Does Jesus condemn the comforts of the middle-class American life? Some biblical texts seem to suggest so, particularly in Luke chapter 6. This is one of those really important questions we get all the time and today it comes from a listener named Lee from North Carolina. Dear Pastor John and Tony, I'm a long-time listener of the podcast and I want to thank you for giving me 10 minutes of spiritual food during hundreds of morning commutes.

It has literally changed the course of my days as I drive to work. That's incredible, encouraging to hear. Thank you, Lee. This morning, he goes on to say, "I was reading through the Beatitudes in Luke 6, 24-26, and it struck me like never before." Verse 24, "Woe to you who are rich.

I am rich by worldly standards. My wife and I do not live beyond our means, nor do we spend money frivolously. However, we do have good incomes and savings." Verse 25, "Woe to you who are full now. I have never been truly hungry in my life apart from voluntary hunger." Verse 26, "Woe to you who laugh now.

I have a joyful life and try to laugh frequently. Can you put into perspective Jesus' woes that are seemingly directed right at my life?" And maybe contrast Luke's account against Matthew's who says, "Poor in spirit, hunger and thirst for righteousness, etc. I desire the blessings of Luke 6, 20-22, but I'm not sure how to reconcile all of this with my physical life.

Matthew seems more directed to my spiritual life." Pastor John, what would you say to Lee? Let me read the text in just a second, and then, in case it's just not obvious, point out what the problem is as we compare Luke's so-called Beatitudes and woes with Matthew's Beatitudes. But let me preface it with a method.

I don't think it's a good method to try to force similar sayings in two different Gospels to mean exactly the same thing, because Jesus spoke similar things in many different settings and meant different things by them—not contradictory things, but different things. So my approach—and I think it's wise and honoring to the inspired writers—that we let each Gospel writer report what he knows in a way that makes clear a particular meaning about those, rather than saying, "Well, Luke's has to be what Matthew meant, or Matthew has to be what Luke meant." And I would say, "No, that's not the case.

They just don't contradict each other, but they might be different, significantly different, which they are here." So everybody knows Matthew's "Blessed are the poor in spirit"—that's really familiar—"for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," or "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." So here's Luke's version—I'll read the whole thing.

"Jesus lifted up his eyes on his disciples and said, 'Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.

Rejoice in that day and leap for joy." I mean, that just seems over the top, right? "Leap for joy when you're slandered, for behold, your reward is great in heaven, for so the fathers did to their prophets." You can hear how familiar Matthew is to me. I tend to default into Matthew's version.

Verse 24, "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets." So this is one of the classic places where Jesus speaks in a sweeping and extreme way and leaves you gasping, wondering if he could possibly mean what he seems to say in such a sweeping and seemingly unqualified way.

For example, he said, "Blessed are the poor." No qualifications. "Blessed are the hungry now." No qualifications. "Blessed are the weeping now." No qualifications. "Woe to you rich," which is the opposite of poor. No qualifications. "Woe to those who are full," opposite of hungry. No qualifications. "Woe to those who laugh." No qualifications.

What in the world are we to make of this? So here we really wonder, well, are there no qualifications? If there are no qualifications, then the wicked poor and the wicked hungry and the wicked laughing will all be blessed by God. And if there are really no qualifications, then there are no godly rich, and everyone with a full stomach or who laughs at a baby's giggle are cursed.

Now I think our approach should not be first to say, "Well, he just can't mean that. I mean, he just can't mean that," and call it exaggeration or literary device or something like that. Rather, I think we should look for clues in the context. Look very carefully. Stare until we see them, which he expects us to find, so that we can know there are qualifications.

Not all the poor are blessed. Not all the weeping are blessed. Not all those with a full stomach are cursed. Not everyone who laughs is under judgment. How do we know that? I mean, there you go, laying your predisposition piper on top of the text and won't let it say what it wants to say.

Well, I hope not. Here's the clue. Jesus says in verse 22 that when people hate you on account of the Son of Man, you should rejoice on that day and leap for joy. Picture yourself leaping for joy. What does it sound like out of your mouth? There's laughter and shouting.

So Jesus is saying loud and clear that in this age, there is a time and a place and a circumstance for great rejoicing and leaping for joy. Not the place that the world expects, but a real time and real place for much joyful leaping and laughing, namely when you are persecuted for the Son of Man.

So when he gets to verse 25 and says, "Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep," we know he must mean a kind of laughing that isn't the same kind as the joy and the leaping that he commanded in verse 22. He doesn't speak out of both sides of his mouth.

He's not confused. He's not schizophrenic. When he says, "Leap for joy," and then condemns laughter, we know one of them is different than the other. There's a distinction being made. That's the clue, at least one, that he wants us to pick up. There are others. And so we should apply the same thing to the poor and the rich.

Is it all poor, just like is it all laughter? No, it's not all poor, just like it was not all laughter. All the rich are condemned, just like all laughter is not wrong. No, not all the rich. Each one we pick up on and apply the same clue that we saw with regard to laughter.

So what's the key that makes some laughter blessed and some woeful? And the contextual answer is, are you laughing or leaping on account of the Son of Man? Because that's the criterion for the first command for joy, when it is done in response to living according to the Son of Man.

Is your poverty an expression of your devotion to the Son of Man? Is your hunger an expression of your love and devotion to and following the Son of Man? Are your riches owing to indifference to the teachings of the Son of Man? If so, you're under a woe. Is the fullness of your stomach evidence that you are for or against the Son of Man?

So my answer to Lee's question is this, that Jesus has given us clues in Luke's text to keep us from treating these beatitudes and curses in an unqualified way. Poverty and riches, hunger and fullness, weeping and laughter may be signs of blessedness, or they may be signs of condemnation, depending on how they relate to our devotion to Jesus.

If we are utterly devoted to Him, no poverty, no hunger or weeping can steal our blessedness. I think that's what he means by the blessings. If you're my disciple and you are acting in accord with your love for the Son of Man, you may be poor, you may be hungry, you may be weeping, but you are blessed.

And if we are not devoted to Him, not following the Son of Man, no riches, no fullness, no laughter can keep us from condemnation. That's very helpful, Pastor John. Thank you. Thank you, Lee, for that question and for listening to episodes on your way to work. That is so encouraging to hear from our listeners, isn't it, Pastor John?

It is. I pray this blesses you on your way to work today, Lee. Amen. Thank you for listening wherever you are, driving errands, commuting to work, doing chores around the house, or walking, running, jogging, doing your gym routine, wherever and whenever you listen to us. Thanks for making us a part of your weekly rhythms.

It truly is an honor that we do not take for granted. Well to search our archives and read transcripts of episodes in the past, or to send us a question of your own, go to our online home at DesiringGod.org/AskPastorJohn. Well, did God make me to punish me, and why did he create me in the first place?

Huge, massive questions like these arrive every day in our inbox from you. And those questions, in fact, are on the table next time. Why did God make me, and did he make me just to punish me? Heavy, heavy questions. Those are next time. I'm your host, Tony Reinke. We'll see you back here on Friday.

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