But
woe to you who are rich!
For you have received your consolation.
Woe to you, you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
Woe, when men speak well of you,
for their fathers did the same thing to the false prophets.
Luke 6:24-26
Luke 6 [12.] In these days, he went out to the mountain to pray, and he continued all night in prayer to God. When it was day, he called his disciples, and from them he chose twelve, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he also named Peter; Andrew, his brother; James; John; Philip; Bartholomew; Matthew; Thomas; James, the son of Alphaeus; Simon, who was called the Zealot; Judas the son of James; and Judas Iscariot, who also became a traitor. He came down with them, and stood on a level place, with a crowd of his disciples, and a great number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; as well as those who were troubled by unclean spirits, and they were being healed. All the multitude sought to touch him, for power came out of him and healed them all.
Luke 6 [20.] He lifted up his eyes to his disciples, and said,
“Blessed are you who are poor,
God’s Kingdom is yours.
Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when men shall hate you, and when they shall exclude and mock you, and throw out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake.
Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven, for their fathers did the same thing to the prophets.
“But woe to you who are rich!
For you have received your consolation.
Luke 6 [25.] Woe to you, you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
Woe, when men speak well of you,
for their fathers did the same thing to the false prophets.
Luke 6 [27.] “But I tell you who hear: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you. To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer also the other; and from him who takes away your cloak, don’t withhold your coat also. Give to everyone who asks you, and don’t ask him who takes away your goods to give them back again.
Meaning:
In Luke’s Sermon on the Plain, Jesus pronounces four blessings (Luke 6:20-21; Luke 6:22-23) and then four matching woes. Each woe is the mirror image of a blessing: poor and rich, hungry and full, weeping and laughing, hated and praised. Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount has the blessings but not these woes, so they are a distinctive part of Luke’s Gospel.
- “But woe to you who are rich!”
“Woe” is not a curse but a cry of grief and warning, the kind the prophets used when they saw judgment coming. Jesus is not saying that money is evil in itself. He is warning those whose wealth has become their comfort and security. “For you have received your consolation” uses a word from business receipts: paid in full. Those who live only for the comfort riches bring have already received all they were looking for.
Jesus later tells of a rich man who feasted every day while Lazarus lay at his gate. After death Abraham says to him, “Son, remember that you, in your lifetime, received your good things, and Lazarus, in the same way, bad things. But now here he is comforted and you are in anguish” (Luke 16:25). The same reversal was sung by Mary before Jesus was born: “He has filled the hungry with good things. He has sent the rich away empty” (Luke 1:53).
- “Woe to you, you who are full now”
The word “now” is important. Being well fed is not a sin, but those who are satisfied with this life and feel no hunger for God will one day find themselves empty. The blessing on the hungry looks forward: “you will be filled”. The woe on the full looks forward too: “you will be hungry”. What we hunger for shows what we love.
- “Woe to you who laugh now”
This is not a warning against joy. It is aimed at the careless laughter of people who ignore God, suffering and sin. Those who weep now over sin and the brokenness of the world will laugh in God’s Kingdom. Those who laugh at everything, untroubled by what grieves God, will one day “mourn and weep”.
- “Woe, when men speak well of you”
The last woe matches the blessing on the persecuted. The true prophets of Israel were often hated, but the false prophets were popular because they told people what they wanted to hear. Paul warned that a time would come when people “will not listen to the sound doctrine, but, having itching ears, will heap up for themselves teachers after their own lusts” (2 Timothy 4:3). A follower of Jesus who is praised by everyone may be avoiding the truth.
The Significance of Luke 6:24-26
- God sees beyond the present
Each woe contains the word “now” or implies it. Jesus calls us to judge our lives by eternity, not by how comfortable we feel today. The great reversal of God’s Kingdom will put many things the right way up.
- Riches are a test, not a reward
Wealth can be used to serve God and others, or it can become a rival to God. Jesus said, “You can’t serve both God and Mammon” (Matthew 6:24). The danger is to find our consolation in money rather than in God.
- Faithfulness matters more than popularity
Being well liked is not wrong, but it must never be bought by keeping quiet about the truth. Disciples are called to speak and live faithfully even when it costs them approval.
Cross-References:
Luke 6:20-21: "Blessed are you who are poor, God’s Kingdom is yours." The blessings that these woes mirror.
Luke 16:25: "Son, remember that you, in your lifetime, received your good things, and Lazarus, in the same way, bad things." The reversal shown in a story.
Luke 18:24: "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter into God’s Kingdom!" Jesus’ warning to a rich ruler.
2 Timothy 4:3: Itching ears that heap up teachers, the popular voice of false prophets.
Conclusion: After four blessings on the poor, the hungry, those who weep and those who are hated for his sake, Jesus pronounces four woes on the rich, the full, those who laugh now and those whom everyone praises. They are warnings, not curses. Comfort, plenty, laughter and praise can make people feel they need nothing from God. Jesus calls his hearers to look beyond the present and to find their consolation in him and in God’s Kingdom.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible