A Devotion on the Beatitudes
Redeemer Classical School September 28, 2020 Matthew 5: 1-12
Each Beatitude is a kind of proverb, a wisdom saying, that describes true blessedness in somewhat surprising terms. Each beatitude is made up of two phrases: a description or condition, such as, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” and a reason for that condition, such as, “for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” The word “for” in the Beatitudes is the word “because.” Blessed are the poor in spirit because even though they seem poor to men in the stuff that men count as riches, they are not truly poor but are blessed and they are because they have the Kingdom of heaven which is the greatest riches.
The descriptions that Jesus uses are from the Old Testament, but He elevates them to new levels. More than a new set of commandments, which they sort of are, Jesus is presenting an expanded set of ideals that focus on love and humility rather than power or the obedience that sons owe their fathers and citizens owe their king. The Beatitudes embody the highest ideals of Jesus and the New Testament in His Blood because they are rooted in the Incarnation.
Jesus Himself is embodiment and fulfillment of the Beatitudes. He is humble. He has mourned for the sons and daughters of Adam who were stolen from Him and taken captive by Satan. He has made Himself meek, knows hunger and thirst, is merciful, pure in heart, makes peace, and is persecuted precisely for His righteousness. All this that we would join Him in His blessedness, that He might give us what is His: the kingdom of heaven, comfort, a restored earth, His righteousness, mercy, sight of the Father and knowledge of His heart, peace, and the title “sons of God.”
The commandments are meant for citizens in the Kingdom of God. God says: “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, now keep these Laws as My people.” The beatitudes are the protocols of privilege for the sons and daughters of the King who live in the palace. Jesus says not “This is what I am and how I behave as a Man,” but He says “This is what we are and how we behave.”
As shocking as it might be that the poor in spirit actually possess the Kingdom of heaven, the greatest riches of the universe, it is more shocking that sinners are declared righteous, that God reconciles Himself to us and loves us. But most shocking of all, is that God becomes a Man to obtain our salvation and identifies with us, elevates us. But all three of these realities are the essence of the Kingdom that is yours.