Church Fathers Commentary Luke 6:20-23

"And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed [are] 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 reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man`s sake. Rejoice in that day, and leap [for joy]: for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in the same manner did their fathers unto the prophets." — Luke 6:20-23 (ASV)

St. Cyril of Alexandria: After the ordination of the Apostles, the Savior directed His disciples to the newness of the evangelical life.

St. Ambrose of Milan: But as He was about to speak His divine oracles, He began to rise higher. Although He stood in a lowly place, it is said that He lifted up His eyes. What is it to lift up the eyes, but to reveal a more hidden light?

The Venerable Bede: And although He speaks in a general way to all, He lifts up His eyes more especially toward His disciples. For it follows, "on his disciples," so that to those who received the word, listening attentively with their hearts, He might more fully reveal the light of its deep meaning.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Now, Luke mentions only four blessings, while Matthew mentions eight. However, these four are contained in those eight, and those eight are in these four. For one has embraced, as it were, the four cardinal virtues, while the other has revealed the mystical number in the eight. For just as the eighth day signifies the fulfillment of our hope, so the eighth blessing signifies the completion of the virtues.

Each Evangelist has placed the blessing of poverty first, for it is first in order and the purest of the virtues. For he who has despised the world will reap an eternal reward. Can anyone obtain the reward of the heavenly kingdom who, overcome by the desires of this world, has no power to escape them? Hence, it follows that He said, Blessed are the poor.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: In the Gospel according to St. Matthew, it is said, Blessed are the poor in spirit, so that we understand the "poor in spirit" to be one with a modest and humbled mind. Hence our Savior says, Learn from me, for I am meek and lowly of heart. But Luke says, Blessed are the poor, without adding "in spirit," calling those poor who despise riches. For it was fitting for those who were to preach the doctrines of the saving Gospel to have no covetousness, but to have their affections set on higher things.

St. Basil the Great: But not everyone oppressed with poverty is blessed; only he who has preferred the commandment of Christ to worldly riches. For many are poor in their possessions yet most covetous in their disposition. These are not saved by their poverty but are condemned by their desires. Nothing involuntary deserves a blessing, because all virtue is defined by free will. Blessed, then, is the poor man for being a disciple of Christ, who endured poverty for us. For the Lord Himself has fulfilled every work that leads to happiness, leaving Himself as an example for us to follow.

Eusebius of Caesarea: When the celestial kingdom is considered in its many levels of blessing, the first step belongs to those who, by divine instinct, embrace poverty. He made His first disciples to be such people. Therefore, He says on their behalf, For yours is the kingdom of heaven, directly addressing those who were present, upon whom He also lifted up His eyes.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: After commanding them to embrace poverty, He then crowns with honor the things that follow from it. Those who embrace poverty often find themselves in want of the necessities of life, scarcely able to get food. He does not permit His disciples to be fainthearted on this account, but says, Blessed are you who hunger now.

The Venerable Bede: That is, blessed are you who chasten your body and subject it to bondage, who in hunger and thirst pay attention to the word, for then you will receive the fullness of heavenly joys.

St. Gregory of Nazianzus: But in a deeper sense, just as those who eat bodily food have different appetites according to the nature of the food, so it is with the food of the soul. Some desire what depends on the opinion of men, while others desire that which is essentially and by its own nature good. Hence, according to Matthew, blessed are those who consider righteousness as food and drink. By righteousness, I mean not a particular virtue but a universal one, and he who hungers for it is said to be blessed.

The Venerable Bede: He plainly instructs us that we ought never to consider ourselves sufficiently righteous, but should always desire a daily increase in righteousness. The Psalmist shows us that we cannot attain its perfect fullness in this life, but only in the world to come: I shall be satisfied when your glory shall be made manifest. Hence it follows, For you shall be filled.

Gregory of Nyssa: To those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, He promises an abundance of the things they desire. For none of the pleasures sought in this life can satisfy those who pursue them. But the pursuit of virtue alone is followed by that reward, which implants a joy in the soul that never fails.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Poverty is followed not only by a lack of things that bring delight, but also by sorrow and a dejected look. Hence it follows, Blessed are you that weep. He blesses those who weep—not those who merely shed tears from their eyes (for this is common to believers and unbelievers when sorrow befalls them), but rather He calls those blessed who shun a careless life, entangled with sin and devoted to carnal pleasures, and who, out of hatred for all worldly things, refuse such enjoyments, almost to the point of weeping.

