Words of Woe (Luke 6:24–26) | The Gospel of Luke (Part 47)

Transcript

JRNT 98
11/02/2025
Words of Woe – The Gospel of Luke (Part 47)
Luke 6:24-26
Jesse Randolph

Alright, exciting morning. We’ve got to get into the text. God to get into God’s Word. As we turn back to Luke 6, in our study of Luke’s Gospel. We’re going to pick it up with Luke’s account of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain. Last Sunday, you’ll recall, we were in verses 20-23. Where Jesus pronounced these statements of blessing, or “Beatitudes” on His disciples that is, to His true followers. “Blessed are the poor.” “Blessed are those who hunger now.” “Blessed are those who cry now.” “Blessed are you when men hate you, and exclude you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil.”

In our text for today, what we see is this recorded portion of the same Sermon on the Plain. But as we’re going to see Jesus here turns His attention to a different group of people; in this crowd, on that Plain; and He pronounces on them certain “Words of Woe.”

If you’re not there already, turn with me in your Bibles to Luke 6. This morning, we’re going to be in verses 24-26. Luke 6:24-26 God’s Word reads:
“But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and cry. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers were doing the same things to the false prophets.”

Now, there are a few things to mention before we dive deeper into this text. For starters, over the past few weeks now, I’ve been stating that I believe the Sermon on the Plain in Luke 6 is an entirely different sermon than what is recorded in Matthew’s Gospel in Matthew 5-7, which is known, of course, as the Sermon on the Mount. One of the reasons I arrive at that conclusion that these are two different sermons is the exclusion of these “woes” in Matthew’s recording of the Sermon of the Mount. In fact, turn back a couple of books to Matthew 5 with me. We’re going to read from the first few words here, of Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5:1 says:
“Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. And He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the lowly, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.’”

Now, here after verse 12 is where you would expect our Lord, having read Luke 6 now to start saying, “But woe to you.” “And woe to you.” “And woe to you.” But He doesn’t. Instead, He goes right into these “salt” and “light” statements in verse 13 and following. That lack of any mention of “woes,” in Matthew’s recording of the Sermon on the Mount again, is one of the many reasons I hold that the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon of the Plain were these two different sermons. Similar in content, to be sure, but distinct.

Now, another thing to mention, as we work through some of these preliminaries. Is that this “Beatitude” that we see back in Luke, we can go back to Luke 6 this “Beatitude” and “Woe” pattern that we see in the Sermon on the Plain has deep Old Testament roots. We saw some of this last week, as we went back to Deuteronomy 28. We saw how, in God’s second giving of the Law to Israel, He promised them various blessings for keeping and honoring and obeying His Law – His Word. But we also went through this rather quickly, but just a chapter prior, in Deuteronomy 27, God also pronounced certain curses or “Words of Woe” for Israel’s disobedience of Him and disobedience of His Law.

In fact, you can turn with me, back to Deuteronomy 27. I read portions of this last week. But I think it’d be good to take in the whole thing this morning. Considering what we’re in, in Luke 6, with these Words of Woe. Deuteronomy 27, we’ll pick it up in verse 15. I gave you a few of these last week. But let’s get the whole picture this week. Deuteronomy 27:15 begins this way:
“Cursed is the man who makes a graven image or a molten image, an abomination to Yahweh, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’ ‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ ‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary mark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ ‘Cursed is he who leads a blind person astray on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ ‘Cursed is he who perverts the justice due a sojourner, orphan, and widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ ‘Cursed is he who lies with his father’s wife because he has uncovered his father’s skirt.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ ‘Cursed is he who lies with any animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ ‘Cursed is he who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ ‘Cursed is he who lies with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ ‘Cursed is he who strikes his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ ‘Cursed is he who takes a bribe to strike down innocent blood.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ ‘Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’” So, going all the way back to Israel’s wilderness wandering days, on the plains of Sinai. God was pronouncing these curses, on His people, Israel, for those in the camp, in the tribe that dishonored and disobeyed His law.

Last week, we also went over to Psalm 1 where we saw that God, through the Psalmist there, effectively pronounced “Words of Woe” on the second of the two groups that he mentioned in that Psalm, namely, the “wicked.”
Recall how in Psalm 1:4 God says, “The wicked are not so.” Meaning, the “wicked” are not “blessed.” “but” verse 4, “they are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore, the wicked will not rise in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” So, the one who is “blessed” prospers Psalm 1. But the one who is wicked, “the way of the wicked will perish.” They’re cursed.

