Luke 6:24-26
"But woe unto you that are rich for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets," Luke 6:24-26.
The crowd that Jesus is preaching to is a diverse crowd. There are different kinds of people from different parts of the region. Some are there so they could say they were a part of a camp meeting; others are there to watch and observe what all takes place to either praise God or condemn Christ. Some are there to be healed, and some are there because they love Christ. Some are there because they hate Christ and are looking for any thing to be critical of Christ. No matter who was there, Jesus Christ preached to them all. Jesus did not change His message to appease the crowd. Christ preached truth, and truth always has an effect. Either we say Amen, or O me.
In verses 20-23, Christ is speaking to those who are saved. Those who have received God's favor see themselves as poor in spirit. These hunger and thirst after righteousness. We know there is coming a day when all these godly desires will be fulfilled in heaven where we will no longer battle with this sin loving flesh. In these verses Christ also encourages those who love Him in that they will be hated for His names sake. "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution," II Timothy 3:12 (John 15:18-16:3). Those who hate the truth have always hated those who proclaim the truth. All whom the Lord has saved can rest in these truths. No matter the circumstances we are in, if the Lord has saved us, we are truly blessed. There was a time when all who have been saved also hated truth. We are eternally thankful for God's grace.
Christ proclaims that all who see themselves in need of the Saviour, these are blessed. But for those who are satisfied with themselves, Christ proclaims woe unto them. "But woe unto you that are rich for ye have received your consolation," Luke 6:24. "Woe" is a primary exclamation of grief. We see the word "woe" four times in verses 24-26 in contrast with the word "blessed" four times in verses 20-23. Those in verses 20-23 have seen their wretchedness by God's grace, but these in verses 24-26 have not. These are satisfied with self. In their opinion of themselves, they are on good terms with God. They feel like God accepts them because they are not as bad as other people. They are rich in spirit. This has nothing to do with earthly riches, but all to do with trusting in themselves for salvation. These actually believe they have earned their salvation. They are satisfied with self (Luke 18:9-14). In their minds, and in the eyes of many others, they have received all that is due to them. "Consolation" in this verse means joy, gladness. These people are doing religious duties simply to be seen of men, and to have the applause of men. This gives them great gladness (Matthew 6:1-2, 5). How much gladness does their self-righteousness give them?
"Woe unto you that are full for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep," Luke 6:25. "Are full" in this verse means to fill in (up), to satisfy. This is a completed action that has continuing results. These are full of self-gratification, and unless the Lord does a work in them, they stay that way. These are addicted to the praises of men. They want to be recognized by men and praised by men. They want to be known for looking and sounding religious. This is an addiction in that once they have tasted this pride exalting joy, they want more of it. They say and do things that get them the praises of men. How blinding in pride? "The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground," Obadiah 1:3. "Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him," Proverbs 26:12. Those who are satisfied with self will hunger. They will not hunger for the righteousness of Christ, but they will hunger to be delivered from the torment they will be in. At this present time they do not see their spiritual state, so they laugh. They feel great about themselves. They are satisfied with themselves. They are comparing themselves with other people, but they never compare themselves with God. They do not include themselves in the "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God," Romans 3:23. They are patting themselves on the back now, but Christ says they will mourn and weep! This means they will weep, sob, and wail aloud. They lived life satisfied with self, but they will spend eternity in the torments of God. Turn to Luke 16:19-31. "Torment" means the place of torture.
Your social status has nothing to do with whether you go to heaven or not; it doesn't matter how many times you have been baptized, joined the church, had a feeling or an experience, etc. but if the Lord has not saved your soul you are headed to hell where you will be tormented for eternity! Woe to you, woe to you who are satisfied with your self-righteousness! Repent, turn from your sins and trust Jesus Christ alone to save you. There are multitudes that are convinced that they are right with God, when they are not. These have made deals with God when they were in bad situations; or they have heard a catchy phrase and built their theology on that instead of Scripture. Turn to Revelation 20:11-15 and Revelation 21:8. This is not a joke, nor is it a guilt trip, this is real. Multitudes are opening their eyes in the torments of hell every day, and many of them thought for sure they were right with God. Please do not deceive yourself. Examine yourself by the Scriptures.
"Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets," Luke 6:26. "False prophets" in this verse is a spurious prophet, a pretended foreteller or religious imposter. Another indicator of someone who is lost is that they speak well of false teachers and preachers. They actually like what they are hearing because it makes them feel good about themselves. This fuels their self-satisfaction. False teachers rarely every preach against sin, they do not challenge you to examine yourselves according to the Scriptures, but they tell you all those things you would rather hear.
Three questions: how do you view yourself; how does the world view you; and how does God view you? God views you according to His Scripture; the world and others view you as they view themselves. God doesn't make concessions, and He doesn't wink at ignorance. God's word commands you to repent and believe the gospel, or you will suffer torment in hell for eternity. There is no middle ground. I beg you to trust Christ today. John 6:37. Please send questions and comments to richardsonbaptistchurch@gmail.com. Soli Deo Gloria.
