“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
“But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
Woe to you who are well-fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.”
(Luke 6:23–26)
Jesus has just proclaimed a series of beatitudes (“blessings”), urging us to rejoice because “great is your reward in heaven.” Immediately afterward, He delivers a corresponding series of “woes”:
• Woe to the rich, for you have already received your comfort.
• Woe to the well-fed, for you will go hungry.
• Woe to those who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
• Woe to those of whom everyone speaks well, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
Why does Jesus pair blessings with woes? Why does He offer hope for the future while simultaneously warning of coming hardship?
I believe He does so to remind us that we must place our ultimate trust only in the Lord. True reward, true fulfillment, and lasting joy are not found in the fleeting comforts of this world but in heaven alone.
This life is a mixture of emotions—joys and sorrows, blessings and woes. What happens to our neighbor today, whether good or bad, may well happen to us tomorrow. Circumstances shift like the wind.
Yet great is our reward in heaven. Our eternal home is there, not here. The Kingdom of God is already among us, and we do not live as those who have no hope. Our hope is in Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. He is the source of our joy, the center of our faith, and the ground of our happiness. Christ is our completion, our foundation, and our Savior.
No matter what comes—prosperity or hardship—we place our trust in God’s provision through Jesus the Messiah. Grace is ours when we receive His love. Blessings and love abound even when difficulties fall upon us.
Thanks be to God, who never leaves us nor forsakes us. Thanks be to God, who loves us with an everlasting love. We place our hope in Him, and we will never be put to shame.
“O Lord God, You are good and faithful. Thank You for loving me and for allowing me to know You, to rest in You, and to find life in Your name. I praise You, Lord, and glorify You, for You are good and Your love endures forever.” Amen.