City Life Starter

Written by Scott Fiddler

The Word

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

Luke 6:20 (ESV)

Reflection

Imagine you were one of Jesus’ followers, not one of the twelve necessarily, but one who believed Jesus was the Messiah. And whenever he was in town you went to hear him speak. 

And imagine you were undeniably poor. It was all you could do to keep food on the table for your family. You had no savings. Maybe you were indebted to others. Most everyone around you had more than you did. You looked at the tax collectors who were dishonest and disloyal to Israel and got rich because of it. You even envied the Roman soldiers in your city because they were better off than you. You were poor. You felt poor, and everyone around you knew you were poor. You felt marginalized, unimportant, and perhaps even victimized.

And then you go to hear Jesus speak, and this person who you have seen miraculously heal the sick, cast out demons, and who you believe is the Messiah, says to you and his other poor followers, that you—the poor, the marginalized, the victimized—get to share in the kingdom of God with Him. 

Can you imagine how that would make you feel?

Here, Jesus is not bestowing virtue on the poor per se. Poverty is not a blessing. Jesus is not speaking to the poor in general. Poor unbelievers were not blessed. Luke said,  “. . . he lifted up his eyes on his disciples…” Jesus was talking to His followers. In other words, Jesus was talking to poor believers. Their blessedness was not in being poor but in spite of it because they chose to follow Jesus. The King was allowing them to share in His kingdom.

Moreover, their blessedness was not only or even primarily about a promise of the world to come. Jesus doesn’t say the poor believers are blessed because theirs is heaven but the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is the reign of King Jesus, whether it be in heaven or on earth (See Psalm 103:19; Rev. 11:15). Jesus has authority in both realms (Matthew 28:18). When Jesus sent out the twelve (Luke 9:1-6), the seventy (Luke 10:1-2, 17-20), or all believers in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), He delegated to them authority to share in His kingdom and participate in bringing others into it.

Application

Now, putting all this back together, one can see the significance of Jesus’ statement for poor believers. They are blessed because, even though they are poor, they get to share in the rule and the benefits of Jesus’ kingdom on earth. 

In the world they are poor, but in Jesus’ kingdom they are rich. While the world would victimize them, Jesus would recognize them. While the world would marginalize them, Jesus would utilize them for a divine purpose, as part of the administration destined to rule the world. That’s the kind of news that would make anyone “blessed” or happy.

Prayer

Lord, help me always to remember how blessed I am to share in the kingdom of God on earth. Amen.