The Beatitudes
Pastor Bill Nichols - January 3, 2010Introduction
How would you define the word "Ethics"
Various dictionaries:
- A system of moral principles.
- A set of principles of right conduct.
- A branch of philosophy which seeks to address questions about morality.
For me, ethics are biblical guidelines that instruct me how to live my life. I say biblical because I believe that God is the ultimate authority and He has expressed His will for Christian living through the pages of the written word. How I interpret God's Word will help me to determine my own set of moral values that I should live by.
As a Christian, I believe that you too should base your code of ethics or your morality on God's Word. What is interesting about this process is that you and I may come to different conclusions concerning right and wrong, sin and righteousness, and a whole host of other opinions on morality, using the same Bible as a source for our conclusions.
And that is okay. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians in Chapter Ten states that eating meat that was sold in the market is okay if it does not bother your conscience. (Probably had been used in pagan ritual before being brought to market to be sold.) On the other hand, he says that if doing so offends a weaker brother, do not do it. What he is saying is that due to differences in spiritual growth and maturity, there are sometimes different "ethical standards" in effect amongst believers.
As we study Jesus' famous "Sermon on the Mountain" please bear in mind that there are probably some differing interpretations of what Jesus was attempting to teach His followers in the early days of His ministry. Remember also that these teachings represent Jesus ideals for His kingdom people, of which we both are and are trying to become. These are the standards that we should be striving to attain in our lives while here on earth, and not just in the coming kingdom of heaven.
Verses One and Two:
"Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them saying:"
As people heard Jesus preach and as they witnessed Him heal every kind of disease and sickness, news began to spread about Him. People came from everywhere to listen to Him teach and to be healed by Him. The Scriptures say that "large crowds" were following Him wherever He went.
Verse Two says that His disciples came to Him. The truth is that the crowd of those who were following Him was so large that He went up onto a mountainside to teach them. Since a disciples is someone who learns from a teacher, or someone who follows another's teaching, here it refers to the many people who had come to listen to Jesus teach and heal.
Jesus sat down, as was the custom for teachers of His day, and He began to teach them:
Now I want you to notice something about Jesus teaching, so look with me for a minute at Chapter 7:28-29.
"When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at His teaching because He taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law."
Did you ever wonder why a school teacher or a college professor stands and teaches his class? His standing represents his authority over his students who are seated. But Jesus here teaches us that it is not a matter of posture that determines the authority of ones teaching, rather it is a matter of the content of what is being taught. The things that Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount were contrary to the teachings of the Jewish leaders and their interpretation of the law. What Jesus taught flew in the face of what they taught and they determined that it was a danger to their authority. Isn't it fascinating how a little power corrupts people's lives? We see it in business. We see it in politics. And we see it in religion.
As we begin this study, we must keep two things in mind. First, Jesus was presenting to the Jews His interpretation of what their lives were to be as kingdom people. As we know from the rest of the story, they eventually rejected both the Messenger and His message.
Second, while the Jews rejected Jesus and His kingdom, the kingdom the Jews rejected was later extended to and accepted by the Gentile world. Should we as Gentile believers expect Jesus to change the rules for His kingdom people simply because we are not Jews? No, the same principles that Jesus introduced to the Jews apply to all of those who call themselves Christian today.
So what did Jesus teach? That is what we will be concerned with these next several weeks. Jesus begins His teaching with a series of eight statements beginning with the phrase: "Blessed are the. . ." They have been given the title The Beatitudes.
What does Jesus mean when He uses the word blessed?
The Greek word means "fortunate, well off, or happy." And yet when you pair the word blessed with some of the statements Jesus makes, they sometimes do not make sense or else they appear to be contradictory. Or do they?
I guess that goes back again to interpreting the meaning behind Jesus words. So let us begin.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The word translated poor refers to someone who is a beggar or a pauper. Here it is the recognition by man that he spiritually is impoverished. An example of such would be Luke 18:9-14, the story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector."Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."
