From Matthew 5-6
Today’s passage is generally known as the ‘Sermon on the Mount’. Its chiefly about what those in the kingdom of Heaven look like now and what will happen to them in the future. Having called his first disciples, Jesus set out for them an outline of the privileges and the demands of the kingdom.
This post is part of my bible in a year series.
Passage and Comments
Our passage today is called the ‘Beatitudes’ from the Latin word ‘Beatus’ meaning ‘blessed’. The opening verse of chapter five sets the context for what follows in the next three chapters.
5 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. (Mt 5.1)
Jesus ‘went up on the mountain‘. What Jesus does is very significant. It echoes another significant event in Israel’s past. The time when Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive the covenant law. If we consider the frequent use of ‘blessed’ below (so also ‘inheritance’, ‘sons of God’), we can see another connection to the covenant.
Jesus ‘sat down‘. He assumes the stance of a teacher. He teaches those before him with authority.
‘His disciples came to him‘. We don’t know if the crowds could hear what Jesus said. But we know the disciples could. Jesus teaches his disciples who are then to teach the crowds around them.
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. (Mt 5.2-5)
We can break down what Jesus says into three parts.
- He declares a blessing on a given people,
- He identifies those people by various characteristics, and
- He gives the reason why they are blessed.
“In narratives they [the blessings] express joy over good fortune or hope for consolation in times of suffering, and in apocalyptic literature they express hope in a time of oppression. The Matthean beatitudes conform to this type. They refer to humans, the first eight in the third person and the final one in the second person. They console, exhort, and promise eschatological vindication.” (Saldarini, A.J., 2003. Matthew. In J. D. G. Dunn & J. W. Rogerson, eds. Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, pp. 1013–1014.)
The first three blessings are pronounced over the poor, the grieving and the humble.
They anticipate a future place with God and comfort. The world may look down of such as these, but they have a special place in the plans of God.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Mt 5.6-9)
These next four blessings look at the heart and what flows from it.
They hunger and thirst for righteousness. What is good and right. They crave righteousness like food and drink. They are blessed because they will eat and satisfy themselves.
The merciful will find mercy themselves. In the LORD’s prayer God’s people ask for forgiveness because they have forgiven others (Lk 11.4). It works the other way as well. Those who have received the LORD’s forgiveness are to forgive others (Mt 18.23-35).
The purity and holiness are required to see God and stand before him (Ps 24.3-4). In first century Israel it was common to believe people could be pure and holy (Phil 1.10; 1 Tim 1.5; 5.22; 2 Tim 2.22; Tit 1.15; 2.5; 1 Pet 1.22; 3.2; Rev 19.8,14; Heb 12.10,14; 1 Pet 1.15-16; 2 Pet 3.11).
Those who know the peace of the LORD wish to extend it to others. They become peacemakers. Uncomfortable with conflict, they seek a humble and non-violent way to resolve differences and bring about reconciliation. The LORD will call them his sons.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Mt 5.9-12)
The last two blessings highlight how God’s people are treated in the world. The blessed are persecuted and reviled. I’m sure not everyone of God’s people are treated this way. But consider this;
If you saw a person persecuted and reviled would you think them blessed? Jesus does here.
The persecution and reviling is a sign they are God’s people. Consequently their is something to rejoice about, even while they grieve and suffer. God’s people have always been persecuted for their faith.
About Jesus
Jesus becomes the new Moses. He is the new mediator between God and his people. He establishes a new covenant. He inaugurates God’s kingdom. He pronounces blessings on his people.
Will you accept Jesus as your king?
His people look quite different from those of the kingdoms of this world. They are poor, grieving, humble. They seek after righteousness, purity and peace. They are mistreated in this world.
Do you count yourself among them?
But not the world to come. They are the ones who will receive future blessings. They inherit the kingdom. They will see God. They will be comforted.
“People often say what wonderful teaching the Sermon on the Mount is, and that if only people would obey it the world would be a better place. But if we think of Jesus simply sitting there telling people how to behave properly, we will miss what was really going on. These ‘blessings’, the ‘wonderful news’ that he’s announcing, are not saying ‘try hard to live like this.’ They are saying that people who already are like that are in good shape. They should be happy and celebrate.” (Wright, T., 2004. Matthew for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1-15, London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.)
Copyright © Joshua Washington and thescripturesays, 2016. All Rights Reserved.
