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Luke 6:21 meaning

Jesus’s second statement focuses on the path to gain and desire to possess social harmony and righteousness. His third statement focuses on weeping as an expression of repentance. 

The parallel Gospel account for Luke 6:21 is Matthew 5:6.

Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied (v 21a).

With few exceptions, hunger was a condition that was universally experienced throughout the ancient world. The people living in Judea were certainly not exempt. Without the aid of modern agriculture or refrigeration, food production and storage were constantly unstable and at the mercy of drought, famine, and war. Followers of Jesus (like most everyone else) would likely have experienced real pain from hunger more than once in their lives. When we are hungry, we think of little else than having that pain satisfied. It is constantly upon our minds, and we seek food relentlessly.

Luke’s Gospel account differs from Matthew’s in that Matthew adds “hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:6), while Luke’s simply says hunger.

There could be several reasons for this difference.

First, Luke could have been sincere in his emphasis on the physical nature of hunger as a present need for the disciples. To his point, we already know from the previous chapter that five of the twelve disciples “left everything and followed Him” (Luke 5:11). This would possibly have put them in a difficult economic situation.

A second reason is that Matthew’s Jewish audience was concerned with trying to continually meet the religious standards to achieve and maintain righteousness set by the Pharisees. Luke’s Greek Gentile audience did not share the same daily pressure from the religious authorities.

And a third reason was that Luke again, contrary to conventional wisdom and Greek philosophy, emphasized how one could attain being Blessed/Makarios—the Good Life without earthly goods—even goods as basic as food.

In any case, it is likely that Jesus was using hunger as a poignant metaphor for a deeper spiritual reality. For comparison, Luke’s parallel “Woe” statement reads:

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

Looking at Matthew’s Gospel account, we can clearly see that Jesus was not merely talking here about a physical hunger for nourishing food (Matthew 5:6). He was talking about a spiritual hunger for life-sustaining righteousness (social harmony)—to pursue righteousness relentlessly, as though our life depended upon it. Because in the sense of gaining Makarios, it does depend on it.

In the Old Testament, righteousness meant keeping an oath or abiding to a covenant agreement. The primary requirement of fulfilling most covenants was for the vassal to faithfully serve the ruler or suzerain. In God’s covenant with Israel, He was the Great Suzerain, and the nation Israel was the vassal. Righteousness came from fulfilling the demands of the Law, obedience to the commands of the Great Ruler. God’s righteousness was demonstrated throughout the Old Testament by keeping His promises (2 Chronicles 12:1-6; Psalm 7:3-17; Jeremiah 9:23-24).

Righteousness is best depicted as a social harmony that exists when two or more parties honor their agreements—both externally (letter of the law) and internally (spirit of the law). God always keeps His word. When we obey His commands, there is righteousness. Righteousness is the key to gaining Makarios, which is why Jesus tells us to seek it as though we are seeking food while we are dying of hunger.

Paul’s letter to the Romans addresses the question “What is righteousness and how is it obtained?” In that respect, Romans is similar to Plato’s “Republic,” which was an influential work written several centuries earlier, foundational to Greek philosophy. Many of Luke’s Greek readers would have been familiar with Plato’s ideas. In the “Republic,” Plato explains Socrates’s conclusion that righteousness, or justice, is when everyone in the city state does what they do best for the benefit of all. Paul reaches a similar conclusion, stating in Romans 12 that righteousness looks like a body where all the body parts are playing their part well, in harmony with their design.

Where Paul and Plato differ is in their analysis of the Head. Paul states that there is only one Head, and it is Christ. Believers are righteous when they serve with their gifts in obedience to the Head, the “brain” of the Body of Christ, which is Christ. Plato’s head is a subset of fallible humans, whom he fantasizes will have a noble nature. True righteousness, or justice, is social harmony in obedience to the commands of Jesus. This would be the connection that Luke is trying to make for his audience.

Jesus’s disciples would have known that righteousness can come through faith as it did to Abraham (Genesis 15:6). But in this sermon, Jesus is not talking about being made righteous by faith in the sight of God, to be “justified” as Paul will later describe (Romans 3-4).

To learn more about righteousness, see The Bible Says article: “What is Righteousness?

The righteousness (social harmony) that Jesus is describing is a prevailing justice that flows into daily life for the covenant people when the Law is adhered to and kept. A society flourishes when a group of self-governing individuals respect and follow the rule of law toward one another. When the rule of law is followed voluntarily, the community doesn’t have to spend time, energy, and wealth guarding what is theirs from robbers or tyrants. When a community follows the rule of law because they choose to do so, it frees them to invest their energy into being productive. The things they produce and the services they provide are a blessing not only to them but to the whole community.

