3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. -Matthew 5
What does this all mean? It's so familiar that I have a hard time thinking about it. It seems in my mind to fall into the same category as " roses are red, violets are blue..."
I remember in school the toughest content to sturdy was content that I was already familiar with. I would gloss over it as I read through it assuming I knew what it was saying without ever taking the time to read through it. This to me is the category that the beatitudes can fall into.
Does this happen to you?
First, I think it would be helpful to look at what the word beatitude means. The closest definition I can find is happy or carefree. The beatitudes describe what a truly happy, carefree person looks like and it is a very different list than you or I would have come up with.
What can we learn from this so far?
At the very least this tells me that the Christianity that Jesus spoke of is not common. This is not a list of things that you commonly see people displaying. Also, it is very different from any other popular ideaology.
Here are some examples of commonly held beliefs across different worldviews.
- You have to work hard in order to achieve rewards (including spiritual rewards) and attain satisfaction
- The rich are favored by God/universe
- A righteous/good/strong person always pulls themselves up by their bootstraps
- Crying/being sad is for the weak
- You have to be self reliant and assertive to get ahead in life
- If you are persecuted, God/universe must be angry with you
Perhaps you might have not heard the above beliefs expressed explicitly, but they are the messages that are lived out in our culture regardless of people's religious background and they are contrary to what Jesus Himself taught.
If you are living your life under the false belief system you will know that they only breed anxiety and stress. These false beliefs tell you to find your identity and value in your performance. You are only as good as you can perform.
What do the beatitudes say?
- God gives His kingdom to those that see their need for Him.
- God comforts those who mourn with and for their own shortcomings and the pain and suffering of others.
- Being humble and God-reliant (instead of self-reliant) is what gains an inheritance.
- Those who desire a deeper satisfaction than the world can offer will be satisfied in what God offers.
- Being aware of the need of Him and being satisfied by Him is to have received mercy. When you have experienced mercy like this you are free and able to give that mercy to others.
- Being merciful towards others produces a pure heart that wants good for others. This is the kind of heart that can look into Gods eye's with joy.
- Being merciful and wanting good for others will make you into the type of person that people seek counsel from when they are seeking to settle their own disputes. You will be reflecting God to others.
- A person who lives out the above attributes is a person who will have a lot of influence on his community. Some will not like this and will seek to take away that influence how ever they can.
- You are given blessings and rewards in heaven when others revile you because you believe in Jesus.
The last beatitude is the one that displays the uniqueness Jesus.
The core of the beatitudes is not moral performance, but Jesus himself. He is the one that perfectly displays the beatitudes in his own life.
10 Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. 11 But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?*” 12 When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” 13 Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’* For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”-Matthew 9
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