Spirit! It is an unspeakable glorious thing to have your
joy not in things about you, not even in your most dearly loved friends, but to
have within you a fountain ever springing up, springing up, springing up,
always springing up three hundred and sixty-five days in every year,
springing up under all circumstances unto everlasting life." (Treasures from
Luke, Volume 1)
WILLIAM BARCLAY
THE END OF THE WORLD'S VALUES (Luke 6:20-26)
6:20-26 Jesus lifted up his eyes upon his disciples and said, "Happy are you
poor, because yours is the Kingdom of God. Happy are you who are hungry
now because you will be filled. Happy are you who weepnow because you will
laugh. Happy are you when men will hate you and shut you off from their
company and insult you and castout your name as an evil name, for the sake
of the Son of Man; for--look you--your reward in heavenwill be great. Their
fathers used to treat the prophets in the same way. But woe to you who are
rich because youhave all the comfort you are going to get. Woe to you who
are filled because youwill be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now because you
will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all men speak wellof you, for that is
what your fathers used to do to the false prophets."
Luke's Sermon on the Plain and Matthew's Sermon on the Mount (Matthew
5:1-48; Matthew 6:1-34; Matthew 7:1-29) closelycorrespond. Bothstart with
a series ofbeatitudes. There are differences betweenthe versions of Matthew

and Luke, but this one thing is clear--they are a series of bombshells. It may
well be that we have read them so often that we have forgotten how
revolutionary they are. They are quite unlike the laws which a philosopher or
a typical wise man might lay down. Eachone is a challenge.
As Deissmannsaid, "Theyare spokenin an electric atmosphere. They are not
quiet stars but flashes of lightning followedby a thunder of surprise and
amazement." They take the acceptedstandards and turn them upside down.
The people whom Jesus calledhappy the world would call wretched;and the
people Jesus calledwretchedthe world would callhappy. Just imagine anyone
saying, "Happy are the poor, and, Woe to the rich!" To talk like that is to put
an end to the world's values altogether.
Where then is the key to this? It comes in Luke 6:24. There Jesus says, "Woe
to you who are rich because you have all the comfort you are going to get."
The word Jesus uses for have is the word used for receiving payment in full of
an account. What Jesus is saying is this, "If you setyour heart and bend your
whole energies to obtain the things which the world values, you will get them--
but that is all you will ever get." In the expressive modern phrase, literally,
you have had it! But if on the other hand you setyour heart and bend all your
energies to be utterly loyal to God and true to Christ, you will run into all
kinds of trouble, you may by the world's standards look unhappy, but much
of your payment is still to come;and it will be joy eternal.
We are here face to face with an eternal choice which begins in childhood and
never ends till life ends. Will you take the easyway which yields immediate
pleasure and profit? or, Will you take the hard way which yields immediate
toil and sometimes suffering? Will you seize on the pleasure and the profit of
the moment? or, Are you willing to look ahead and sacrifice them for the
greatergood? Will you concentrate onthe world's rewards? or, Will you
concentrate onChrist? If you take the world's way, you must abandon the

values of Christ. If you take Christ's way, you must abandon the values of the
world.
Jesus had no doubt which way in the end brought happiness. F. R. Maltby
said, "Jesuspromisedhis disciples three things--that they would be completely
fearless, absurdly happy and in constanttrouble." G. K. Chesterton, whose
principles constantlygot him into trouble, once said, "I like getting into hot
water. It keeps you clean!" It is Jesus'teaching that the joy of heaven will
amply compensate for the trouble of earth. As Paul said, "This slight
momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weightof glory beyond all
comparison" (2 Corinthians 4:17). The challenge of the beatitudes is, "Will
you be happy in the world's way, or in Christ's way?"
STEVEN COLE
How to Live Happily Ever After (Luke 6:20-26)
RelatedMedia
“And they all lived happily ever after.” We all like stories with a happy
ending. We read them to our children and grandchildren. But, as grown-ups,
we know that such stories are not true. Living happily ever after only happens
in the realm of make believe.
Or, does it? In what is perhaps His most well knownteaching, “The
Beatitudes,” Jesuspresents the qualities that make for a happy or blessedlife.
As Luke reports the teaching, four times Jesus pronounces blessings onpeople
with these four qualities and four times He pronounces woes on people with

