Matthew 5:1-12
The Beatitudes
Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Like the Blessings and Woes sermon in Luke, Matthew's Beatitudes are similar...Jesus' sermon wants us to look at ourselves...Jesus in the Beatitudes, speaks of the poor in spirit and the meek and the righteous...Jesus believes in spiritual things...He teaches us it is very difficult to focus on the Father and wealth, at the same time...In Matthew 6:21, He tells us no one can serve two masters...Jesus could have easily been wealthy, an influential person in government (or the Sanhedrin)...He did not choose wealth...Wealth and the love of material things can be destructive...Jesus teaches us the priorities are to put God first, others second, and ourselves last...
When we study His message, we see He disputes the idea that wealth and being famous is blessed and happy...Jesus knows what wealth can bring, but He clearly tells us wealth does not bring happiness...Wealth and fame have a way of keeping our thinking on me and my and not on others...If we know it is better to give than to receive, then we think of others first, and understand His priorities better...
Jesus uses the word "will" and "will be" throughout the Sermon on the Mount...The word "will" makes us look to the future, at a time we will be with Him...Then those who are poor in spirit, mourn, meek, hunger for righteous, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and are persecuted will have a good future in heaven...The blessings begin in this life, but will be heavenly improved on in our next life, a future in eternity...
Twice Jesus mentions that we are blessed if we are persecuted...It is the only blessing that He repeats...Persecution and rejection are blessed in His eyes...Persecution and rejection must come from another....Maybe, if we love our enemies we can better understand being blessed when we are persecuted (but this is only a beginning)...If we can love both our enemies and God, then we can see this glimmer of light blessing on earth...The prophets were persecuted before us...They were blessed...
These are hard things for us to understand...Jesus tells us in John when teaching Nicodemus, that He has spoken of earthly things and we do not believe...How can He speak of heavenly things, if first we do not understand these earthly things...No one has ever gone into heaven except the Son of Man (John 3:12-13)...John the Baptist tells us that the One who comes from above is above all; the one who comes from the earth belongs to the earth...The One who comes from heaven is above all...He testifies to what He has seen, but no one accepts His testimony (John 3:31-32)...Jesus understands what being blessed is because He has been on earth and He is from heaven...
The best things in life are these spiritual things...Spiritual things do not get smaller or diminish when shared with others... Faith, hope, and love are growing things, spiritual things...Whereas, material things are finite and are things that get smaller and diminish when shared with others...Material things are finite things that run out...They die off...Spiritual things are infinite... They grow and live on...