The word 'woe,' can be found 96 times in Scripture. Woe is defined as 'great sorrow or distress.' I'm glad I looked it up because I thought this word meant trouble. It goes much deep than simply trouble. Woe is further defined as a condition of deep suffering from misfortune, affliction, or grief; calamity, economic woes.
We may feel like the Pharisee's and religious leaders were getting away with murder. We might think Jesus allowed these 'holy' leaders to continue to bad-mouth and ridicule Him without consequence, but He takes them to task here. Jesus is letting them know their wicked actions have not gone unnoticed and He points out 6 woes they will be judged for. And, dare I say, we will also if we do not embrace Jesus' ways.
- neglecting justice and the love of God
- love of self-importance
- beautiful on the outside, dead on the inside
- you load people down with burdens with no offer of help
- you approve of killing all the prophets
- you have taken away the key to knowledge
Matthew 23:13-32 repeats these woes in more detail.
What is the opposite of woe? Happiness and Joy were the words my dictionary raised. But I don't know if I agree with happiness. Happiness is an emotion, but Joy, a stronger word, is achieved through selflessness and personal sacrifice. During these days we are now living, we can understand happiness can be an empty and simply a momentary state. Joy is so much more.
No comments:
Post a Comment