the opposite qualities. To be blessedis to have inner joy and happiness
because God’s favor is upon you. To have woe is to have sorrow and pain
because Godis againstyou. Thus Jesus is showing us how to be supremely
happy or supremely miserable.
Stated that way, you may wonder why anyone would choose to be supremely
miserable, especiallywhen the offer of supreme happiness is set before him or
her. But things aren’t quite that simple, because the happiness Jesus offers
often entails short term trials and pain, but eventual and eternal joy, whereas
the world offers short term gratification, but fails to take into accountthe
eternal perspective. As Leon Morris observes, “JesuspromisedHis followers
that they would be absurdly happy; but also that they would never be out of
trouble” (Luke [IVP/Eerdmans, p. 127). Due to the blindness of sinful human
hearts and the deceptionof sin, many in the world pursue happiness in ways
that seeminglywill succeed. ButJesus boldly asserts thatthose who follow the
world’s ways will come up empty. He draws a distinct line and challenges us
to come over to His side. As William Barclaystates, “The challenge ofthe
beatitudes is, ‘Will you be happy in the world’s way, or in Christ’s way?”
(The Daily Study Bible, Luke [Westminster], p. 77).
Before we examine this first sectionof Jesus’teaching, we needto touch on
severalmatters. The most obvious question is whether or not this sermon in
Luke 6 is the same as the Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew 5-7. The
bottom line is, we can’t know for certain. There are solid commentators on
both sides of the issue. Luke’s version is much shorter than Matthew’s (30
verses comparedto 107), and there are some differences in the parts that
overlap. Both versions are obviously summaries of longermessagesthatJesus
delivered. Both begin with a set of beatitudes and end with the parable of
building the two houses, although there are differences in many of the details.

The most obvious difference is that Matthew 5:1 reports that Jesus wentup on
a mountain to deliver this sermon, whereas Luke 6:17 states that He
descendedto a level place. Those who like to look for contradictions in the
Bible are quick to pounce on this as an example. But even if the two accounts
are the same sermon on the same occasion, it need not be contradictory. Jesus
had gone up on the mountain alone to pray. He descendedto meet with His
disciples and with the multitude. There easilycould have been a plateauon
the mountain that was large enough for the multitude to gather on. From
Luke’s perspective, Jesus descendedto this level place. From Matthew’s
angle, Jesus wentup on the mountain to teach. It just depends on how you
look at the event.
So the sermon could be the same sermon at the same locale, but with
variations in how it was reported. Or, it could be that Jesus taught the same
material with slight variations on more than one occasion, as almostevery
preacherhas done. We can’t know for sure, but neither view involves us in
contradictions. I’m inclined to the view that both sermons are the same,
although reported from different slants.
The sermon in Luke falls into three sections:in 6:20-26, Jesus draws a distinct
line betweenHis followers and others and pronounces blessings onthe former
and woes onthe latter; in 6:27-38, Jesus spells out the primary ethic of His
kingdom, the practice of love; and, in 6:39-49, He emphasizes the importance
of obedience to His teaching. He addresses the sermon primarily to His
disciples (6:20), but obviously there are appeals to outsiders as well. The
blessings are aimed at encouraging and strengthening Jesus’followers in the
face of mounting and inevitable oppositionand persecution, but they also
serve to draw in outsiders with the intriguing promise of future reversal. The
woes warnbelievers of dangers to avoid, but they also confront unbelievers
with the future consequencesoftheir current behavior. The entire sermon
shows Jesus’disciples (i.e., all Christians) how we should live. But it also

