THE EIGHT BEATITUDES OF JESUS
Matthew 5:3-10
1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
2. Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
3. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
4. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
5. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
6. Blessed are the pure of heart,for they shall see God.
7. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.
8. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
The beatitudes come from the opening verses of the famous Sermon on the Mount delivered by Jesus and recorded in Matthew 5:3-12. Here Jesus states several blessings, each beginning with the phrase, "Blessed are ..." (Similar declarations appear in Jesus' Sermon on the Plain in Luke 6:20-23.) Each saying speaks of a blessing or "divine favor" bestowed upon a person resulting from the possession of a certain character quality.
The word "beatitude" comes from the Latin beatitudo, meaning "blessedness." The phrase "blessed are" in each of the beatitudes implies a current state of happiness or well-being. The expression held powerful meaning of "divine joy and perfect happiness" to the people of the day. In other words, Jesus was saying "divinely happy and fortunate are" those who possess these inward qualities. While speaking of a current "blessedness," each pronouncement also promises a future reward.
1. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
"Poor in spirit" means to be humble. Humility is the realization that all your gifts and blessings come from the grace of God. To have poverty of spirit means to be completely empty and open to the Word of God. When we are an empty cup and devoid of pride, we are humble. Humility brings an openness and an inner peace, allowing one to do the will of God. He who humbles himself is able to accept our frail nature, to repent, and to allow the grace of God to lead us to Conversion.
It is pride, the opposite of humility, that brings misery. For pride brings anger and the seeking of revenge, especially when one is offended. If every man were humble and poor in spirit, there would be no war!
2. "Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
If we are humble and appreciate that all of our gifts and blessings come from God, we grow in love and gratitude for Jesus Christ our Savior. But this can only produce mourning and regret over our own sins and the sins of this world, for we have hurt the one who has been so good to us. One also mourns for the suffering of others. Mourning in this context is called a blessing, because mourning our fallen nature creates in us a desire to improve ourselves and to do what is right!
3. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."
Lowliness is the third way to be blessed. This is often translated "meekness," "humility," "gentleness," or "mildness." Lowliness is a quality of the heart of Christ (Matthew 11:29). To be lowly requires tremendous supernatural strength. It is the strength Jesus showed on Calvary, the strength to turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:39).
Lowliness is also the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:23). Fruit is the final product of a tree, and the fruit of the Spirit is the result of the Spirit's work and our exercise of spiritual gifts. For example, we may experience the spiritual gift of fear of the Lord and become very aware of God's presence. The Spirit then motivates us to evangelize, and then we are persecuted. This series of experiences deeply affects us. We are stronger and lowlier than we have ever been. We will inherit the earth and win the world for Christ.
4. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
The Lord promised that if we seek first His kingdom and His way of righteousness and holiness, everything else will be given to us (Matthew 6:33). We do not need to seek anything but holiness. However, we hunger and thirst for many worldly things and are thereby tempted to seek them. We must not be like the pagans who worry about what they are to eat, drink, or wear (Matthew 6:31-32).
Our carnal desires and pleasure-seeking lifestyle lusts against the Spirit (Galatians 5:17). If we make provisions for the desires of the flesh (Romans 13:14), we lose our desires for the things of the Spirit. We become spiritually anorexic and starve our souls. "Lust indulged starves the soul" (Proverbs 13:19). We are either filled by hungering and thirsting for holiness or lose our spiritual appetite and starve ourselves.
5. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
We are blessed in showing mercy, not giving others what they deserve but better than they deserve. To do this, someone must pay the price. For example, if a person owes you $1,000 and you have mercy on him, you have to take a $1,000 loss. Mercy is not overlooking justice. The demands of justice must always be met, but mercy means paying someone else's debts, offering our lives in ransom for others (Matthew 20:28), dying on someone else's cross. Jesus already has done this for us. However, He lets us fill up in our own bodies what is lacking in His sufferings (Colossians 1:24) by suffering in the pattern of His death (Philippians 3:10).
We all are in desperate need of receiving mercy, but mercy is very expensive to give. Therefore, we need an all-merciful Savior and merciful followers of such a Savior.
6. Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.
The kingdom of God is like a precious pearl which cost everything we have to purchase it (Matthew 13:46). Everyone can afford it but no one can afford anything else. Therefore, our hearts must be single. Any other attachments will cause us to fall short of paying the price for the kingdom of God. If we are not single-hearted, we are not obeying the first and most basic commandment to love the Lord our God with all our hearts (Matthew 22:37). However, if we are single-hearted, we are on the way to heaven; we shall see God. Our commitment to the Lord must be all or nothing. If we are only 99% committed to the Lord, we are lukewarm and the Lord will vomit us out of His mouth (Revelation 3:16). The Lord, the Bridegroom, wants us to more than marry Him (Mark 2:19). He wants to be the one, only, and single desire of our hearts. To have any other "lovers" (idols) would be adultery. The Lord is God; there must be no other gods besides Him (Exodus 20:2-3).
7. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.
There are many more warmakers than peacemakers because the cost of making peace is much greater than that of making war. War costs billions of dollars and millions of lives. Peace costs much more. Peace cost the crucifixion and death of Jesus on Calvary.
Later in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explained the price of peace: "What I say to you is: offer no resistance to injury. When a person strikes you on the right cheek, turn and offer him the other" (Matthew 5:39). The price of peace is the cross. It pleased the Father to reconcile everything in Jesus, "making peace through the blood of His cross" (Colossians 1:20). Peace is Jesus' farewell gift to us (John 14:27). It was given not only at the end of His life but through the end of His life on Calvary.
When Jesus looked over Jerusalem, "He wept over it and said: 'If only you had known the path to peace this day; but you have completely lost it from view!' " (Luck 19:41-42) We completely lose sight of the path to peace when we take our eyes off Jesus crucified. Therefore "let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, Who inspires and perfects our faith. For the sake of the joy which lay before Him He endured the cross" (Hebrews 12:2).
8. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
When we choose to expose ourselves to persecution, we choose to be blessed, and the kingdom of God is ours right away. This is the last and most important beatitude. It is the only beatitude Jesus expounds upon. He mentions insult and slander as ways in which we are persecuted (Matthew 5:11). Then He points out that suffering persecution not only gives us happiness but also gladness, joy, and a great reward in heaven (Matthew 5:12). It is our "special privilege to take Christ's part — not only to believe in Him but also to suffer for Him" (Philippians 1:29). God's word proclaims: "Rejoice instead, in the measure that you share Christ's sufferings. When His glory is revealed, you will rejoice exultantly. Happy are you when you are insulted for the sake of Christ, for then God's Spirit in Its glory has come to rest on you" (1 Peter 4:13-14).
If we would live the eight verses of the Bible called "the Beatitudes," just imagine what love, freedom, boldness, and power we would see in the Christian community. We would drastically simplify our lifestyle and see Christian community as a necessity. We would truly be salt with flavor (Matthew 5:13) and light with power (Matthew 5:14). We would be very blessed, fully in His kingdom, and willing to live and die for Jesus.