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Matthew 5:1-12
The Sermon on the Mount – The Beatitudes
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,2 and he began to teach them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Over the past few days, our gospel readings have been coming from Matthew, and today we start a series of readings from the part of that gospel that’s known as “the Sermon on the Mount” – chapters five, six and seven. That part of Matthew starts out with the passage we know as ‘the Beatitudes.’ That’s obviously considered a very important part of Mattew. But before the look at the beatitudes, we should stop to think about what the New Testament scholars say about the Sermon on the Mount as a whole.
We might start by saying that lots of New Testament scholars don’t believe it was really a sermon at all – they don’t think it was preached all at one time. Instead, they think the part we call the Sermon on the Mount was really a collection of teachings by Jesus that Matthew thought were so important they should be put together at the beginning of his gospel.
You might remember that we’ve said the Gospel of Matthew was based on Mark, which was the first gospel. And that both Matthew and Luke added material from other sources in compiling their gospels. From the earliest days of the church, it has been understood that the teachings of Jesus in the gospels were recorded very carefully, but not necessarily in the order in which Jesus had said them. So when we read the part of Matthew the church has traditionally called the Sermon on the Mount, it’s probably not worth worrying about whether it really was one continuous sermon. It’s the content of these teachings that matters.
But the New Testament scholars say the teachings of Jesus in this part of Matthew do all have something important in common. That something is that they all paint a picture of how Jesus said his followers would be shaped by their lives of discipleship. Jesus understood that those of us who follow him will be a kind of ‘counter-culture,’ with distinctive traits that make us different from the rest of the world.
It seems to me that some people – including lots of followers of Jesus – think of the Sermon on the Mount as a list of ‘rules for Christian living.’ That’s not wrong, really, but it might be a little misleading. It seems clear that Jesus wants his followers to live in a way that’s consistent with what’s said in this part of Matthew. But some of the best scholars say that thinking of the Sermon on the Mount as a list of rules kind of puts the cart before the horse. They say it’s a mistake to think that you have to obey these rules to be claimed as a follower of Jesus – to “get saved,” as people say. Because the truth is that almost nobody can really live the kind of perfect life Jesus describes in his teachings.
Instead, they say, the point Jesus is making is that if we really try to live in imitation of him, if we really trust in him and devote ourselves to living by his teachings, then our lives will become more and more like the picture that’s painted in the Sermon on the Mount.
So if you read what Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount and realize you’re falling short of that standard, don’t be discouraged. Everybody falls short of that standard. The point is not to let yourself be consumed with guilt and shame – or even to “try harder to be good.” Instead, Jesus seems to be calling on us to be praying for the Holy Spirit to be at work in us – to make us more like him every day.
That brings us back to our reading for today – to the Beatitudes. The scholars say that they’re also not meant to be thought of as rules to obey. Obviously, you can’t command people to feel “blessed” when they’re mourning or persecuted or suffering injustice. But the further you go in your walk of faith, the more you follow Jesus, the more you see the purposes of God being worked out in your life, even in hard times. Then it becomes a blessing to serve God even when there’s a heavy cost.
The earthly ministry of Jesus points us toward the heavenly kingdom he came to proclaim – the kingdom that God is at work establishing. As we’ve said in past Reflections, we understand that each of his miracles represents a preview of that kingdom. And the beatitudes seem to have a related purpose. They also give people who are suffering in this world glimpses of hope for a better future in that kingdom. In fact, you might remember that some scholars suggest reading the beatitudes by adding ‘in this world’ to the first half of each one, then adding ‘in the kingdom of heaven’ to the second half. Like, ‘Blessed are those who mourn [in this world], for they will be comforted [in the kingdom of God].’
So when you think about the Sermon on the Mount, try to keep in mind that idea – that Jesus is painting a picture of the life that’s being transformed by his teachings and his example. If we’re faithful in following him, our lives will come to look more and more like the picture he’s painting in this part of Matthew.
Let’s pray. Lord, as we read and think about the Sermon on the Mount together, help us to open our hearts to let your Holy Spirit do its work of transformation in us, and let our lives look more and more like the lives Jesus is describing here. Amen.
Blessings,
Henry
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