Daily Bible Reading 2nd June 2026 // Luke 6:20-26
20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
25 “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.
“Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
26 “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.
Having called the disciples to His service, Jesus next proceeds to unfold to them the way of discipleship, and what was said about the cost and discipline of discipleship at the end of the previous Note is now spelt out for us in detail. There are two preliminary points that must be mentioned at the outset. The first is that it will be noticed that there is a great similarity between the statements in the rest of the chapter and what we know as the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5-7. What we have here is of course much shorter, and it differs in several significant points from the other. The question that arises is whether this is Luke's version of the Sermon on the Mount, or whether it is a separate sermon. Opinion is divided among the scholars, some thinking one thing, and some the other and some think there is not enough conclusive evidence one way or the other to decide on the matter. In point of fact, an answer to this problem is really immaterial for our purposes. It is enough for us to see the similarity of context as between Matthew and Luke, for both passages follow a call to the disciples and a response made by them. The other point is this: these words are spoken to disciples; and discipleship is presupposed by them. They are not spoken to the people at large. The people may have heard them, but they were to understand that what was said applied to disciples only. Jesus' words presuppose the acceptance of the message of the gospel (cf Matthew 4:17-22) and entrance into the life of discipleship.