"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT 2 BLESSINGS FROM THE LORD"
Luke 6:21 Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh.
Some explanatory thoughts and application:
1. If you look closely, you can see the word "Blessed is used 2 times in this verse, and there are 2 promises made also.
2. The first blessing is associated with hunger, and the second blessing is associated with weeping.
3. At first blush, these blessings do not seem normal. Who is blessed or happy when they are hungry, and who is blessed, when they are weeping? They don't seem to go together. But, they actually do go together.
4. The hunger Jesus is speaking of here, is not physical hunger, but spiritual hunger. It's speaking of when we come to realize our need for God, our need for grace, forgiveness, mercy, love, strength, etc, etc. It can be translated, to crave ardently, to to seek with eager desire. The promise Jesus gives to those who are hungry for the things mentioned, hungry for God, is that God will fill them with Himself, with His grace, with His mercy, with His forgiveness, with His love, with His many blessings.
5. The word weep, means to mourn, to lament, to bewail, to weep as a sign of pain and grief because of some matter. There are many things that can cause us to weep and mourn. But, our God promises to bring laughter into our lives.
Psalms 30:5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
6. Most likely, in this sermon of Jesus's ( which this verse is part of ) He is speaking of the person who comes to the place in their life where they are hungry for salvation, for God to save them, to receive God's righteousness, because they have come to realize that apart from Him, they cannot have what they need. Man cannot save Himself. Jesus is saying, I will fill you if you will place your faith in me. I will fill you will all that you need to be saved, and to become my child. "I'm the filler of hungry souls"
7. As to weeping and laughter. Well, it's the same basic spiritual reality as above. When a person truly comes to themselves, they come under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, there is a whole lot of weeping that goes on. It's a weeping over their sin. It's a weeping because they have come to realize they have sinned against God and against man. But, when the "weeper" places their faith in Christ, the tears turn into joy and laughter. The word laugh here means, "as a sign of joy or satisfaction" That's what the person receives who comes to Christ. Joy and satisfaction, their sins are forgiven.
8. One last thought here. These truths are not only for the person as they come to Christ for salvation, but they are real and true all through our lives here on earth. There is much hunger and weeping from time to time. And, the Lord is faithful to fill us, and He is faithful to bring us joy after our weeping. But, eventually, we will be filled with seeing Him in heaven, and laughing as never before, ( remember, laugh, means joy, or satisfaction. ) How joyful and satisfied will we be in heaven.
A prayer:
Father, You are so faithful, and You are so giving, and You are so completely able to provide what we need in our lives. You are the one who has filled us with eternal life, salvation, acceptance by Christ, forgiven of our sins. You are the one who places our tears in Your bottle (See Ps 56:8* You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.) Thank You for Your blessings in our lives. We love You, in Jesus name, amen.
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia
