Are All Who Laugh or Have Wealth Cursed?

Luke 6:20-26 appears to make no qualification whatsoever:

• Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God…Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
• Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied…Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.
• Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh…Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

We may be inclined to race to Matthew’s parallel passage so we can qualify the text with “poor in spirit,” “hunger for righteousness,” etc. But that would violate a fundamental principle of observing and interpreting Luke’s intended message for his audience.

So what should we make of these extreme statements?

In a recent episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, John Piper masterfully demonstrates why context matters. He takes up this question on this text, and he observes the context of Luke’s argument to help us understand and apply these verses as Luke intended.

The podcast would be a great use of 11 minutes of you day. Check it out!