Journey Through Matthew: The Beatitudes
Mar 06 in General
When we get to Matthew Chapter 5 we arrive at a part of the Gospel which is known as the ‘Sermon on the Mount’ (It goes from Chapter 5 to the end of Chapter 7. Chapter 8 begins with ‘When Jesus came down from the mountain…’)
Verses 3 to 11 are sometimes known as the ‘Beatitudes’ because they begin ‘blessed are….’ (beatitude is drawn from Latin – meaning happy or ‘blessed’)
You can read these Beatitudes by following this link.
So, what are these blessings about?
It is as if Jesus is laying out the ground for his mission. He speaks of the people he will meet and minister to in the rest of the Gospel.
What is Matthew encouraging us to see in Jesus?
Each of the blessings in verses 3-9 bring balance and justice to our lives. Or would do if everyone behaved in meek and merciful (etc.) ways, and Jesus is pointing out that this way of living is what brings reward from heaven. This echoes some of the Old Testament such as what we read in Isaiah 58
Things change a little in verses 10-12. Jesus is preparing his listeners to face the reaction that will be met amongst those who are not keen to be meek, or peacemakers.
What we see in Jesus here is not just his message but also the care with which Jesus approaches his work. We often see the Gospels as a haphazard sequence of miracles and parables – Matthew shows us a careful Jesus who has a strategic approach to his mission.
What does Matthew want us to think about ourselves?
When we read the Beatitudes we are prompted to ask ourselves are we meek? Are we pure in heart? Are we peacemakers?
When we think about this we may realise that we have a little work to do. In striving to become more like the people described by Jesus in the Beatitudes we follow a path of true discipleship.
We are also encouraged to consider what our faith means to us. In verses 10-12 Jesus’ statements about persecution challenge us to realise that our path as Jesus’ disciples might not always be an easy one.
A bit extra
Luke has a ‘sermon on the plain’ and some beatitudes too, you can read these by following this link.
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