March 14: The Beatitudes

Jesus Appoints the Twelve

Mark 3:13-19

Luke 6:12-16

Jesus Heals the Sick

Matthew 4:23-25

The Sermon on the Mount, part 1

Matthew 5

Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes. The word beatitude is Latin, meaning ‘blessings’. We can learn much about the FULLER LIFE by taking a closer look at a few these verses.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit…” (Matthew 5:3a)

The blessed man finds himself in a place of spiritual poverty – or rather, he recognizes his spiritual poverty and seeks God for sustenance. Take a look at a couple different translations of this verse:

NCV – “Those are blessed who realize their spiritual poverty…”

NLT – “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him…”

I also like how The Message paraphrase completes this verse: “With less of you there is more of God and his rule.” It’s a wonderful dynamic. By emptying ourselves of ourselves we are giving even more room for God to fill us with his life and blessings.

“Blessed are those who mourn…” (Matthew 5:4a)

The contradiction is interesting: the mourners are actually happy. Look again at The Message paraphrase: “You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.”

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5)

Meekness is not a sign of weakness, but rather controlled strength. Many would resist meekness, afraid they would probably lose out on what is rightfully theirs; but the promise of the kingdom is for the meek. There is no need to fight and aggressively grab on to what can be yours when you can remain meek and inherit everything! Remember, you don’t have to do anything to inherit the riches – you get them because you are already in the family. “But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” (Psalm 37:11)

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (Matthew 5:8)

In Exodus 33:20 God said that no man could see him and live. Why? Because of sin. The pure in heart, though, will be able to see him. Remember what David said in Psalm 24: “Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure…” (verses 3-4a). Our ‘hands’ refer to our actions while our ‘hearts’ refer to our motives. And Jesus tells us here in Matthew that when our hearts are pure we will see God.

There is so much more that could be discussed here. But I wonder, as it relates to the FULLER LIFE what do YOU see in these verses of the Beatitudes? We can be blessed, happy, fulfilled; and these first few verses in Matthew 5 hold some of the keys to make that happen. Do you see anything in the Beatitudes that can help you attain the FULLER LIFE?