Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
The Beatitudes
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5: 6-7
Matthew 5: 6-7 The Bliss of Righteousness and Mercy
…14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do. But what I hate, I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I admit that the law is good.…
…17In that case, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do.… Romans 7: 14-19
…13For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love. 14 The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15But if you keep on biting and devouring one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.…
16So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.…
…19The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; 20idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.… Galatians 5: 13-21
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness - Jesus continues to preach one of the greatest sermons ever given, and each beatitude is so neatly tied to the one before and so on. If you are poor in spirit then you know that you are not righteous, and this leads you to mourn over your sin, and the blessing you receive is salvation, which is all of grace, a free gift of God. This leads to humility, a different sort of nature, one that would rather tell of His glorious kingdom, have Christ lifted up and promoted over yourself. The recipient of this gift also receives an inheritance in Christ's earthly kingdom, for you are no longer a slave to sin, banished from the kingdom, but adopted as a son or daughter of the King. Now this free gift is free in the sense that you did not earn it, but Christ did, and with these blessings we can see a new nature, one very different from the self righteous, egotistical, ungrateful old man, and this is a new life, a new creature, with new desires. Everything is in reverse to what the world would count as successful, strong, assertive, or a path to happiness. You realize God is holy, and He has made you His child, so now you have this new appetite, one that desires to glorify Him, to reflect Christ, be more and more conformed to His image, to be holy.
I’m reminded in the New Testament of someone else who had a great pursuit in mind. Jesus tells the story of one who is generally called the rich fool. The story is in Luke chapter 12, and it deserves at least a comment. Luke 12:17. This is a certain rich man who was very productive. He began reasoning to himself, saying, “What shall I do since I have no place to store my crops?” The thought of giving them to somebody else never entered his mind.
He said, “This is what I will do, I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.” The idea was, I’m going to consume it, upon myself and nobody else, and I’ll just build bigger barns to hold it. “I’ll say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come. Take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.’” Here was a man who was pursuing possessions, who was pursuing pleasure. He never had enough, he just wanted more and more and more.
And Jesus basically indicated in verse 20 that he was a fool. “God said to him, ‘You fool, this very night your soul is required of you, and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
But that’s how it is in the world. That’s how life in the world is. People in the world pursue fame and fortune and glory and possessions, achievements that will bring them a certain amount of power or a certain amount of praise or a certain amount of comfort, a certain amount of ease and pleasure. And sometimes because of all these wrong ambitions, ambition itself is somehow put down.
But ambition is a wonderful thing if ambition is directed in the right way. In fact, that’s precisely what this passage is talking about. The apostle Paul, remember, told the Corinthians that he had an ambition and his ambition was to be pleasing to God. Nothing wrong with being driven by a passion. Nothing wrong with pursuing a goal. And that’s the implication here in Matthew chapter 5, that the people who come into the kingdom and people who live in the kingdom are passionate people. They are very much aware of what they don’t have and how desperately they want it, and that’s depicted in the language of hungering and thirsting. - J Mac
Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness do so because they are given this new passion, and because they realize it is something they don't have in or of themselves. They seek the righteousness of another.
…2For I testify about them that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge. 3Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4For Christ is the end of the law, to bring righteousness to everyone who believes.… Romans 10: 2-4
…8More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death,… Philippians 3: 8-10
For they shall be satisfied - They desire the righteousness of God, and not the respect that can be earned from men, the polishing of the cup, the political agreement or attestation of your righteousness from one your allies. You don't care to fool men because you fear God, and as His child you now fear His disapproval above all else, you want His name to be great.
…10For better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. 11For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity. 12O LORD of Hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in You!… Psalm 84: 10-12
Blessed are the merciful - When you realize that your first act of sin was cosmic treason, enough to drown the whole world again, enough for a holy and just God to erase the smear against His name, the dirge for righteousness. When you stop to reason and contemplate that there is nothing good in you, that you could not keep the law, which Christ will demonstrate in great detail this chapter, you will see that the debt is beyond your ability to pay, like that of the ungrateful servant. Now, if you have known your bankruptcy and asked for mercy, received it too, if that is true of you, then should you not also be merciful?
For they shall obtain mercy - If we are merciful to others then we shall obtain mercy from God. Don't be confused about worldlings, for they accept your mercy and yet be ungracious to you. God will either use it to convict them or to judge them, but He most certainly will use it to grow you. If you think it's a gumball machine that accepts and repays tokens here, presently, then you are mistaken and should read verses 10-12 of this chapter. Rejoice though, for this life is nothing compared to eternity. Remember, mercy is the fruit of a forgiven life, a life that was not owed mercy, only God's just wrath. If you want mercy for yourself, then repent that you have not wanted it for others.
…12Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom. 13For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. 14What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?… James 2: 12-14
…44But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even tax collectors do the same?… Matthew 5: 44-46
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