What do we call someone who is at a disadvantage and expected to lose? UNDERDOG! Underdogs are determined by outward appearances. Nothing about them says winner, and when you compare them to everyone else, it’s obvious that they don’t really stand a chance. One of the most famous underdog stories in the last few years was about a woman named Susan Boyle. Remember her?
She’s a little kooky. No one expects her to be a winner, and you can see it on their faces. Then she starts to sing, and the crowd goes wild! Well, there are spiritual underdogs, too. Sure, it’s easy to see the obvious spiritual winners: The Pope, Rick Warren, Billy Graham, Joyce Meyer, T.D. Jakes. That’s what a spiritual winner looks like. God is obviously going to use and bless people like them. If we are really honest I think we all have areas and moments in life where we feel like underdogs. But Jesus comes along and, like he often does, shakes things up and offers up some shocking words about underdogs.
These verses come from a section of Jesus’ teaching commonly called “the beatitudes.” That’s an old-fashioned way for sayings how someone is “blessed” or “fortunate.” It’s hard to translate into modern English though. “Blessed” doesn’t quite cover it – it’s more like telling someone “congratulations” or “You are so fortunate!” When we understand this, a modern version of what Jesus is saying here could sound like this:
v.3 Congratulations when you’re at the end of your rope, when you’re a big fat zero and are on the verge of giving up hope! God welcomes you into His kingdom.
v. 4 Congratulations when you suffer loss and sorrow and there is no joy! God will comfort you.
v. 5 Congratulations when you are powerless with no chance of making anything of yourself! God is going to give you everything.
v. 6 Congratulations when the world is against you and there is no way to fight for what is right! God will give you justice in the end.
Do these seem like qualities of people we would envy? Is this person someone we would consider fortunate? When we see people like this we say, “Man, there’s just no chance. He’s toast – a loser. How could such a person be part of what God is doing?” But, Jesus radically changes our ideas of who and what is important in the kingdom of God. Let’s look at these a little more closely:
v.3 Congratulations when you’re at the end of your rope, when you’re a big fat zero and are on the verge of giving up hope! God welcomes you into His kingdom.
Has this been you? Is this you? Do you feel as though you’re at the end of your rope and on the verge of giving up? Do you need to be rescued from your life? When I was a college sophomore, I knew this really nice guy. Let’s just call him Joe. Joe was a quiet guy, intelligent, sense of humor, and seemed to have everything going for him. You know that you might look like you have everything together but inside there is an area where you know that you are at the end of yourself. One afternoon after class I walked into his room and Joe is sitting on the bunk facing the door. As I stepped into the room he said, “I need to tell you something.” Then he pulls up his sleeves and I see dozens of cuts on his forearms, and he tells me that he cuts himself and that he needs help. He was at the end of his rope, feeling like a zero, and on the verge of giving up hope. But Jesus says, “You are important, you are invited to be in relationship with me!”
v. 4 Congratulations when you suffer loss and sorrow and there is no joy! God will comfort you.
Those who mourn are helpless to change their situation. We mourn because of a loss that has already happened and we can do nothing to alter it. Often times those who mourn are those who find no cause for joy. What we can do wait on God for comfort, and Jesus promises that comfort will come. Psalm 30 declares that sorrow may remain for a night but joy comes in the morning! Take comfort, for joy will come again. In God’s kingdom we find comfort because God is in control, God gets the last word! Life may be full of sorrow here, but the big picture belongs to Him. Then Jesus says:
v. 5 Congratulations when you are powerless with no chance of making anything of yourself! God is going to give you everything.
In the OT there are two major themes: the Exodus (when Moses led Israel out of Egypt) and the Exile (where Israel was conquered and carried off by other nations and waited to return to their homeland). Both themes are about slaves and captives receiving promised land where God brings about a reversal and gives life where there was only suffering and death. Jesus is talking about the same thing, people who are powerless on their own, at the mercy of the powerful people around them who control them. How often do we feel like we are at the mercy of others – we have little control or power into what is happening to us. In the game of chess, the front row of pieces are called pawns. They are the smallest, weakest pieces that have little value and are quickly sacrificed in order to save the bigger, more important pieces. Have you ever felt like a pawn in someone else’s game of chess? Yet Jesus says God does not see us that way. In His view, the powerless are now regarded as fortunate because they are going to receive what they have had coming to them all along. The main point is not that God is going to reward those who exhibit the virtue of meekness, but that when God rules, the weak and powerless will receive what God wants them to have. Similarly, Jesus finishes up these four beatitudes by saying:
v. 6 Congratulations when the world is against you and there is no way to fight for what is right! God will give you justice in the end.
Sometimes we are so powerless that we are not even able to stand up for justice. Injustice abounds in this world, in our lives and the lives of people around us. People need rescuing. A few years ago there was a story in the news about a Tampa mom whose husband was deployed in Afghanistan. She had been abusive to her teenagers for a while and finally something snapped and she shot and killed her two kids. Where is the justice for those children? They needed to be rescued. Too many of us need to be rescued from injustice.
Underdogs are determined by outward appearances. People who are have no hope. People who have no joy. People who have no power. People who fight against the world and never know justice. These are not the kind of people the world looks at and says, “Here’s a winner!” But the words of Jesus reflect Isaiah 61:1-8:
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and freedom to the prisoners; 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance; to comfort all who mourn, 3 to provide for those who mourn in Zion; to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair. And they will be called righteous trees, planted by the LORD, to glorify Him.
Underdogs to the world, but Jesus speaks of a reversal of circumstances for those who are unfortunate. These are undesirable conditions that God will one day make right. There is a song by the band Third Day that talks about people who are living an underdog kind of life – broken and hurting people. And the simple answer for the underdog is this – “Cry Out to Jesus.”
There is hope for the helpless, rest for the weary, love for the broken heart
There is grace and forgiveness, mercy and healing, He’ll meet you wherever you are Cry out to Jesus, cry out to Jesus
Is this you? Are you an underdog today? Are you at the end of your rope? Do you feel like a big fat zero, or on the verge of giving up hope! Do you suffer loss and sorrow and have no joy! Are you powerless and at the mercy of other rulers and masters? Is the world is against you and you just can’t find justice? You are not alone. To all of us underdogs, Jesus says, “I welcome you to be with Me!” To the rest of you who feel on top of the world – look around. Jesus calls you to take care of the underdog. How will you help people find the rescue they need? As God has blessed you, now be a blessing to others.
Chris Linzey 