Bible Study Series: Matthew 5:1-12. These are the beatitudes. They describe how kingdom citizens can live the true blessed life (not the popular book of this title).
I approach the Sermon on the Mount with fear and trembling. I’ll go through these verses as straightforwardly as I can and keep the plain things the main things—my main hermeneutical or interpretive key. I’ll also consult the commentaries, listed below, to ensure I stay within the community of Bible teachers.
When I use the phrase “kingdom citizen” or “kingdom subject” (and so on), I’m not talking about some future millennium, but about us right now. The Sermon on the Mount is our teaching now, for us now; it is also about the final, fully manifested, future kingdom.
A warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn, so let’s learn together. I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click on this link:
In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up to the mountain and sat down. His disciples came to him. 2 And opening his mouth, he began to teach them, saying:
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
4 Blessed are the those who grieve, because they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, because they will inherit the land.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be satisfied.
7 Blessed are the merciful, because they will receive mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, because they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called the children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
11 Blessed are you when they insult and persecute you and falsely speak every bad thing against you, because of me.
12 Rejoice and celebrate because your reward is great in heaven, for in this way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matt. 5:1-12)
Comments
Grace is assumed in the Sermon on the Mount. Keener writes correctly:
Most Jewish people understood the commandments in the context of grace …; given Jesus’s demand for grace in practice (including in material that appears specifically Matthean: 9:13; 12:7; 18:21-35), he undoubtedly intended the kingdom demands in light of grace (cf. Mt. 6:12 // Lk 11:4; Mk 11:25 // Mt 6:14-15; Mk 10:15). In the Gospel narratives Jesus embraces those who humble themselves, acknowledging God’s right to rule, even if in practice they fall short of the goal of perfection (5:48). But the kingdom grace Jesus proclaimed was not the workless grace of much of Western Christianity: in the Gospels the kingdom message transforms those who meekly embrace it, just as it crushes the arrogant, the religiously and socially satisfied. (pp. 161-62)
Osborne’s great translation (p. 163):
God blesses the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
God blesses those who are meek, for they will inherit the earth.
God blesses those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled.
God blesses those who are merciful, for they will receive mercy.
God blesses the pure in heart, for they will see God.
God blesses those who make peace, for they shall be called the children of God.
God blesses those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom belongs to them.
God blesses you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven in great, for in this way they persecuted the prophets before you.
Awesome. I wish I had thought of it!
The Sermon on the Mount is related to Jeremiah 31:33, which says that in the New Covenant, which will be better than the covenant he made with his people at Sinai (Jer. 31:32), the law is written on the heart:
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people. (Jer. 31:33)
So the heart matters in in the New Covenant, and Jesus goes right to the heart of the matter.
1-2:
Let’s figure out the word blessed, first. It is an adjective or descriptor of who we are in Christ. This section is called the Beatitudes, from Latin beatitudo, “happiness, blessedness.” But Matthew wrote in Greek, not Latin. He begins those verses with the word “blessed” for emphasis. The more common adjective, which appears here, is makarios (pronounced mah-kah-ree-oss) and is used 50 times. It has an extensive meaning: “happy” or “fortunate” or “privileged” (Mounce, pp. 67-71).
Important point: The key theme of the Sermon on the Mount is the kingdom of heaven.
“mountain”: it should be a higher place than just hills. This alludes to Moses going up on Mt. Sinai in Exod. 19:3. But Jesus will not have smoke and thunder and lightning around him. Too scary and needless for the New Covenant he is about to launch (Matt. 26:26-29). He now has the anointing of the Spirit whom he experienced at his baptism.
Evidently, Jesus went up to a high place because of the crowds, and his disciples came to him. Are the crowds the same as his disciples? Some passages seem to say yes (John 6:66). Here I see a distinction between the crowds and the disciples. Only those who truly want to be his disciples can take this teaching in which Jesus says the righteousness of the disciples must exceed the righteousness of the devout Jewish religionists. His disciples hunger and thirst for righteousness.
