In the last post, I shared that Jesus' main audience in the Sermon on the Mount is "the disciples," i.e. individuals who wanted to obey God's Word, keep His Law, and earn their standing before God.
Of course, the Gospel is about grace, not works, about receiving from Jesus, not achieving for Jesus. However, for the Isrealites, as a nation they had gotten accustomed to the notion that the Mosaic Law could be kept, they were convinced that they could try in their efforts and earn God's favor and righteous standing before Him.
As a key part of His earthly ministry as prophet, Jesus came to restore the fullness of the Law to its proper, unassailable form. The Law is a composite whole which damns everyone of us (Romans 3:19).
Consider what Jesus said to the Pharisees when they confronted Him during the Feast of Tabernacles:
"Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?" (John 7:19)
So, with this revelation in mind, let's take another, refreshing, revealing look at the Beatitudes:
"3Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven." (Matthew 5:3)
Consider this: Jesus is saying to disciples, "It's a great thing to be poor in spirit!" I have to wonder how the disciples sitting at His feet must have responded to this. They might have been confused, shocked, even offended! The last thing that anyone wants to be is poor in any way, especially poor in spirit.
And yet, there you have it! Jesus tells them to "be poor." If we truly understand our first state when we come into this world, when we learn to discern good from evil, we would all realize that we are already poor! In fact, Paul writes to the Ephesians how they were "dead in trespasses." (Ephesians 2:1) before believing in Jesus.
That's about as poor as it gets! And yet, when we realize that we are spiritually poor, that we have nothing on our own to give or perform, then Jesus our Savior can step in and provide us everything! We can receive from Him the Kingdom of Heaven, which is righteousness, peace, and joy in His Holy Spirit. (cf Romans 14:17)
"4Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." (Matthew 5:4)
Again, what is so blessed about mourning? When you mourn, it means that you have lost something, or more importantly, somoene important to you. No one wants to lose a loved one, no one wants to stand before a casket before the body of a dearly departed friend or family member. Yet here again, Jesus is saying: "If you mourn, you are blessed."
Considering the broader context, that Jesus is trying to bring the self-righteous under the inexorable demands of the Law. Which kind of mourning should we be looking for? How about the mourning that our sins are so great, our debt for all our wrongdoings is too much for us to bear. When we realize that we have no hope in ourselves, then Jesus can step in and save us.
"5Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." (Matthew 5:5)
To be meek is to recognize yourself as lowly in and of yourself, to have no power or influence in and of yourself. Again, this is not something that people generally strive for. When people are trying for obedience to fulfill God's law in their own strength, they are making themselves big, they are giving into this notion that they can take care of themselves or that they can step up to the challenge.
However, if we want to be saved, if we want to be received, we need to understand that we cannot conceive or achieve anything on our own. We need God. We need our Savior Jesus Christ!
Also, this beatitude is a direct quote from the Old Testament:
"But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." (Psalm 37:11)
What is the context before this verse?
"3Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the
land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
"4Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee
the desires of thine heart." (Psalm 37:3-4)
This Psalm gives incredible insight into the New Covenant! It's about trust, putting your faith in God, literally "feed on His faithfulness." It's not about our works, but believing in Him!
Let's continue looking at the other Beatitudes:
"6Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness: for they shall be filled." (Matthew 5:6)
No one wants to hunger and thirst for anything. Such a state implies lack, desperation, loss, emptiness. Those states in and of themselves are not something to celebrate. But here, Jesus says to the disciples, who want to do, do, do, that they need to be empty, hunger, thirsty, lacking, in order to be fed, to be filled. Indeed, Jesus does fill us with His righteousness when we believe on Him. In fact, we become the righteousness of God! (2 Corinthians 5:21)
"7Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." (Matthew 5:7)
Here is demand, law, imposition. "If you want mercy, you have to be merciful." But again, who can give what he does not have to begin with? We need mercy! Thankfully, Daddy God is merciful. Not only merciful, though, but rich in mercy! (Ephesians 2:4)
"8Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God."
How does one get a pure heart? If these disciples had any learning, any retention of knowledge from serious studies of the Old Testament, surely they would have remembered this verse:
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)
No one on earth, of himself, from birth, has a pure heart. Man's heart is not only dishonest, causing man to lie to himself and to his fellow man, but man's heart is desperately--hopelessly--wicked! He cannot have any chance of fixing himself or his heart. In fact, man needs a new heart, one which God prophesied through the New Covenant that He would provide:
"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh." (Jeremiah 36:26)
One must wonder once again how the disciples must have taken this statement to heart (pun intended). Surely, they must have despaired, knowing how desperately wicked is the heart of man!
"9Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the
children of God." (Matthew 5:9)
Man cannot bring peace into his own life, his own situation. With men, there is nothing but discord, rancor, fighting, and war:
"For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace." (Jeremiah 8:11)
Man needs peace. He needs a peacemaker, for he cannot be a peacemaker of Himself. In that dire need, Jesus steps in, for He is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)
And here's the last Beatitude:
10Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness'
sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:10)
Again: whow wants to be persecuted for any reason? That doesn't sound like fun! And isn't righteousness supposed to safeguard someone from being persecuted in the first place?
Throughout the Beatitudes, notice the importance placed on identity, not action, and of being persecuted, rather than taking the lead, committing action. Jesus is impressing on these disciples to give up this falsehood, this mistaken identity that there is something good in themselves, some capacity in them to be good, holy, righteous through their own actions, in their own eyes.
Man does not need advise or steps on how to do better. Man needs to become someone new. He needs a new heart. He needs a Savior! The Beatitudes outline how we receive these blessings: not through our efforts, not through keeping the Law, not through our learning more tips and ideas for how to be more obedience.
We are blessed when we realize that we need a Savior, and we receive Him!
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