Matthew starts out Christ’s ministry in his gospel with the
Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount begins with the Beatitudes. Any
Jew reading this book would have thought of Moses’s teaching of the Law of God
from Mount Sinai. After the Beatitudes, Jesus goes on to say in verse seventeen
that he has not come to abolish the Law or the prophets, but he has come to
fulfill them. Jesus knew that a Jew shouldn’t just know the Law, but a good,
godly Jew should also follow it. If Jesus gives his audience on the Sermon on
the Mount a “new law,” then Jesus needs to fulfill that law like he does with
the Old Testament Law. Matthew takes the time to show his Jewish readers that
Jesus follows the Sermon on the Mount in his Gospel. This paper will look
specifically at how Jesus follows the Beatitudes.
The Poor in Spirit
“Blessed are the poor
in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” –Matthew 5:3
Readers must understand that poor in spirit in no way means
a weak faith or an absent faith. Readers must also understand that poor in
spirit goes beyond just being physically poor. Indeed, Matthew probably draws
the idea “poor in the spirit” from the image of a poor person. From the Old
Testament, Jews, like Matthew, made a correlation between obedience and financial
blessing. In the Jewish mind, if God granted someone great riches, that person
must have done something righteous or holy. On the other hand, if someone had
no money, according to Jews, that person must have sinned, and God cursed that
person for doing so. Jews would associate the term “poor” with the mental image
of a beggar begging. Matthew takes it a step further. By turning “poor” into
“poor in spirit,” Matthew paints a picture of a person begging God for
everything because they depend on God for everything. They are spiritually
bankrupt and thus also spiritually powerless. It means that person cannot
please God on his or her own. Someone who is poor in spirit quickly confesses
and repents when he or she sins and falls short of the glory of God. The poor
in spirit stand unique in the Beatitudes because their blessing happens in the
present, whereas the other Beatitudes talk about a future promise. These people
already have the mindset of the kingdom of heaven because in the kingdom of
heaven, everybody depends on God for everything.
Jesus lived as one who is poor in spirit while on the earth.
The readers of Matthew can clearly see Jesus as poor in spirit when reading
about the miracles. Instead of using his powers as deity, Jesus models to his
disciples how they, as humans, can do miracles. It all comes down to trusting
in God and asking for his power.
Those who Mourn
“Blessed are those who
mourn, for they shall be comforted.” –Matthew 5:4
People mourn over evil that has happened in the world. The evil
that happens in the world comes from sin. Evil that causes mourning sometimes
derives from the immediate results of personal, individual sins, while at other
times the evil derives from social injustice. Their comfort will come when
Jesus completely removes sin and sets up the perfect kingdom of heaven. Perhaps
Matthew even intended to connect those who mourn to the poor in spirit. A
person, when poor in spirit, becomes sorrowful, and thus mourns. Therefore,
verses three and four parallel each other, for mourning results from one
acknowledging being poor in spirit. Their comfort comes when God provides for
them. Mourning might also result when a person sees how much the kingdom of
heavens seeks, and how man has not reached it. These people will receive consolation
when Jesus establishes the kingdom of God on earth, and everyone can reach its
standards.
Matthew shows a sorrowful Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.
In Matthew 26:37, Matthew explicitly states Jesus as “sorrowful and troubled.”
Then, in Matthew 26:38, Matthew records Jesus telling Peter, James and John,
“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.”
With this repetition, Matthew reiterates the importance of Christ’s emotional
state. Although necessary for God’s plan of man’s salvation, the agony of
facing the most painful death in the world brought Jesus to sorrow. Because of
Christ’s sorrow, man can seek comfort in knowing he can receive salvation.
The Meek
“Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.” –Matthew 5:5
The Greek word translated “meek” in Matthew 5:5, praeis, exists only three other times in
the New Testament, two of them in Matthew. In the other instances, praeis gets translated “gentle” or
“humble.” The English term “meek” further adds the idea of a person who is
non-aggressive. Meek does not mean weak, but instead, it means practicing
self-control over the strength that a person has. If someone humbles himself or
herself to be gentle, that person might fear he or she allows others to use or abuse
them. Not true, Jesus says. Jesus promises them the earth. The Jews of the
first century might have thought they had to take Israel back from the Romans
by force. Jesus turns the kingdom upside down on this Jewish thinking. One day,
Jesus will take all the land for himself, and he will give it to those who
gently humbled themselves.
As stated earlier, praeis
only appears three more times in the New Testament; two of them appear in
Matthew, besides the Sermon on the Mount appearance. Both uses in Matthew describe
Jesus. In Matthew 11:29, Jesus invites the weary and heavy burdened to find
rest in him, for Jesus is “gentle [praeis]
and lowly in heart.” In Matthew 21:5, when Jesus triumphantly enters Jerusalem,
Matthew quotes Zechariah 9:9, which says, “Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble [praeis], and mounted on a
donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.” Although Matthew quotes the
Septuagint, Matthew sees a meek Christ, and so he quotes Zechariah to show his
Jewish audience that a meek Jesus fulfills the prophecy of a meek Christ.
Those who Hunger and
Thirst for Righteousness
“Blessed are those who
hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” –Matthew 5:6
Just like with the poor in spirit, Jesus takes a physical quality,
hunger and thirst, and spiritualizes it to give a deeper meaning. It does
include a basic need for food, but it then goes deeper than that. Just as
hungry person seeks food and a thirsty person seeks drink, so someone who
hunger and thirsts for righteousness seeks righteousness and justice. They aim
to live in a community that resembles Eden before the Fall, just as God created
humans to live in. Jesus promises those who hunger and thirst that they will be
satisfied. When Jesus establishes the kingdom of heaven, they will have their
fill in righteousness and justice, for the kingdom of heaven has nothing but
righteousness and justice.
Jesus knew his spiritual hunger needed to be greater than
his physical hunger. When Satan tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread, Jesus
did not. Instead of sinning in order to fill his stomach, Jesus pursued
righteousness and did not sin, even it meant not filling his stomach.
The Merciful
“Blessed are the
merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” –Matthew 5:7
Being merciful can mean not dealing bitterly with someone or
not disciplining someone who deserves it, but being merciful also extends to
randomly acting kindly to someone for no just reason. Yet the random acts of
kindness cannot be occasional, for a merciful person makes giving mercy a
lifestyle choice. Being merciful includes compassion, forgiveness and
generosity. In return, God returns the mercy to them throughout their lives,
all the way up to the Judgment Day. Perhaps people become merciful because they
recognize they need God to have mercy on themselves for sinning.
The Greek word translated here as merciful, eleemones, only appears in Matthew 5:7
and Hebrews 2:17, a verse which describes Jesus. Therefore, Jesus needs to
become the Christian’s role model for being merciful. Once again, Matthew shows
a merciful Jesus. In Matthew 9:27-31, Jesus has mercy when he stops in route to
his next destination in order to help blind men in the road see. In Matthew
15:21-28, Jesus extends mercy to a Gentile woman when he healed the woman’s
daughter, although his ministry focused on the Jews. In Matthew 17:14-21, Jesus
exorcises a demon out of a man’s son when the disciples could not do it. If the
reader does not believe these miracles as acts of mercy, the reader should
re-read the stories, for each story has the main character cry out to Jesus for
mercy. Jesus hears their pleas for mercy, and he replies in mercy.
The Pure in Heart
“Blessed are the pure
in heart, for they shall see God.” –Matthew 5:8
Pure refers to cleanliness, and heart refers to the
non-material part of the person. Put together, Jesus blesses one who cleanses
on the inside like Jews ritually clean the outside. It rejects sin, impurity
and filth. In its place goes righteousness and holiness. This purification can
only come from depending on God for everything and following Jesus. Those who
can obtain this purity shall see God. Perhaps when Jesus mentioned seeing God,
the Jewish audience thought about holy men in the Old Testament, who got to see
a little of God and became fully illuminated. The pure in heart in the New
Testament will get the see God better and more fully, for when they see God,
they will see him in his presence. This accounts for the pure in heart’s
holiness, for only holy people can stand in the presence of a holy God.