shows unbelievers and hypocrites their need for repentance because ofthe
huge gap betweentheir behavior and Jesus’teaching.
With that as a brief overview, let’s focus on 6:20-26, where Jesus sets forth the
contrasts of blessings and woes onfour groups of people. Since He specifically
is addressing His disciples, we should see the primary intent as giving
encouragementand instruction to believers. God will bless them though the
world may hate them. But they must be on guard againstthe world and its
mixed up values. But there is also a secondaryapplicationfor those caught up
with the world. Jesus is warning them of a coming reversalwhen they will be
left empty if they do not repent. Jesus is teaching:
To live happily ever after, live decisively for God’s kingdom and rejectthe
world’s values.
The theme of happiness is stressedin the series ofblessings and woes. The idea
of living decisivelycomes through in the clearline Jesus draws betweenthe
two ways of God’s kingdom versus the world’s values. The aspect ofliving
happily ever after is underscoredin the future focus of the blessings and woes.
1. To live happily ever after, you must see that there are two (and only two)
ways to live and you must commit yourself to live under Christ’s lordship.
Jesus draws a clearline betweentwo groups of people, so that you must
identify yourself with one group or the other. You can’t straddle the line. On
the one hand are those who are poor, who hunger now, who weepnow, and
who are despised by men because oftheir identification with Jesus. These
folks are blessedbecause ofboth present, but mainly future, rewards. On the
other hand are those who are rich, who are well-fednow, who laugh now, and
who are acclaimedby men. These are under woe because ofwhat awaits them.

Immediately we are faced with some interpretive problems. Is Jesus extolling
poverty in a material sense or should we take it spiritually, in line with
Matthew’s “poorin spirit”? Is Jesus commending hunger above a healthy
diet? Is He promoting weeping and sadness above laughter and joy? Is there
some virtue in having people hate you? How should we understand Jesus’
words?
In the first place, we would be wrong to interpret these words to refer in
blanket fashion to the financially poor, the physically hungry, the emotionally
grieving, and those hated by their fellow men. The Old Testamenturges
compassiontowardthe deserving poor, but it also heaps ridicule on those who
are poor because theyare lazy or foolish. Augustine pointed out how the poor
Lazarus laid his head on the rich Abraham’s bosom. Later in Luke, some
wealthy women are favorably mentioned who helped support Jesus and the
apostles (8:1-3). And, Jesus welcomes the rich tax collector, Zaccheus,into the
kingdom (19:1-10).
So Jesus is not issuing a blanket approval on everyone who is financially poor,
nor a blanket condemnationon everyone who is financially rich. The same can
be said of the other groups. Godgraciouslygives us food to meet our needs,
and there is no inherent virtue in going hungry. The Bible commands God’s
people to be filled with joy and praise, and Jesus is not contradicting that
here. There are many of God’s servants who are commended and thought well
of in the Bible. So there is nothing inherently wrong with these categories as
such. We would be mistakento understand Jesus to be teaching that simply
by being in these categoriesa personis somehow blessedor under woes to
come.
So how should we take Jesus’ words? One key is to remember that Jesus is
talking to His disciples. Luke has already mentioned twice that these men left