Well, this morning, to set the stage for our study of Luke 6, and specifically, those “Words of Woe.” I want us to dig even deeper into this history of “blessings”, and specifically now, “curses” going back to the Old Testament. Turn with me to Isaiah 5, please. Isaiah is right in the middle of our Bibles. It’s this massive book, containing 66 chapters. It has all sorts of fascinating content related to Israel and its plight in Isiah’s day, sometime around 700 B.C. The book has all sorts of interesting data about Israel’s future, both with the First Coming of her Messiah and the Second Coming of her Messiah. Hopefully that gives you enough time to find Isaiah 5. Look at Isiah 5:8:
“Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field, until there is no more room, so that you have to live alone in the midst of the land.”
Translation?
“Woe to those who are greedy.”
Verse 11:
“Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue strong drink, who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them.”
Translation?
“Woe to those who can’t make it through the night without that throat-burning, mind-numbing, reality-altering properties of strong drink.”
Verse 18:
“Woe to those who drag iniquity with the cords of worthlessness, and sin as if with cart ropes.”
Translation?
“Woe to those who are attached to their sin.” “Woe to those who are identified with their sin.” “And woe to those who make no effort to be decoupled from their sin.”
Verse 20:
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”
Translation?
“Woe to those who are not only stuck in their sin.” “And attached to their sin.” “And drug down by their sin.” “But woe to those who justify their sin with some sort of sad-sack justification for their sin.” “As they try to talk themselves into believing that the otherwise unchanging God of heaven and earth.” “Is now OK with the sin that He has condemned going back to eternity past.”

Putting that in modern day terminology, “Woe to those who murder babies in the safe shelter of a mother’s womb.” “And do so on the basis of a women’s so-called right to choose.” “Woe to those who corrupt God’s perfect design for marriage, between one man and one woman, in a covenant made for life with clear procreative purposes picturing the beautiful relationship between Christ and His church.” “And instead, try to re-define marriage as being between one man and one man, or one woman and one woman.” “Or one man and his donkey, or one woman and herself.” “Woe to you who toss out the marital covenant that you made with your spouse to death do us part.” “As you pretend that God is OK with your lame excuse for now divorcing your spouse, because he or she doesn’t make you happy anymore.” “Woe to you who defile the marriage bed, by engaging in premarital sex and who do so by saying ‘Well, I just need to make sure they’re compatible with me in every way.”

Next, verses 21-23, we have these connected woes, two woes here:
“Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and understanding in their own sight! Woe to those who are mighty men in drinking wine valiant men in mixing strong drink, who declare the wicked righteous for a bribe, and remove the righteous standing of the ones who are righteous!”
Translation? “Woe to those who really think they are something.” “Woe to those who view themselves as the smartest, the strongest, the most invincible but show themselves to be of poor character as they associate with those of poor character.”

These are strong words in Isaiah 5. They are sharp words, and they are biting words. But there’s a question that we need to answer, which is to whom were these words addressed? Who was Isaiah writing to? The answer is he’s writing to his people. God is addressing, through Isaiah, His people, the people of Judah. That’s clearly the context here. Look at verse 13, it says:
“Therefore, My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge.”
Or in verses 24 and 25, it says:
“For they have rejected the law of Yahweh of hosts and the word of the Holy One of Israel they have spurned. On this account, the anger of Yahweh has burned against His people.” What those passages tell us, is that as He pronounced those Words of Woe, through the prophet Isaiah God was addressing His people – the people of Judah.

So, hold on to that thought for just a moment. I mentioned that we have two additional Old Testament sources we want to go back to this morning to flesh out this idea of “woes” and “curses” being pronounced back in the Old Testament. For the second one, I want to take us to the book of Habakkuk. Turn with me to the book of Habakkuk. And for a quick reference, it’s right between the books of Nahum and Zephaniah. That should help you find it really quickly, right? Habakkuk is the fifth-to-last book of the Old Testament. So, if you find Matthew, and go backwards from Malachi to Zechariah to Haggai to Zephaniah you’ll eventually back your way into Habakkuk.

The reason I’m taking us to Habakkuk, which was written some 80 years after Isaiah’s writing is to highlight the reality that the prophets of Israel and in this case, again, Judah they pronounced “woes” not only on their fellow countrymen; but they did so on the wicked nations that were surrounding them. Much like Jesus is doing in our text, in the Sermon on the Plain. That’s my connection back to our text.
Take a look at Habakkuk 1. Here we have this prophet to the people of Judah. He is taking major issue with the slowness, the seeming slowness on God’s part, to impart His divine justice on this wicked surrounding people group, the Chaldeans. Now, look at verse 2-4. This is Habakkuk speaking, he says:
“How long, O Yahweh, will I call for help, and You will not hear? I cry out to You, ‘Violence!’ Yet You do not save. Why do You make me see wickedness and cause me to look on trouble? Indeed, devastation and violence are before me; and there is strife, and contention is lifted up. Therefore, the law is ignored, and justice never comes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous, therefore justice comes forth perverted.”
Now, this isn’t Habakkuk merely lodging his complaint against God. This is really him making an accusation against God. He’s accusing God here, of essentially sitting on His hands while evil is being done in the midst of His people.

Well, in verses 5-11, God essentially tells Habakkuk to “chill out.” That’s the Jesse Randolph paraphrase because He, Yahweh, is going to deal with the Chaldeans, these wicked Chaldeans on His time. But that doesn’t stop Habakkuk, he keeps on going in verses 12 and 13. He says: [Now he’s speaking back to Yahweh] “Are You not from everlasting, O Yahweh, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O Yahweh, have placed them to judge; and You, O Rock, have established them to reprove. Your eyes are too pure to see evil, and You cannot look on trouble. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up those more righteous than they?” He's reproving God. He’s accusing God. I must really shorten this but God’s response back to Habakkuk, essentially is boiled down to what we see in chapter 2:4, buried in there is this statement, “ the righteous will live by his faith.” That’s God’s way of saying, and that’s a line that’s borrowed by Paul in both Romans and Galatians that: “Your charge, Habakkuk, is to live by faith.” “I’m God, you’re not.” “I will take care of the Chaldeans when I deem fit to take care of the Chaldeans.” But then, he goes on, God does, to declare these “woes” on the Chaldeans.
Look at Habakkuk 2:6 – “Woe to him who increases what is not his.” The Chaldeans were thieves.
Or Habakkuk 2:9 – “Woe to him who is greedy for evil gain for his house to put his nest on high” The Chaldeans were covetous.
Habakkuk 2:12 – “Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and founds a town with injustice!” The Chaldeans were murderous.
Habakkuk 2:15 – “Woe to you who make your neighbors drink, who mix in your venom even to make them drunk” The Chaldeans were immoral drunkards.
Habakkuk 2:19 – “Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, ‘Awake!’ To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’ And that is your teacher? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all inside it.” The Chaldeans were idolaters.
So, what God was saying, through Habakkuk by proclaiming these “woes” on the Chaldeans, is this: And He’s saying to Habakkuk, “Don’t you worry, you go on living by faith their going to get theirs.” That’s undergirding those “woes.”

Now, some of you are thinking, and rightly so, “What in the world does this have to do with the Gospel of Luke?” “And what does this have to do with the Sermon on the Plain?” Here’s the tie-in. Just at the prophets of old would pronounce words of blessings and curses. Both in addressing their people, as the prophet Isaiah did and addressing outsiders, as the prophet Habakkuk did to the Chaldeans. The same was true of Jesus, in His Sermon on the Plain. In fact, go back with me to Luke 6, as we remember that in the Sermon on the Plain. Jesus is addressing this mixed gathering of individuals. In fact, if you look up the page from our text to Luke 6:17, we see these words we went through these a few weeks ago.
“And Jesus came down with them [it says] and stood on a level place; [that’s where we get the idea of the Sermon on the Plain] and there was a large crowd of His disciples.”

Those were the ones to whom He directed His beatitudes the words of blessing that we looked at last week. But reading on, verse 17 says:
“a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon.” These were the people, the “great multitude of people” who Christ addressed in our text for today with these Words of Woe. These were the folks who had come to see Jesus. They were there to witness what Jesus was doing. But they really had the mindset, as we saw when we encountered this passage, of taking in a show. What they didn’t understand is that simply showing up to watch Jesus, or to witness Jesus, or to be close to Jesus even does not a disciple make.

See, throughout history Jesus has consistently divided people into two groups. The lambs and the wolves. The wheat and the tares. The lost and the found. The saved and the condemned. The alive and the dead. Here, in the Sermon on the Plain, it is no different. Jesus is addressing, in this sermon, those same two groups. Those who are blessed and those who are cursed. Those who can claim the blessings of His beatitudes. And those who are subject to and sit under His Words of Woe. I have to say. If you’re here this morning as one who has yet to put your faith in Jesus Christ. If you’re one who is here who is still living for the world and for yourself, rather than for Jesus and for His glory. You would be wise to tune in to what the Lord is going to say to you, through our text for today. Because in this text, as He proclaimed these “Words of Woe” Jesus was going to turn the tables as He addressed those who were following Him around. They were close to Him in proximity, but they weren’t truly of Him. They hadn’t truly come to Him. He was going to warn that group in this crowd of the grave danger that they were in.

Again, the same concept holds true today. There are countless box-checkers who show up to churches on Sunday, each and every week. Who are mere observers. Sort of just going with the flow. They are here to take in a show. They have no recognition or appreciation of the gravity of the situation that confronts them. They think that they’re going to go to heaven one day. They think that they’re going to inherit eternal kingdom blessings one day. They’ll point to the fact that they attended church regularly every Sunday. They’ll point to the fact that they memorized verses every Wednesday. They’ll point to the fact that they read their Bible dutifully every day. But because they haven’t had a heart change. Because they’ve confused mere religious formalism with true saving faith. They will not reap future kingdom blessings. Instead, what they’re going to reap is judgment. As the Lord that they thought they knew, will one day declare to them, as He says in Matthew 7, “depart from Me, I never knew you, you workers of lawlessness.” There is no better day, as we work through this text this morning, for me to say this that if you haven’t given your life to Jesus Christ. If you haven’t truly come to Him in repentance and faith, do it! Do it today! The scriptures are abundantly clear. They say things like:
“It is appointed for man to die once and then comes the judgment.”
They say things like:
“Now is the day of salvation.”
So, what are you waiting for? Why remain under the judgment of the God of heaven and earth? Why squirm in your seat as you hear these “Words of Woe” as they’re targeted right at you? Instead, remember Romans 10:9, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Back to our text. Believe it or not, we’re still in Luke 6. Now, let’s read verses 24-26, just to get our bearings again. It says:
“But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and cry. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers were doing the same things to the false prophets.”

Now, one thing we haven’t done yet, though we’ve already seen examples of this in Isaiah and Habakkuk this morning. We haven’t defined that word “woe.” In one sense it’s a literary form, it’s an interjection. It’s like saying “alas” but it also has a meaning. It doesn’t mean something minor, like a misfortune of some sort. It doesn’t mean like stubbing your toe and having a limp for a few minutes. It means deep, inconsolable misery. The example that always comes to mind, when I think of this word “woe” is like somebody who stumbles into a pit of some sort way out in the country somewhere and for days, they are crying out. For days, their stomach is growling. For days, they’re exposed to the elements. For days, they’re growing more and more hopeless. For days, they’re wondering if somebody is going to pass by and rescue them. As their life slips away, that’s that state of misery that they’re in. That’s the sense of the word “woe.”

Jesus here is speaking about misery eternal misery, for those who reject Him and the misery they will ultimately face. Those who are living for pleasant-day pleasures. Those who find their ultimate source of satisfaction in what they have in this life. Those who are living for the praise of the world today. What they face, He’s saying here, eternally, is misery. As He pronounced these “woes”, there’s this undercurrent, this inference that He’s calling them to repent, so that they don’t have to face these realities.

Now, note the first group that He’s addressing – the rich. Look at the first few words of verse 24:
“But woe to you who are rich.”
If you’re taking notes this morning, our first point is:

THE RISK OF THE RICH
Note that first word “But.” It’s clearly a transitionary word. Jesus is signaling here that He’s transitioning from one series of thought to the next. One set of teachings to the next. He’s just worked through the future kingdom blessings which will come to those who follow Him.
“yours is the kingdom of God.”
“you shall be satisfied.”
“you shall laugh.”
“your reward is great in heaven.”
However now, He moves on, with that word “But.” He’s redirecting His train of thought as He moves from those words of “blessing and beatitudes” to these “Words of Woe.”

And then note that construction here, in verse 24. It’s “woe to you.” Not, “woe to them.” Or “woe to that group.” “Woe to the outsiders.” No, He says “woe to you.” He’s addressing these “Words of Woe” to people that He was looking at, in this crowd on the Plain. Which, again, supports this idea that there was this mixed multitude of individuals on this Plain. Both those who heard Jesus’ beatitudes, what we studied last week. And understood that they had future kingdom joys that they could look forward to. But there are also these who heard these “Words of Woe” that we’ll study this morning and knew that Jesus was talking to them. They knew that they were being confronted with the reality that the life that they’ve lived, up to this point, that they thought was so full, was actually totally empty leaving them in grave danger and peril.

So, verse 24, His first woe reads this way:
“But woe to you who are rich.”
Those words are a reversal of the corresponding beatitude up in verse 20, where it says:
“Blessed are the poor, for yours in the kingdom of God.”
And as we saw last week when we worked through that beatitude in verse 20, especially when we brought in that parallel reference from Matthew 5. Where Jesus when He’s speaking of the poor, He says: “Blessed are the poor.” He’s referring specifically to the “poor in spirit.” Those who are meek and lowly. Those who recognize that grace from God is truly undeserved by definition.

What we’ll hear with this “woe”, Jesus is proclaiming the inverse principle. He says, “But woe to you who are rich.” So, blessed are you who are spiritually destitute. Who are fully aware of your dependence upon Jesus, to one day enter His kingdom. But “woe to you who are rich.” Now, you put those side-by-side, the beatitude and the woe, and what you understand Him to be saying here is:
“Woe to you who think that you don’t need the Lord.” “Woe to you who, as far as you’re concerned, you have everything you need in this life.” “Woe to you who is fine with depending on yourself for everything in this life, thank you very much.”

So, this “woe” is a warning to the self-satisfied. A warning against the self-made man. The warning directed toward that person who wants nothing and thinks they need nothing of God.

In pronouncing this “woe”, Jesus wasn’t condemning material wealth per se. We must remember that guys like Abraham and Job and Zacchaeus and Joseph of Arimathea were materially wealthy. Jesus wouldn’t have been pronouncing “woes” on those men, with these words. Rather, He’s referring to those who, as an outworking of a deeper spiritual condition have anchored their life and their happiness in material comforts. They’re satisfied with what they have in this life, and that’s good enough for them, thank you very much. The “rich” of whom Jesus speaks here, they fail to recognize that their souls’ need is God Himself. They hold their heads high. They’re purely self-exalted. They’re so content and satisfied you can even use the word “rich” in their own eyes. That they see no need for why they’d want to flee to Him. They see no reason to flee to Him.

When Jesus said, in Matthew 19:24, we’ve all heard this expression, that
“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” He wasn’t making a purely economic statement there. He’s making a spiritual statement. A statement about those who not only have riches, but their riches have them. They find their hope, and their trust, and their comfort, not in God, but in their comforts. Which includes their bank accounts. And what Jesus is saying here in our text, in Luke 6:24, when He said, “Woe to those who are rich.” Was that though their riches may never run out in this lifetime their eternal fortunes would. They might labor and earn and stockpile in this life, under the delusion that they have no need of the Lord. But eventually they’re going to starve spiritually.

In fact, Jesus alludes to that very truth in the next part of this woe, where He addresses their eternal fate, for those who are trusting ultimately in what they have in this life. Look at the end of verse 24, He says: “for you ae receiving your comfort in full.” In other words, for those who are on the receiving end of this woe they are going to receive all the comfort they’ll ever receive in this life, and no more. Whatever comforts they enjoyed in this life, are going to evaporate and fade in eternity.

Turn with me over to Luke12, if you would. This is the recording of Jesus’ parable of the Rich Fool. It starts in verse 13. It has some parallels to our text, that’s why I take us there. Luke 12:13 says:
“And someone from the crowd said to Him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.’ But He said to him, ‘Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?’ Then He said to them, ‘Watch out and be on your guard against every form of greed, for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.’ And He told them a parable, saying, ‘The land of a rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, “What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?” Then he said, “This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you prepared?’ [look at this line, verse 21] So is the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

What Jesus was communicating through this parable, as He did back in our text, in Luke 6 is that storing up treasure or comforts of any sort, in this life with no view of the eternal, is actually to have a poverty mentality.
The truly rich are those, who as it says in verse 21 of the parable of the rich fool the truly rich are those who are “rich toward God.” He who dies with the most toys does not win. If that’s what his true mentality is. No. He loses in eternity.

That’s what Jesus is proclaiming here in this first “woe.” He’s saying that for those who trust in their material comforts in this life. If that’s all that they’re finding satisfaction and joy and comfort in rather than trusting in Him. They actually are the poor ones. They actually are the ones who are spiritually impoverished. Because what they fail to understand is that they have already received their full consolation their full payout here on earth. And undergirding that idea, is that what awaits them is terror. They’ve gotten all the goodies out of this life and where they’re headed is hell. Their stacks of cash. Their second homes. Their dream vacations. Their opulent lifestyles. None of it is going to comfort them in the flames. That’s what He’s saying here, as He pronounces this “woe.” “Woe to you who are rich.”

Continuing, verse 25, our Lord moves on to this second group. Look what He says. He says: “Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry.” If you’re taking notes, our second point is:

THE SEPARATION OF THE SATISFIED
Now, right away, we have an interpretive decision to make. When Jesus, as He was looking out there at those faces on the Plain before Him as He spoke to them about being either “well-fed” or “hungry.” Was He speaking purely in physical terms? Was He describing physical stomachs being either physically empty or physically full? Or was He speaking in spiritual terms? Well, given the context, not only of the woes here, but of the beatitudes which precede them. Not only that, but the broader spiritual principles also that He is imparting in the Sermon on the Plain. The soundest interpretation would be a spiritual one.

Remember how last week, as we worked our way through the second of Jesus’ beatitudes. The beatitude that parallels this woe. It’s in verse 21, where it says:
“Blessed are those who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.” We saw there that Jesus wasn’t referring to physical hunger. We saw, that as we drew in language from His Sermon on the Mount and we saw that the hunger of blessed, as He was referring to here is truly a hunger for God Himself. It’s a hunger that’s expressed in places like, Psalm 42:1, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” It’s expressed in places like Psalm 63:3, “Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will laud You. Thus, I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul is satisfied as with fatness and richness, and my mouth offers praises with lips of joyful songs.”

Well, here, with this pronouncement of another woe, “Woe to you who are well-fed now.” “Woe to you who are full.” Jesus is issuing this word of warning to those who wrongly think, yet again, that they have no need for God. And who, sadly, have no desire to get right with God. So, this is a word of warning, yet again to the self-righteous. To those who are very good at keeping up appearances. To those who are good enough in their own eyes. To those who are literally full of themselves.

They have found their greatest sense of satisfaction on earth. Whether it’s through possessions, or accolades, or objectives achieved, or goals reached. They find their greatest sense of satisfaction in what they have done, and they congratulate themselves for it. They are very much like the Pharisee of the Parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18. And you remember how that goes, where that Pharisee in that parable is listing out his long list of accolades. He’s very quick to mention, “God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.” That is the very attitude of those who, Jesus here, calls the “well-fed.” They’ve scarfed down success in this life. They have gorged on gains in this life. They’ve been “well-fed” with their own sense of accomplishment. So, they have no room for God and they have no perceived need for the Lord.

But when it’s all said and done. They are going to end up poor and miserable. The plenty that they experienced in this life is going to turn into poverty in the future. In the future, the reality that faces them is that they will hunger. Meaning, they’re going to experience the exact opposite of what the “blessed” person will experience. The blessed person, on earth, hungers and thirsts for God, the living God. And they will one day be satisfied with that hunger and that thirst, when they are in His presence. That’s what Luke 6:21 is literally saying: “Blessed are those who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.” But for those who are “well-fed” now, in this life they have this altogether different reality staring them down. Instead of one day being satisfied as those who “hunger for righteousness” will be. Having instead, spending their entire life on this earth, promoting their own well-being, and squeezing as much out of this life as possible. They’re going to end up spiritually famished forever. Separated from God forever. Their sad plight is summarized in II Thessalonians 1:9, “These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might.”

In other words, they may be “well-fed” now; they may feel like they’re lacking for nothing now. But in the future. They’re going to lack for the one thing they’ll want. The one thing they wish they had a relationship with the living God and they’ll know it. They’ll finely recognize who desperately poor they are and how spiritually famished they are. They’ll come to that place of recognizing their folly of having stuffed themselves so full with earthly pleasures that they never considered their never-ending future. But by then, it will be too late, as they move on into eternity, facing eternal destruction, facing the wrath of the Lamb.

That’s why Jesus here says, verse 25, “Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry.” You’re going to be hungry forever. You’re going to face never-ending hunger, as you face the wrath of the God you rejected, as you hunger for that God that you now cannot have. And that hunger is going to gnaw at you forever, from the pit of your tormented soul. “Woe to you.”

