The Beatitudes: An Introduction
A life of true happiness is that rare gem which every human heart seeks. An entire industry – marketing – exists with the intent to make you, a needy human heart, feel a lack of happiness and to assure you that their newest product will fill that happiness void. Perhaps even more acutely, modern therapeutic culture in the West has duped many unsuspecting men, women, and children into thinking that the solution to their problems lies in happiness brought about by self-indulgence and self-acceptance. Yet it would seem that the levels of depression, anxiety, and medicinal dependency grow with each passing year and with each new publication or therapeutic method. It appears that the world is entirely lost, distracting ourselves to death by engaging in whatever activity brings the highest temporal emotional highs or keeps us from ever reaching an emotional low. But for the Christian there is another way entirely. While we recognize that there are fleeting moments of happiness gained through the good things and material joys given by God on this earth, the Scriptures ground our happiness in something much deeper, something eternal, something outside of ourselves entirely. The very first word of Christ’s first recorded sermon is “blessed”, or more accurately, “supremely happy.” Christ, as the perfect man, knows well the innate longing of every human heart to know true and real happiness. He cuts immediately to that longing in this first sermon, recorded in Matthew 5-7. Blessed are those who….
A series of articles will follow dealing with various aspects of the opening passage of the Sermon on the Mount: the Beatitudes of Matthew 5:3-12. There will be deep theology and rich application in the articles to follow. My goal here is to simply set the stage and wet the appetite. To do so, we’ll look at the setting and context of the passage, then dive into a bit on structure and content, and lastly, how the passage may be useful to us.
Setting and Context
In the immediate, the sermon follows on the heels of several important early events in the ministry of Christ. Jesus first enters the scene amidst the preaching of John, whose message proclaimed, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Jesus meets John in the river, and upon His baptism, heaven itself is opened and the Father’s voice declares the importance of the life and ministry of the Son. Jesus is then driven into the wilderness where, amongst other temptations, the devil offers Christ the “kingdoms of this world.” Upon rebuking the devil, Jesus returns to society where He begins preaching the exact same message as John: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He then calls to Himself several fishermen who follow him by leaving behind everything they knew. Finally, He goes throughout the countryside, performing miracles and accomplishing great signs, so that a great crowd of “disciples” follow after him, yet not without also “proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom.” I hope you see the important themes immediately jump to the foreground. What is this kingdom, and how does one enter it? It is no coincidence that the first and last benefits found in the beatitudes are “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” in verses 3 and 10. Importantly, this kingdom must be in some manner contrasted with the “kingdoms of this world” which Satan offered instead. And lastly, we begin to already see distinctions between the true followers of Christ, those who would be willing to leave everything behind to follow, and those who simply hang around for the wonderful signs and perceived material benefits.
We would be remiss, however, if we did not briefly discuss the Old Testament context, specifically that of the Psalms. Christ begins His sermon in almost the same way that the Psalms begin: “Blessed is the man who….” This is not subtle homage but direct reference. Jesus directly ties the character of the citizen of the kingdom of heaven with the character set forth in Psalm 1-2. Briefly, Psalm 1 and 2 should be seen as one psalm, indicated by the inclusio of 1:1 and 2:12. “Blessed is the man who…” and “Blessed are all who….” The truly blessed individual is one who delights in the law of the Lord and rejects sinful company in Psalm 1, and one who kisses the Son and takes refuge in Him in Psalm 2. This psalmodic unit thus sets the stage for the entirety of the Psalter, which describe in poetic form these very characteristics. Of course this character is most aptly exemplified in the great psalm writer himself, David, the man after God’s own heart. This David, the great king of Israel to whom all other kings should be compared, is however found in the psalms often running, fleeing, and mourning. He is persecuted yet finds refuge in God. He is a mighty warrior yet meek in his dealings with others. He sins gravely yet mourns more deeply over the offense to God than over the terrible judgments brought about by those sins. Christ draws deeply from the well of the Psalms, though not exclusively (Isaiah too!), to demonstrate that being a citizen of His kingdom looks more like David on the run than David on the throne. In contrast, Satan always offers the throne first.
Structure and Content
The structure of the Beatitudes is rather simple: “Blessed are”, followed by a characteristic, followed by a promise. Quite simply, Jesus describes a series of traits which should characterize citizens of His kingdom, each with an associated promise related in some manner to that trait. It is important to see that the promise is directly tied to the trait, seen most obviously in verse 4 (blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted). But every promise is directly tied to the character trait given, and this matters. Specific traits lead to specific associated promises. God sees the plight of His people and promises specific salves to sooth those wounds. Mourners will find comfort. Sufferers will gain a kingdom. The pure shall appear before God face to face. The hungry and thirsty shall find satiation. Moreover, one of the ensuing articles will draw attention to the counter-cultural nature of these character traits. Whereas the world desires strength, God desires meekness. A humble posture in this world leads to great reward in heaven. Remember again those disciple fishermen who left it all to follow Christ: they leave all perceived material benefits of this earth for the promise of greater benefits of heaven.
A second important theme to notice within the Beatitudes is the tense of the verb in each promise. More plainly, the tense is present in the first and the last (“theirs is the kingdom of heaven” in both) and future in the middle promises (“they shall…”). Remember that both Jesus and John stated, “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The entrance of Jesus brings with it in some sense the presence of the kingdom of heaven, for the King Himself has arrived. And yet, every description of the blessed life as described in the Old Testament, for example in Isaiah 11 or Isaiah 66 or Jeremiah 31 or any number of other passages describing the abundant life of the Messianic kingdom, seems a distant future to those being persecuted and suffering for the Gospel. And so Christ in his sermon reminds his followers that the promised reward of heavenly living is not ultimately found in this life but in the one to come. Comfort is guaranteed to the mourner, but it is a comfort that may only come when every tear will be wiped away. The kingdom of heaven is present with the King but not yet fully consummated.
Use
Perhaps to begin, a bit of self-examination may be in order. From where does my happiness come? If we find ourselves with a list that includes things created rather than things eternal, perhaps we’ve missed what God has called us to in the Gospel. Secondly, embrace suffering. The world’s mantra seeks to escape suffering at all costs. But suffering for the Christian is a tool of our Good Father to bring us to heaven more fitted for life there. Consider it joy to face various trials, for they lead to our full maturity in Christ. Preach the truth boldly no matter the trouble it may bring. Stand firm on biblical convictions in the face of increasing antagonism toward Christ and His Word. Finally, pray for the Spirit’s work. The traits given by Christ are not ones which come naturally to fallen humanity. Rather, they are fruits of the Spirit’s sanctifying work. Pray for the Spirit to work, and then open that great Sword of the Word which He will use to go to work on our souls. All surgery is painful in the moment, but the blessedness which results from having death cut out of us is more than worth-it: it’s heavenly.
