A
sign is
news.
“Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him, and He began to teach them.” —Matthew 5.1-2
“The Sermon on the Mount is probably the best-known part of the teaching of Jesus, though arguably it is the least understood, and certainly it is the least obeyed. It is the nearest thing to a manifesto that He ever uttered, for it is His own description of what He wanted His followers to be and to do.” —John Stott
The Sermon on the Mount is a
to the
.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” —Jesus, Matthew 5.3-12
The Beatitudes are
a list of virtues, commands, or timeless truths.
Jesus through The Beatitudes radically
who is actually
.
Makarios: “Blessed” or “Happy” or “Congratulations!”.
“I can think of nine whom I would call blessed, and a tenth my tongue proclaims: a man who can rejoice in his children; a man who lives to see the downfall of his foes. Happy the man who lives with a sensible wife, and the one who does not plow with ox and ass together. Happy is the one who does not sin with the tongue, and the one who has not served an inferior. Happy is the one who finds a friend, and the one who speaks to attentive listeners. How great is the one who finds wisdom! But none is superior to the one who fears the Lord.” —Sirach 25.7-11
“Blessed are the self-confident because they rule the world. Blessed are positive thinkers because they don’t need anybody’s comfort. Blessed are the cocky and assertive because they get what they want. Blessed are those who hunger for fame because they get reality TV shows. Blessed are the vengeful because they get respect. Blessed are the impure, pleasure-seekers because they see a good time. Blessed are those who beat their opponents because the victors write the history books. Blessed are the popular because everybody loves them.” —The Modern World’s Beatitudes by Josh Harris
“Blessed are the down and out, the unemployed and the under employed, those without a college degree or health insurance, and those who are spiritually simple, who really have very little to offer, because they are in the kingdom of God.”
“Blessed are the sad, depressed, those grieving the death of a loved one, the failure of a marriage, another miscarriage, the pain of your past, the injustice of our world – because one day God Himself will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
“Blessed are the quiet, the shy, the socially awkward, the uncool, the badly dressed, the people with six followers on Twitter – because one day they will be free from the tyranny of what others think of them, and they will take up their role as a king or queen over God‘s world.”
“Blessed are the messed up, those who just can’t get it together – the addict, the mentally unstable, the overweight, those from an abusive home – for they will one day be so full of God’s life that they won’t know where to put it all.”
“Blessed is the little guy, the people who get stomped on, passed over, and the ones who don’t fight violence with violence – one day, they will get all that mercy back with interest.”
“Blessed are those who want nothing to do with the wars of the world, the ones who know that the true source of peace and prosperity isn’t a weapon or an army, or a certain candidate or particular political party, and they are willing to suffer to bring a new world to bear – one day, in the future, everybody will recognize that they are the most like God.”
“Blessed are all the Christians in a post-Christian culture that is hostile to all they believe, even though they are made fun of, looked down on as stupid and mean and behind the times - they get to share in the cross-shaped life of Jesus, and the kingdom of God.”
Jesus is not turning things
; Jesus is turning things
.
Counter-Cultural
“Do not be like them.” —Jesus, Matthew 6.8
The only way to make sense of Jesus’s list of blessings is through the lens of the
.
We’re blessed, not in spite of our pain, but evenour pain.
Jesus through the Beatitudes is offering you and me both
in the present and for the future.