“disciples”: The noun is used 261 times in the NT, though many of them are duplicates in the three synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It means pupil, apprentice” or “one who is rather constantly associated with someone who has a pedagogical reputation or a particular set of views, disciple, adherent.” (BDAG)
However, in Matt. 4:25 great crowds followed him. So who were these disciples? They were a subset of the great crowds but much bigger than the twelve.
He sat down: this is the Rabbinic posture. He probably sat on a rock or a mound, not on the flat ground. People needed to hear him, so his head had to be elevated.
Opening his mouth, he began to teach. This wording indicates solemnity (Matt. 13:35; Acts 8:35; 10:34; 18:14). It has OT roots (Job 3:1; 33:2; Dan. 10:16). Something very special and sacred is about to be spoken.
3-5:
The kingdom citizens in these three verses are those who feel oppressed. Are they poor in spirit, feeling discouraged, grieving or mourning, weak? Then they are ready for a great reversal; their lives can be filled with new purpose. This sermon is not about social justice warriors who can militantly impose the principles on society. It is about the humble who recognize their spiritual bankruptcy. They need the kingdom of heaven first, before they can walk in this teaching. And the kingdom brings inner power because God initiates and brings the spiritual benefits outlined here in these opening twelve verses. Being poor in spirit and mournful indicates total dependence on God, rather than one’s own righteousness.
Mourning can be both applied to persecution and poverty (vv. 11-12) and for sin and guilt, so mourning means repentance (Osborne, comment on 5:4). This mourning causes us to turn to God for help.
“kingdom of heaven”: Matthew substitutes “heaven” (literally heavens or plural) nearly every time (except for 12:28; 19:24; 21:31, 43, where he uses kingdom of God). Why? Four possible reasons: (1) Maybe some extra-pious Jews preferred the circumlocution or the roundabout way of speaking, but this answer is not always the right one, for Matthew does use the phrase “kingdom of God” four times; (2) the phrase “kingdom of heaven” points to Christ’s post-resurrection authority; God’s sovereignty in heaven and earth (beginning with Jesus’s ministry) is now mediated through Jesus (28:18); (3) “kingdom of God” makes God the king (26:29) and leaves less room to ascribe the kingdom to Jesus (16:28; 25:31, 34, 40; 27:42), but the phrase “kingdom of heaven” leaves more room to say Jesus is the king Messiah. (4) It may be a stylistic variation that has no deeper reasoning behind it (France). In my view the third option shows the close connection to the doctrine of the Trinity; the Father and Son share authority, after the Father gives it to him during the Son’s incarnation. The kingdom of heaven is both the kingdom of the Father and the kingdom of the Messiah (Carson). And, since I like streamlined interpretations, the fourth one also appeals to me.
Bible Basics about the Kingdom of God
Questions and Answers about Kingdom of God
Basic Definition of Kingdom of God
1 Introducing the Kingdom of God (begin a ten-part series)
“meek”: it is the adjective and it does not mean weak. It means “mild, soft, gentle, meek” (Liddell and Scott); a horse can be “meek,” and it is not physically weak. The noun can mean a person is made to be gentle and meek, but here in v. 5, it seems the disciple is already soft and gentle. This is not a character flaw, Just the opposite. The already meek who enter the kingdom will inherit the land or earth. This means that as the kingdom goes around the globe and establishes a foothold or toehold, then that place belongs to the citizen. No, not by grasping for unrestrained political power, but by the gospel entering the heart of each person and transforming him.
“God’s inaugurated reign will eventually result in humble disciples, not arrogant tyrants, inheriting the earth. … The language here clearly alludes to Ps. 37:9, 11, which speaks of the oppression of the godly by the wicked” (Turner on 5:5). It’s not humbleness in the abstract, but those who have been bent double by oppression. Cheer up and look up, those who are oppressed! You are the ones who will inherit the weak (Turner).
