Sermon on the Mount: 1st Blessing
MATTHEW 5:3-12
CHRISTIAN CHARACTER
Before considering the beatitudes separately, we should review three general questions about those Jesus addresses. These are the people addressed, the qualities noted, and the blessings promised.
THE PEOPLE DESCRIBED:
The beatitudes set forth the character of the Christian people. These are not eight separate groups of believers, some of whom are meek, while others are merciful, and others are called to endure persecution. These are eight qualities of the same group who at the same time are meek and merciful, poor in spirit and pure in heart, mourning and hungry, peacemakers and persecuted.
These are Christ’s own specifications of what every Christian ought to be. All the qualities are to characterize all His followers. There is no escape in our responsibility to covet them all.
THE QUALITIES NOTED:
The qualities are meant to be in the spiritual state of believers. Poverty and hunger mentioned are meant to describe the spirit, not the body. It is the poor in spirit and those who hunger and thirst after righteousness whom He declares blessed.
THE BLESSINGS PROMISED:
These beatitudes constitute Jesus’ theory of happiness. These are not so much ethical duties as a series of several emotional attitudes. It is through obeying His own moral laws that we find we best fulfill ourselves. There still remains a close connection between holiness and happiness.
What is this blessing? The second half of each teaches it. These people possess the kingdom of heaven and they inherit the earth. Mourners are comforted and the hungry are satisfied. They receive mercy and they see God. They are called the sons of God. All these blessings belong together and are to be considered together just as the qualities belong together. These are the privileges of being a citizen of eternity in God’s glory.
The promises have both a present and future fulfillment. We enjoy the first fruits now and the full harvest is yet to come.
There are two purposes here. First, the Sermon shows the non believer that he cannot please God by himself (any more than he can fully obey the Law), so he must come to Christ to be justified. Second the Sermon shows the believer how he is to please the Lord.
THE POOR IN SPIRIT
To be poor in spirit is to acknowledge our spiritual poverty, actually our spiritual bankruptcy before God. We are depraved sinners under the holy wrath of God, deserving nothing but His judgment. To those who understand this factor, and are willing to confess it, God’s free gift of salvation is given. Our best teaching on this matter is the letter to the church at Laodicea who were self satisfied and professing they were rich while Jesus told them they were blind and naked beggars who would not admit the truth. They were poor, not rich, in spirit.
THOSE WHO MOURN
This is the second stage of spiritual blessing. It is one thing to be spiritually poor and acknowledge it; it is another thing to grieve and mourn over it. Confession is one thing while contrition is surely another. Such mourners will be comforted by the only comfort that can remove their distress, which is the free forgiveness of God. The greatest of all comfort is the debt paid for the contrite mourning sinner.
THE MEEK
It is likely important that the blessing to the meek comes after those who mourn over sin and those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. Meekness is basically a true view of oneself, expressed in attitude and conduct with respect to others. This expectation is that one will be gentle, humble, sensitive, and patient with all dealings with others. These meek people Jesus says, will inherit the earth. The condition on which we enter our spiritual inheritance is not in might but in meekness.
Let us not forget Numbers 12:3 which says (“Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.”) Meek is not weak.
THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS
The hungry and thirsty that God satisfies are those who seek hungrily after righteousness and this should be a constant characteristic of God’s people, whose supreme ambition is not material but spiritual things. In the Bible righteousness has at least three meanings. Legal righteousness is justification, a right relation with God. Moral righteousness is that righteousness of conduct and character which pleases God. Social righteousness, taught by the Law and the prophets, is concerned with seeking man’s liberty from the oppression of sin which seems to rule the world of which Satan is prince.
What is the use of confessing our sin, of acknowledging the truth about ourselves to both God and men, if we leave it there? Confession of sin must lead us to hunger for righteousness.
THE MERCIFUL
Mercy is compassion toward people in need. Jesus does not specify the categories of people He has in mind to whom His followers are to extend mercy. There was no need for Him to elaborate. Our God is a merciful God and shows mercy continuously and the citizens of His kingdom must also show mercy. To be meek is to acknowledge to others that we are sinners; to be merciful is to have compassion for others, for they are sinners too.
THE PURE IN HEART
Pure of heart means an expression of inward purity. Jesus remained in constant conflict with the Pharisees and strongly said that they were obsessed with outward and ceremonial purity but inside were full of dead men’s bones, which meant they were unclean, a difficult insult to them but fully truthful. The whole Sermon on the Mount requires heart righteousness rather than rule righteousness. Only the pure in heart will see God. We see Him now with an eye of faith but will indeed see Him literally face to face when we are called to Him, either by mortal death or by rapture.
THE PEACEMAKERS
According to this blessing, every Christian is meant to be a peacemaker, both in community and in church. Peacemaking is a divine work. The peace of God is not peace at any price or at a small price. He made peace with us at enormous cost, the price of the blood of His only begotten Son. We also, in a much lesser way, will find peacemaking costly. To bring God’s peace we must be willing to invest our time, our talents, and our treasure. This commanded road is bumpy to the spirit and there have not yet been found shortcuts to obedience.
THOSE WHO ARE PERSECUTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS SAKE
How did Jesus expect His followers to react under persecution? He says rejoice and be glad. Why should we wish to obey? Because our reward is great in heaven. We have the excellent example of the Apostles who were beaten for preaching in His name and said they were rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for His name. Following Him as a true disciple (not simply a church member) means allegiance to the suffering Christ so it is not surprising that we may be called toward that difficult road. It is a joy and a token of His grace when we find ourselves walking that road, even if it is a lonely journey.
We see in our first blessing a comprehensive picture of what a Christian should be. He first should be a lonely seeker, on his knees, admitting his own spiritual poverty and mourning over it. This makes him meek and gentle and far from giving in to his sinfulness, he is to hunger and thirst after righteousness, and longing to grow in grace and goodness.
Such a man who is so willing finds the approval of God.
God calls the humble and chastens the proud, assigning greatness to those who seek only to be a servant and He declares the meek to be His heirs. Jesus congratulates those whom the world rejects and He calls these rejects “blessed”.
