The word “blessed” is obviously a very important word in our passage. What comes to mind when you hear the word “blessed?” Some of us use the word as a synonym for lucky. “No homework; blessed!” “Free upgrade; blessed!” If you’re like me and you dress up once a week, “new blazer for 75% off on clearance because I’m a tiny man; blessed!” Others of us use the word to express thankfulness. You go out on a date with a godly man or woman, you get a promotion, you have a child, and you say, “we’re blessed.”

These are all fine things to say, but in the Bible, being blessed is larger and more significant than even all that. And in the Bible “blessed” is something you are, not something you achieve. In the Bible, to be blessed is to be divinely happy because you’re in a right relationship with God. Divinely happy. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. (Psalm 32:1–2). Divinely happy is the person who enjoys a right relationship with God by grace—sins forgiven and forgotten, loved by God. That’s what it means to be blessed.

Commenting on the Beatitudes, the theologian Sinclair Ferguson says it well: “This blessing is simply fellowship with God, the experience of his covenant promise: ‘I will be your God and you will be my people.’ It means having a right relationship to God, and enjoying him as we should. That is why the opening chapters of the Bible speak of God giving his blessing to his creation and his creatures (Genesis 2:3). Occasionally, the word blessed has been translated as divinely happy.”

That’s what it means to be blessed, and in our passage it’s clear that those who possess God’s kingdom—those who enter it by grace and live under God’s rule—are blessed.

And that brings us to the big idea of our passage this morning: Jesus’ kingdom people are blessed.

Now, why are Jesus’ kingdom people blessed? Why are Jesus’ kingdom people divinely happy living not for this world? Our passage provides two reasons:

1. New leaders (6:12–19) 
2. New people (6:20–26) 

NEW LEADERS

Jesus’ kingdom people are blessed because Christ has appointed new leaders in his kingdom. Their authority is a blessing to us.

In our passage, the Lord Jesus calls these new leaders “apostles.” In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles… (Luke 6:12–13). Jesus’ kingdom people are divinely happy—truly blessed—because they live under the authority of his new leaders: apostles.

There are several important things to notice about the new leaders that Jesus’ kingdom people are blessed with. Each insight gives us a fuller understanding of why Jesus’ kingdom people are divinely happy.

First, notice the number. Jesus chose from among his larger group of disciples twelve men to be apostles. The number that our Lord selected was purposeful and deliberate. Just as Israel was composed of twelve tribes, each with a leader, so his new, blessed kingdom had twelve apostles. God’s old covenant with Israel is being fulfilled, passing away, and his new kingdom with new leaders is dawning. The new leaders are a sign that the new year of the Lord’s favor has dawned; blessed.

Second, notice the name Jesus gave them: apostle. The word “apostle,” or “apostolos” in Greek, means “messenger, one who is sent out.” The name that Jesus gave to the new leaders in his kingdom reveals the mission of Jesus’ kingdom citizens, the church: to go out and make disciples. Just as the apostles were sent ones, the people of Jesus Christ are those to whom Christ has said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples. New leaders means a new mission: go into all the earth, friends, and make disciples. The new leaders reveal our divinely happy mission.

Third, though it’s not explicitly stated in our passage, we should note that there are no apostles today. An apostle was someone who saw Christ with his own eyes and was specifically appointed by Christ as an apostle. Fear not; Jesus’ kingdom people are blessed because they have not been left without leadership. The theologian Wayne Grudem writes, 

“In place of living apostles present in the church to teach and govern it, we have instead the writings of the apostles in the books of the New Testament.”

Not only do we have the apostles’ authoritative writings in the New Testament, but Jesus has given his divinely happy kingdom people elders to rule his churches and proclaim the apostles’ teaching. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. (Acts 14:23). In his letter to Timothy, Paul wrote, Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching (1 Timothy 5:17).

Though there aren’t any apostles today, the Lord has commanded that all churches be ruled by a plurality of elders—qualified men whose primary work is to shepherd the church toward Christ. Truly and divinely happy are the people who live under godly elders in Jesus’ kingdom. What a wonderful reason to join a church. Without joining a church you may know the elders of the church and benefit from them, but they aren’t yet your shepherds charged to pour out their lives for the good of your soul; blessed.

Fourth, notice that Jesus selected his apostles after spending an entire night in prayer. Pastors should be ordained to their work carefully and with much prayer. J. C. Ryle makes the point well:

“Those to whom the responsible office of ordaining is committed should pray that they may not lay hands upon anyone too hastily. Those who offer themselves for ordination should pray that they may not take up work for which they are unfit, and not run without being sent. The lay members of the church, not least, should pray that none may be ordained but men who are inwardly moved by the Holy Spirit. Happy are those ordinations in which all concerned have the mind that was in Christ and come together in a prayerful spirit! Do we desire to help forward the cause of pure and undefiled religion in the world? Then let us never forget to pray for ministers and especially for young men about to enter the ministry. The progress of the gospel, under God, will always depend much on the character and conduct of those who profess to preach it…If we would have good ministers, then we must remember our Lord’s example and pray for them. Their work is heavy. Their responsibility is enormous. Their strength is small. Let us see that we support them and hold up their hands by our prayers.”

