Daily Bible Reading 4th 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.
There are different ways of expounding these statements, but the simple fact that stands out is what the source of true blessedness really is, and with it, the source of fruitfulness and effectiveness; for it is when God's servants are what they ought to be that their lives will tell for the gospel. And that blessedness represents a complete reversal of the world's values (as one commentator puts it). This is one of the points at which we begin to think that Jesus' words here were spoken at a different time from those recorded in Matthew, for where Matthew 'spiritualises' them - 'poor in spirit' - Luke records a plain statement - 'blessed are the poor'. It is literal poverty, not poverty of spirit, that is in view. But we must be careful not to misunderstand Jesus' words. It is not as though poverty, hunger, or grief were in themselves blessed, or guarantees of blessedness. It is to the faithful Christian that poverty, hunger, sorrow and unpopularity are real blessings. The poverty, though literal and real, is a poverty occasioned and entailed by faithful adherence to Jesus. To others, it could be mere sterile suffering, with no blessedness and no significance. Some of the disciples had become poor by surrendering all to follow Jesus. There need be no fanaticism involved in this kind of discipleship. Taking up the cross and following Christ simply leads to this kind of poverty. The missionary who turns his back on worldly and material advancement, the man who gives up a lucrative career for the ministry - these are the parallels. The reversal of the world's values indeed! It is a variation of the words: 'the first shall be last and the last shall be first'. In the spiritual world, the way up is down; you die to live, and reign by suffering. And, of course the converse is also true, as the 'woes' in 24-26 make clear. These are the 'this worldly', those whose eyes are on this world rather than on that to come. Jesus said, in another place, 'What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?'