Woe to you who are rich…Woe to you who are full…Woe to you who laugh…Woe to you, when all people speak well of you

Introduction

The woes definitely help us keep the beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount in perspective. They show that a marked contrast exists between the new covenant saint and unbelievers. They also show that we must read the Sermon and understand it in light of man’s fundamental need of Christ. The Sermon is not simply an ethical code for the here and now. It is a call to repentance on a macro scale. It is a proclamation of man’s sinfulness and famine for righteousness, of the provisions of mercy, protection, comfort, community, family, humanity, righteousness, and satisfaction that come to us through Jesus Christ. These are the blessings of the new covenant saint; they flow from the work of the new covenant Lord by His life, death, and resurrection.

In the background of the bright and sunny beatitudes lurk the dark and cold woes. The sobering truth is that blessing or beatitude implies cursing. "Blessed are you" implies "woe to you." Matthew does not record these "woes" in relation to the beatitudes but Luke does record them in a fourfold contrast between blessing and cursing (Lk. 6:20-23, blessings; 24-26, woes).

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. ²¹ "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. ²² "Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! ²³ Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.

24 "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. ²⁵ "Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. "Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. ²⁶ "Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

The blessings and the woes interrelate and this interrelation helps us understand each more fully. In addition, the Gospel of Matthew will help us understand the Gospel of Luke. We can emphasize this interrelation by putting the blessing and the woes together and adding insights from Matthew in parentheses:

Blessed are you who are poor (in spirit), for yours is the kingdom of God.

But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.

Blessed are you who are hungry (for righteousness), for you shall be satisfied.

Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.

 

Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall (be comforted and) laugh.

Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

 

Blessed are you when people hate you (for righteousness)…on account of the Son of Man!

Woe to you, when all people speak well of you

In this light, we will consider the four woes and their application to saints and sinners of the new covenant (we will cover explanation of the woes and application of the woes).

1A. Explanation of the four woes

1B. Woe to you who are rich

Reference to the rich has many nuances. It refers to people who are literally wealthy because they "have received" their consolation (Lk. 6:24) and they are full "now" (v. 25). Moreover, there is correspondence here to treasures on earth (Mat. 6:19) and devotion to money (Mat. 6:24). Jesus is speaking about "filthy lucre," the green stuff, and material possessions.

However, wealth per se is not in view. Being rich is not wrong; money is not evil. A woe attaches itself to those who find their comfort and consolation in money and in the material things money buys. The rich in view are those that love, seek, and find consolation in the things of earth. From Matthew’s account, we can infer that they are "rich in spirit." That is, a mindset dominates their inner spirit; they trust in material possessions. They have comfort when the money is flowing and growing. Money consoles and comforts them in life’s journey. They do not seek consolation in the gospel. Therefore, Jesus says, "Woe to you, woe to you who are rich without God in your life." Does what you possess govern your comfort in life day by day? If so, then you stand under a divine curse and you are actually poor beyond words.

If you are rich, but you do not know God then you are poor indeed. You are poor in spiritual things. You have no riches toward God. You have no treasures in heaven. To be rich without communion with God means that you do not have a single thing, not one "thing you own" is yours. You temporally have the things that belong to someone else; you have nothing of the earth either now or in the future. The words "have" and "own" do not actually apply to you. Actually, you have nothing and the future promises you nothing; there is no gain for your work on earth. All is vanity and vexation of spirit. You are just chasing after the wind.

In principle, the rich serve the creature instead of the Creator; they trust in riches or material things. Accordingly, the non-rich may be guilty of this same sin. In principle, the woe applies to all who find comfort in money and possessions and not in the gospel of Christ (money is not the root of evil but the love of money is).

2B. Woe to you who are full now

On the level of material things, this verse indicates that the comforts of life are subjectively experienced and they bring satisfaction. The first reference is to those who are satisfied by the fullness they possess so they feel no need or lack. However, more is at stake here then a happy materialism. This has to have righteousness in view in some way as comparison with Matthew’s account shows. Foolishly, they have no sense of need for the righteousness of God that lasts forever but they think they are righteous.

How is the unbeliever "full of righteousness" but in a sense that brings a divine woe? This refers to those who do not see or acknowledge the true state of affairs of the heart. They do not recognize their deep and horrible sinfulness. They are righteous in their own eyes. They think they see but they are blind. They are like the prodigal son’s elder brother who said, "I have done all you asked" (Has he really done all? Have any who are rich in self-righteousness actually done all?). They are like the publican in prayer, "I am glad I am not like the dirty rotten sinners that I rub elbows with every day." They trust in the flesh and thus in externals of pious ritual, religious activism, and works of the law (cf. Phil. 3:4-6). Washed on the outside they remain dirty on the inside (like a cup from the dishwasher that is sparkling on the outside and filled with crud on the inside). Classically, they honor God with their lips but their hearts are far from Him. Ignorant of God’s righteousness, they go about to establish their own (Rom. 10:3).

In other words, they are full of themselves finding satisfaction with themselves by hiding from themselves when they look in the mirror. They put themselves behind their backs so they cannot see themselves. They deny what they know deep down in their hearts. They know God and they run away from Him in unrighteousness suppressing the truth they know. Nevertheless, they are not openly wicked. No, they have a piety that is steeped in religious platitudes mixed with the Bible. The result is a compound drug that soothes the conscience (by escapism) while it damns the soul.

