The Sermon on the Mount is perhaps Jesus’ foremost teaching on what it means to be a faithful follower. He begins this landmark exposition by talking about the various things that contribute to the “blessed life”—a series of statements that each begins with the word “blessed” … a chunk of verses we know as the Beatitudes. But what’s so interesting is that much of what Jesus says is very upside down and illogical. Many of the things we think make for a blessed life—good health … material plenty … winning the physical attractiveness lottery—don’t appear at all in what He has to say. And some things he does touch on—poverty … grief … persecution—are matters we associate with being afflicted and cursed by God. It’s a very countercultural and contrary to common sense list of things that Jesus says are at the root of being blessed by God.
For instance, Jesus begins by saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:3 – NIV). That’s a rather befuddling statement, because being poor in any regard isn’t typically viewed as being a good thing—certainly not something necessary for the blessing of God to rest upon our life. The word poor means we’re deficient … or needy … or lacking something. So—what’s Jesus saying? To be poor in spirit is to admit we’re spiritually empty—to recognize our need of God and acknowledge that on our own, we’re destitute, impoverished, and bankrupt. People who get in touch with their need for God will experience His blessing in abundance, for God can only pour Himself into the lives of those who aren’t too full of themselves. Before there can be a spiritual filling there’s got to be a spiritual emptying that results in a spiritual hunger. The only folks who can be full of God are those who recognize their destitution apart from Him. These men and women, Jesus says, are blessed.
He says next, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matt. 5:4 - NIV). That statement comes at us straight out of left field, for the idea that grieving and blessing can co-exist doesn’t begin to make sense. But Jesus isn’t talking about the kind of thing we feel when someone we know and love dies. He’s talking about a mourning that leads to comfort and relief—to have something that is eating away at us resolve. In other words, he’s talking about people who are in sorrow over the sin in their life. For sin destroys. It incapacitates. It shatters our connection to God. It infests us with guilt and shame. The point Jesus is making is that a key to being blessed is to have those things that, on the day of judgement will drive you to your knees, drive us there now—to not ignore, make light of, or rationalize those things but, rather, allow those things about us that break the heart of God to break ours as well. If we do that, he says, God can remedy and solve that issue. He can banish the brokenness and restore the relationship. And the result is that we’ll be comforted and experience a sense of His blessing.
He continues, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5 - NIV). I’ll admit it—I’m not drawn to the word “meek.” It sounds like someone who’s a patsy—who’s soft … or weak … or easily intimidated. But fortunately, that’s not what this word meant in Jesus’ day. It referred, rather, to power or strength that was under control. For instance, imagine a high-profile person—maybe a celebrity or professional athlete—who’s out for a quiet dinner in a nice restaurant when a person who’s had a bit too much to drink recognizes him or her and starts interfering with their privacy and harassing them. When that individual chooses to not engage or make a scene—even though it would be within their right and power to do so—that’s meekness! Or imagine the politician who’s being denounced and criticized in a very combative and adversarial way and opts to maintain a very civil and respectful tone to the person going off on him or her. That’s meekness! These people, Jesus says, will inherit the earth—i.e., they’ll have everything they want. If you’re meek, you’re basically secure. If you’re meek, you don’t feel a need to assert or prove yourself, and you’re not always striving for more … because you’re content. When you’re content, you’re basically happy with who you are and what you have, and you don’t get caught up in the ”if only” syndrome.
Being meek, however, doesn’t mean there aren’t things in life we shouldn’t strive for and pursue. For Jesus says as much when he says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matt. 5:6 - NIV). Those who pursue right-ness with God will be blessed. Those who desire to see God’s standards and values established in every area of their life and strive to see it extended through all of society and culture—those people, Jesus says, will be filled. The point he’s getting at is people who pursue right-ness with God will know a purpose that will fill their lives with a significance that surpasses the emptiness that accompanies the pursuit of notoriety, wealth, marketplace success, and all those lesser things that so many of us get caught chasing. For there’s not enough fame, power, and money in a thousand lifetimes to fill that bottomless pit of need and get at what we’re really craving. Without a sense of purpose—without something bigger than us that is lifting our vision and calling us to invest our life in something noteworthy—life ultimately becomes meaningless. Rick Warren wrote a best-selling book a few years ago that said it so well. It’s not about you; it’s about living a purpose-driven life—realizing the reason we were placed on this planet and leaning into that reality. Purpose comes through being rightly related to God and living out the natural implications of that relationship. Those who do that, Jesus says, will be filled.