Moving on, we get to this third of His four woes. Verse 25, the second part of verse 25, where He says:
“Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and cry.”
Our third point is this:

THE MADNESS OF THE MOCKERS
We first need to take stock of what Jesus was not saying here, before we get into what He’s actually saying. Jesus was not pronouncing this woe against anyone who has very giggled or chuckled or laughed. That’s not the import or the meaning. Jesus here is not commending those seemingly pious folk who believe that the truly godly have perpetually frozen, sour faces. He’s not doing that either. He isn’t warning here against all forms of outward joy being expressed. He couldn’t. Because all over the Old Testament, there are these statements about having joy. Joy in the Lord.
Psalm 32:11 – “Be glad in Yahweh and rejoice, you righteous ones”
Psalm 100:1-2 – “Make a loud shout to Yahweh, all the earth. Serve Yahweh with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.”
Isaiah 61:10 – “I will rejoice greatly in Yahweh; my soul will rejoice in my God, for He has clothed me with garments of salvation”
So, with words like that in the Old Testament background Jesus’ “woe” against those who laugh. You who laugh. Couldn’t and wouldn’t have been some warning against having joy, or expressing joy outwardly, even with laughter.

So, if His warning against those who laugh here, is not about laughter, the way that we’re thinking of laughter. Who is this woe against? Well, this word for “laughter” here is one that we see used elsewhere in other places in the Old and New Testaments. It’s one that has a mocking tone, a derisive tone. Like in Lamentations 1:7, this same word for “laughter” is used to describe the enemies of God laughing over the destruction of Jerusalem. It says:
“no one helped her. The adversaries saw her; they laughed at her ruin.”
Or, in the New Testament there’s that scene in Mark’s Gospel, in Mark 5 where Jesus heals the synagogue official’s daughter. When we read this scene, we often zero in on that Aramaic expression “Talitha kum!” Which means “Little girt, I say to you, arise!” But what we sometimes read right past is in Mark 5:40, right before He heals that little girl, it says they were “laughing at Him.” Meaning, those in the house where the girl would have eventually be healed, were laughing at Jesus, mockingly. The implication being they thought this guy has the audacity to say He’s going to heal her.

What those two examples in Lamentations and Mark do for us is they inform the meaning of the word “laugh” here, in Luke 6:25. What Jesus is singling out when He says “Woe to you who laugh now” is those who laugh in a derisive, mocking, dismissive manner meaning, this “woe” like the previous two woes, is a word of warning, against this self-confident, this self-assured. It’s a woe against those who have no sorrow for their plight today. No sorrow for their sin. It’s a woe against those who scoff at the need of the idea of needing salvation. It’s a woe against those who turn their nose at the message of the Gospel. It’s a woe against those who think that Christ’s followers are pathetic, for worshiping a figure who died such a humiliating death. It’s a woe against those who reject and mock the One who is coming one day as King. To that crowd, Jesus says here, is saying: “Woe to you.” Woe to you who laugh and mock now, because your laughter is actually no laughing matter. Rather, you’re on shaky ground. You’re on dangerous ground. You’re on thin ice. Because if you don’t repent, here’s the second part of the woe at the end of verse 25, “you shall mourn and cry.”

Those who laugh now. Those who made this earth their paradise, their playground. Those who made it their life’s goal to pursue nothing but pleasures and pursuits like that they “shall mourn and cry.” As they look back over their trajectory of wasted opportunities. They look back at their selfish indulgence. They look back at their spiritual impoverishment . They will “mourn and cry.”

As Jesus would say later, in Matthew 8:12, they will be “cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
As they face that terrifying fate this crowd will recognize that there is no amount of amusement, or entertainment, or pleasure in this life. No amount of fun and frolicking in this life. And getting even more pointed with the point here, no amount of mocking laughter in this life was worth the eternal fate that they face now. The pleasures that they pursued in this life ultimately paid no dividends. And all they have in store for themselves is the future is pain and grief and separation and sadness and profound regret. “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and cry.”


That takes us to the fourth and final “woe” of the Sermon on the Plain. Look at verse 26, it says:
“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers were doing the same things to the false prophets.” Here is our fourth point, if you’re a note taker.

THE PERIL OF THE PRAISED
Here we have another contrast set against the beatitudes right above this. Verse 22 says:
“Blessed are you when men hate you, and exclude you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.”
Here though, in verse 26, Jesus is giving this word of warning to the popular. A “word of woe” to the sought-after.
“Woe to you when all men speak well of you.”

