"And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor. And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed. And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all. And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets."
In today's quote, Jesus healed the gathered masses and He promised the weak and unwanted, who believe in Him, that they, through faith, will inherit all the good things of both heaven and earth. He also warned "the rich" that what they have will be taken from them.
I believe when Jesus mentioned "the rich" He was not so much talking about those who simply had a lot of money, but instead was talking about the rich religious leaders of the Jews who had deceptively abused the Law to enrich themselves at the expense of the common Jews.
I say this because of what Jesus said in the very last sentence of the quote, "Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets."
The "false prophets" were the historical leaders of the Jews who had also placed themselves in positions of authority so as to abuse the Law and gain wealth from it. They too had been praised, and more or less worshiped, by the common Jews of that era.
A man or woman who cares more for their own wealth than they do about the welfare of their brothers and sisters, and who place their own worth above God, by they Jews or otherwise, are destined to lose all they have in the end.
Death is the great equalizer, wealth will mean nothing when, "As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." (Romans 14:11-12 in part.)
Those of us, whom have by faith, accepted the saving grace of God, are guaranteed that for every penny we give, in the name of Jesus Christ toward the well being of someone else, we will receive a return one hundred times greater than what we gave, "There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life." (Mark 10:29-30 in part.)
This lesson instructs Christian people to rise above greed and to stay diligent in caring for the poor and weak among us.
"And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. (1 Corinthians 13:3,4, 8, and 13)~
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