everything to follow Jesus (5:11, 28). A secondkeyis that these men are
suffering “for the sake ofthe Son of Man” (6:22). Jesus compares theirill
treatment to that of the prophets in Old Testamenttimes (6:23). Thus Jesus is
talking about godly people who have given up opportunities to further
themselves in the world in order to follow Him. In other words, there is a
definite spiritual underpinning to Jesus’categories.
This spiritual slant is further supported by Luke’s previous use of the terms.
In Mary’s song (1:46-55), she praises Godwho has “filled the hungry with
goodthings, and sent awaythe rich empty-handed” (1:53). Jesus citedIsaiah
61:1 when He preachedin the synagogue in Nazareth, that the Spirit had
anointed Him “to preachthe gospelto the poor” (4:18). These terms, “poor,
hungry, and those who weep,” are not exclusivelyspiritual, in that those who
are destitute of life’s essentials are oftenmuch more aware of their spiritual
need before God. Those who are rich in this world’s goods oftendo not sense
their desperate needfor God. But the terms are primarily spiritual in that
Jesus did not come to offer Himself on the cross to deliver men from physical
poverty, hunger, and grief. He came to deliver sinners from their spiritual
poverty, spiritual hunger, and grief over sin. One writer explains,
The hungry are men who both outwardly and inwardly are painfully deficient
in the things essentialto life as God meant it to be, and who, since they cannot
help themselves, turn to Godon the basis of His promise. These men, and
these alone, find God’s help in Jesus. Theyare not an existing socialor
religious group…. They are believers who seek help from Jesus becauseof
their own helplessness. (L. Goppelt, cited by Darrell Bock, Luke [Baker],
1:575).
Leon Morris (p. 127)explains further,

He is not blessing poverty in itself: that can as easily be a curse as a blessing.
It is His disciples of whom Jesus is speaking. Theyare poor and they know
that they are without resource. Theyrely on God and they must rely on Him,
for they have nothing of their ownon which to rely…. The rich of this world
often are self-reliant. Not so the poor.
And so when Jesus says, “Blessedare you who are poor,” He is referring to
those who have recognizedthat the greatestneedin life is spiritual, not
material. Ratherthan pursuing a life of accumulating the world’s goods, these
people have recognizedtheir spiritual poverty before God and have come to
Him, often at the expense of worldly success.WhenJesus says, “Woe to you
who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full,” He is referring to
those who are living as if this world is all there is. They are not rich toward
God by laying up treasures in heaven(Luke 12:21). They are living for selfish
pleasures and comforts and they are relying on themselves to gain these
things. In light of eternity, it’s a foolishway to live.
When Jesus blesses the hungry and pronounces woe on the well-fed, He is not
speaking primarily in physical terms. The main point is spiritual. Those who
are physically hungry are truly blessedif they come to God in their need and
learn to rely on Him for all their needs as their caring Father. Those who are
physically well-fed are truly to be pitied if they ignore their spiritual
starvation and need for God, who sustains us both physically and spiritually.
When Jesus blesses those who weepnow, He is referring to His followers who
suffer in this wickedworld because of their identification with Him. They will
get the last laugh because Godwill welcome them to His sumptuous banquet
table. Those who laugh now are like the rich man in Jesus’parable, who say
to themselves, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come;
take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.” But God said to him, “You fool!

This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you
have prepared?” (Luke 12:19, 20).
When Jesus blesses those who are hated, ostracized, insulted, and spurned for
His sake, He compares their treatment to that of the godly prophets. The
reasonfor their ill treatment is that they have stoodfor God’s truth and
righteousness, whichsinners, especiallyreligious hypocrites, hate. Jesus’
disciples who are so mistreated should rejoice and leapfor joy, because they
have greatreward in heaven. But Jesus compares those who are well-spoken
of to the false prophets. It’s never hard to gain a following: Justflatter people
and tell them how wonderful they are. They will flock to hear you and buy
your books. You will be famous and successfulonearth, but rejectedin
heaven.
One reasonJesus paints with these broad strokes ofblack and white, with no
gray, is to draw the line and make us examine ourselves. Whichside are you
on? I immediately want to say, “Lord, how about someone who isn’t poor or
rich? I’m just kind of middle class!How about someone who isn’t starving,
but I’m not a glutton? I’m not going around weeping, but neither am I a
comedian. People aren’t throwing rotten eggs atme, but neither am I Mr.
Popular. Isn’t there room for a guy like me in the middle?” Jesus replies, “No,
you’re either decidedly for Me or you are decidedly againstMe. There’s no
middle ground.” He forces us to getoff the fence and decide: Are we living for
this life and its temporary pleasures or are we living for Jesus and His eternal
kingdom?
The kingdom Jesus speaksofis both a present reality and a future promise.
To the poor who have followedHim, Jesus says, “Yours is the kingdom of
God.” They presently possessit. In this sense, the kingdom means living
decidedly under the lordship of Jesus, obeying His commands, living with the
aim of pleasing Him. But, the kingdom is also a future promise, in that Jesus

