Early in the ministry of Jesus with a large crowd around him he retreated to a mountain where he began to teach. It was his purpose in this teaching to assure himself that his listeners should abhor evil and linger on the good. We must keep in mind that Christianity is not a speculation of good character. The Beatitudes of Jesus provided for us the ability to recognize how we must temper our minds. The gospel must reclaim us.
Another purpose of Jesus coming to earth is usually unrecognized. He came into the world so that we might be blessed as he who has authority. (Acts 3: 26) The purpose of the Beatitudes was to demonstrate true happiness. It is to explain the definition of godliness. In these blessings Jesus put forth a design that would offset the ruin of our blind and carnal world. Those outside of his family believe errors of what happiness is because they miss the point entirely.
Jesus presented to his hearers his own doctrine for those led by the Spirit of God. He offers an outline and encouragement to those who are suffering either in spirit or in fact. Each blessing begins with a demonstration by his followers for the effect that salvation through him brings a wonderful result. He begins with those who are poor in spirit which means under their present life they have been suffering discouragement.
He shares the principles of the kingdom of heaven. In effect, he was saying, “This is what it’s like when God governs your life.” He declares that his law deals with thoughts and motives as well as overt actions. The hardness of man’s heart of necessity must be softened by the presence of Christ in their lives. He pictures the perfect standard of righteousness that the Law of Moses may demand but is unable to provide sinners since it only specifies human shortcomings. The divine standard is not by good works as the Law demanded. It is the result of a surrender to him who would worship God in spirit and in truth. Combined with the Mosaic Law, the principles of Jesus who fulfilled the Law makes all Scripture profitable for instruction in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3: 16)
His promise is that those who mourn, those who are meek or humble, and those that hunger and thirst after righteousness shall benefit a divine comfort, a special inheritance, and a filling for what they desire in Christ. Then versus 7 through 9 identify believers who are merciful, pure in heart, and are peacemakers. Their blessing is to have mercy, to see God. Every thought is, for children of God, Jesus turned the page to those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake and those who are reviled and persecuted in other ways by all manner of evil. He promises these folks the kingdom of heaven as a result because they are living for his sake. He concludes the text by advising all those who are suffering in this world to rejoice and be glad since they have a reward in heaven just like the prophets of old.
Jesus summarized the articles of agreement between his Heavenly Father and mankind. This is what God expects of us and what we can expect from him. That means that fact is a conformity to what he just outlined based on his promises. He offers the grace and the glory we so need as fallen people. As poor in spirit, we are emptied of self so that we might be filled with him. These who are blessed in this manner can be described as humble and self-denying. Those who mourn are doing so as a result of the enemy because of sin. These are routinely serious for their own sins and the sins of the world as was Christ. They regularly repent and are angry about the corruption of their own nature that causes so many transgressions against God. To be meek is to submit to God because of his word and at times because of his corrections.
As believers our goal should be to hunger and thirst after righteousness not that it makes us happy necessarily, but we will someday realize true justice and equality now denied by the world. We seek not to gain justice for ourselves but rely on God to provide it on our behalf. Their righteousness is not generated by how they live. It comes as a direct result of a tight relationship with the righteousness of Jesus. Therefore, the righteous is that of Christ not our own. We may live in the world temporarily. While so, the believer cannot be satisfied by anything other than a spiritual transformation from God. Dying to self is a reality, not a goal.
Those who are merciful are not always the smartest nor the richest while their mercy is what they offer to others who are themselves in misery. The person who is merciful notes the condition of those in this world. It is their mission to assist those in sinful misery out of compassion and care. This is the evidence of God’s love for the world. They will inherit a home prepared for them. The pure in heart have been washed clean by the blood of the Lamb. The peacemaker loves and seeks an element so missing from society. They are intercessors who repair the breaches between people. They reconcile what may be an impossible task. They are the children of God because they are standing in his stead bringing peace where there is no peace.
Next follows a tremendous blessing on those victimized by the world through mockery and rejection. Persecution for Christ is an honor because it is following a path that Jesus walked. To reject Christ makes them an enemy of God. They have no thought for those who suffer, not because of their own sin, but for that which is good. Here is another biblical definition of goodness as it glorifies Christ. Those who are reviled by the world are making an investment in heaven sure enough as a title to a piece of property. While they endure, they can encourage themselves that they have a reward in heaven. Those who challenge the waywardness of the world are forging for themselves a sure path to a blessed eternity.
These Beatitudes are the Declaration of Independence from the world and a Constitution of what it is like to live in the kingdom of God on this earth. Ours is to sign that declaration and to follow that Constitution.
Christian Writer 