Now, we’ve got to be clear here, this is not a command to be obnoxious. This is not some sort of call to be cantankerous. We shouldn’t read this text, and think to ourselves, well Jesus is commanding me to deliberately running into situations where I can find disapproval from everyone I run into. At the coffee shop, the gas station, wherever. No. That’s not what’s being said here. He is not saying here that we shouldn’t strive to be excellent employees in the workplace. Or that we shouldn’t strive to be kind neighbors. He isn’t saying to men like Andy Frahm here this morning, that he shouldn’t strive to have a good reputation with those outside the church. In fact, that’s exactly what it says is in the scriptures in I Timothy 3:7, an elder must “have a good reputation with those outside the church.” So, we know it’s not just this broad command to be obnoxious or mean or rude that’s in view here.

Rather, in connection with this final “Word of Woe” – “Woe to you when all men speak well of you.” Jesus gives this explanatory clause, at the end of verse 26, He says, “for their fathers were doing the same things to the false prophets.” The false prophets of Old Testament times. Like the false prophets of Jesus’ day and like the false teachers of our day. Those false prophets were marked not only by their bad doctrine. But they were marked by their impure motives. They willingly choose to pursue the acceptance of others, at the expense of declaring and standing for truth. Jesus’ point here, is that the “false prophets” of the Old Testament, though in their day, they received the praise of men for their false teachings. That was ultimately all the praise that they ever would receive or did receive.

Back to this scene in the Sermon on the Plain, as Jesus is addressing this mixed crowd. Many of whom were unbelieving and had come merely for the show to hear Him speak and heal. When Jesus said, “Woe to you when all men speak well of you.” What He was saying is that while you might receive applause in this life. And you might be “in” with the “in” crowd in this life. For this group, their hunger for the favor of men rather than the praise of God would catch up with them in the end. That’s because they’d been seeking the approval of the wrong crowd the whole time rather than the favor of God Himself and by doing so, by being man-pleasers. By seeking popularity in the world. They resembled these false prophets of old, whose fate had long since been sealed in the flames of hell. By issuing this “woe”, Jesus was telling the unbelieving who had gathered there on the Plain. That by seeking and pursuing the praise of man, they had dug their own grave. “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers were doing the same things to the false prophets.”

Certainly, there’s some application for us there, right? I’d say so. If you call yourself a follower of Jesus Christ. And you find that everyone out there in the world is super impressed with you. Including the godless pagan, God-haters, that the Lord has placed in your life. If all those folks are loving you and impressed with you, and you fit right in with them don’t be so sure that God is as impressed with you as they are.

James 4:4 was the scripture reading this morning. And one of the lines from that is, “do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world sets himself as an enemy of God.” Are you a friend of the world? Do you love the world? If your answer to either question is “yes.” You’ve got some real soul-searching to do. You must really consider where your true allegiance lies. You must consider where your true heart affections lie.

I’m out of time here this morning. But just a final takeaway here from our text. As we consider these blessings and woes. And we put a button on this. Note, that what we see here in this text, even going back to verse 17, is that there is such a thing as those who are truly of Christ and with Christ, in this context, His disciples. And there are those who are just the hangers on. The ones who are adjacent to Christ around Christ. Able to look into His eyes. Able to even maybe touch Him or smell Him or be near Him. But they don’t truly belong to Him. I have already gone into this when I presented the message of hope through the Gospel, earlier. But that is a message that we all need to hear today. To make sure that we got that right. That we truly know God through Christ. That we truly are sold out followers of Jesus Christ. That we truly are committed to Christ in every way. That we truly have given our hearts and our lives to Christ verses being those who are sort of adjacent to Christ, in the neighborhood of Christ. We come to church, we check boxes, we think we’re ok with Christ. But in reality, we’re not. Let’s make sure that we’re thoughtful of those realities. Let’s make sure we let the Word do its work in our hearts. Let’s give glory to God, for His good work in us, through Christ. Let’s Pray.

God, we thank You for this time in Your Word this morning. We thank You for the privilege of worshiping You, God, Our Savior. We thank You, that You have made so clear to us, in Your Word, what the path of salvation is. What it looks like. And in one sense, it is so incredibly deep. The foundational truths of the Gospel. And at the same time, it’s so incredibly simple. To come to Jesus Christ, to have salvation from sin, and to have a relationship with You that we must simply believe in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Turn our lives over to Him and be saved. So, God, if there’s someone here this morning who has yet to do that, I pray that they would humble themselves before You. Do business with You, through prayer and an open heart, and an open Bible. And truly give their lives to You. We love You. We praise You, in Jesus Name. Amen.