plainly taught that He would return to reign on the throne of David and to
rule the nations with a rod of iron. In this sense, Jesus’followers allmourn at
the presentreign of darkness under the prince of this world, and we long for
the soon-coming day when, according to His promise, there will be a new
heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells (2 Pet. 3:13).
So, if you want to live happily ever after, you must see that there are two and
only two ways to live. You can live for the things and pleasures ofthis world,
which are destined to perish. Or, you can submit yourself to Jesus Christ and
live for His present and coming kingdom. Every followerof Jesus, notjust the
super-dedicated, will be in the secondcamp. There is no middle ground, sort-
of Christian, with one foot in the world and one in Jesus’kingdom. You must
get off the fence and declare yourself to be on Jesus’side.
2. To live happily ever after, you must adopt an eternalview of life.
Jesus’teaching here presupposes and demands an eternal perspective.
Without that, His words are nonsense. Why be poor, hungry, sorrowful, and
hated in this life if that’s all there is? Critics of Christianity will often scoff,
“You believe in pie-in-the-sky-when-you-die.” The proper response is,
“Absolutely! And you’re a fool not to believe it!” The Bible is abundantly
clearthat the hope of the believer is with God in eternity, not in this short life
on earth (see 1 Cor. 15:19, 32;Heb. 11:13-16, 35-40). As Charles Simeon put
it, “He alone is happy, who is happy for eternity” (Expository Outlines on the
Whole Bible [Zondervan], 12:345).
Jesus here boldly asserts thatthere will be some startling reversals in eternity.
He often taught this with the aphorism, “The lastshall be first, and the first
last” (see Matt. 19:30; 20:16;Luke 13:30). The world, the flesh, and the devil
deceive us by offering us instant gratification through the pleasures of sin. We
look around at other sinners who seemto be having a goodtime in life and we
wrongly conclude that we’re missing out. The psalmist was there when he

lookedon the easylife of the wicked and concluded that he had turned from
sin to God in vain. What gotthe psalmist back in focus? “When I pondered to
understand this, it was troublesome in my sight until I came into the
sanctuary of God; then I perceivedtheir end. Surely You set them in slippery
places;You castthem down to destruction” (Ps. 73:16-18).
D. L. Moodyobserved, “This life is all the heaven the worldling has, and all
the hell the saint ever sees.”The believerknows that there is a God who will
judge the world, and so he adopts a pilgrim mindset. We desperatelyneed to
recoverthis eternalperspective in our day. While I realize that the Four
Spiritual Laws booklethas been greatly used to lead many to faith in Christ,
in my judgment it focuses too much on the abundant life here and now and
not enoughon the hope of heavenand the fear of hell. But the emphasis of the
Bible is clearly on the latter. “Whatdoes it profit a man to gain the whole
world, and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36). You can’t straddle the line.
Followers ofJesus focus onthe life to come, not on the fleeting pleasures of
this present world. That’s the only wayto true happiness.
3. To live happily ever after, you must adopt God’s values while rejecting the
world’s values.
Leon Morris (p. 126)observes, “Togetherwith the following woes, these
beatitudes make a mockeryof the world’s values. They exalt what the world
despises and rejectwhat the world admires.” Clearly Jesus is saying that the
values of His followers are radically different than the values of the world.
There should be clearline betweenthe believer and the person of this world in
terms of how we think, what we do, what we seek after, and how we use
money.
Yet, sadly, all too often there is no discernible difference betweenprofessing
Christians and their worldly neighbors, exceptthat the Christians go to
church services. The worldly guy is living for personalpeace and increasing

