Mattew 5.1-12

Now that we have looked at how the Sermon on the Mount fits into the book of Matthew as a whole, and now that we have looked what the purpose of the sermon is, what the upside down kingdom is like, let's dig in to it's intro, the Beatitudes.

 ¹ Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them, saying:
   ³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
   for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
   for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
   for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
   for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
   for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
   for they will be called sons of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
   ¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.


The space and time we would need to fully cover the beatitudes is way more than we have on this blog today. We could spend the next two weeks talking about these twelve verses and all of the different interpretations of them. 


This section of scripture is the heartbeat for the entire sermon, and their purpose ultimately is to show that in Jesus' kingdom, everything is upside down. 


The word that he uses over and over again is "Blessed", which literally means "congratulations". Mark Scott calls it the "nod of God." It's like Jesus is saying, "Congratulations to you who are poor is spirit for yours is the kingdom of heaven."


There are a number of ways to approach this passage. Some see the eight beatitudes like a ladder and the bottom rung is the poor in spirit. Once you get that, then you move up a step on the ladder, and you mourn. Next, you move a step up and you work on becoming meek, and so forth and so on right to the top of the ladder, being persecuted. They see it as eight steps to being the people of God. Some just say they are by-products of being the people of God. They aren't goals you work towards, but signs that this is what God's people look like. 


Some say they are socio-economic terms. The "Poor in Spirit" means those that have no money. The ones that are mourn are the disenfranchised. They say that it all has to do with your physical and social situations, not your spiritual life. Others take the opposite stance and say that it isn't social at all, but that it is all spiritual and figurative language. 


Whatever your stance is, whatever you believe, I tend to be a both-and type of person instead of an either-or. They are both goals and by-products, and they are both social and spiritual. But that is not the main point of the passage. The main point is that those that are Blessed are not the ones the world says are blessed. 


God says these types of people are blessed: The poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those that hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted, they are the ones that are blessed, that receive the nod of God. 


Yet the world says the strong, the authoritative, the driven, the fearsome, the violent, the feared ones, the ones with power, the attractive ones, the talented ones, these are the ones that are blessed. 


As you look at the eight beatitudes, you will find that as you move down the list and become like these, you will become more and more separated from the world around you. 


When you become "poor in spirit", or as Eugene Peterson puts it, "when you're at the end of your rope," you have to rely solely on God. This is counter-cultural. This is completely against what the world says. They say, "Believe in yourself more! Get confidence, a bigger self-esteem!" 


When you "mourn", this is doing with without what the world says is needed. The world goes on in its merry life of drinking and partying and participating in sexual immorality and selfishness and materialistic lifestyles, and it does not realize that all of these things are self-destructive. The world is falling apart, and those that do not participate in these self-destructive practices sit back and mourn for it. Those that mourn are separated from the world, because they aren't living the life the world expects them to live. They seem uptight and sheltered. The world doesn't see them blessed, but God does. 


Being meek is strength under control. It is a war horse that has all the power to destroy everything in its path, yet it is completely submitted to the will of the rider. The meek renounce every right of their own and live for Christ. This is counter-cultural to the world. The meek say they have no rights, America is based completely on our rights. 


Each beatitude is against what the world says. And God says those are the ones that are blessed. 


those that hunger and thirst for righteousness is hungering for something that we can never attain. Yet, God will fill us at the end of time. The world says sucks to be you, God says congratulations. 


The merciful take on the distress and needs of others. The pure in heart are completely devoted to God and to no one else. The peacemakers endure suffering rather than fight fire with fire. And the citizens of the kingdom of God that act like this, they don't get recognition for their good behavior or for their counter-cultural lifestyles, they get persecuted. No recognition, but rejection. 


The world hates them, God blesses them. The world tries to kill them, God applauses them. The world shakes their head in disgust, but they receive the nod of God. 


And that's why the followers of Jesus, those who are part of the kingdom of God, are able to withstand the persecution and the insults. We wait for that nod, we wait for the applause, we wait for the time when God will say to us, "Well done good and faithful servant."


The Beatitudes show us that the world hates those who follow Jesus, yet God blesses them. And the way to follow Jesus is counter to what the world says. 


You have been called to live a life in direct opposition to the culture around you. Is God's blessing enough, or do you still need to be accepted by the world?


You can't receive both.