THE BEATITUDES
1Seeing the
crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to
him.
2And he opened
his mouth and taught them, saying:
3” Blessed are
the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4“Blessed is
those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5“Blessed is the
meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6“Blessed is
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7“Blessed is the
merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8“Blessed is the
pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9“Blessed are
the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10“Blessed is
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.
12Rejoice and be
glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets
who were before you”.
MATTHEW
5:1-12
COMMENTARY
On one occasion,
while Jesus retired to pray to a hill, in Galilee (Luke 6:12,17), He saw the multitude
of people in need, coming to Him for consolation and healing (Luke 6:19) and
having mercy on them, He not only healed them, but also taught them like this:
1 = BLESSED ARE
THE POOR IN SPIRIT
Jesus is not referring
only, as some modern Christians think, to the acknowledgement of our lack of
possibility to please GOD through our own efforts. But to the comparison of a
spiritual state of need, or lack of guidance, comparable to material poverty
(Luke 6:20).
Blessed are
those who are not bound to any attachments that prevents them from being open
to listen and accept the message of God, as the poor are open to the help of
anyone who shows them mercy.
2 – BLESSES ARE
THOSE WHO MOURN
Blessed are those
who are victims of injustice and disgrace, because GOD will do them justice and
supply them.
3 – BLESSED ARE
THE MEEK
Blessed are
those who are humble, because GOD will entrust the new earth to those who are
free of personal ambitions and rely on God.
4 – BLESSED ARE
THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS
Blessed are those
who desire righteousness on earth, because GOD will bring the righteousness
they desire.
5 – BLESSED ARE
THE MERCIFUL
Blessed are
those who forgive those who act against them, because equally GOD will be
merciful with them (Matthew 6:14).
6 – BLESSED ARE
THE PURE IN HEART
Blessed are
those who do not have malice in their souls, because they will be admitted into
GOD’s presence.
7 – BLESSED ARE
THE PEACE MAKERS
Blessed are those
who love peace, and promote understanding and tolerance among humans, because
that is exactly what GOD wants from humanity, to live in peace and love each
other. For that reason, they will be called ‘Children of God’, because they
desire and do as their heavenly Father desires.
8 – BLESSED ARE THE
PERSECUTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS’ SAKE
Blessed are the
ones who suffer persecution for upholding righteousness, because they love GOD’s
will, and therefore GOD will grant them salvation
9 – BLESSED ARE YOU
WHEN OTHERS REVILE YOU ON MY ACCOUNT
This continues
on from the last beatitude.
Not only those
who by nature love Justice and uphold it against all odds, but specially those
who do it because that is the will of GOD and have submitted to Christ’s rule.
Blessed are
specially those Christians who are reviled and persecuted, through violence and
lies and false testimonies, because they will share in the same blessing of the
old prophets of GOD who suffered persecution for the sake of YHWH.
They will not
only inherit all the other blessings mentioned above, but also a GREAT REWARD,
apart from all that, from LORD YHWH Himself.
(Matthew 10:39)
LORD JESUS also
mentioned a series of condemnations not mentioned here in Matthew’s account, but
it is in the gospel of Luke 6:24-26, that clearly contrast the virtues
mentioned in the Beatitudes.
It is important
to note here, that Lord JESUS is referring to the personal desire of justice
and innocence of every man. Not to the imputed Justice of the redeemed. Because
with this JESUS lets us know that the concepts of justice, righteousness and honesty
are born from the sense of God’s will printed by GOD in our inner self at birth
(Romans 2:15).
To long for
justice and truth are natural qualities in all humans in their natural state,
before they become corrupted by sin in adult life.
But then, LORD
JESUS, makes the point of the last Beatitude, where exalts the believers in His
Name, to the highest reward in Glory, including all those mentioned before
that.
Omar Flores.
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