The Beatitudes: Welcome to the Upside Down
What is True Happiness? What is true happiness? Philosophers, scholars, and psychologists have pondered this question throughout the years and have offered us definition after definition. However, because they base their ideas of happiness on human wisdom, they only provide a fleeting type of happiness: happiness that relies on self-gratification and external factors instead of internal peace. Jesus, on the other hand, shows us a way to true, lasting happiness in a series of short teachings called the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are part of the Sermon on the Mount, a sermon given by Jesus and documented by Matthew in Matthew 5 through 7. The Sermon on the Mount is the most extended discourse by Jesus recorded in the Bible and is probably the most famous Sermon ever. Understanding this Sermon is foundational to understanding Jesus’ other teachings. Jesus Turned the World Upside Down As Jesus often did, He turned the world upside down with the Beatitudes. According to Jesus, to find true happiness, we must forget what the world tells us about the pursuit of happiness and instead look to Him. Jesus tells us that He came to give us a “rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10, NLT). Not only does Jesus give us the keys to true happiness, but He also presents a spiritual blueprint of the Kingdom of Heaven itself. Jesus opened His Sermon with this truth: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3 NIV). Jesus taught with order and purpose. He presents this Beatitude first because we can’t spiritually discern the remaining eight without making sense of it. To grasp the meaning of this Beatitude, let’s take a closer look at three keywords: “blessed,” “poor in spirit,” and “kingdom of heaven.” Blessed We toss around the word “blessed” a lot these days, Christians and non-Christians alike. When someone asks how we are doing, we might respond, “I am blessed”; when someone speaks of something good that happened in their life, they might say, “I was blessed.” In fact, over the past couple of years, the hashtag #blessed has been trending to a point where media outlets have published articles on the overuse of #blessed. In all this blessedness, the real meaning of blessed gets lost. Jesus also used the word “blessed” a lot. In fact, His first recorded Sermon began with the word “Blessed” and each of the Beatitudes that follow begins with the words “Blessed are”. Blessed is the Greek word makarios, which means happy. As we will see, the world’s idea of what it means to be “blessed” or “happy” is very different from the true meaning of happiness presented by Jesus in His teachings. Poor in Spirit The word “poor” in the American culture is viewed negatively and is associated with those who want for money, food, clothing, or housing. Our culture either feels sorry for the poor or looks down upon them as useless and worthless. Indeed, no one in the American culture aspires to be “poor,” and to my knowledge #poor has not trended on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. The meaning of poor in Greek is no different than how we define poor. In Greek, it means a beggar, a person of few resources, a person who is culturally considered oppressed, despised, and miserable. Notice that Jesus did not say, “Blessed are the poor”, but He said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Being “poor in spirit” does not mean that a person lacks in spirit, but that they lack in self-reliance and self-assurance. Those who are poor in spirit look outside of themselves for their provision. Being “poor in spirit” has nothing to do with lacking financial resources but has everything to do with lacking in self. What is the Kingdom of Heaven? Another important concept we need to grasp to understand the teachings of Jesus better is the Kingdom of Heaven. In the Sermon on the Mount and throughout the Gospels, Jesus spends a lot of time talking about it. He says that this Kingdom is not of this world, it can’t be observed by visible signs, and it is already among us (John 18:36, Luke 17:20-21). What exactly does Jesus mean by the Kingdom of Heaven? A kingdom is defined as a rule or realm, a dominion of a king. Kings exert their rule over their subjects, and their subjects submit to their king’s authority. Kingdom rule is what Americans revolted against in 1776. Kingdom rule is in direct contradiction to most Americans’ innate sense of self-rule and independence. Yet, Jesus is telling us to seek the Kingdom of Heaven first, above all else (Matthew 6:33). With the birth of Jesus, the Kingdom of Heaven was brought to earth, and Jesus was crowned the King. Upon Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven, the Kingdom’s realm resides in the hearts of those who submit to the rule of Jesus, His followers. Spiritual Bankruptcy To enter the Kingdom of Heaven and receive its blessings, we must be poor in spirit. God “opposes the proud” (James 4:6), but “lives in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble” (Isaiah 57:15 NLT). The story of Jacob’s wrestling match with God found in Genesis 32: 22-32 demonstrates the spiritual principle of the first Beatitude. After fleeing his father-in-law Laban, Jacob wanted to return home but first would have to face his brother Esau, whom he had betrayed years before. Fearing Esau might retaliate for Jacob’s past betrayal, Jacob, on his own, devised a plan. Only when he realized that his plan might fail and there was nothing he could do in his own power to save himself did he turn to God in prayer. Wrestling With God One night, in response to Jacob’s prayer, God appeared to Jacob and wrestled with him until daybreak. When God saw that Jacob would not give up, He touched Jacob’s hip and lamed him. It was then that Jacob realized that he was