affluence;so is the Christian. The worldly guy seekspleasure vicariouslyby
watching immoral, profane TV shows and videos; so does the Christian. The
worldly guy spends his money to increase his own comfort and pleasure;so
does the Christian, exceptfor the two or three percent average that he gives.
The worldly guy thinks that all goodpeople who do the bestthey can will get
to heaven; shockingly, so do vast numbers of those professing to be Christian.
A recent Barna Report asked, “Cana goodperson earn his way to heaven?”
Those responding “agree strongly” or “somewhatagree”included 22% of
Assembly of God, 30% of nondenominational, 38% of Baptists, 54%of
Lutherans, 58% of Episcopalians,59%of Methodists, and 82% of Catholics
(reported in “Viewpoint,” Reformation& Revival Ministries May/June,
1998). Christians must think biblically.
4. To live happily ever after, you must live in dependence on God.
These poor, hungry, sorrowful, and rejectedpeople Jesus refers to have
abandoned the world’s support system and have castthemselves totally on
God for their daily bread, for their personaland emotional needs, and for
their eternal well-being. The world’s rich, well-fed, happy men of acclaimare
trusting in themselves and their own accomplishments. But, as DarrellBock
writes, “An attitude of independence from God is the road to destruction”
(Luke [Baker], 1:582). The followerof Jesus trusts in Him totally for
sustenance, joy, approval, and salvation. We live to hear from Him some day,
“Welldone, goodand faithful slave;... enter into the joy of your master”
(Matt. 25:21).
Conclusion
A question I often ask people who come to me for counselis, “Do you want
God’s blessing in your life?” Of course, we all instinctively want to answer,
“Yes, of course I do!” But before you answerso quickly, stop and think about
it. How you answerthat question will make a huge difference in how you live.
The personliving for God’s blessing has deliberately decided to reject the

world’s values and to live under the lordship of Jesus as King. Turning his
back on this fleeting world and its pleasures, he is living in light of eternity.
Letting go of self-sufficiencyand self-confidence, he has casthimself on Jesus
both for salvationfrom God’s judgment and for sustenance in this life. So, ask
yourself, “Do I want God’s blessing on my life?” It’s the only way to live
happily ever after. Jesus tells you how to have it: Live decisivelyfor God’s
kingdom and rejectthe world’s values.
DiscussionQuestions
Does the Bible support the idea that you canbe a “carnal” orlukewarm
Christian and still getinto heaven?
Why is an eternalviewpoint essentialif we want to follow Jesus?
Where are modern Christians most susceptible to worldly values? What can
we do to fight this in ourselves?
Is it legitimate for a Christian to pursue financial success?Cite Scripture to
support your answer.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998,All Rights Reserved.
MATTHEW HENRY
2. "You hunger now (Luke 6:21), you are not fed to the full as others are, you
often rise hungry, your commons are so short or you are so intent upon your
work that you have not time to eatbread, you are glad of a few ears of corn
for a meal's meat thus you hunger now in this world, but in the other world
you shall be filled, shall hunger no more, nor thirst any more."

