The Beatitudes
(Matthew 5:1-12)
The Beatitudes
5 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat
down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he began to speak 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 will be comforted.5 “Blessed are the meek, for
they will inherit the earth.”
6 “Blessed
are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be
filled.7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.9 “Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.10 “Blessed are those who
are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and
utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be
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glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted
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2
Background
• ‘Beatitudes’ from the Latin word ’beatitudo’, meaning "blessedness."
• The phrase "blessed are" in each beatitude implies a current state of
happiness or well-being
• Similar to the bookends of the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus is introduced
as the king of the Jews (1:17; 2:2) and then enthroned with divine authority
over all the nations (28:18), the theme of authority is especially prevalent at
the beginning and end of the Sermon on the Mount.
• Jesus speaks with a posture of authority (“he sat down”) and at a location
associated in Scripture with authority (“he went up on the mountain,” 5:1).
• Seven times in Matthew, key moments in Jesus’s ministry occur atop a
mountain (4:8; 5:1; 14:23; 15:29; 17:1; 24:3; 28:16). The response to Jesus’s
mountaintop message reinforces this key theme of authority: “the crowds
were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them asYour
one
who
had
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authority” (7:28–29a).
3
Overview
• Try to establish a kind of structure or pattern to the beatitudes.
• Matthew seems to give 9 Beatitudes. (It is arbitrary to find ten by counting
verses 11–12 as two Beatitudes.) These verses are closely paralleled by Luke
6:22–23; and Luke quite clearly counts this as one, resulting in 4 Beatitudes
(Luke 6:20–23) matched by 4 woes (6:24–26).
• There is some argument that Matthew originally had only eight Beatitudes,
5:11–12 being an addition. The first eight are all in the third person, whereas
the ninth is in the second person. Also, the first eight have parallelism and
rhythm not found in the ninth. There is no manuscript evidence for the
omission of the ninth Beatitude. Its stylistic difference is best accounted for in
terms of differences in sources employed. Matthew’s ninth Beatitude closely
parallels Luke’s fourth, and all of Luke’s Beatitudes are in the second person.
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Overview
• While speaking of a current ‘blessedness’, each pronouncement also
promised a future reward.
• already/not yet structure
• The word makarioi introduces each of the nine Beatitudes. It is a declaration
of blessedness. It does not describe one’s inner feeling about him/herself but
his state of blessedness as seen by Jesus. Closely translated to ‘Oh, the
happiness of’.
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‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven’ (5:3)
• Here, Jesus determines the requirement for kingdom entrance, i.e. spiritual
impoverishment.
• Matthew removes the ambiguity by adding ’in spirit’, recognizing that material or
social poverty alone is not a mark of faith or piety.
• Neither material nor spiritual poverty is blessed, but one’s honest and humble
acknowledgment of his impoverishment (cf. Isaiah 61:1) opens the way for the
reception of God’s blessings.
• It is precisely when man sees his own nothingness that God can give out of his
own fullness.
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6
‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted’
(5:4)
• Echoes Isaiah 61:1; and from the context, reference may be to the grief that
follows one’s realization of his spiritual impoverishment.
• However, the meaning cannot be confined to sorrow over sin (both personal and
corporate). Probably the reference is to the comfort that is found now and in the
final judgment by those who mourn now, whether over the hurts and the hardships
of life or over their sins and those of the world.
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7
‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth’ (5:5)
• Echoes Psalm 37:11. The meek are not the weak or cowardly.
• Those whom have learnt to bend their wills as they stand before the greatness
and grace of God.
• Characterised by humble trust rather than arrogant independence.
• ‘This paradox belongs to the larger teaching which sees that one lives by dying,
receives by giving, and is first precisely when willing to be last.’
– Frank Stagg, “Matthew,” in Matthew–Mark, ed. Clifton J. Allen, Broadman Bible
Commentary (Broadman Press, 1969), 105.
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‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled’ (5:6)
• Those who long for God’s will to be done on earth and soon to experience it in
heaven
• Eschatological but also a present reality, looking to fulfilment in the future
consummation of the kingdom; but righteousness is also a goal for the present
(3:15; 5:10, 20; 6:1, 33; 21:32)
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9
‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.’ (5:7)
• The personal condition of the unmerciful or unforgiving is such that they are
incapable of receiving.
• It is not that one earns mercy by being merciful, for then it would not be mercy
but reward. It is not that one earns forgiveness by forgiving, for again that would
be reward for merit.
• Rather, in the nature of mercy and forgiveness, there cannot be receiving without
giving.
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10
‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God’ (5:8)
• ‘Pure’ translates to katharos, the term for cleansing; and purity in heart contrasts
with ritual cleansing of hands or body.
• By various groups within Judaism, a sharp distinction was made between what
was ritually clean and what was unclean. Jesus brushed this aside in the interest
of real purity, that of heart (cf. 15:1–20; 23:25).
• ‘Purity of heart and wholeness go together, the outward life reflecting the inner
purity.’
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11
‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called
children of God’ (5:9)
• We have peace with God through Jesus Christ. Reconciliation through Christ
brings restored fellowship (peace) with God.
• 2 Corinthians 5:19-20: God entrusts us with this same message of reconciliation
to take to others.
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12
‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of
righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are
you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all
kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be
glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way
they persecuted the prophets who were before you. ’ (5:10-12)
• Constitute one basic declaration. At some stage of transmission the Beatitudes may
have concluded with verse 10, for the poetic rhythm does not continue in verses 11–12
(switch from 3rd to 2nd person)
• Persecution or abuse as such is not a blessing, but here is blessing for Christians in
their suffering for Christ (constitutes the reasonable response of faith, see Phil. 1:29).
• “Discipleship means allegiance to the suffering Christ, and it is therefore not at all
surprising that Christians should be called upon to suffer. In fact it is a joy and a token of
his grace.” (Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship)
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Questions
• What are some of the challenges and sufferings that we have to endure as a
Christian? How prepared are you to suffer for Christ?
• In Matthew 5:9, Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers...” How difficult is
it to be a peacemaker, in particular with people who are difficult and more
often our loved ones?
• What do you hunger and thirst for? How can you pursue righteousness?
• When we are unjustly treated, how can we respond so as to demonstrate a
Godly meekness? Look at examples of how Jesus responded in such
situations.
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