Troublesome Topic: The Blessings and Curses of the New Covenant

Most readers of the New Testament are familiar with what we call the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-12. These are blessings for those who follow the principles of God’s New Covenant. The parallel passage in Luke chapter 6 only includes 4 blessings (instead of 9), but it also includes 4 curses. Each curse stands opposite one of the blessings, thus giving the same appearance as other covenant documents of old, including the Former Covenant. In fact, just like the Former Covenant, the blessings and curses are listed separately.

Luke 6:20

Translation

Blessed

are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

Paraphrase

The poor have had their lives extended in length and increased in influence because God has conferred His favor and His special provision on them; therefore the kingdom of God belongs to those of you who are poor.

Luke 6:21

Translation

Blessed are those who hunger now, for you will be completely satisfied.

Blessed are those who right now are mourning out loud, for you will laugh.

Paraphrase

Those who are hungry right now will have their lives increased, expanded and filled because God has conferred on you his favor; the final result will be that, instead of being hungry all the time, you will get fat! Those who are weeping unconsolably right now because of deep loss will have that loss filled to overflowing, then you will laugh out loud.

Luke 6:22

Translation

Blessed are you when men shall hate you, when they exclude you, and defame you, and banish your name as evil on account of the Son of Man,

Paraphrase

Consider yourself full to overflowing when men hate you, when they don’t want to be seen with you, when they say the worst kind of things about you, and they ban your name from public use because your name is considered a bad word, and they do all this to you on account of your relationship with me,

Luke 6:23

Translation

Rejoice in that day, leap, skip and bound for joy, because, look, your reward is great in heaven. In these same ways the forefathers

treated the prophets.

Paraphrase

That is when you should rejoice; you should leap and skip and bound for joy because, watch this, your reward in heaven has already been accumulated and boy is it a big one. And remember, this is nothing new, the ancestors treated the prophets the same way.

Luke 6:24

Translation

But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort.

Paraphrase

But calamity is coming on you who are rich because you are receiving right now all the encouragement you’re going to get.

Luke 6:25

Translation

Woe to you who are now filled up, for you will be famished.

Woe to those who are laughing now, for you will wail and weep.

Paraphrase

Watch out because calamity will come to those of you who have had your tanks filled up and you are currently full to the top, because later you will yearn for food and not find any. Watch out because calamity will come to those of you who are laughing out loud right now because you will wail loudly for your deep loss and you will weep unconsolably.

Luke 6:26

Translation

Woe to you when all men speak well of you; these are the ways the forefathers likewise treated the false prophets.

Paraphrase

Watch out because calamity will come to you if you keep everyone happy and everyone speaks well of you. That is exactly what the false prophets wanted and what the people of old gave them – but trust me, you don’t want get what the false prophets had coming to them.

It should be said that there is no spiritual value to being poor or rich, hungry or full, etc. However, in the context of ancient times, and to some degree today, the rich were often rich at the expense of the poor. In Jesus’ day it was well-known who the generous wealthy were, and who were wealthy and stingy. Today it is a bit harder to know that, what with giving online. We can be sure that everything Jesus blessed in these statements had a positive spiritual condition behind it, and everything Jesus cursed in these statements included some element of evil.

If we look at the teachings of Jesus we notice that these blessings and curses fit perfectly with His primary emphasis. Jesus was constantly turning the traditional understanding of things on its head. He consistently pointed out how man’s way of thinking had come to be in conflict with God’s way of doing things. To be part of this covenant one had to lay aside the normal human tendencies and take up the new thinking process which resulted in a new lifestyle. What Jesus taught was a radical change of heart. Someone who did not submit to such a radical transformation would only reap the punishment of a holy God.

The Sermon on the Mount ends with Jesus giving a short illustration that I believe is also a statement of blessings or curses. It is a short parable about building your house on the right foundation rather than the wrong foundation. If you do things God’s way, which is laborious and costly, you will reap many blessings; if you do things man’s way, which is soft, easy and cheap, you will reap only curses.

The next lesson in all three series on Covenants is: The Signs of the New Covenant

Footnotes

1

The Greek word “blessed” comes from a word meaning “to make or become large or long, to extend.” This could be an extension of life or an increase in influence or some other benefit. Think how radical that sounds, that the poor have increased influence in society. This extending of life or increase in influence was always tied to God’s conferring his favor and special provision on someone. Yes, the word can also be translated “happy,” but doing so robs it of its connection to the favor and provision of God and the resulting “fullness.”

2

What I have rendered as “completely satisfied” can mean “fed, filled, satisfied, satiated, fattened, gorged.”

3

Notice that in this verse and in verse 26 it says, “the forefathers,” not “our forefathers.” It is as if Jesus did not want to claim them as His ancestors.

4

This is the same word that is used of the Holy Spirit when he is called our “comforter.” He is the one who is called to come along side us and give us encouragement and comfort.