3. "You weepnow, are often in tears, tears of repentance, tears ofsympathy
you are of them that mourn in Zion. But blessedare you your present sorrows
are no prejudices to your future joy, but preparatories for it: You shall laugh.
You have triumphs in reserve you are but sowing in tears, and shall shortly
reap in joy," Psalm126:5,6. Theythat now sorrow after a godly sort are
treasuring up comforts for themselves, or, rather, God is treasuring up
comforts for them and the day is coming when their mouth shall be filled with
laughing and their lips with rejoicing, Job8:21.
JOHN MACARTHUR
Third Beatitude, end of verse 21, “Blessedare you who weepnow for you shall
laugh.” Blessedare you who weepnow. Matthew records Jesus saying,
“Blessedare those that mourn.” These are the people who are sadabout that
condition. They’re sadabout their spiritual bankruptcy. They’re sad about
the absence ofrighteousness. Theyhunger for that. They see themselves as
the poor prisoners, blind and oppressedofchapter 4 verse 18. They are
burdened. They are disappointed. Theyare fearful. They are in pain. They
are pitiful. And this is the sorrow of repentance. This is the sorrow of
repentance. This is that kind of sorrow of which James wrote. James 4:9, “Be
miserable and mourn and weak, letyour laughter be turned into mourning
and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence ofthe Lord and He
will exalt you.” That’s the humiliation and the humbling and the sadness of
repentance.
Paul wrote of it in 1 Corinthians…2 Corinthians chapter 7 in, really, what is
probably the best definition of true repentance in Scripture. Second
Corinthians 7 verse 10, “Forthe sorrow that is according to the will of God
produces a repentance without regretleading to salvation.” The sorrow of the
world just produces death. And here’s a definition of this true repentance.
What earnestness this godly sorrow has produced in you, what indignation,

what fear, what longing, what zeal? It’s this tremendous passionate desire to
be clean, to be cleansed, to be changed, godly sorrow.
So here is the picture of the blessed...understanding spiritual bankruptcy,
longing for righteousness, weeping overhis sinful condition. The weeping is
God-centered, not man-centered. It’s God-centered. They sighand cry over
their sin before God and they long that He would forgive. And what does
Jesus say? “People who weeplike that will laugh.” You will laugh. You’ll
not only be comforted, as Matthew’s Beatitude records Jesus saying, but
you’ll laugh. This is the laughter of the forgiven. This is the laughter of the
unburdened. This is the laughter of the free. Jeremiah31:13 says, “I will
turn their mourning into joy and comfort them and give them joy for their
sorrow.” Isuppose the purest, dominating emotion for the believer is joy. It
is our salvation, it is the peace that we have with God, it is the hope of eternal
life that produces ultimately our joy. Joy then becomes the ultimate emotion,
the product of all the blessings ofthe Kingdom.
So, you cando a little inventory on your life. Do you understand your
spiritual bankruptcy? Do you have a profound hunger for righteousness?
And is your life filled with sadness overyour sin? And at the same time, has
your poverty become riches because you have stepped into the Kingdom and
now you know what is yours in Christ? Has your hunger turned into
satisfactionbecausethe very righteousness ofChrist covers you and God has
also imparted righteousness to you? And has your sorrow turned to laughter
because you’re filled with joy over what God has done? If that’s you, then
you’re among the blessed.
RICH CATHERS
21 Blessedare you who weepnow, For you shall laugh.
:25 Woe to you who laugh now, For you shall mourn and weep.

:21 Blessedare you who weepnow
Lesson
Joy
Where do you find your joy?
Do you find your joy in the things of this world?
There are lots of things in this life that cangive us happiness.
Not all of them are wrong.
But the ultimate joy ought to be from Jesus, from being connectedto His
kingdom.
I don’t think that means we have to wait until Jesus comes back orwe die and
go to heaven.
I think we canexperience godly joy now, when we open ourselves to God’s
presence.
David wrote,
(Psalm 16:11 NKJV) You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is
fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
For me one of the times I experience this is during worship.
Sometimes joy doesn’t come immediately.
Jesus saidthat if you weep“now”, in this life, at this moment, you shall laugh
later.
Sometimes joy takes time.

David wrote,
(Psalm 30:5 NKJV) For His angeris but for a moment, His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
Luke: What True Happiness Looks Like, and What Looks Like True
Happiness , But Isn’t
Sermon by J. Ligon Duncan on September20, 2009
Luke 6:20-26
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The Lord’s Day Morning
September 20, 2009

Jesus was laughing

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