The Beatitudes, which are part of the Sermon on the Mount, can be found most completely in Matthew 5:
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.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when others 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 so they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matt 5:3-12)
Many people who read these beatitudes, however, fail to ask the basic questions: "To whom was our Lord speaking?" "What were the circumstances?" "Why did He preach them?" Applying them to all men alike, they say that this is the way we ought to live. But emphasizing good works will never reform fallen human nature, and it's a big mistake to think that this was the purpose of the Sermon on the Mount.
So to whom was our Lord speaking? Was He speaking to all men? Not at all, because not only was He "sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," He clearly instructed His apostles to "go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt 15:24; 10:5-6). He wasn't even speaking to the people of Israel as such at that time, because we read that "seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain" and that there He addressed "His disciples" (Matt 5:1). All through this sermon our Lord distinguishes His disciples from the world, even the religious world, around them.
He certainly wasn't addressing the members of the Body of Christ because much of what He said doesn't and can't be directly applied to us today. The merciful today don't always obtain mercy; those who mourn are by no means always comforted; peacemakers are not generally called the children of God, and certainly the meek don't inherit the earth. They've never inherited it since these promises were first made.
Actually, the Sermon on the Mount — and especially its Beatitudes — is one of the strongest evidences that the Body of Christ was still a mystery "hidden for ages in God" as Paul so often tells us (Eph 3:1-11; Col 1:24-2:2), because our Lord addressed His disciples, the remnant of believers in Israel, as if the prophesied time of tribulation were imminent and the establishment of His kingdom were soon to take place.
Try to picture the scene back then among the Jewish believers. The prophecies of the Old Testament concerning Messiah had been fulfilled — He had actually come, and the establishment of His kingdom was "at hand." This is why John the Baptist, our Lord, and His twelve apostles all went about proclaiming the same message: "The kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt 3:1-2; 4:17; 10:7). Theirs was "the gospel of the kingdom," not "the gospel of the grace of God," and certainly not "the preaching of the cross."
The Beatitudes, then, give us the characteristics of those who will be heirs of the kingdom to be established on the earth one day. Against this background, let's look at a few of the Beatitudes individually and see how perfectly they harmonize with "the gospel of the kingdom" which our Lord and His apostles preached.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matt 5:3).
The millennial kingdom will be made up, not of those who are spiritually smug, but rather of those who realize their spiritual need. Pride will not be tolerated under the reign of Christ. Rather His kingom will be built on humility and love. Today, however, we are not asked to be anything to inherit a position in Christ, only to trust in Him who died for our sins.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted (Matt 5:4).
This promise is particularly significant in light of Old Testament prophecies and Pentecost, because mourning has a special relation to Israel's latter days. This is clear when we look at the ministry and message of John the Baptist, our Lord on earth, and the twelve apostles. They all came proclaiming to apostate Israel to repent because the kingdom of heaven was at hand.
Instead of repenting, however, Israel crucified her Messiah. In response to our Lord's prayer on the cross for their forgiveness (Lk 23:34), God gave them another chance at Pentecost when Peter offered them the return of Christ if they would repent (Acts 2:38; 3:19-21). But again, rather than repent they stood their ground, even stoning Stephen to death and waging war against the disciples of Christ.
According to prophecy, Israel will one day repent and mourn. In that day Israel will finally respond to God's call to repent and turn to Christ, and friends and neighbors, even husbands and wives, will be ashamed to look at each other as they mourn over their long rejection of Messiah.
And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. The land shall mourn, each family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves" (Zech 12:10-14).
Many other Old Testament Scriptures tell us that Israel will not be saved until she turns in repentance to her crucified Messiah (Zech 13:1; Isa 51:11-12; 40:1-2; 61:1-3). These passages agree with the words of our Lord in Matthew 24:30: "...and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." They also agree with Revelation 1:7: "Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen."
But is this how we are saved today? No, because God interrupted the prophetic program and sent Paul to proclaim to all men that God had enthroned grace (Rom 5:20-21), committing to him "the gospel," the good news, "of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24). Unlike Peter at Pentecost, Paul doesn't charge men with the crucifixion of Christ. Rather he says, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor 5:21).
In Romans 5:10 Paul even makes the amazing statement that "we [once enemies] were reconciled to God by the death of his Son." Whereas, according to the prophetic program, the cross made the enmity between God and man (Ps 2:1-5; 110:1), Paul says that according to God's eternal purpose the enmity was slain by the cross, i.e., He counted that death the payment for our sins, so that He could "preach peace" to us Gentles "who were far off and peace to those [Israel] who were near (Eph 2:16-17).
In Paul's message, our Lord is no longer seen as a victim—even a voluntary victim—at Calvary, but as the victor over Satan, sin, death, and the Law. "He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him" (Col 2:15), at the same time He took the Law, "set aside, nailing it to the cross" (Col 2:14). It is He who, at the cross, paid the penalty for our sins and delivered us from the fear of death (Heb 2:14). Where do we find any of this in the Sermon on the Mount?
Okay, one more: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth (Matt 5:5).
It's very possible that our Lord chose these words from Psalm 37:11 where we read: "But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace." Obviously our Lord spoke these words with the kingdom in view because the meek certainly don't inherit the earth today. When this promise was made the Roman Empire was ruling with brutal force, and during the centuries that followed, tyrants like Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Josef Stalin have acquired large portions of this earth by taking them. But when our Lord returns to reign, the meek will indeed inherit the earth.
While it has not been promised to us that we will inherit the earth (see previous post about this here), we have been given a position in the highest heaven in and with Christ. By grace God has seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:6) and has there already "blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing" (Eph 1:3). Some day, in changed and resurrected bodies, we "will be caught up" to meet and be with Him forever (1 Thes 4:16-18; 1 Cor 15:51-52). What a wonderful day that will be!