Amen! Jesus’ kingdom people are blessed because they have new leaders. Divinely happy are the people who pray for their new leaders, and for God to raise up scores of them from our midst. Divinely happy are the people who eagerly gather each week to learn from their teaching, carefully following along, taking notes, and applying their faithful Bible teaching to all of life. Divinely happy are those who follow their shepherding, submit to their leadership, partner with them in maturing the church, and are protected by their authority. And divinely happy are the men who aspire to join their number as elders.

Jesus’ kingdom people are blessed because they have new leaders; are you enjoying the gift?

That brings us to the second reason why Jesus’ kingdom people are blessed…

NEW PEOPLE

After the Lord Jesus Christ selected his twelve apostles, he came down with them and stood on a level place. Along with his twelve apostles, a larger group of Jesus’ disciples, and a great multitude of people from around the region joined Jesus in this level place. And Jesus Christ healed all of them who had diseases or unclean spirits. It was in this context that the Lord Jesus Christ preached what is commonly called the Sermon on the Plain.

I believe that the Sermon on the Plain is a different sermon from the one Matthew records, known as the Sermon on the Mount. Of course, they sound similar because the Lord Jesus, like most preachers, preached important themes multiple times.

Now, the opening word of the Sermon on the Plain is “blessed.” It’s important to remember that “blessed” is experiencing the supreme happiness of a right relationship with God. Blessed is the state of all who have repented of their sins, believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, been baptized for the forgiveness of sins, welcomed into God’s eternal kingdom, and are enjoying the eternal year of the Lord’s favor by grace.

The reason why this is so important to keep in mind is because if you forget what it means to be blessed, you’ll mistakenly read the Beatitudes as if they’re law. The law is what we are to do. But “blessed” is not a status we earn by what we do, but something we enjoy by grace. Blessed is the one whose sin is forgiven, Psalm 32 said.

The Beatitudes are gospel, not law. And if you get that backward, you’ll read them like requirements for entry into God’s kingdom rather than characteristics of those who possess the kingdom by grace. Thomas Schreiner and Wayne Grudem write, 

“The Beatitudes are not conditions for entering the kingdom of God but blessings pronounced on those who have already entered.” 

Sinclair Ferguson writes, 

“The Beatitudes, then, do not focus on what we are to do. Rather, they describe the blessings—the covenant grace and joy—that belong to those whose lives show the marks of the kingdom of God.”

Now, this doesn’t mean that we should simply read the Beatitudes and think, “Cool, that’s me. I’m blessed.” The Beatitudes represent who we are in Christ, but also who we want to grow up into more and more.

It’s also important to remember that each beatitude is coupled with a “woe,” which describes the corresponding curse that remains on those who do not enter Jesus’ kingdom and aren’t characterized by its blessings.

Now, as we go one by one through the Beatitudes and woes, I want you to ask yourself these two questions:

Does this beatitude compare favorably to characteristics I’m seeking to develop in my life?
Does this woe compare favorably to characteristics I’m seeking to remove from my life?

Let’s look at all four of them.

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)

Divinely happy are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of God. What does that mean? Well, let’s remember our theology. The Bible teaches that we are justified—declared right with God—by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, apart from works of the law. Therefore, we know that simply being materially poor doesn’t put someone into the blessed state of being right with God in Jesus’ kingdom. So why does Jesus say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God”?

Do you remember when Jesus preached his first sermon in Nazareth? Do you remember when he unrolled the Isaiah scroll to Book of Isaiah 61 and announced that he came to proclaim good news to the poor and declare that anyone could get in on God’s eternal year of favor through him? That sermon helps us understand this blessing. When Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor,” he was referring to spiritual poverty. It is divinely happy to be spiritually impoverished. Why? Because being spiritually poor means that you see the truth. Who you are before God is who you really are—nothing more or less. Being spiritually poor means seeing that before God you are bankrupt, that you carry an eternal debt of sin, and that you have nothing to offer him such that he should let you into his kingdom.

Being spiritually poor means that you’re done with you. You’ve brought your spiritual poverty to Christ and now rest in the riches of his grace. You look only to him to qualify you to be welcomed into God’s kingdom. Divinely happy are you who are poor because you possess the kingdom of God by grace. Now, it’s important to note that though spiritual poverty is what is primarily in view, there is a socio-economic element to all this. We see that when we turn to the woe that corresponds to the first beatitude.

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.” (Luke 6:24)

In Luke 18, a rich ruler came to Jesus and asked him what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him, leave your wealth behind and follow me. The rich man wouldn’t do it. Jesus looked at the rich ruler with sadness and said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” Why did Jesus say that? Is it because poverty is moral and wealth is immoral? No. Remember, we are justified before God by grace through faith in Christ, not by our economic standing.