Jesus did not have to purify himself of sin, for Jesus had
no sin in him. Jesus came close to sin when he faced temptation in Matthew 4.
When facing temptations by Satan, Jesus demonstrated purity in heart. He
rejected Satan’s temptations that would make him impure and unclean. Instead,
he chose righteousness and holiness, quoting Scriptures that move him closer to
righteousness and holiness and away from sin. All those Scriptures reminded
Jesus, Satan, and the readers to seek God only, follow God only and worship God
only.
The Peacemakers
“Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” –Matthew 5:9
Notice Jesus says “the peacemakers” and not something else,
like “the peaceful” or “those at peace.” Peacemakers emphasize making peace,
not just thinking about it or talking about it. Peacemaking does, however,
start internally. Once peace lays a foundation in the heart of a person, it
will flow out in his or her physical actions. The peacemakers are the only
Beatitude that Jesus give a title, the title being the sons of God. A person
called the son of God becomes a son a God. He or she gets adopted into God’s
family. God treats that person as if the person is family. God promises all in
his family an inheritance in the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is a
peaceable kingdom. Naturally, it would only make sense for a peacemaker to
inherit a peaceable kingdom.
Matthew 21:1-17 displays Jesus as a peacemaker. In Matthew
21:1-11, Jesus enters Jerusalem, riding on a donkey. When a king entered a city
riding on a donkey, it meant he came in peace. From his entrance into
Jerusalem, Jesus made it clear he came in peace. Despite the crowds that rally
to welcome Jesus, no riots or insurrections occur. In Matthew 21:12-13, Jesus
sees the merchants and money changers, and he becomes angry with a righteous
anger. He expels the merchants and overturns the money changing tables.
Peacemaking involves social justice. Jesus saw a social injustice happening
with the merchants and moneychangers. Neither one of them would allow the poor
to worship God properly. Jesus knew that wasn’t right, so he removed it all
from his Father’s temple. Then, in Matthew 21:14, Jesus goes back to performing
miracles. By performing miracles, he continued to return the shalom, the peace that originates back
in the perfect Garden of Eden, where everything was as it should be.
Peacemakers seek to return life on earth back to life in the Garden.
Those who are Persecuted
for Righteousness’s Sake
“Blessed are those who
are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
–Matthew 5:10
Jesus rightfully saves the blessing for the persecuted last,
for the persecution might come as a result of following all the other
beatitudes. The persecution may also come from other forms of righteous living,
but the persecution must come as a result of righteous living, or else God will
not bless it. The Beatitudes come full circle with the promise for righteous
persecution, for the promise is the same promise for the poor in spirit. Like
the poor in spirit, those persecuted for righteousness’s sake receive the
kingdom of heaven. God provides the kingdom of heaven for these people so they
will have a place where they will no longer receive persecution. Instead, they
will live in a place where everyone lives righteously like they do.
When Matthew tells his side of the crucifixion events,
Matthew wants the reader to clearly see a Jesus persecuted for righteousness’s
sake. When Christians talk about Jesus on the cross, they must include all
aspects and images Jesus on the cross gives, which definitely includes penal
substitution, but also includes Christ the victor just as much. When Jesus
taught about true way to follow the Law, his teachings never went over well
with the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders. Their hardened hearts towards his
teachings, along with jealousy, drove them to want to send Jesus to the cross.
Jesus was persecuted and died because he taught true righteousness. At the same
time, the penal substation view of the cross is another death for
righteousness’s sake. Jesus died on the cross, so we could become righteous.
Conclusion
Jesus truly lived as an example to Christians everywhere.
Not only did he start his ministry teaching people how to live, but he lived
them out himself. Matthew must have believed the Beatitudes were the most
important teaching of Jesus, for not only does Matthew start out Christ’s
ministry with the Beatitudes, but he makes sure everyone reading his Gospel can
see Jesus live them out. If Christians truly want to live like Christ, they
must have the attitude of Christ, which
are the Beatitudes.
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