The Beatitudes (860 Views)

Matthew 5:3-11

Beatitudes from the word “beati” meaning "blessed", in the Vulgate and Latin Bibles.

v 3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
v 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
v 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
v 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
v 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
v 8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
v 9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
v 10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
v 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.
v 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets
which were before you.
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I started meditating on the “beatitudes” when about four years ago what struck me was the difference between verses 3 and 10 and verse’s 4 - 9. Verses 3 and 10 read “for theirs is” while verse’s 4 - 9 read “for they shall” {I’ll get to verse’s 11 and 12 later}.

v 3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
v 10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.

Do you consider yourself “poor in spirit” and what makes it so? Can you make yourself “poor in spirit” on your own? Do you consider yourself “persecuted for righteousness' sake” and again can you persecute yourself for righteousness' sake? [Matthew 5:36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black and 1Peter 3:14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;] “Poor in spirit” and “persecuted for righteousness' sake” are external conditions or circumstances that you or I have no control or power over. So if your “poor in spirit” and/or “persecuted for righteousness' sake” do not feel forsaken, all alone, or worthless, for our Lord said in verses 3 and 10 that “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, emphasizing “theirs”. You have the kingdom of heaven right now, grasp it and hold it tight, it’s yours!

[Webster’s Dictionary’s definition of “is” - third person singular in the present tense].

“Is” denotes an absolute, they {you} have the kingdom of heaven. It’s absolutely, positively theirs {ours} from that moment in time and forevermore.

v 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
[also see Matthew 24:30 & Colossians 2:2]
v 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
[also see I Peter 3:4 & Revelation 21:7]
v 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
[also see II Peter 3:13 & Luke 6:21]
v 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
[also see Luke 6:36 & Jude 1:21]
v 8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
[also see Hebrews 10:22]
v 9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
[also see Romans 8:16 & Galatians 3:26]

Can you make yourself “mourn”, be “meek”, “hunger and thirst after righteousness”, be “merciful“, be “pure in heart”, and a “peacemaker”? These things are internal/external emotions/feelings/actions that we have control over , so the answer to this question is YES, you can do any and all of these things and you shall “be comforted, inherit the earth, be filled, obtain mercy, see God, and be called the children of God. Our Lord Jesus said it, blessed, and surly you will be blessed. Said and done in my mind!

[Webster’s definition of “shall” - a helping verb used to express the simple future in the first person.]

“Shall” denotes an absolute, which is a promise yet to come. If you do any of the things or all of the things listed in verses 4 to 9, the absolute promise is yours to keep forevermore.

I’ve had trouble with verse 11 as it starts with “blessed” but does not end with what you will blessed with as in all the previous “beatitudes” or “blessings”.

v 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.

Now I’m not a bible scholar or a theologian or any such thing, but could it be that whoever put in chapters and verses in this case missed it? We can not have verse 11 stand alone as a blessing and not let the reader know what the “blessing” is. It just makes more since to me for verse 12 [v 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.] to dovetail into verse 11, thus the reading of this verse is:

“ Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake, rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”

This rendition starts with a “blessing” and ends with our reward, “for great is your reward in heaven”. I personally do not know what “great is your reward in heaven” is but I’m forward to finding out, and don‘t let anyone tell you that they know. Neither theologian, scholar or even satan knows what rewards await us in heaven.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/06/2007 08:07AM by Bill.