Commentary on the Gospel of
Luke;s ‘beatitudes’ are shorter than Matthew’s, and they are balanced by ‘woes’. V. 24 is better translated, ‘Alas for you who are rich, for you have all the comfort you are going to get.” The word he uses for ‘have’ (apechete) is the word used for receiving payment in full of an account. It is an instance of the gospel’s topic: an inversion of worldly values. Nothing fails like success.