Last week, we took a cursory look at the beatitudes, the opening statements of the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus pronounces blessings on specific groups of individuals.
The Sermon on the Mount is important for many reasons, which we started to examine in last week’s post. For one, it’s presented in Matthew’s Gospel as the first event of Jesus’ public ministry, happening immediately after he calls his first disciples to follow him and become “fishers of men.”
It also begins building the framework for what Jesus’ ministry on earth will be about. It’s easy to look at Jesus’ life and reduce the whole story to the events of Easter, but that would be a mistake. Sure, the crucifixion and resurrection are important—essential, even—but they gain their meaning, in part, from the life Jesus lived and the context of his life.
The ministry Jesus came to proclaim was the dawning of a new era, the advent of the kingdom of heaven. John the Baptist, the wilderness prophet who paves the way for Jesus to enter the scene, recognizes before anyone else that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For first century Jews, who had spent their lifetime awaiting the Day of the Lord and the end of exile and oppression from foreign rulers, these words had weight.
As we know, Jesus didn’t stride into Jerusalem with a sword; he didn’t seize power from the high places, take over the Sanhedrin, or install himself as Emperor of Rome. Instead, he walked in meekness and humility, washing feet, healing the sick and sharing meals with sinners. Sure, he turned over some merchants’ tables in the temple courts—but even this was not intended to be a spectacle of his power or strength, but a restoration of justice and right worship.
This is the world we find ourselves in as we listen to these statements.
I find that the beauty of the beatitudes is in how complete each phrase is. The concepts build upon one another until Jesus’ audience understands fully that the kingdom he is proclaiming is wholly unlike anything they’ve experienced before.
Let’s dig in to each of them now.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
In Luke’s Gospel, this statement simply begins with “blessed are the poor.” Matthew, though, has chosen to render the teaching to be about those who are “poor in spirit,” rather than those without material wealth.
To modern ears, “poor in spirit” seems to indicate someone who is sad, or who is somehow lacking in spirit. These meanints still miss what Jesus is getting after here.
First-century listeners would have understood “poor in spirit” to indicate a kind of spiritual lack that magnified their complete dependence on God. So, to be “poor in spirit” would be to recognize, in humility, one’s utter need for the fulfilling love of God.
Those who recognize their need for God will have their needs met and more, Jesus says: theirs is the inheritance of a prince, not a beggar, for the kingdom of heaven itself will be theirs. The last shall be first, indeed!
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
Simple on its surface, these words promise a well of peace whose depths may only just be breached during any one of our lifetimes. Mourning and grief are visceral pains; Jesus, who wept at the death of his friend Lazarus even as he was on the way to resurrect him, knew this well.
He doesn’t meet the mourners with empty platitudes or pithy statements about everything “happening for a reason.” Instead, he sits with them as they mourn, the source and guarantor of comfort.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
I love the juxtaposition here. Similar to the “poor in spirit” who become heirs of the kingdom, the meek—the last people who would presume to a lofty inheritance or a high position—are the very ones who will be given that inheritance in the end.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
As with the first statement, Matthew and Luke render this line slightly differently. Where Luke simply relays the promise that “you who are hungry now” will be “satisfied,” Matthew again emphasizes a spiritual dimension.
Hunger and thirst were likely more familiar to the crowds Jesus is speaking to than to most in America today, where food is often easy to come by. But even our need for food and water—the most basic biological needs, aside from oxygen—pale in comparison to our need for righteousness, or right standing before God.
There’s good news. In the same way that Jesus satisfies the hunger of the crowds later in the story, feeding thousands by multiplying a few loaves of bread and pieces of fish, he will satisfy our need for righteousness, as well. Thanks to Jesus’ intercession, we will be permitted to approach the throne of God. What a thought!
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”
Another straightforward statement on its surface, but I think there’s more here than meets the eye. We tend to read something like this and expect that it implies that those who are merciful in earthly matters will receive the same kind of mercy in similar matters…sort of like the concept of karma, where you get out of life exactly what you put in (for better or worse).
I don’t think that’s the claim at all. Jesus, the son of God and second person of the Trinity, isn’t trying to tell his audience that “you get what you give.” The mercy received won’t be the mercy of peers and acquaintances, or even of enemies and oppressors; it’s far greater. It’s the mercy that can only be doled out by a perfectly holy yet infinitely forgiving God.
The mercy you give, Jesus is saying, is a drop in the bucket compared to the mercy that God offers.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
Time and time again, Old Testament prophets find themselves in the presence of God and fall on their faces, aware that if they so much as catch a glimpse of God’s unveiled glory, it will mean their death. That’s the caliber of holiness that we’re dealing with here.
And yet: the pure in heart may achieve something that even the prophets couldn’t, at least not while they walked the earth. It’s mysterious, but it seems to be true.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
I’ve often heard it said that it’s important to notice that this verse doesn’t call out the peacekeepers, but the peacemakers. There’s a subtle, but important difference between the two.
A peacekeeper does what it takes to preserve the status quo. Don’t rock the boat; don’t draw too much attention; don’t change anything too much. Smile and wave; keep everyone happy; nothing to see here.
That’s not the thing Jesus is talking about. A peacemaker, though not combative, navigates the challenges of justice, love, mercy, and righteousness. The work of peacemaking is uncomfortable, but it’s not dramatic or attention-seeking; it’s often thankless, but it’s met with a reward far greater than the work it requires.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
The kingdom of heaven has been promised to the “poor in spirit,” and in a full circle moment, it’s also promised to the martyrs. Religious persecution was nothing new during the first century, and the early Christians would only continue to experience it after the events of Jesus’ earthly ministry.
Yet, there’s comfort; even amidst persecution, martyrs could have confidence that the very work they were suffering for was bringing the kingdom to earth, and they would be able to find rest there.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
In his last statement, Jesus turns the attention from the general (“blessed are those”) to the specific (“blessed are you”). Some commentators think this indicates a change in audience, as if Jesus is speaking directly to his disciples instead of the crowd at large here.
Regardless, his point stands: allying oneself with Jesus, though the rewards are great, is not an easy path. There will be reasons, especially as Jesus’ fame grows, for people to hate and persecute the disciples themselves. But, do not despair, Jesus says—this persecution is a sign that, like the prophets of old, you’re on the right track.
