How Do We Do It?
I have heard lately that there are people arguing that no one can live a righteous life. That Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, and the beatitudes were over exaggerated to make a point. They say that if they live that way then they wouldn’t make it a day in this world. They’d be persecuted.
This saddens me because essentially they are saying that the standards of living that Jesus has called us to is too much. They don’t want to forfeit their life for Christ, they don’t want to give up everything to follow Him.
Jesus said that following Him would mean that we’d be persecuted, and He told us that whatever we experienced, He experienced it first. He experienced rejection since the first time Adam and Eve sinned. He experienced betrayal through Judas. He experienced death on a cross. He died for us. He didn’t just say “Live this way, do these things and you’ll die, but I won’t.” He said “Follow Me.” It means that whatever we experience, He experienced it first.
“When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed at the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and b glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.“
~ Matthew 5:1-12
Jesus gives us 8 beatitudes, but He first gave them to the apostles. This is important and we should see it that way because of how short Jesus’ time was with His disciples (only three years). In verse 2 it says “He opened His mouth…” This supports that every word Jesus said was (and is) important.
The beatitudes were given together and should not be separated. The righteous life cannot come without all of these together. Mastering the beatitudes is not something we can do on our own though, it’s something only God in us can do. This should cause us to look up. As we continually look to Christ we will be transformed into the likeness of Him.
The term “blessed” is an exclamation of the inner joy and peace that comes with being right with God. The opposite of Jesus’s “blessed” in Matthew 5 would be the “woes” in Matthew 23.
1. “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” People who are poor in spirit are those who are humble before God. They realize they have nothing in this life that they can contribute to receiving the kingdom of heaven. The message here is the call to repentance. It’s understanding that we cannot do it on our own, so we humble ourselves and come before God.
2. “Blessed are those who mourn…” Though Jesus does comfort us in our times of grief of loss, the word “mourning” here refers to the mourning over one’s sin. They aren’t just mourning over the suffering and sadness of life, but for the sinfulness that causes it. There is comfort because they know that death does not have the final victory, for the dead in Christ will be raised incorruptible.
3. “Blessed are the meek/gentle…” Meek are those who have a spirit of gentleness and self-control. They are free from malice and a condescending spirit. This does not mean that they are weak or ineffective in life. They may be gentle and humble, but it takes a person of strong character to respond meekly to those who have wronged him. We become meek through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. When we walk by the Spirit, the characteristics of the Spirit will be worked out in us.
4. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…” This imagery here of hungering and thirsting compares this drive for righteousness with the deepest and most constant needs we have. This verse doesn’t describe those who are righteous or try to do good things, it is describing their passion in life—they hunger and thirst for it. Like the poor and the meek these people put their lives into the hand of God and hope for His help. The closer one lives to the Lord, the more sensitive he or she will become to the unrighteousness or injustice in the world.
5. “Blessed are the merciful…” One thing that is common to the poor in spirit, the meek, and those who hunger for righteousness is that their life is not self-sufficient but looks outward for help. They understand mercy for they know their own inadequacies, dependence, weaknesses and incompleteness. Showing mercy to others, then, includes both the forgiveness of the sinner and the compassion for the suffering and the needy. They are called blessed because they place showing mercy above their own rights. People who know more of God’s mercy will be merciful.
6. “Blessed are the pure in heart…” The “heart” is used in the Bible for the will, the choices. So to be pure in heart means that the decisions one makes, the desires one has, the thoughts and intentions of the will are untarnished by sin, and that the will is determined to be pleasing to God. Nothing short of a change of heart will bring about a pure heart. The transformation from a heart of less to a our heart will come by following Christ, but it will not be an easy or swift change. The promise given here is that they will “see God” in all the events and circumstances of life. Learning to live by the Word of God will change the way we think so that our hearts will grow more and more pure.
7. “Blessed are the peacemakers…” God is a God of peace; His whole plan of redemption is to provide peace with God for those who were formerly alienated from God. Those who are peacemakers are then first and foremost people who understand what true peace is. Their effort is to strive to establish a peace that embraces God’s provision of peace, so that people will be in harmony with one another because they are at peace with God. As disciples of Jesus we should be promoting peace. We do this by spreading the Gospel of peace to the world and by promoting reconciliation within the household of faith as well.
8. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of justice…” In this fallen world when people try to promote peace, or champion righteousness, or live a life of gentleness and meekness, they find opposition. One would think that such a life would attract people to the kingdom of God, but the fact that it does not naturally do that tells us clearly that the human race is not only alienated from God, but in rebellion to God. We have been identified by faith with Christ, we carry His name, and we are to proclaim the good news that there is a kingdom of righteousness and peace that is spiritual and eternal. We will find opposition in doing so, but we should rejoice for our reward in heave will be great.
These eight verses that Jesus has given us as an example of a righteous life are not the only ones. Jesus Himself lived a righteous life which is an example to us, and all over Scripture in different words, God has given us examples and instructions of how to live a righteous life. As I said before, living this out is not something we can do on our own. We have to be walking by the Spirit and allowing Him to work in our life and bring about this change, this lifestyle. It’s not going to happen easily, it will be hard. When we live this out, we will find opposition.
When we turn our lives over to Him, focus on Him, our lives do change. Our outlook and perspective on life shifts, we have a change of attitude and actions. Our characteristics change as the Spirit changes us into God’s image.
The Kingdom of Heaven is worth dying for, and we are God’s people who have been called to stand out from the world. To be in the world, but not of it. Do you believe that?
Till Next Time,
Kara Faber