Next he says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matt. 5:7 - NIV). To understand what Jesus is getting at, we need to wrap our mind around the meaning of “mercy.” For Jesus is not talking about some momentary feeling or some short-term sensitivity that is here today and gone tomorrow. He is talking about a lifestyle and manner of living. He is talking about showing compassion and empathy for people, not just when they’re down and out, but doing so routinely—in the day-in, day-out activities of life. What he’s getting at is, “Blessed are those who don’t take advantage of the weakness and vulnerability of others. Blessed are those who don’t break their neck trying to get ahead of others at their expense.” The people who are blessed, Jesus says, exemplify and express mercy … and they discover that it comes full circle and greatly enriches their lives. For mercy tends to flow into the life of the person who gives it. Grace tends to permeate the life of the person who extends it. Those who manifest and embody mercy will be the ones who receive it.
He continues by saying, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matt. 5:8 - NIV). To the people of Jesus’ day, the heart was the center of the personality. It was the place where important decisions were made and the course of one’s life direction was set. So, when Jesus talks about purity of heart, he’s not using a theological term we in holiness circles have a great fondness for. He’s not employing a phrase we use to refer to one of the natural results of an experience we have with God subsequent to regeneration where He does a cleansing and empowering work in our lives. With the term “purity of heart,” Jesus is talking about being single-minded—about having a clarity of vision to where we’re focused on one, and only one, thing. When you’re pure in heart, you don’t get pulled in a dozen different directions. When you’re pure in heart, the core of your being is not divided in terms of its loyalties and allegiances. When you’re pure in heart, you don’t live a compartmentalized life but, rather, you choose to live all of life in a God-focused fashion to where every dimension of who you are is influenced. Granted, part of the outgrowth of the experience of entire sanctification—of the Spirit’s cleansing and empowering work within us—is a desire to live in such a way to where God and His Kingdom can derive the maximum possible benefit. But when we go through life with a purity of heart, the reward is that we come into contact with, and experience, that for which our heart truly longs.
Next Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matt. 5:9 - NIV). This is another instance where it’s easy to misunderstand what Jesus meant, for he was saying something far different from the connotations many of us often associate with peace-making. To many of us, making peace is about overlooking offenses … not making waves when we’re victimized or mistreated … just letting it go. But this isn’t at all what Jesus was saying. He wasn’t talking about conflict avoidance for, as we all know, sidestepping and avoiding the issue many times only serves to make things worse in the long run. What Jesus is talking about here is working towards reconciliation—fence-mending between people and groups that are at odds with each other. Granted—that isn’t always possible. Paul says in Rom. 12:18, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (NIV)—the implication being there will be times and situations where peace-making isn’t going to happen no matter what steps we take and how hard we try. But—we’re to still give it a shot! True peace-making isn’t safe … or tame … or easy—to offer a healing word rather than a divisive one … to bring a sense of calm rather than whipping up drama … to soothe rather than enflame … to build a bridge rather than foment division—this is what it means to be a peacemaker. Jesus says those who do this will be called the children of God—in other words, people around us will see us as a true representative of God. The choice and commitment to be a peacemaker is a key element of what’s involved in living the blessed life.
And then, finally, Jesus wraps up this way: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:10-12 - NIV). While the previous statements have been difficult and challenging, this may be the most demanding of them all. Jesus was under no superficial illusions as to what came with the territory of living the blessed life, for the values he was spelling out were in direct conflict with the standards, priorities, and values of the surrounding world. He wasn’t telling the world what it wanted to hear; He was telling it what it needed to hear. He wasn’t playing into culture; He was espousing a value system that was radically countercultural. And the reality is when you embrace a worldview that is out of keeping, and at odds with, the prevailing culture, there’s typically a price to pay—and it’s often very severe. Jesus is a prime example. He lived the most blessed life ever. At the outset of his ministry, he was baptized by his cousin John and a voice from heaven broke in and said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:17 – NIV). It doesn’t get more blessed than that! But Jesus was also misunderstood, conspired against, betrayed, lied about, falsely accused, flogged within an inch of his life, jeered and mocked, and ended up dying a humiliating, shameful death that was reserved for the worst of the worst.
The truly blessed life is not an easy life! It’s not a life filled with the various pleasures and comforts we associate with satisfaction. But Jesus never said that following him would be easy; He only said it would be worth it! He never said that if we’d follow Him, we’d experience the good life. He said if we’d follow Him, we’d experience the blessed life. Following Him means, as He said in Luke 9:23, “denying yourself and taking up your cross” (NIV). Living the blessed life is not something for the timid, weak, cowardly, or complacent. It’s for the adventuresome, fearless, undaunted, and brave—in fact, I don’t think there’s anything more gallant and gutsy we can do than commit to living the blessed life.