THE BEATITUDES
One of the more famous of Jesus teachings is the Sermon on the Mount. Spoken of by only two of the four gospel writers, it is what sets the tone for living in His word. It is here that Jesus expounds His philosophy and teaches the way to the Kingdom of God. The Sermon covers three chapters of the Gospel of Matthew and is about a third of that length in the Gospel of Luke. The beginning part of this treatise on righteous living in Matthew is The Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are among the most well known parts of Jesus’ teaching and parts are quoted by many. But how many of us really understand what they mean? On the surface they seem simple enough but in our modern language their words have no real meaning to any who give them serious thought in their context. What means poor in spirit? Why is it blessed to mourn? What is meek? The questions could continue.
To begin, let us remember that we are dealing with English words as chosen by translators and commentators over the 2000 plus years since these documents were written. Language usage changes the meaning of words over time and translators attempt to find the best English word to fit a Greek or a Hebrew word or phrase. There is not exactness in translation; sometimes there is no word or phrase in one language to mean the same thing and to carry the same idea, as the in the original language.
First, the definition of Beatitude: Blessedness; felicity of the highest kind; consummate bliss; used of the joys of heaven. The declaration of blessedness made by our Savior to particular virtues.* Now the name here is definitely appropriate and it is uncertain who first called this set of sayings Beatitudes as they are not recorded as such in the gospels. To begin, we will focus on the eight put forth in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 5:3-10):
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Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
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Blessed are they that mourn : for they shall be comforted .
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Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
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Blessed are they which do thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled .
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Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy .
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Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall .
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Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
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Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
◊ Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Who are the poor in spirit? Are they ‘poor spirited’ or destitute of spirit or are they worthy of pity? Are they, as scriptural reference puts it free from self-assertion; not proud or arrogant; meek*. The Greek Lexicon says as respects their spirit: destitute of wealth of learning and intellectual culture which the schools afford (men of this class most readily give themselves up to Christ’s teaching and proved them selves fitted to lay hold of the heavenly treasure)** and from Strong’s we find the poor in spirit are not lacking spirit, but have a positive moral quality of humility, realizing they have nothing to offer God but are in need of his free gifts***. Much to choose from and I am sure that there are additional forms of explanation from other Christian philosophies.
Now for our essay we need to remember that we are Spirit and we are not the form life of the personality and that this was true in Jesus’ time as well. Looking at the defining terms above you should see that they are all confined to what we see, what we hear and what we feel; life in the world and not in the Spirit. So in a spiritual sense, how do we define ‘poor in spirit’.
Simply as this: Talking to the multitudes in that day, Jesus was speaking to people who were more or less grounded in material living and life. He was not calling them all Blessed because they were not living a spiritual life (which we should define as living in the Kingdom now or living in the Presence of God).
He is telling them that they are Blessed who give up all for the Kingdom; who sacrifice the pleasures and the treasures of this earthly life to dwell in the Presence of God. He is saying, as He repeats later, That in giving up the things of the world you will gain the things of God. “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.” (Mark 8:35) and “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundred fold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” (Matthew 19:29). The Kingdom of God and of Heaven belongs to those who give up all for it; those who take it by force; this is the simple message of the first of the Beatitudes. We must be willing to give up what the world offers and in that sense and only in that sense be poor with no wants or desires for what the world has for us.
Now this is not to make one physically and materially poor for the giving up is in consciousness; the sacrifice is of the desire and wanting those things of the world. Jesus said that to give them up will result in manifold return. Not necessarily in those same things given up for how can get or want a hundred fold return of wives or fathers.
It does mean however that we will be BLESSED.
Note on the Quote of the Day
This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17) Today’s quote is a testament to the fact that all good things come from God; from the Father and from the God within.
- * Websters Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1828 and 1913
- ** from ptochus New Testament Greek Lexicon on BibleStudyTools.com
- *** Strongest Strongs Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible – 2001
