And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way. (Lk 6:20-26)
Jesus came to establish the kingdom of God. All types of people were trying to be members of this or Jesus was opening the doors of the kingdom open to all people. People had different expectations from Jesus. He clearly voiced his views on the people who would be part of this movement.
He gave four blessing (promises) and four woes (warnings). They were in line with what we find in the book of Deuteronomy. There (in the book of Deuteronomy) we find long lists of blessings for those who obeyed the law and curses for those who did not obey the law. This was the part of the covenant, the agreement between the people and God. Here Jesus gives his blessings and warnings to the new people of Israel.
The blessings and warnings of Jesus seem to be a radical version of the laws. This new version seems to put things upside-down or rather we might say right-side-up. The poor, the hungry, those who weep and those who are hated are blessed. The kingdom which Jesus has brought in is putting the right-side-up. God takes the side of the suffering and he dwells with the suffering.
