Introduction: Sermon on the Plain

Luke 6:20-26New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Then he looked up at his disciples and said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,
    for yours is the kingdom of God.
“Blessed are you who are hungry now,
    for you will be filled.
“Blessed are you who weep now,
    for you will laugh.

“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

“But woe to you who are rich,
    for you have received your consolation.
“Woe to you who are full now,
    for you will be hungry.
“Woe to you who are laughing now,
    for you will mourn and weep.

“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

We need to go back a couple of verses before we dive into what is arguably Jesus' most famous teaching moment.

You've heard of the Sermon on the Mount?

Well, this isn't it - though it sure sounds like it.

You may already know that Matthew and Luke's accounts of Jesus' teaching is different in some respects. (blessed are the poor in spirit vs. blessed are the poor, for example).

But even before we get there, the location is the first big difference.

Here we don't have the Sermon on the Mount, but instead, the Sermon on the Plain.

Jesus in Luke doesn't go up and preach on a mountain top. Instead, Luke tells us a couple of verses earlier that: "(Jesus) came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon."

Jesus came down.

Jesus stood on a level place.

And then began to preach...starting with the word "blessed."

Jesus stood level with the people - with the poor; with the hungry; with the grieving - and called them blessed.

Something to work through this week...

Lord, teach me what being blessed truly means. Amen.