The word translated mourn means to grieve or have sorrow. While I guess it could mean to be unhappy about your life situation or something that is going on in your life, that would seem to be contradictory to other teachings of the New Testament. Jesus said that He came to give life abundantly. Paul said to rejoice always and to consider it all joy when you encounter various trials. Many people think Jesus is speaking about our attitude toward the condition of our society and/or the plight of other people in the world. We live in a sinful, perverted world with much evil and suffering. As Christians, we are to be lights in this dark and sinful world, and we should not only grieve its condition, but do all that we can to bring hope into it."Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."
Meekness does not mean weakness. Rather it is a gentle, controlled spirit. "Aristotle spoke of meekness as the mean between anger and indifference. It refers to both self control and genuine humility." (Olgive - CC) As we saw earlier, this was exact opposite of the attitude of the Pharisees, the religious elite of Jesus day."Blessed are those who hunter and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."
There are two kinds of righteousness in the world. One is self righteousness. Once again we point to the Pharisees who strictly obeyed the law. In his own eyes, he was righteous because he obeyed the letter of the law. The other kind of righteousness is the kind you get from being in a right relationship with God. Though you may be utterly sinful, like the tax collector, this kind of righteousness comes from putting your faith in what Christ has done for you on the cross. When you stand before God, He sees you as righteousness because of the shed blood of Jesus. Practically, in this life, it involves hungering to know Jesus, to understand His Word, and to do His will. Interestingly, later in chapter six Jesus says,"Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things (those things you worry about in the world) will be given to you as well."
"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."
The word merciful simply means compassionate towards others. Probably the story of the Good Samaritan best expresses the meaning of this verse. Luke 10:30-37. Not even the religious elite would stop and give this poor man a hand. They had no mercy on him. But a foreigner, a Samaritan showed the man mercy, and even took on a financial responsibility for the man's care. Why? Because he was merciful. How often do we see this kind of behavior in our world today? How often do you and I show mercy to others?"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."
When I read this verse, I immediately think back to Enoch in Genesis 5. As far as I know, he is the only person in the Bible that appears to have been pure in heart (outside of Jesus). Verse 24 says that Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. To walk with God means to have daily fellowship with Him. No mention of death here. Every other name in this chapter ends with the words, and then he died. Could Enoch have been so pure in heart that he did not experience death? Could Enoch have lived the life that God desires each one of us to live? Romans 12:1-2, First John 3:2-3."Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God."
The Angelic announcement at Jesus birth proclaimed,"Peace on earth, good will toward man."
Yet since the time of Cain and Abel, there has not been peace on earth. Even Jesus said that He did not come to bring peace, but a sword. Matthew 10:34 But Jesus says blessed are those who are peacemakers. The only way that I can reconcile His words here has to do with the preaching of the Gospel. While the Gospel message may not bring world peace, it does bring peace to those who accept Jesus as Lord of their lives. As a matter of fact, the word here translated "sons of God" means to bear the likeness of God. There are those who will reject the good news of the gospel, and that is part of the sword Jesus talks about. There will always be trouble in the world, but some people will find peace in Christ."Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
This ties back to the previous beatitude. Those who become sons of God will be at odds with those who reject Him. They will persecute those who seek to live according to God's way. Verse 11 identifies some of the ways they will be persecuted. Insults, lies, and sometimes even death await those who follow Jesus.
Jesus says that our response should be to "Rejoice and be glad." Why? Because we await a great reward in heaven.
Conclusion
I do not know about you, but I do not like persecution much. As a matter of fact, I find every one of these "Beatitudes" difficult to accept. Kingdom living does not sound very easy, does it? Maybe that is one of the reasons that Christ has not yet ushered His kingdom into this world. We have had 2,000 years to practice the kingdom principles that He first laid out on the mountainside to those who would be His followers. How far along have we come?