The Beatitudes and the Four Woes

The beatitudes offer us a guide to living Godly lives. In them we learn about meekness, contriteness, mercy, purity of heart, righteousness, keeping the peace, and much, much more.

Jesus also warns us that people will insult us and persecute us for following him, but that we are blessed because our reward in heaven will be great:

²³ Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.¹

In Luke 6:24-26 the four woes follow the beatitudes. These four woes contrast the beatitudes:

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.

Jesus taught us over and over again what type of life we are to lead if we want to be rewarded in heaven. He also warned us about leading the opposite kind of life. These teachings are clear.

The One Who Has Will be Given More?

But then we read Matthew 13:12, and Jesus tells us that he who has much will be given more, while those who have little will lose it all.

 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

Jesus uses this phrase three more times in the Bible: once more in the Book of Matthew, once in the Book of Mark, and once in the Book of Luke.

This does not seem to fit in with what Jesus taught us in the beatitudes, and it is also the opposite of the four woes. So why is this? What does this mean? It seems that Jesus is saying, for all intents and purposes, money goes to money. It seems to be against everything Jesus taught.

Biblical Contradictions?

Skeptics point to this verse as one example of what they believe are many contradictions in the Bible. To be honest with you, I had trouble with this verse when I first came to Christ and started reading the Bible. In fact, I had trouble with it for quite a while until it finally came together for me.

It all has to do with context. Skeptics take this verse out of context, and for a long time I did not put the verse in the proper context either. We’ll look briefly at the four verses in question and we will see there is a thread woven between them that is about something entirely different when put in context.

Matthew 13:12 in Context

We’ll start with Matthew 13:10-11:

Jesus had Just finished teaching the parable of the sower and the four different types of soil. His disciples came up to him and asked him why he spoke to the people in parables.

¹⁰ Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” ¹¹ And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

Jesus starts answering them by talking about the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, and then utters the words we are now discussing. This should be our first clue.

But we’ll keep going. In order to further determine what Jesus was talking about we need to ask the question, what does the person have that he will be given more of? More what?

Verses 1-8 were talking about sowing the seeds of God’s word and about the different types of people who hear the word. Some people understand the word and it bears fruit, while others who hear the word forget it over the course of their lives. Then comes verse nine:

⁹ He who has ears, let him hear.”

What does the person have? He has ears to hear. He listens, and with his hearing and acceptance of the word he will be given more revelation and more Godly understanding because he is open to accepting it.

Those without ears to hear? Those without the willingness to listen and understand, well they will lose what they have been taught.

This is what Jesus was talking about. It is clear that Jesus was not talking about worldly goods or treasures.

The NLT clears it up a bit:

To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.

This brings us to the next verse in question, Matthew 25:29.

Matthew 25:29 in Context

This time Jesus repeats the statement on the heel of the parable of the talents. While Jesus uses money as an example here, we should not make the mistake of thinking this parable is related to money. Jesus is again talking about spiritual matters and not earthly treasures.

This is about doing something with what knowledge you have been given. If you were the person who received much, or if you were the person in the parable of talents who received a smaller portion, you are still responsible to use what you are given for the advancement of the Kingdom. We are not supposed to hide it away.

The parable of the sower was about knowledge. The parable of the talents could be interpreted to be about spiritual gifts. When we accept Jesus into our hearts and we are filled with the Holy Spirit we are endowed with spiritual gifts.

Again, if you don’t use the gift God has given you, then it is wasted and you will lose what you were given. But the more you use your gift the better you will become at using it and the more people it will benefit. This also is not about worldly goods.

Again the NLT helps:

²⁹ To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.

Now let’s look at Mark 4:25 and Luke 8:18.

Mark 4:25, Luke 8:18 in Context

Both of these verses are probably separate accounts of the same incident. In both Mark and Luke Jesus repeated the parable of the sower, but this time he went on to talk about a person who is given a lamp. You would not hide the lamp in a basket or under a bed because nobody could see it. The light of the lamp would be useless. Instead, you put the lamp on a stand where the light can be seen by others.

Jesus, of course, is the light of the world² and he is clearly talking about sharing the good news once you have accepted it. It is important to share your knowledge, whether you know a lot, or even if you just know the basics of the faith. It does no good to internalize the knowledge God has given you.

Those who do not share what they know, and hide it away because they are concerned about worldly position, or what people might think of them, are sure to lose what knowledge they have as the blend into the world. While those who continue to grow in understanding will continue to grow spiritually, and they will be able to spread the news and to help others learn. And then the cycle begins again…

Summary

The main problem is that skeptics are, either intentionally or unintentionally, equating these verses with earthly goods and money. It is the same with some Christians, like myself at one time, who are looking at this also from an earthy perspective. That is not what these verses are about.

In Matthew 13:12 we learn that Jesus is talking about Godly knowledge and how it is available to those whose hearts and minds are open to it. The more you seek the more you learn, and the more you are given.

In Matthew 25:29 we learn that those who put faith in Jesus are given spiritual gifts according to their abilities and we are expected to use them to advance the kingdom. We need to use the gift we are given, or else the gift is wasted.

And finally in Mark 4:25 and Luke 8:18 we are taught to shine the light of Jesus on the world.

So Jesus is talking about spreading his Kingdom and while those who have understanding of the Kingdom will gain more through study and revelation, this also comes with a responsibility which is driven home in Luke 12:48:

Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

Conclusion

We are expected to do something with our knowledge and with our gifts according to our faith. Much will be required of whom much is given, this is true, but those who have not been given as much are still called to use what they have.

A person is not let off the hook because somebody has more knowledge than they do. We are not supposed to leave it up to somebody else, we all have gifts we can use. It is true, we are not all called to preach, we are not all called to teach, and we are all not called to exhort.

But we still have spiritual gifts, we are just called to use them in a different manner. There is always a way to use what we have been given.

Maybe you are a seed-planter.

You can plant a seed by doing a good deed for somebody. When that person says “thank you” and you respond by saying, “thank God for putting me in a situation where I could help you” then you have planted a seed.

Maybe when the cashier hands you your receipt at the store you simply say “thank you and God bless you.” Sometimes simple words are all it takes to make a person start thinking.

Maybe you have the gift of mercy or of serving, and people see something in you they don’t see in others, and they ask you about it. This is your chance to plant a seed.

These are just a few examples. The questions we all have to ask ourselves are: Am I using my gift to advance the Kingdom? And if not, how can I use my gift to advance the Kingdom?

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1. Luke 6:23 ESV ↩︎
2. See John 8:12 ↩︎