(to be cont)
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.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when others 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 so they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matt 5:3-12)
Many people who read these beatitudes, however, fail to ask the basic questions: "To whom was our Lord speaking?" "What were the circumstances?" "Why did He preach them?" Applying them to all men alike, they say that this is the way we ought to live. But emphasizing good works will never reform fallen human nature, and it's a big mistake to think that this was the purpose of the Sermon on the Mount.
So to whom was our Lord speaking? Was He speaking to all men? Not at all, because not only was He "sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," He clearly instructed His apostles to "go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt 15:24; 10:5-6). He wasn't even speaking to the people of Israel as such at that time, because we read that "seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain" and that there He addressed "His disciples" (Matt 5:1). All through this sermon our Lord distinguishes His disciples from the world, even the religious world, around them.
He certainly wasn't addressing the members of the Body of Christ because much of what He said doesn't and can't be directly applied to us today. The merciful today don't always obtain mercy; those who mourn are by no means always comforted; peacemakers are not generally called the children of God, and certainly the meek don't inherit the earth. They've never inherited it since these promises were first made.
Actually, the Sermon on the Mount — and especially its Beatitudes — is one of the strongest evidences that the Body of Christ was still a mystery "hidden for ages in God" as Paul so often tells us (Eph 3:1-11; Col 1:24-2:2), because our Lord addressed His disciples, the remnant of believers in Israel, as if the prophesied time of tribulation were imminent and the establishment of His kingdom were soon to take place.
Try to picture the scene back then among the Jewish believers. The prophecies of the Old Testament concerning Messiah had been fulfilled — He had actually come, and the establishment of His kingdom was "at hand." This is why John the Baptist, our Lord, and His twelve apostles all went about proclaiming the same message: "The kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt 3:1-2; 4:17; 10:7). Theirs was "the gospel of the kingdom," not "the gospel of the grace of God," and certainly not "the preaching of the cross."
The Beatitudes, then, give us the characteristics of those who will be heirs of the kingdom to be established on the earth one day. Against this background, let's look at a few of the Beatitudes individually and see how perfectly they harmonize with "the gospel of the kingdom" which our Lord and His apostles preached.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matt 5:3).
The millennial kingdom will be made up, not of those who are spiritually smug, but rather of those who realize their spiritual need. Pride will not be tolerated under the reign of Christ. Rather His kingom will be built on humility and love. Today, however, we are not asked to be anything to inherit a position in Christ, only to trust in Him who died for our sins.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted (Matt 5:4).
This promise is particularly significant in light of Old Testament prophecies and Pentecost, because mourning has a special relation to Israel's latter days. This is clear when we look at the ministry and message of John the Baptist, our Lord on earth, and the twelve apostles. They all came proclaiming to apostate Israel to repent because the kingdom of heaven was at hand.
Instead of repenting, however, Israel crucified her Messiah. In response to our Lord's prayer on the cross for their forgiveness (Lk 23:34), God gave them another chance at Pentecost when Peter offered them the return of Christ if they would repent (Acts 2:38; 3:19-21). But again, rather than repent they stood their ground, even stoning Stephen to death and waging war against the disciples of Christ.
According to prophecy, Israel will one day repent and mourn. In that day Israel will finally respond to God's call to repent and turn to Christ, and friends and neighbors, even husbands and wives, will be ashamed to look at each other as they mourn over their long rejection of Messiah.
And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. The land shall mourn, each family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves" (Zech 12:10-14).
Many other Old Testament Scriptures tell us that Israel will not be saved until she turns in repentance to her crucified Messiah (Zech 13:1; Isa 51:11-12; 40:1-2; 61:1-3). These passages agree with the words of our Lord in Matthew 24:30: "...and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." They also agree with Revelation 1:7: "Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen."
But is this how we are saved today? No, because God interrupted the prophetic program and sent Paul to proclaim to all men that God had enthroned grace (Rom 5:20-21), committing to him "the gospel," the good news, "of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24). Unlike Peter at Pentecost, Paul doesn't charge men with the crucifixion of Christ. Rather he says, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor 5:21).
In Romans 5:10 Paul even makes the amazing statement that "we [once enemies] were reconciled to God by the death of his Son." Whereas, according to the prophetic program, the cross made the enmity between God and man (Ps 2:1-5; 110:1), Paul says that according to God's eternal purpose the enmity was slain by the cross, i.e., He counted that death the payment for our sins, so that He could "preach peace" to us Gentles "who were far off and peace to those [Israel] who were near (Eph 2:16-17).
In Paul's message, our Lord is no longer seen as a victim—even a voluntary victim—at Calvary, but as the victor over Satan, sin, death, and the Law. "He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him" (Col 2:15), at the same time He took the Law, "set aside, nailing it to the cross" (Col 2:14). It is He who, at the cross, paid the penalty for our sins and delivered us from the fear of death (Heb 2:14). Where do we find any of this in the Sermon on the Mount?
Okay, one more: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth (Matt 5:5).
It's very possible that our Lord chose these words from Psalm 37:11 where we read: "But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace." Obviously our Lord spoke these words with the kingdom in view because the meek certainly don't inherit the earth today. When this promise was made the Roman Empire was ruling with brutal force, and during the centuries that followed, tyrants like Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Josef Stalin have acquired large portions of this earth by taking them. But when our Lord returns to reign, the meek will indeed inherit the earth.
While it has not been promised to us that we will inherit the earth (see previous post about this here), we have been given a position in the highest heaven in and with Christ. By grace God has seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:6) and has there already "blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing" (Eph 1:3). Some day, in changed and resurrected bodies, we "will be caught up" to meet and be with Him forever (1 Thes 4:16-18; 1 Cor 15:51-52). What a wonderful day that will be!
(to be cont)
