SotM: The Beatitudes Pt. 1

Matthew 5:1-6

"Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."

Well, to start off, let's give a little background to the Sermon on the Mount so we can get this blog a'goin.

In the latter part of chapter 4, Jesus begins His ministry and chooses His first disciples. V. 23 says, "And He went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people." Obviously, a crowd started following Him around. This Jesus was preaching and healing folk. And can you imagine Jesus' preaching? Hoo. That'd be intense.

And then, He thought, "This is it! This is the perfect time for Me to lay down some serious truths!" I mean, it says in 4:24 that "His fame spread throughout all Syria and they brought Him all the sick." I don't think Matthew is exaggerating. And that means practically a whole country was following His every move.

And the first thing that comes out of His mouth:

• Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

What? Not, "Hey guys, I'm the Messiah! I'm here. You're welcome!" No. He blesses the poor in spirit.

What does that even mean?

Well, what does it mean to be poor? 

Those who are poor are in need. And not only are they in need, but they are constantly looking for that which will fulfill their need. Food, water, money, whatever. Constantly! How constant is our search for the spirit? How often do we realize our desperate need to be filled by God? Because it's the people who see their massive shortage in the Spirit and therefore constantly long for it that will receive the kingdom of heaven. 

But what does it mean to receive the kingdom of heaven? As a matter of fact what is the kingdom of God? Think about that for a second.

Did that hurt? Exactly. I didn't last a minute until I realized I was utterly confused.

Well, Romans 14:17 says, "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."

And John Piper says that the kingdom of God is "the saving, redeeming, sanctifying rule of God." 

So all in all, this is how I read the first beatitude:

Those who long for the Spirit because they realize they can never have enough of Him will indeed receive everything God has to offer (His righteousness, joy, and peace) because His reign and rule is sovereign and over everything.

Moving on.

• Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Isaiah 61:3 tells us that the Spirit of the Lord God will give to the mourning "a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;"

Basically, God gives us the ability to mourn in a way that is extremely opposite from the usual method of mourning. Instead of covering ourselves in ash, mourning oils, and a downcast spirit, He gives us the opposite so we can throw all that other stuff to the curb!

Why? Well, the rest of the verse says, "That they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."

Wow! God gives us the ability the mourn in the most abnormal and unnatural ways solely so that we can give Him praise and be lights in dark times!

• Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Now, when I initially read this verse, I thought of 2 Timothy 1:7 where it says, "For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline." I mistakenly equated "timidity" with "meekness." Though similar, they aren't quite the same. Timidity is more about fear while meekness goes along with gentleness and humility. 

In fact, we can use 2 Timothy to say that God has given us a spirit of power, love, and discipline that we are to use with humility and gentleness. 

So basically, it's not the ones who boast in their power or authority that receive everything in the earth; it's those who boast in the Lord as He boasts for them through His power and authority.

Lastly, 

• Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

This pretty much goes along with those who are poor in spirit. However, he specifically says, 'righteousness.' 

I used to think I was never the kind of person who said that since I'm saved, I don't have to do any good works because I have my fire insurance. Yet, why don't I have a desire to be righteous?

Mind you, "None is righteous, no, not one!" But why should that stop us from desiring it? It clearly says in 1 John 3:10, "Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God." So besides being of God, why must we try to be righteous? I say this a lot, but I never can say it enough: to bring glory to God! 

Later on in v. 16, Jesus says, "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

1 Peter 2:12 says, "Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation."

And like Piper says, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." 

When we long for righteousness, we are satisfied in Him and He is glorified in us.