Getting to Know Jesus #16

We are in Luke 6, where Jesus is speaking to a large crowd of followers from all around Israel and beyond. He has just listed four ways in which His followers are blessed, followed by these four contrasting statements:

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.

We need to keep in mind here that Jesus is not speaking to those who had outwardly opposed Him; He is talking to those who wanted to be with Him and listen to Him.  When He announces these woes, they are not mean and heartless proclamations of damnation; rather, there is a mixture of anger and sincere sympathy in His voice. When we settle for the stuff of this world; when we seek our own comfort above all else; when we pursue happiness and pleasure above the needs of others; when we care for what others think above what God things, we are sadly misguided and misdirected and will be miserable.  There is a sting with each of the results in these four statements: ultimate loneliness, hunger, sorrow, and vanity. At the end of the list we rightfully need to go back to the four statements and before and ask ourselves: "What did Jesus say was most important?", and change our attitudes and lifestyles accordingly.