St. John Chrysostom: Godly sorrow is a great thing, and it produces a repentance that leads to salvation. Hence St. Paul, when he had no failings of his own to weep for, mourned for the failings of others. Such grief is the source of gladness, as it follows, For you shall laugh. For even if we do no good to those for whom we weep, we do good to ourselves.

He who weeps for the sins of others will not fail to weep for his own; and what is more, he will not easily fall into sin. Let us not constantly relax in this short life, so that we do not sigh in the life that is eternal. Let us not seek pleasures that lead to lamentation and great sorrow, but let us embrace the sorrow that brings forth pardon. We often find the Lord sorrowing, but never laughing.

St. Basil the Great: But He promises laughter to those who weep—not the sound of laughter from the mouth, but a gladness that is pure and unmixed with anything of sorrow.

The Venerable Bede: He, then, who for the sake of the riches of Christ's inheritance, for the bread of eternal life, and for the hope of heavenly joys, desires to suffer weeping, hunger, and poverty, is blessed. But much more blessed is he who does not shrink from maintaining these virtues in adversity. Hence it follows, Blessed are you when men shall hate you.

For although men may hate, their wicked hearts cannot injure the heart that is beloved by Christ. It follows, And when they shall separate you. Let them separate and expel you from the synagogue; Christ will find you and strengthen you.

It follows, And shall reproach you. Let them reproach the name of the Crucified; He Himself raises up, together with Himself, those who have died with Him and makes them sit in heavenly places. It follows, And cast out your name as evil.

Here he means the name of Christian, which Jews and Gentiles, as much as they could, frequently tried to erase from memory and cast out, when there was no cause for hatred except for the Son of Man. For in truth, those who believed in the name of Christ wished to be called after His name. Therefore, He teaches that they are to be persecuted by men but are to be blessed beyond men. As it follows, Rejoice you in that day, and weep for joy, for behold your reward is great in heaven.

St. John Chrysostom: "Great" and "little" are measured by the dignity of the speaker. Let us then inquire who promised this great reward. If it were a prophet or an apostle, what he considered great would have been little. But now it is the Lord, in whose hands are eternal treasures and riches surpassing human imagination, who has promised a great reward.

St. Basil the Great: Again, "great" sometimes has an absolute meaning, as "the heaven is great" and "the earth is great." But sometimes it has a relative meaning, as in "a great ox" or "a great horse," when comparing two things of a like nature. I think, then, that a great reward will be stored up for those who suffer reproach for Christ’s sake—not great in comparison to things within our power, but great in itself because it is given by God.

St. John of Damascus: Those things which can be measured or numbered are described with definite terms, but that which, due to its unique excellence, surpasses all measure and number, we call "great" and "much" indefinitely, as when we say that great is the long-suffering of God.

Eusebius of Caesarea: He then fortifies His disciples against the attacks of their adversaries, which they would suffer as they preached throughout the whole world, adding, For in like manner did their fathers to the prophets.

St. Ambrose of Milan: For the Jews persecuted the prophets even to death.

The Venerable Bede: Those who speak the truth often suffer persecution, yet the ancient prophets did not, for that reason, turn away from preaching the truth out of fear.

St. Ambrose of Milan: In that He says, Blessed are the poor, you have temperance, which abstains from sin, tramples upon the world, and does not seek empty pleasures. In Blessed are they that hunger, you have righteousness, for he who hungers suffers with the hungry, and by suffering with him, he gives to him; by giving, he becomes righteous, and his righteousness endures forever. In Blessed are they that weep now, you have prudence, which is to weep for temporal things and to seek those which are eternal. In Blessed are you when men hate you, you have fortitude—not a fortitude that deserves hatred for a crime, but one that suffers persecution for the faith.

For in this way you will attain the crown of suffering if you disregard the favor of men and seek that which is from God.

Temperance, therefore, brings with it a pure heart; righteousness, mercy; prudence, peace; fortitude, meekness. The virtues are so joined and linked to one another that he who has one seems to have many. The Saints each have their particular virtues, but the virtue that is most abundant receives the richest reward.

What hospitality in Abraham, what humility! But because he excelled in faith, he gained preeminence above all others. For every person, there are many rewards because there are many incentives to virtue, but the virtue that is most prominent in a good action receives the most exceptional reward.