The
Passage
Matthew
5:1-12; Luke 6:20-26[1]
And
seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His
disciples came to Him. Then He opened
His mouth and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the
poor in spirit, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed
are the meek, for
they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed
are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
Blessed
are the merciful, for
they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed
are the pure in heart, for
they shall see God.
Blessed
are the peacemakers, for
they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed
are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. Blessed are you when they revile
and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so
they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your
consolation. Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe
to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to
the false prophets."
A
Little Background
This
part of Jesus’ sermon on the mount is known as The Beatitudes. The word beatitude
comes from a Latin word meaning blessed or happy. Jesus preached this message
to a crowd that had gathered around Him as He spoke specifically to His
disciples.
On
Holy Land tours, the commonly accepted location of this event is on Mount
Eremos on the northern shore of Lake Galilee, near Capernaum. The setting
around the sea provides natural amplification and a broad area on which the
people would have sat.[2]
Some
Explanation
Jesus
made eight blessing statements in Matthew 5:1-10. The last portion from verses 11 and 12 is considered to be an explanation and extension of verse 10. The word blessed
in the Greek here means to be happy or in an enviable state.
Jesus
had been introducing the coming of the Kingdom of God. This good news was eagerly
anticipated. These Roman-oppressed Jews had been waiting for the Anointed One
to reclaim Israel for God’ glory.
However, when Jesus appeared before Pilate He declared that His kingdom was
not of this world. The kingdom that Jesus preached was to be a spiritual
reality for His followers now, and a governmental reality at some future time. As
Jesus preached, He was saying that these truths were the way
His followers would live in His kingdom. Salvation would be the entrance.
Observations
and Insights
Our
modern Western culture defines blessing as having peace, prosperity, and ease.
We are blessed to have a nice home, cars that run, a good income, and good
health. But notice that none of these items are part of the Beatitudes.
Instead, Jesus opens with a statement that contradicts our very idea of
blessing, “Blessed are the poor in spirit...”
John
Piper notes that the very first blessing statement and the last both declare a
present reality. “Blessed are the poor in
spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3) “Blessed are those who are persecuted for
righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew
5:10) Each of the six statements in between declare a future reality, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they
shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4)[3]
I
found an excellent study on being poor in spirit by Mike Cleveland of Setting
Captives free:
*
This spiritual poverty is, in reality, the foundation of all graces. God gives grace to the humble, not to the
proud. The humble—those who recognize
their own impoverished condition—are given grace.
* Emptiness precedes fullness. We cannot receive anything from God until we
have empty hands. He who recognizes he
has nothing to offer God will receive everything from God.
*
Self must be denied in order for Christ
to be wanted. If our goal is to honor
ourselves, Christ will be far from us.
But he who honors God will himself be honored.
* A starving heart will give all to have the
Bread of Life. It is only the hungry
person—not the full—who senses his need of Jesus.
For
the entire study see: http://www.settingcaptivesfree.com/courses/way-of-purity/day52/section1/
We
cannot enter God’s kingdom unless we are truly poor in spirit for we are
enemies of God by our wicked works with no possible way to reconcile ourselves
to Him (Colossians 1:19-22). We must humble ourselves before Him confessing our
sin and fallen state and then receive Christ’s death as payment for punishment
that we deserved.
The
last of the Beatitudes states blessing for those who are persecuted; theirs,
too, is the kingdom of heaven. We should expect that as a child of God we will
at some time face opposition for our faith. Jesus said that if the world hated
Him, they would hate us also, for the servant is not greater than His master.
Persecution is an absolute reality for the follower of Christ. For some it is
opposition and rejection from family, friends, neighbors or co-workers. But for
many, (and that number is surely increasing), true persecution resulting in
physical suffering and/or death awaits us.
These
two promises are like two slices of bread on a sandwich, with the meat in
between. For the citizen of God’s kingdom who enters through poverty of spirit
and walks in the reality of persecution, the blessings are rich. These
blessings are not the requirements to enter the kingdom, but the character of
those who are living in the kingdom and the promises that are theirs. We will
mourn, but we will be comforted[4].
Meekness, gentleness, mildness will be rewarded with an inheritance in the earth.
Believers will hunger and thirst for righteousness—not their own, but Jesus’
own righteousness, and He will fill them. (Phil. 3:8-9) We will be required to
show mercy for the mercy we obtain. God indwells those whose hearts are toward Him
in purity and truth. Finally, sons, or children of the kingdom will be
peacemakers. God gives us the ministry of reconciliation. By leading others to
faith in the Lord Jesus (who themselves become children of God), we show them
the One who made peace with God for us by the blood of His cross (Colossians
1:19-22). These shall be called sons of
God.
I
recognize a shallowness in myself when I consider how I have breezed through
this passage so many times. Instead, I now see its truth as sobering, yet its
promises rich. It stands as an entrance into the rest of the sermon; my poverty
of heart is the gate. But today's Christianity often beckons us to befriend the world's system, to seek popularity and earthly success. Notice Jesus' stern warning, "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets."
From Adam4D: http://adam4d.com/jesus-vs-world/
[1]
Note:
Much of the Harmony readings will be pieced together like a puzzle putting the
four Gospels together into one narrative. I am copying the order or format from
A Simplified Harmony of the Gospels,
George W. Wright, Holman Bible Publishers, 2001. However, I am using the New
King James rather than the HCSB. This order is from the research of Wright and
is open to discussion. Of course, you can also read the passages side by side
separately if you prefer.
[2]
There
is another location that some scholars argue may have been the site. It is noted
that in Luke’s account, Jesus went down to a level place. But this is no
contradiction. There are several level places on the slope of Mt. Eremos where
Jesus may have taught.
[4]
The
mourning is for our sin and its consequences leading to repentance. For more
excellent commentary on the beatitudes see: http://www.gotquestions.org/search.php?zoom_query=beatitudes&search.x=0&search.y=0
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