The Beatitudes - The Sermon on the Mount - Part I
The
Sermon on the Mount is one of the most well known, often quoted, and sometimes
misunderstood discourses by Christ in the Gospel of Matthew. Over the next couple of weeks I would
like to take some time to consider afresh this important sermon by Christ. I hope my walk through the Sermon on the
Mount will prove fruitful for your walk with Christ; I know it already has for
mine.
The
Sermon is one of five discourses by Christ recorded in the book of
Matthew. This particular sermon
deals with the in-breaking paradigm of the Kingdom of Heaven. God’s Kingdom has come to the earth in
the person of Christ and He is going to teach what the rule of this kingdom
looks like as well as the character of those that would be part of the
kingdom. This article will cover Matthew
5:1-12 of the Sermon on the Mount known as the beatitudes.
Throughout
the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew is showing that Jesus is the Messiah. In fact, in Matthew 1:1, Matthew calls
Jesus the Messiah. In addition,
Matthew takes great pains to show the reader how Jesus reenacts many of the
events of the history of Israel.
The Sermon is no exception; here Jesus can be likened to Moses giving
the Law to the people of Israel in Deuteronomy.
Let’s
consider a few structural items about the beatitudes. There are eight beatitudes found in Matthew 5:3-12. The eight beatitudes are incased in an
inclusio concerning the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3 and Matthew 5:10 form the inclusio with a
present tense verb and a repeated ending statement, “for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.” All the other
beatitudes between Matthew 5:3 and Matthew 5:10 have a forward looking reward
as seen with the future verb tenses.
Matthew 5:11-12 then becomes an expansion
on the eighth beatitude. It is
interesting to note that the person changes in Matthew 5:11-12 from the predominant
‘they’ to ‘you.’ A progression of
character traits has also been seen in the beatitudes. Being poor in spirit is seen as the
beginning point of a life lived as a citizen of the kingdom of heaven that
progress towards the boldness of someone being persecuted for being a part of
the kingdom. Others have found
great strength in each particular future comfort promised for citizens of the
kingdom, not necessarily taking the verses with their intended spiritual sense,
but finding strength in the midst of trail. Now let’s take a quick look at each beatitude and think
about how it plays into character of those that are a part of the new Kingdom
of Heaven that has come upon the earth through the person of Christ.
Matthew
5:3 - “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom heaven.” Being
poor in spirit truly is the starting point of the Christian walk. We must realize we are spiritually
bankrupt and in need of the forgiveness found in Christ if we are to become a
citizen of the kingdom of heaven.
Many have taken this verse to be more financial in nature, given Luke’s
record of the Sermon in Luke 6:20, but Matthew points us toward the spiritual
aspect of being poor by adding the words “in Spirit.” This also fits with the overall tenor of all the beatitudes
to be concerned with the in-breaking spiritual kingdom of heaven that has yet
to come in full until the second coming of Christ. This verse, being in present tense, reminds us that we truly
can be a part of the kingdom of heaven here and now if we realize our spiritual
need and submit to Christ and receive the forgiveness he offers.
Matthew
5:4 – “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” The word mourn does not conjure up
ideas of blessedness, but here Jesus has put these two contrasting words
together. How can the one who
mourns be blessed? Keeping the
spiritual nature of the beatitudes in mind, we can understand the mourning to
be over personal sin and our broken relationship with God. We mourn now because we are spiritually
broken and sinful, but when Christ returns our salvation will be made complete
and we will mourn no longer. We
will finally be rid our sin addiction and be made whole. In that day, we will be comforted.
Matthew
5:5 – “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.” This beatitude is closely related to
the first. If the first beatitude
points towards a dependence on God because of our broken spirit, this beatitude
points toward a submissive spirit.
We are gentle because we have submitted to Christ and God’s plan. We can stop striving to carve out a
piece of this world to be our own knowing that we are heirs with Christ of the
new heavens and earth. Inheriting
the new heavens and earth will far surpass whatever we could scrape and scrap
for in this life. Because of the
hope we have, we can approach this passing world with gentleness looking
forward to the next.
Mathew
5:6 – “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they
shall be satisfied.” Hunger and
thirst indicate an intense longing for righteousness that is probably foreign
to most of us. Needless to say,
this is a great progression from being broken, then mourning, and now hungering
and thirsting for righteousness.
Christ promises that we will be filled when His kingdom comes in its
fullness.
Matthew
5:7 – “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” Those that have been included as
citizens of the kingdom of heaven have been shown mercy by God through the
forgiveness of sins in Christ.
Likewise citizens of God should be merciful to those around them. To do so is a character trait of the
citizens of the kingdom of heaven.
In the coming judgment the citizens of the kingdom of heaven will be
shown mercy because they have been hidden in Christ.
Matthew
5:8 – “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” This is one of the pinnacle traits of
the Christian life that should be striven for yet will not be obtained until
Christ comes. To have pure motives
when we act is truly a work that only God can do in our hearts. It is important here to remember that
the beatitudes are not requirements for salvation, but the outworking of
salvation; only to be completed at Christ’s return. Those that are cleansed of sin through the blood of Christ will
have pure hearts in the new heavens and new earth and will dwell with God. The citizens of heaven will see God.
Matthew
5:9 – “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Christ is called the Prince of Peace
and those that follow in His ways will also be like Him. But what kind of peacemaking is being
referred to here? Should
Christians be stopping fights, wars, and arguments? Yes, but this verse is about being a son of God. The Son of God is making peace between
God and man, and a peacemaker here is one that does the same. This beatitude calls us to a vigorous
life in the ministry of reconciliation that Christ has given us. Citizens of heaven are taking the
Gospel to everyone around them, making peace between God and men. It is in this way that we will be
called sons of God.
Matthew
5:10-12 – Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of
righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Citizens of the kingdom that are being persecuted are
accounted blessed because they are living out righteous lives proving they are
a part of the kingdom. Matthew
5:10 is in the present tense showing that those persecuted for the kingdom are
truly members of that kingdom.
This beatitude begs us to consider our life and evaluate if we are
facing persecution, if we are not experiencing some form of persecution we may
not be living the way God has called us to live. Matthew 5:11 expands the idea of persecution to include
insults, false evil reports, and general harassment because citizens of heaven
are associated with Christ. From
Matthew 5:10 and 5:11 we can see that Christians should face persecution for
living righteous lives and their plain association with the name of
Christ. Matthew 5:12 urges us to
rejoice in the face of persecution as it validates our membership in the
kingdom. Not only are we validated
but we have a great reward coming.
We will cease to mourn, we will inherit the earth, we will be satisfied,
we will receive mercy, we will be called sons of God, and we will see God
because we will dwell with Him.
Finally, when we face persecution, we are joining the great cloud of
witnesses that faced persecution all the days of their lives. Remember that you are not alone the
next time you are persecuted for Christ.
Jesus
has accounted everyone who is a citizen of the kingdom of heaven blessed. The question is, are you a citizen of
the kingdom? The beatitudes set
out the character of those that call themselves Christians. These are not requirements for
salvation, as if we could attain the height of these character traits. However, they are standards to strive
for. As Paul says in Philippians
3:16, “let us keep living by the same standard to which we have attained.” In
Christ we have been accounted righteous, now we must learn to walk in the ways
of righteousness. We should look
forward to the day when we are made complete in Christ at His return. In the mean time, let us learn to be
poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
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