Matthew 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
We covered the first 2 of the “Beatitudes” in the previous post. We will cover the remaining 8 in this lesson.
We are:
Poor In Spirit – We must stay humble toward God in order live in the realm of heaven. 1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
Mournful – the feeling or act of grieving, to wail. When we come in contact with a Holy God how can we not repent. But when we repent He will call us near
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Meek – Mild or Gentle. This is towards others. Meekness is patience in the reception of injuries. It is neither meanness, nor a surrender of our rights, nor cowardice; but it is the opposite of sudden anger, of malice, of long-harbored vengeance.
Ac 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Hungry after righteousness – (through the idea of pinching toil; “pine”); to famish (absolutely or comparatively); figuratively, to crave: SHALL BE FILLED – (generally) to gorge (supply food in abundance):–feed, fill, satisfy.
Hunger and thirst, here, are expressive of strong desire. Nothing would better express the strong desire which we ought to feel to obtain righteousness, than hunger and thirst.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Merciful – compassionate. Showing mercy is the act of being compassionate
That is, those who are so affected by the sufferings of others, as to be disposed to alleviate them.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Pure in Heart – Having a clean heart. Clean thoughts or feelings (mind)
That is, whose minds, motives, and principles are pure. Who seek not only to have the external actions correct, but who desire to be holy in heart, and who are. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Peacemakers – Having a tendency to promote peace
Those who strive to prevent contention, and strife, and war. Who use their influence to reconcile opposing parties, and to prevent lawsuits, and hostilities, in families and neighborhoods.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Persecuted for Righteousness sake – The sense here is that you will be targeted and falsely accused because of you righteous lifestyle. That you will be per sued.
Because they are righteous, or are the friends of God. We are not to seek persecution. We are not to provoke it by strange sentiments or conduct, or by violating the laws of civil society, or by modes of speech that are unnecessarily offensive to others. But if, in the honest effort to be Christians, and to live the life of Christians, others persecute and revile us, we are to consider this as a blessing. It is all evidence that we are the children of God, and that he will defend us.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Reviled – to defame, i.e. rail at, chide, taunt:
Reproach you; call you by evil and contemptuous names; ridicule you because you are Christians. Thus they said of Jesus, that he was a Samaritan and had a devil; that he was mad; and thus they reviled and mocked him on the cross. But being reviled, he reviled not again.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Rejoice – Be Cheerful or calmly happy
Be Exceedingly Glad – to jump for joy,
The reward of such suffering is great. To those who suffer most, God imparts the highest rewards. Hence the crown of martyrdom has been thought to be the brightest that any of the redeemed shall wear; and hence many of the early Christians sought to become martyrs, and threw themselves in the way of their persecutors, that they might be put to death. They literally rejoiced, and leaped for joy, at the prospect of death for the sake of Jesus. Though God does not require us to seek persecution, yet all this shows that there is something in religion to sustain the soul, which the-world does not possess.
Rewarded – pay for service.
2Co 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
In Summary:
If we stay humble, we will have a repentant heart and treat others with gentleness. We will have a hunger that is only satisfied by the righteousness of Christ showing our compassion by being merciful. Having clear vision because of our clean mind. Bringing peace to every situation we are in. Being happy and rejoicing in the awareness that any persecution we may experience for living this way is for the sake of Christ and His righteousness.
This is the life of a true disciple of Christ.