“land”: it can definitely be translated as most translation have it: “earth.”
The poor in spirit, the mourners and the meek can be lifted up and stand in the kingdom of heaven, which is gradually being brought down to earth through people—God working through people.
6-9:
In these verses, the people seem eager and ready to go.
They already hunger and thirst for righteousness:
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God? (Ps. 42:2, NIV)
God may stand in for righteousness, if we combine the two verses. If anyone thirsts for God, he will find righteousness.
They already are merciful to those who need it;
They already are the pure in heart; This goes deeper than external righteousness that the religious leaders of Jesus’s day exhibited; it’s a theme of the Sermon. It means single-minded devotion and a heart that has been purified by God. The pure in heart means, in this context they are morally upright (not just ritually clean) and are single-minded in their pursuit of God. When they pursue God, they shall “see” him spiritually right now (Job. 42:5; Heb. 11:27) and in fulness after Christ returns (Osborne, comment on 5:8). So in this verse we have the inaugurated kingdom, in part right now, and then the future kingdom.
And they make peace. “The peacemakers of 5:9 refers to those, who experiencing the shalom of God, become his agents establishing his peace in the world (Osborne on 5:9).
Do I Really Know God? He Is the God of Peace
They are quick to make peace in the family and the Christian community (Osborne on 5:9). The opposite are the troublemakers and strife creators.
Now here are the kingdom joys and benefits for these people.
Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be rewarded with being satisfied with more righteousness. The voice of the verb (passive) teaches that God is the one who satisfies. The whole context and thrust of the Sermon on the Mount is righteous living, which is very important to God. Yes, grace comes first by the gifting that kingdom of heaven brings, but then kingdom grace empowers you to live godly lives. The Spirit enters people, and so does the law of God, written in your hearts (Heb. 8:10). The New Covenant, which he is about to launch (Matt. 26:26-29), comes with the law in the hearts. Don’t let the hyper-grace teachers tell you otherwise. This is not righteousness in a forensic sense (legal declaration), but righteous behavior (Turner on 5:6).
“‘Righteousness’ is a particularly important term for Matthew, especially in the Sermon on the Mount (5:6, 10, 20; 6:1, 33), and in each of these conducts it refers to right conduct in the eyes of God. So it means hungering and thirsting for doing what is right before God. Note that one never truly attains it but at all times strives with all one’s strength to obey God” (Osborne, comment on 5:6). Again, don’t let the hyper-grace teachers tell you that God does not require righteous living.
8 Righteousness of the Kingdom
Those who demonstrate and offer mercy will receive mercy. Maybe they are already like the meek, so these four verses do not have walls around them, excluding the other verses in this “blessed” introduction.
In v. 8, Jesus highlights (or “lowlights”) the external, rules-oriented purity of the Pharisees, which Jesus rejects because it hides inner corruption behind a mask (Turner on 5:8).
The pure in heart will see God. This does not mean they will see God in his pure essence, but they will perceive with their spirit the ways of God. They will perceive with their spirits who God is. They will have His Spirit and catch a glimpse of him vicariously or representatively.
The peacemakers will be called the children of God (literally the “sons” of God, but let’s be gender inclusive, since the Greek allows it). The verb is in the passive voice, which means Father God calls them his children. They pursue peace—not foolish peace whereby a nation rolls over and plays dead. The state should do all it can to stop evil with law enforcement and the military, if necessary. But kingdom citizens (disciples), if they branch out to counsel the state, must not recklessly and unwisely impose kingdom standards on nonkingdom citizens and an entire government.
What Does ‘Turn the Other Cheek’ Mean?
Should the State ‘Turn the Other Cheek’?
The Sermon on the Mount is for kingdom citizens, not for people outside of the kingdom, who see these things as unrealistic, legalistic, and unachievable standards. See my series on pacifism:
1. The Kingdom of God: Was Jesus a Pacifist?
2. The Gospels: Was Jesus a Pacifist?
3. Were the Early Christians Pacifists?
4. Can Christians Join the Military or Police Force?
Is It Just to Deploy National Guard to Stop Mayhem?
