Jesus’ teachings radically reorient our worldview. Jesus’ disciples had left their old life behind to follow Jesus. Then Jesus began to teach them and the crowds that had gathered that their worldview needed to change. Jesus started by listing items that bring blessings in His Kingdom. This list is sometimes called ‘the Beatitudes’, because the Latin word ‘beatus’ means ‘blessed’.[1]
Jesus was bringing the Kingdom of God to the people. Matthew 4: 23 Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom.[2] God’s Kingdom is very different than earthly kingdoms.
Blessings in the Kingdom
Merriam-Webster defines “blessed” as: held in reverence or bringing pleasure, contentment, or good fortune.[3] Jesus’ audience would have understood blessed to mean divine joy and happiness.
Matthew 5:3God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 4 God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. 6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. 7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. 9 God blesses those who work for peace,for they will be called the children of God. [4]
Counter-Cultural Attitudes
In the time of Jesus and still in our time, most people believe that blessings consist of success, wealth, long life, and victory in battles. But Jesus values those who are spiritually helpless, the humble, the mourners, and the peacemakers. This radical spirituality directly confronted the attitude of the religious leaders.
The Pharisees arrogantly congratulated themselves on following the law while looking down on those who didn’t. Throughout history, religion has been forced on people, often militarily. Jesus taught it was a matter of the heart. Those who recognize their spiritual helplessness and humbly seek God will be blessed. It wasn’t the outside actions that counted, but the heart. We are to trust God and look to Him instead of relying on our own ability to follow rules.
Following the Master
Jesus perfectly demonstrated all the character traits of the beatitudes. Jesus was meek (11:29), He mourned (26:36–46), He “fulfilled all righteousness” (3:15; 27:4, 19), and He was merciful (9:27; 15:22; 17:15; 20:30–31). Even today, Jesus’ teachings radically reorient our worldview. We must humble ourselves and seek His strength to carry out His directives. We first need to realize our need for Him, mourn over our sin, and seek His forgiveness. Then Jesus, in His mercy, gives us His righteousness so that we can be part of His Kingdom and its blessings.
To learn more, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/called-to-be-salt-and-light
[1] Wright, T. (2004). Matthew for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1-15 (p. 37). Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.
[2,4] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation . Tyndale House Publishers.