There and Back Again: The Beatitudes, Part I

When I started blogging back in April of 2010, one of my ideas was to write some biblical commentary. I had started a blog at some point in 2009 centered on my amateur efforts at biblical commentary. However, I got busy with life and I was quickly interested in other projects along the way. That failure gave me the idea of a "blog of lowered expectations". I would create a blog without a theme; it would be a repository of ideas, new and old, finished or unfinished. Hence the "fragments".  This post brings me back full circle. I'm finally getting around to posting some of my commentary.

This first (?!?!) series will be on the Beatitudes. My original idea was to post what I had saved on my PC with some minor edits and additions but I just can't operate that way. For example, I had an actual introduction to the Beatitudes but I re-wrote 95% of it. Present Neil is never happy with Past Neil and Future Neil just giggles at the both of them. So, go figure. I have no timetable to getting this done, it may come and go or if I get on a roll, I may just start popping them out rather quickly. Time will tell.

Introducing the Beatitudes 
Matthew’s fifth chapter begins Jesus’ "Sermon on the Mount". It is the centerpiece of Jesus' ethical revelation and contains many of Jesus’ most well known sayings. It has been debated, dissected and generally misunderstood over the centuries. The sermon delivers a radical vision of what the Kingdom of God is like. If you're a believer you can't help but feel a little uncomfortable reading the text. It is uncompromising in it's ethical and moral standards.

More importantly, the sermon sets Jesus apart from other wandering Jewish teachers. There is no doubt that Jesus' teaching established something different than what came before. Whether or not he intended to create a whole new religion, I'll set aside for another time. In the sermon, Jesus tells us that the conventional wisdom of the ages is worthless. The Kingdom of God runs counter to the Kingdom of Man. It shouldn't be a surprise to find out the Greek word used for "Kingdom" is the same word that is used to describe "Empire" when people referred to the "Roman Empire".

The sermon begins with the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are series of eight (more like eight and a half) formula statements on who is "blessed". The word beatitude comes from a Latin term meaning "happy", "fortunate" or "blissful" (Wikipedia, man). The key phrase in the Beatitudes is "blessed" so it's important to explore what the term in Greek really meant. Most translations go with "blessed" but others chose "happy", "fortunate" or even the phrase "God blesses".

I'm not a big fan of translating the word "happy". It might have some value in revealing some of the original word in Greek - but I don't think it encompasses all the meanings in my understanding of the concept.

Something I will keep in mind for the commentary is the fact that we have two versions of the beatitudes. The first comes from Matthew 5 and the other from the so-called "Sermon on the Plain" as recorded in Luke. Luke's version only has four beatitudes (along with corresponding "woes"). I am no scholar so this brings up important questions I have about the hypothetical "Q" source that served source material for Matthew and Luke (the material that Matthew and Luke share that is not shared by Mark). As we discuss each beatitude, I will tackle both versions (or lack thereof) into account.

Here's an overview of the people who are "blessed" (the Luke version is in parenthesis)

• The poor in spirit ("the poor")
• Those who mourn ("those who weep now")
• The meek
• Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness ("those who hunger now")
• The merciful
• The pure in heart
• The peacemakers
• Those persecuted for righteousness sake ( Luke records "when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man").

According to conventional wisdom, most of the characteristics on this list wouldn't be considered "happy", "fortunate" or "blessed". Rather, just the opposite. Where the world sees failure and rejection, Jesus sees blessings. As I unpack each of these beatitudes we'll see just how they act as a positive on a believer.

Just reading the list reminds me of how "other-worldly" being a Christian is supposed to be like and how "unChristian" I am.

I don't want to be poor or be sad. I'm more shy than meek and I don't hunger enough for righteousness. I am merciful only when it's convenient for myself or those I love. I'm more self-interested than pure of heart and I am only a peacemaker because I don't like conflict.

The truth is, I'm a work in progress.

This reminds me of the fact that I am too afraid to pray for wisdom because I'm too afraid of how God will teach it to me. All the same, I look forward to the challenge of wrestling with these Kingdom Characteristics. Maybe it will help my journey towards being who I want to become.