Human law and government are imperfect. Even our best systems are corrupted by selfish and greedy men who lust for power. Such corruption results in unending cries for righteousness. While these cries are real and right, they are often subverted and hijacked by equally greedy and crafty men. The promised harmony and righteousness are not much better than the corruption they were meant to replace. The end result is disappointment and cynicism, where no one is satisfied. Those who are full of their own righteousness will thirst and starve.

Jesus and His kingdom offer true righteousness, which is what we must hunger for: “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). As God, Jesus is the perfect King. His Law is the perfect Law of love and liberty (Romans 3:8; James 1:25). His reign is perfectly just.

Jesus’s message here is that humankind needs to stop hungering for broken righteousness according to the lies of the world systems (or their own faulty systems of righteousness). He promises that those who hunger for His righteousness will be satisfied. These are the ones who are Makarios.

The social harmony His Kingdom provides is unlike anything the world offers. It is the byproduct of living with a heart that loves our neighbor as we love ourself. It is the fruit of living with self-governing responsibility with the perfect law of liberty in a way that is eager to bless and serve others (Galatians 5:13-14). This is true social harmony. This is justice. This is the righteousness that nourishes and sustains society. Those who shall live in such a society are Makarios.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh (v 21b).

Jesus’s third statement is also paradoxical. In the first statement, the servants are the rulers in the kingdom of God. Jesus now says that Makarios (happy and fulfilled) are those who weep now. Weeping is an outpouring of grief and sorrow. Weeping is typically associated with the opposite of happiness or fulfillment (Makarios). It results from being profoundly disappointed with surrounding circumstances.

Matthew’s Gospel uses the similar word “mourn” to describe this idea (Matthew 5:4). Luke also uses “mourn” in his parallel “Woe” statement:

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

What then does Jesus mean when he says that Makarios are those who weep now?

As in the previous verse, Luke could be emphasizing present unfortunate life circumstances that would cause someone to weep now. Based on context of the previous verses and the spiritual nature of Makarios, it is likely that he is also alluding to a more fundamental spiritual reality represented by weeping and laughing.

This is likely a zooming-in on the attitude already introduced in Luke 6:20. To become poor (“in spirit”) requires that we recognize our neediness, and that we empty ourselves of the deception that we are self-reliant (Matthew 5:3). It requires that we see our limitations with the eyes of reality. It requires us to see our inherent sinful state. To see ourselves as we actually are. When we see ourselves truly, it ought to lead us to weep because we fall so far short (Romans 3:23). This weeping is the weeping of self-awareness. It is the setting aside of rationalizations and comparisons to other people, and recognizing our standing in the sight of God, our Creator.

An example might be a painful realization someone has when they recognize that much of their life has been a mistake. Weeping is a sign of regret and disappointment. It is an integral part of changing perspectives from what is not true to what is true. It leads to repentance, which begins with a change of heart. When people recognize that they have been chasing the wrong pursuits, deeply investing themselves in finite things (i.e. earthly kingdoms), and by extension have not invested themselves in what is good, true, and eternal, weeping is a proper response.

But Jesus consoles those who weep now (in this life), for they shall laugh in the future. Having repented of self-reliance and self-deception, they are now free to live in reality. They can now seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. This provides great comfort because it makes the pain worthwhile. The agony of seeing our own neediness opens the door for us to reach the fulfillment (Makarios) for which our souls long.

Those who weep over their sinful condition have rightfully recognized that the Kingdom of God is at hand and repented (changed their ways). The rewards they will receive in the kingdom of God will allow them to laugh. This promise is in future tense. The sufferings they endure which cause weeping in this life shall be redeemed into a great comfort for them when the Messiah’s kingdom is fully realized (Romans 8:18; 8:28; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18). While this promise is future tense in this passage, it is also a comfort in this life, through the eyes of faith that the promise will be fulfilled (2 Timothy 1:12).

Contrasting those who weep are those who elevate self. People who pretend they are better than they are. This leads to division and coercion. It creates tyranny of one person over another, in defiance of God’s reign. It is rooted in a demand for control. The irony is that those who seek to rule will not rule in the kingdom that is to come, and those who serve others shall inherit the right to reign in harmony with God. Those who mock God shall reap what they are sowing, which will include dissension and strife. This will not lead to fulfillment (Makarios).

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