Wednesday 10 September 2008
- Bible Book:
- Luke
] looked up at his disciples and said: 'Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God'." (v.20)
Background
Jesus speaks to his disciples - not just the 12 specially chosen- but to the wider group of disciples. It's a great crowd listeningto him.
In that crowd he realises that there are people in deep need - thepoor, the hungry, folk in situations which make them cry and thosewho are hated by others. It's a depressing list, but Jesus tellsthem that they are actually blessed!
He also realises that in that crowd are those who don't think thatthey are in need - the rich, those who aren't hungry, those who arelaughing and those who are highly esteemed by others. They are allwarned by Jesus, because in days gone by, false prophets were alsohighly esteemed.
Prophets aren't people who just predict what will happen in thefuture (fore-tell) - they speak out on God's behalf (forth-tell).But there were also false prophets who didn't speak for God, andpeople often liked what they said (
To Ponder
How do you feel when things are not going well?What does it feel like to hear that you are blessed, even in thesetimes?
Do you think that being rich and well fed andhappy makes it difficult to be near to God? Why?