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Sermon on the Mount I: Blessed are ...

Monday, Nov 17, 2014. In the gospel of Matthew 5-7 we find one of the main sermons which Jesus has given. It is called “Sermon on the Mount”. It is a great speech, a great peace of work, unparalleled in world history. Let us look into it! There is a lot to gain here …

Beatitudes …

Let us read first:

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 those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons1 of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5, 2-12)

It is very interesting that Jesus starts his sermon with blessings. The “blessed are” is translated differently sometimes. It says something like “happy can be those” or “with God are”. It means a deep connection to God, to the Lord. It links the person with God in the sense that God does good things to him, but more than that.

The blessing in the bible is never only some “doing good”. It is talking about the purpose and the goals of your life. It is talking about future. It is talking about God being involved and guiding his way. Blessing means that God has a future for you - otherwise you cannot speak of blessing. Thus, “blessed are” means something like: God will be with these people, with all his special ways, with his wonders, with his might, with his spirit!

Turning things around …

There is a lot in these few lines of the beatitudes. Jesus speaks about the blessing for the “poor in spirit”. Some translations speak of “those, who do not expect anything from themselves, but everything from God”. In Luke we find the words “blessed are the poor” - which makes the statement even more universal, with some social implications. Others insist that the main meaning here is for those who trust the Lord with all what they have. He is the source of life, the source of salvation.

But Jesus also says: blessed are those, who mourn. Those who are not happy shall be happy. Those who are suffering, shall be comforted. The point here is that God is with those who suffer. The Lord does not loose sight of those who are poor, suffering, unimportant, without rights and support. Those, who do not have human strength or human help, will be helped. Jesus is preacing against our standard human experience. We often think that those who suffer and are lost are lost. But in God's eyes they are not, since he knows them, and he will not forget them.

The sermon on the mount is against a lot of what we have engraved in our mind and our soul as standard human experiences. It turns things around, since it looks at the world with God's eyes. It gives us completely new insight, since it looks at everything with the heart of the eternal living creator. Let us open our eyes and our heart for the view which Jesus teaches us! (RWEP) ... more texts