Jesus says, "Woe to you who are full of self-righteousness but lacking in the righteousness of God. You shall be hungry as a permanent state of affairs. With this heart, you will never be satisfied. You will never taste the meal of joy and rejoicing in the acceptance of sinners." No self-righteous person will enter the family of God or the gates of heaven. This hunger will abide forever when they know the righteousness of God in judgment.

3B. Woe to you who laugh

In one sense, those who laugh not only have the comforts and possessions of life, they enjoy them. Laughter may earmark the life of those who are rich without Christ as Lord of their lives and who are full of themselves and of a sense of their own righteousness. They may deceive themselves by the thought that they have righteousness by which to barter with God and merit entrance into heaven. However, Jesus says, "You shall mourn and weep. Lacking the righteousness of Christ as your rock and shield from the wrath of God, you shall experience weeping and gnashing of teeth under the severity of eternal punishment" (as goats in the last day, Matt. 25:32, 46). They are not children of God. They have no adoption or redemption of the body to come in the not yet of the kingdom. There is good reason for them to fear death, though they tend to suppress such emotion. Death of the body, its pain is a token of the wage of sin that is a sobering reality both now and with more to come in the unending future. When people die of a painful disease, we say that they are now at peace. This is only true if they mourn over their sins on this side of the grave; it is only true if they are children of God in the kingdom of God now.

4B. Woe to you when people speak well of you

It is enigmatic to state that you stand under a woe "when people say good things about you" with no insults or persecutions. Why a woe for something that sounds so good? The point has to be that there is no opposition or persecution for righteousness sake. The rich, who are full of their own righteousness, and who laugh and enjoy the good things of the earth are not devoted to Christ or to His righteousness. This state of peace without conflict is not a true peace with God (like the false prophets who cried, "Peace, peace" when there was no peace.). This harmony (without righteousness) is fleeting, and leads the way to eternal death. Such peace is surely a false and deceptive peace that will yield a miserable state of eternal unrest.

2A. Application of the four woes

I want to open up application of the four woes by asking the following question: "where does thoughtful meditation on the woes take us?" Breaking that question down we might ask, "If we look back over this unit of teaching given by the Lord Jesus, what stands out by in effect hitting us in the face and what other things come through the percolator of careful reflection?"

You realize that study of Scripture is like making coffee. An active mind, thinking, and brainstorming are comparable to the process of passing hot water through ground coffee to draw out its essence. Scripture is ground coffee and meditation is like boiling water. Proper study of God’s word is a very active matter in which a stirred up mind runs through the ground coffee of Scripture to draw out its essence, meaning, and taste. Perhaps then, we can say that a stirred up mind leads to a stimulated body that you give to Christ as a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1). Percolating on the woes brings out a number of essential things.

1B. Reality check

First, there is a sobering reality check. We must not lose sight of the fact that the gospel is life unto life and death unto death. The word of God is a sword that cuts to the heart and saves; it is also a sword cuts down the soul and destroys (cf. He can create and He destroy for His throne is "an awful throne."). "Woe to you" is not simply an expression of pity ("alas and how pitiable"). It is an authoritative pronouncement of judgment to come by the one appointed to be judge on the awful throne. We are hit in the face with the fact that those who seem to have everything, who are rich, full, happy, and at rest in the ebb and flow of life are bound for a profound poverty, emptiness, misery, and eternal unrest.

There is a future beyond the grave yet to come. It is a very difficult reality check to know that human beings, God’s image bearers by creation, are bound not for the promised land where milk and honey flow but are bound for a wasteland where misery and sorrow flow in an unending stream (cf. the Westminster Catechisms on eternal punishment). In that place, there is no water of life but only the overwhelming flood of death. Outside of Christ, those who are self-righteously rich, satisfied, laughing, and peaceful actually have nothing now and absolutely nothing good to look forward to. They have no future. They have nothing to anticipate, patiently await, and eagerly expect. The affects of sin on the body that eventually take their toll in death typify the corruption, the loss, the emptiness, and the pain of eternal punishment. May the Lord drive this sobering reality home to our hearts. It a weighty truth to know that riches are not the way to true happiness and that they may be the way to final and eternal destruction.

2B. Eternal thanksgiving

Second, this aspect of the real world that has woe upon woe as in fact the wages of sin is cause for unending thanksgiving. We each have to think about the fact that these woes are "what I deserve." My sins merit the emptiness, lack of comfort, unhappiness, misery, and abiding unrest spoken of here by the Lord Jesus. Knowing that I am free from these woes is cause for great joy and thanksgiving. Knowing that I am bound for fullness, riches, happiness, comfort, and eternal Sabbath rest with my loving Sabbath king must drive me to my knees in worship, praise, and thanksgiving to the Father in heaven, to the Son at His right hand, and to the Spirit dwelling within us.

3B. Wake up call

Many more things can be said, but finally the woes must wake us up to the need of our neighbors. With heartfelt compassion this reality that hangs over human beings with eternal implications must drive us to pray for those outside the church and to do all that we can as individuals and as a church to spread the gospel word to the nations. The open door of a public meeting place is part of the duty we have to spread the word. We should pray for the unsaved, give them things to read, perhaps use the sermons from the web page. In the end, we must be willing to suffer all things for sake of God’s elect to see them saved and sanctified to the glory of our great high priest.