THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW
The Beatitudes
Chapter 5: 1 to 12
Already presented to the people, the King proclaims the law of his Kingdom to His disciples.
It is truly remarkable that although this sermon was given when a great multitude followed Him, He first climbed a mountain where He seated and His disciples approached Him. The sermon was therefore directed only to the disciples, who already belonged to Him, and not to the crowds.
In fact, His Kingdom on earth did not begin when He came that time, but it will be established on His second coming, to do justice and to reign in the world. That is why He first defined the character of those who will be His subjects.
The Sermon on the Mount will only be fully enforced and practiced when Christ comes back to reign in perfect justice in the world. However, whosoever receives Him as his Lord, now, needs to know that law, to obey it. For this purpose, he relies on the power of the Holy Spirit, without which no one can achieve these high standards.
It is impossible to impose this law over rebel unbelievers, but it should be made known by them, in order to convince them that they are in sin.
The law of Moses was given to the people of Israel to educate them in the standards of the righteousness of God, and to prepare and lead them to the Son of God who would bring the knowledge of His perfect righteousness, that comes by faith (Galatians 3:24).
The Sermon on the Mount shows that no one is righteous, and only the Gospel of the grace of God can bring the necessary justification so that someone might be eligible to obey the Messiah.
Currently the sinner needs first to come to Christ and to receive him as his Lord and Saviour. After that, he will start to learn the law of the realm and to comply with its terms.
The Beatitudes
The Sermon on the Mount begins with the Beatitudes. "Blessed" is the translation of a Greek word meaning "happy", “fortunate”. People thus classified by the Lord Jesus have a character which, from a worldly point of view, would make them unhappy: the happiness of a person by the world’s criterion consists in having an opposite character.
However, it is the character of he who is a subject of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, according to the choice of the King. Let us see:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven". The poor in spirit have a humble and submissive nature. Only those who admit their sinful state before God, accept the sacrifice made by Him when He gave His Son to die on the cross of Calvary in their place, repent of their sin and die for themselves to live in newness of life, obedient to God, are those that are poor in spirit. As Paul expressed it: "... in all things we commend ourselves: ... as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing and yet possessing all things." (2 Corinthians 6:10). "All things" are the spiritual riches within reach of all who belong to Christ. The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those people only.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted". This verb, "to mourn", is a translation of a verb more used to lament for the dead, and for the misadventures and sins of others. It is not so much sadness because of the bad experiences, but because of the existing sin in themselves and in the world, and the rejection of the Saviour by relatives, friends and acquaintances. They shall be comforted the day "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor outcry nor pain, for the former things are passed" (Revelation 21: 4).
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth". The meek accept adversity with placidity, they accommodate with their situation, and they are not contentious nor seek revenge against their tormentors. The Bible says that Moses was “more humble than all the men who were on the face of the Earth” (Numbers 12:3), and the Lord Jesus told us "learn of me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart" (Matthew 11:29). The meek shall inherit the Earth: as Moses was chosen by God to rule His people and free them from slavery, the meek will one day reign with Christ on Earth.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled". These are people who seek to practice justice and yearn to see honesty, integrity and fairness in the world around them, and holiness in the Church. These will be amply supplied in the Kingdom of Christ, because righteousness will predominate and the highest moral standards shall take the place of the corruption that exists in the world today.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." These people are compassionate, they have pity and relieve those who are suffering, they forgive the debts of those who cannot pay, and they help the needy and do well to others. The "mercy" of which the Lord Jesus speaks here has nothing to do with the salvation of sinner: this comes by grace (that is an unmerited favour) of God by faith only: it is not a reward for any good that someone has done. The mercy that reaches the merciful is concerning the award to be granted in the judgment seat of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:12 -15).
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" Nobody in his human nature is "clean of heart" (Jeremiah 17: 9), but the Lord Jesus said: "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you" (John 15:3). Only the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7), and we stay clean by the constant washing by the Word of God.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God". Peacemakers are those that act in order to promote peace. It is not only to observe and want peace. The greatest peace that can be promoted is to achieve peace with God - this is done through the preaching and teaching of the Gospel message. The peacemakers shall be called the children of God, because they demonstrate the nature of peace that comes from God. They already have been made sons of God because they believe in His son, the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:12).
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness ' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven". This has nothing to do with criminals running away from justice, but those who, by their faith in Christ, seek to live fairly, honestly and are persecuted because of this. Their purity of character raises the hatred of the world, which sees this as its own condemnation. Then the Lord Jesus clarifies this point, saying to the disciples that they will be blessed when persecuted, reviled and defamed because of Himself. This will be a cause for exultation and joy, for the prophets before them also suffered similarly. Great shall be their reward at the judgment seat of Christ. Christ is the revelation of the perfect righteousness of God. History has confirmed that the world hates the righteousness of God, and great has been the number of martyrs who have suffered because they were faithful to Christ, not yielding to the pressures of the world or of an idolatrous and apostate religion.
The character of the citizen of the Kingdom of God presented in these beatitudes corresponds to that of the sinner saved by faith in Christ. Justice (v. 6), peace (v. 9) and exultation (v. 12) stand out. Thus said the apostle Paul "the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17).
R David Jones
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1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.
2 Then 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.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain 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.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew chapter five, verses 1 to 12