The Beatitudes: Happy are the Sad
Last time we talked about the pursuit of true happiness and discovered that the blueprint for happiness set out by Jesus in the Beatitudes is very different than the world’s. According to Jesus, to find true happiness, we must forget what the world tells us and instead look to Him. We learned that the first step to finding true happiness is to be “poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3 NIV). To be poor in spirit, we must empty ourselves of “self” and acknowledge our inadequacy before God. We must choose who we will crown the king of our heart: ourselves or Jesus? “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Jesus didn’t stop with the first Beatitude; He went on to say, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4 NIV). Mourn (pentheo in Greek) means to feel or express deep sorrow or regret for something. Is Jesus suggesting that we can only be happy if we are sorrowful? And what kind of sorrow is He talking about? The Bible tells us that there are two kinds of sorrow: worldly sorrow and godly sorrow. 2 Corinthians 7:10 NLT says, “For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.” When Jesus said Happy are those who are sorrowful, He was not talking about just any kind of sorrow; He was talking about godly sorrow. He wants us to take the path of godly sorrow, which leads us away from sin and to salvation. He does not want us to feel regret. He wants us to face our sin, mourn our sin, and repent of our sin so we can receive comfort. Worldly Sorrow Worldly sorrow responds to sin selfishly and never finds lasting comfort, only regret. Worldly sorrow feels sorry for the sin, but instead of repenting, takes the following attitudes: Self-pity. “Why is this happening to me?” Embarrassment. “No one can know. What will people think of me?” Regret. “I will never be able to get over this.” “Poor me.” Unbelieving guilt. “I can’t forgive myself.” Saul, the first King of Israel expressed worldly sorrow when he was caught in sin. God gave Saul a mission. Saul accomplished some of the mission but purposely did not do all God asked of him, not because he couldn’t, but because he was worried about what others would think of him if he did. When the prophet Samuel confronted Saul about this, Saul admitted his sin of disobedience but made excuses. Saul asked for forgiveness but did not repent. Instead, he begged Samuel to show public support for him, so he would not have to experience the embarrassment of his sin in front of others (1st Samuel 15 NLT). Saul went before God, admitted his sin, and asked for forgiveness, but instead of repenting, he remained focused on hiding his sin to save his reputation. His unrepentant heart ultimately led to his spiritual death. Another biblical example of worldly sorrow is that of Judas. Judas, a disciple of Jesus, betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. When Judas “realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse.” He admitted his sin and tried to give the silver back to the priests and elders. When they refused to take it back, Judas threw the silver down in the temple and then hanged himself. Matthew 27:1-10 Instead of repenting, Judas tried to lessen his guilt by returning the silver. Penance does not replace repentance, and it does not offer comfort. Penance is just another expression of worldly sorrow and only leads to condemnation. Instead of doing the one thing that would have given him comfort, asking Jesus for forgiveness, Judas acted selfishly and hung himself. Judas chose the path of worldly sorrow, which always leads to condemnation and death for those who follow it. In this case, not only did it result in his spiritual death but also his physical death. Godly Sorrow Godly sorrow responds to sin not by focusing on self but by focusing on God and others. Godly sorrow admits the sin, repents of the sin, and then finds lasting comfort. Godly sorrow is expressed in the following ways: No concern about self, only concern that the sin committed is an insult to God and His holy nature. “I am a sinner and don’t deserve your forgiveness.” Concern for those who the sin has hurt. “God, please take away the pain my sin has caused others.” Begging God for forgiveness so that intimacy with God can be restored. “Lord, I can’t take another minute of separation from you because of my sin.” Receiving comfort. “Thank you, God, that you have forgiven my sin, and I take comfort in knowing I am forgiven.” David, Saul’s successor as King of Israel, shows us what godly sorrow looks like. David desired Bathsheba another man’s wife, committed adultery with her, and then in fear that his sin would be discovered, ordered the death of Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah. King David wrote Psalms 32 and 51 to express his godly sorrow for his sin. Psalm 32 Before David repented of his sin, he said he was wasting away and was weighed down by his sin. He was taking the path of worldly sorrow which was leading him to condemnation and eventual spiritual death. But after David confessed his sin, God forgave him, and his guilt was lifted. God’s forgiveness comforted David. Psalm 32 ended with David crying out, “So rejoice in the Lord and be glad…shout for joy all you whose hearts are pure!” Godly sorrow ultimately results in comfort for those who mourn their sin because it releases the mourner from the weight of their sin. David, in his godly sorrow also recognized his sin was an insult to God. He cried out in Psalm 51, “Against