Instead, this is kingdom peace among disciples. Don’t over-interpret the word.
10-12:
In v. 12, Jesus switches from third person (“those” or “they”) to second person (“you”). Now the blessings come with some character building and tests, because people outside the kingdom can turn downright evil. They spoke against the prophets, so they will speak against you. Jesus will tear into the teachers of the law and Pharisees for their ancestors persecuting and killing the prophets of old (23:29-30).
These verses talk about the backlash that will come with following Jesus. In Jewish and Muslim households, the new converts may be ostracized and persecuted. In Islamic and communist countries, the converts to Christ may face prison or even torture and execution. In Nigeria, Christians are routinely martyred for their faith. When these bad things happen and people speak every kind of lying words against kingdom citizens, then the disciples are to rejoice and celebrate.
Here are the apostles in the book of Acts:
40 Summoning the apostles, they [the High Council] flogged them, ordered them not to speak about the name of Jesus, and dismissed them. 41 And so they left the presence of the High Council, rejoicing that they were considered worthy to be dishonored because of the name. (Acts 5:40-41, my tentative translation)
We exercise wisdom when listen to the apostolic community; today some are prone to dismiss it. They have this condescending attitude. “The apostles lived in their times and did the best they could with the light they had, but we now know better!” Misguided.
In any case, the apostles rejoiced, because they were considered worthy to suffer for righteousness’s sake. And they were filled with the Spirit (Acts 4:31).
Of course kingdom persecution came during Jesus ministry—and because of it—but it will really come in full force for the kingdom community after Pentecost, just fifty days after the Passover dinner, where Jesus launched the New Covenant, and as the church takes the gospel around the globe. “But Matthew is summoning his community to an honor far higher than merely filling the role of Old Testament prophets; he summons them to bear the name—the honor—of Jesus, who is greater than those prophets (16:14-17; cf. 13:57). To suffer for righteousness’ sake is to suffer for Jesus’ name (5:10-11), because the characteristics Jesus lists as belonging to the people of the kingdom are also those Jesus himself exemplifies as the leading servant of the kingdom son par excellence of the Father (11:27; 20:28)” (Keener, p. 172).
I like Turner’s conclusion about the Beatitudes:
From the Beatitudes, Christians learn that the character traits reflecting God’s reign are chiefly humility towards God and mercy toward people. By God’s grace these traits are present in principle in the lives of God’s people. Yet these traits must be cultivated so that they become more dynamically present in fact. Believers develop maturity in discipleship as they grow in their understanding of, and obedience to, Scripture, as they face the tests of life. The resource of the Spirit and encouragement from the Christian community are necessary. In a world that values pride over humility and aggression over mercy, Jesus’s disciples are the “Christian Counter-culture.” … As they maintain this countercultural witness to the world, they may look to their master, who perfectly exemplifies the character traits of the Beatitudes. (Comment on 5:12)
Keener points out that many commentaries rightly say that the promises are in the passive voice (e.g. “will be comforted”). This is the divine passive, which means an understated way of saying that God will provide the rewards directly: comfort his kingdom citizens, bestow the earth on them, satisfy his people, show mercy, reveal himself and call the righteous his children (p. 167).
GrowApp for Matt. 5:1-12
1. God says you are blessed. How has he transformed your life so that you can receive his pronouncement of blessing on you? Does your life match up with any of those qualities in vv. 1-12?
2. Read 1 Peter 4:16. Peter heard the Sermon on the Mount. Have you ever been persecuted for being a Christian? How did God help you rejoice? Are you filled with the Spirit (Acts 4:31)?
RELATED
9. Authoritative Testimony in Matthew’s Gospel
1. Church Fathers and Matthew’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
SOURCES
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