It is very difficult for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God because it is so difficult for them to see their poverty of spirit. Wealthy people are used to being made much of. They are used to being served. They are used to being in charge. They are used to seeing what they have as theirs. They are used to seeing themselves as able. How difficult it is for such a person to admit their spiritual bankruptcy, confess their complete inability to enter the kingdom, bend the knee to King Jesus, and rest in the riches of his grace and merits to bring them into the kingdom of God.

And it is very difficult for those with wealth to enter God’s kingdom because it is very easy for them to believe that life consists in what they have, achieve, or experience—consoled now.

Jesus says woe to you who have wealth but are not rich toward God. You are as close to heaven as you are going to get. But my wealthy friends, with God all things are possible. Repent of trusting in your wealth and believing that life consists in what you have. Throw yourself on the merits of Christ to save you and be rich toward God.

As 1 Timothy 6:17-19 says *As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”

Jesus’ kingdom people are blessed. So cultivate spiritual poverty by setting your hope on God, being rich in good works, and generous to the point that it changes your life. Let’s turn to the second characteristic of Jesus’ new kingdom people…

“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.” (Luke 6:21a)

Being hungry now is very similar to being poor. Jesus’ kingdom people are blessed—divinely happy—because they know that this world and the things in it cannot ultimately satisfy them, and they are not even trying.

Jesus’ divinely happy people hunger in this world because they are waiting to be truly satisfied in the next.

What Jesus is getting at in this beatitude is contentment. Perhaps my favorite book in all the world outside the Bible is The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by the Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs. In it he captures the essence of what it means to be hungry and divinely happy in this world. He writes,

“A Christian comes to contentment not so much by way of addition as by way of subtraction. The world is taken out of his heart, and then he is content.”

Divinely happy kingdom people are content because this world has been taken out of their hearts and they have set their hope on being satisfied in the next.On the contrary, those who seek to be full in this world will hunger forever in hell. God’s curse remains on them.

“Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.” (Luke 6:25)

Are you still trying to get enough, experience enough, or achieve enough to be full now? Oh friend, you are cursed because it has never satisfied you now, and it will not satisfy you then. You will be empty forever. So let’s return to our two questions.

Is hunger what you are cultivating and developing in yourself? Are you seeking to take this world out of your heart, be content in Christ, and look forward to true satisfaction at the wedding supper of the Lamb?

On the contrary, are you trying to be full now, which will lead to eternal hunger? Jesus’ kingdom people are blessed because they are hungry now, but will be satisfied. That brings us to the third blessed kingdom characteristic.

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.” (Luke 6:21b)

Jesus is most definitely not saying, “Divinely happy are those with a heavy, depressive spirit.” Remember, divinely happy kingdom people are those who know they are poor and look away from themselves to God and his grace. On the contrary, those with a heavy, melancholy spirit are often absorbed in themselves.

So if Jesus doesn’t mean “blessed are the psychologically depressed,” what does he mean? Well, let’s look to Jesus. The truly blessed and most divinely happy person is the Lord Jesus. And in this world, he wept.

What did he weep over while on earth? In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus wept over Jerusalem and the coming judgment for their sin and unbelief. In the other Gospels, Jesus wept over death, which is the result of sin, and he wept ahead of his own death, when he would take the judgment that our sin deserves. So, taking all this together, we should conclude that Jesus is saying, “Blessed are those who weep over their sins and the judgment on the world.”

Why is it divinely happy to weep over sin and judgment?

First of all, because if you weep over your sins in true repentance, then you will laugh in heaven forever. But if you do not weep, then you will not be in heaven.

“Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.” (Luke 6:25)

Truly happy people weep over their sins now because they shall laugh on the day when sin is no more. Additionally, if you weep over coming judgment, then you will know the supreme happiness of sharing the good news of the gospel with others and laughing forever with those who repent and believe. You see, if you do not weep over judgment, you will never warn anyone to be saved from it. But if you weep and plead, some will be saved, and you will laugh with them forever.

I am so thankful that many years ago someone wept over the judgment coming to me and shared the only hope of rescue with me. We will laugh forever.

Are you cultivating a weeping or a laughing disposition now? Will you laugh later?

“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! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.” (Luke 6:22–23)

Jesus’ divinely happy kingdom people do not fit in this world. If you live a consistent Christian life—affirming what Christ affirms, denying what Christ denies, and seeking to speak the gospel to others with the aim of seeing them repent and believe—some people will love you for it, but others will hate you, exclude you, revile you, and spurn your name on his account.

But when that happens, your reward is great in heaven. Therefore, when it happens, it is a cause for celebration—leaping for joy, as Jesus says—not sorrow. When it happens, pause right then and there and thank God for counting you worthy to be treated poorly for Christ. Rejoice over the reward that is coming.

On the other hand, if you are the “Christian” who adjusts the teachings of Jesus to fit whatever group you happen to be in, each group will speak well of you. That is how people respond to people-pleasing false prophets. People will applaud you, but God will curse you.

“Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.” (Luke 6:26)

Whose reward are you seeking? What do you consider to be blessed?

Jesus’ kingdom people are blessed. It is all grace.

Let us live for his glory.