Thoughts on the Beatitudes, Part I

Matthew 5:2-3
And he opened His mouth, and taught them, saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (KJV)

This passage begins a portion of Jesus' teaching popularly referred to as the Sermon on the Mount.  A similar passage in Luke (6:12-49) may or may not be recounting the same discourse as Jesus probably spoke on similar themes on a number of occasions.

The Sermon on the Mount does not present the way of salvation but the nature of the kingdom built around those who are already saved.  As such, it was addressed primarily to Jesus’ disciples rather than to the crowd at large.  It was never meant as a code of ethics by which men could make themselves righteous; instead, it described the attitudes and behavior that should mark citizens of God’s kingdom.  Only the empowering Holy Spirit can enable a man or woman to consistently live by the lofty principles here enjoined.

Poverty in spirit does not mean creeping through life like a mouse nor does it speak of material poverty, although the Greek word translated “poverty” commonly indicates a state of absolute destitution and need.  What it does mean is the recognition of spiritual bankruptcy: that without God's redeeming grace, a human being is in an utterly lost condition without any hope of restoration or ability to pay the debt of sin.  It is also the recognition of complete dependence on God, knowing that without His empowerment, no good work can be wrought either of salvation or of the Christian walk.  Only those who recognize their true state before God are able to receive His grace and so enter into the kingdom of God, and only those who have received grace and continue to rely on that grace can walk as citizens of the kingdom.  Thus, poverty in spirit is the basis for all the other virtues of the kingdom and for receipt of all its blessings.

Adam Clarke’s Commentary presents the word translated “blessed," makarioi (literally “not fate” or “not death”) as representing one who was endued with immortality and so was freed from being subject to the whims of fate.  According to Clarke, then, Jesus attributes the blessedness or happiness of those who are poor in spirit to their position as being completely subject to God in all things and so falling under His protection and guidance; He also looks forward to their future immortality in heaven and counts them blessed because they are on that path, even though they are not yet in full possession of their blessed state.

Matthew 5:4
“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. (KJV)

The mourning mentioned here goes beyond mourning for personal loss or for the marring of a sin-stained world, although these things are included.  Following as they do on Jesus’ observation regarding spiritual poverty, Jesus’ words appear to allude to those who mourn at the realization of their own sinful state. For men and women who truly grieve over sin and their inability to make themselves righteous before a holy God, the Gospel provides indescribable comfort, giving the good news of reconciliation with God and freedom from the stain of sin.

Matthew 5:5
“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. (NASV)

The Greek word praeis, here translated “meek,” is often translated as “gentle” in other versions of the Bible.  The concept is not that of weakness but of strength which is not self-seeking and is used in the service of God and others.  It also contains the idea of those who show patience and a faith in God’s eventual vindication in the face of wrongs and are free of malice and vengefulness.  To those who are willing to wait on Him and to serve Him patiently without seeking their own self-interest, Jesus promises the inheritance of the earth – not the kosmos, the satanically controlled world system, but the habitable world (gees).  This promise will be partly fulfilled in the millennial kingdom following the Second Coming and completely fulfilled in the new heavens and the new earth that are to come when the judgments of God are completely finished.

True meekness or gentleness is a function of recognizing one’s true status before God.  Those who understand that they have absolutely no personal merit before God and that everything they have comes to them out of grace can live their lives in a spirit of gratitude and giving.  On the other hand, an entitled attitude leads naturally to greed, striving, unhealthy competitiveness, and vengefulness.