What does Luke 6:22 mean?
Christ promises blessings for four representative hardships. In the first three, people are beset by poverty, hunger, and weeping (Luke 6:20–21). Here, we learn that those hardships are caused by persecution against those who follow Jesus. Scripture tells believers to expect persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). Jesus explains that if He is persecuted, His followers should expect the same treatment (John 15:20).Jesus lists four ways His followers may be persecuted. To hate is to "have a strong aversion to." To be excluded means to be ostracized, up to and including being excommunicated from the synagogue. That could certainly lead to poverty if the disciple was Jewish and relied on the Jewish community for trade and to buy food. To revile means fault-finding in a degrading or insulting way, bringing shame. To "spurn your name as evil" means to declare the person's character is entirely depraved and without value. During the Last Supper, Jesus explains His followers should expect such treatment because they follow Him, and their enemies do not know the God who sent Him (John 15:18–24).
"Son of Man" seems to be Jesus' favorite description of Himself. At its most basic, it just means a human male (Ezekiel 33:2). In the context of the kingdom of God, however, the Son of Man is a prophetic figure. Ancient of Days gives Him authority over all the earth for eternity (Daniel 7:13–14). Despite the persecution that leaves Christ-followers poor, hungry, and mournful (Luke 6:20–21), they chose to follow the Son of God who will reign over all the earth.
Matthew 5:11 is quite similar: "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account."
