What’s with the Woes? – Part III

Luke 6:20-26

As is often the case in ancient Jewish literature, the main point of Jesus’ blessings and woes is to be found in the center of the passage. Rejoice, Jesus says, when you are hated, excluded and insulted and your name is rejected, for your reward in heaven will be great.

The implication is that this persecution occurs because of what we do for God, for Jesus adds the phrase to the blessings, “because of the Son of Man.” But there may be more to his point. When Jesus pronounces the Woe, he simply says, “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how they treated the false prophets.” How people speak of you is not the final analysis, Jesus is saying.

The validity of a prophetic message is not in its reception. Old Testament prophets tended to face outright rejection. John the Baptist in Jesus’ time was beheaded for speaking the truth to King Herod. John was right for doing so, but you would not have known it by Herod’s response in having John’s head cut off.

Sometimes people do stupid things in the name of God and get reviled for it by the world. I’m not sure there is much rejoicing in heaven over such stupidity. Just because someone does something in the name of Jesus does not make it a righteous act. And just because we get reviled by people for being stupid in the name of Jesus does not mean that we will be positively rewarded for it.

What Jesus is saying here is that there is no clear connection between our reputation on earth and our reputation in heaven. Later Paul writes some words about making sure to maintain a good reputation among people of the world. While this has merit, we cannot always predict anyone’s response to our actions when we do what we feel we must do before God. Sometimes doing the right thing discredits us among Believers as well as in the World.

We can even earn people’s hatred through no fault or action of our own. People hate people simply for their skin color or gender, some physical or mental feature that deviates from the norm or their parents’ reputation, or some issue about the circumstances in which they were born. Occasionally people don’t need any excuse to hate others.

Whether this ostracism fits under the blessings and woes concerning weeping or the ones about being reviled, Jesus does include in his blessings anyone who finds himself or herself a misfit in society. He came as a misfit for those who were misfits.

Certainly Jesus is saying that when we do right and people still hate us, we are to remember that the story is not yet over. Our reputation on earth means nothing beyond death. However people paint you down here, the paint does not ascend to heaven with you.

People put great energy into building and preserving a reputation while alive on earth and making sure it lasts beyond the grave. Legacy is a big deal among us humans, especially those who can afford to worry about it. While, there is something to be said for making sure you have a good reputation by maintaining right living, even the best efforts can backfire on you. Moreover, the great length people go to make sure they are respected or liked by others amounts to wasted energy, especially when we disobey God in attempting to do so. Whatever people think about you, God draws his own and completely independent conclusions.

Although it may hurt deeply when people treat you wrongly, such pain is only temporary. In the end, God will right the injustices. Better to ruin your reputation on earth by obeying God whatever the cost. And that is exactly the point why Jesus brings this issue up at this time in his teaching. He is looking for followers who understand that what people think of them is not nearly as important as what God in heaven thinks of them. Only those with a perspective anchored in eternity will be able to handle the assignments he is about to give out.