Matthew: Connecting the Covenants, Part 7 - The Beatitudes

Matthew 5 begins with Yeshua seeing the crowds and ascending a mountain. Sound familiar? Moses ascended a mountain in view of the crowds and was given the Sinai Covenant, the law written on tablets of stone in the book of Exodus. Yeshua chose another mountain as the setting to introduce the crowds to His New Covenant law. 

Scholars call Matthew chapters 5-7 the Sermon on the Mount. The sermon is a declaration of Messiah's kingdom, and it spells out how His followers should live. It is interesting to note that all internal matters of the heart have been amplified. No externals, meaning works of the flesh, are mentioned. Yeshua is preparing His followers to walk by the Spirit.

The sermon begins with what are known as the beatitudes. The word comes from a Latin word meaning blessed. Blessed means to have an internal satisfaction, have a full inner contentment. The Hebrew equivalent is ashrei - to have a deep inner peace and contentment. I had no idea how connected the beatitudes were to the Hebrew scriptures.  I've listed cross references under each beatitude, but indeed, these just touch the surface. That is why this post longer than usual, and also, it has taken me weeks to compile what is here.

• Beatitude 1: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. To be poor in spirit is to recognize one's own spiritual poverty, to mourn over one's sin in a way that leads to repentance, which the only way to the kingdom. This spiritual poverty can be observed in many places in scripture.  Here are a few.  In Acts 2:36-38, Peter proclaimed the crucified and risen Messiah to his fellow Israelites. They were cut to the heart. Psalm 51:17 says, The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Proverbs 16:18-19 tells us, Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.  It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud. In Isaiah 57:15, we read, For this says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

Poverty of spirit leads to mourning.

• Beatitude 2: Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Again, scripture gives many examples. The Greek word used in Matthew is a strong word, used for mourning the dead.  Psalm 126:5-6 says, Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. Isaiah 25:8 says, He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord Yahweh will wipe away tears from all faces and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for Yahweh has spoken. Is 30:19 promises For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. Similarly, Isaiah 51:11-12 says, And the ransomed of Yahweh shall return to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Want more? Check out Isaiah 57:18, Isaiah 61:-3, and Zechariah 12:10-22. In the new covenant, 2 Corinthians 7:10 says, For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

Mourning leads to humility/meekness.

• Beatitude 3: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. The Greek word for meek carries the idea of a proper balance between anger and indifference, of a powerful personality properly controlled - humility. It describes one who is not easily pushed around, but possesses strength under control. The first two beatitudes were inward, but this one deals with relating to our fellow man. Psalm 25:9 says, He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. Later, verse 13 declares, His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land. Psalm 37:11-12 states, But the meek shall inherit the land, and delight themselves in abundant peace. Psalm 149:4 says it like this: For Yahweh takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation. If you feel like some biblical gymnastics, here are some additional verses on humility: Psalm 69:32, Psalm 147:6, Isaiah 11:4, Isaiah 29:19, Zephaniah 2:3, and James 4:6, and 1 Peter 5:5 (which is quoting Isaiah 66:2).

The person who possesses the previous attributes will yearn for righteousness.

• Beatitude 4: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righeousness, for they shall be satisfied. Ancient culture knew what it meant to hunger and thirst.  These days if we are hungry, we can swing by Chick Fila. But if we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we will be filled; and yet there is an ongoing hunger that is continually filled when we pursue him and his righteousness. Ps 107:9 says, For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things. Amos 8:11 warns, Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord Yahweh, when I will send a famine on the land--not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of Yahweh. King David poetically described how he thirsted for the King of Righteousness Himself in Psalm 63: O God, you are my God; earnestly I leek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water... my soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips. And my favorite: Psalm 34:8, which declares, Oh taste and see that Yahweh is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

When we are completely satisfied in Him, we are able to extend mercy to others.

• Beatitude 5: Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Listen to the words of King David in 2 Samuel 22:26 - With the merciful you show yourself merciful...  David repeats these same words in Psalm 118:25. The second half of these two Davidic quotes lead right into the next beatitude.

• Beatitude 6: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Let's finish the thought of King David in those two quotes in 2 Samuel and Psalm 18 - with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; with the purified you deal purely, and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. More scriptures on the purity of heart are Psalm 24:3-4, Psalm 73:1, and Proverbs 22:11, to name a few.

When your heart is pure, what do you want to do?  Make peace!

• Beatitude 7: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. The idea being children of God is not spelled out clearly in the Hebrew scriptures. Abraham was called friend of God, but to be called a son (or daughter) is to have an inheritance. Were Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob promised an inheritance? Why yes, yes they were. Genesis 17 records the everlasting and unconditional promise of land to Abraham and his descendants through Isaac (Genesis 26:3) and Jacob (Genesis 35:12). My favorite scripture on peace-making is found in Psalm 122, and interestingly, it is tied to the land: Starting with verse 6 - Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May they be secure who love you! Peace be within your walls and security within your towers! For my brothers and companions' sake I will say, Peace be within you! For the sake of the house of Yahweh our God, I will seek your good. The name Jerusalem means Cities of Peace.  Historically, the earthly Jerusalem has been anything but.  However, when the heavenly Jerusalem comes down to join the regenerated earth, its name will finally live up to its destiny when the Prince of Peace rules from there.

The final beatitude lets us know clearly that we should expect persecution if we are one of Yeshua's followers.

• Beatitude 8: Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness; sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. David wrote Psalm 37 when he was being persecuted by Saul. Verse 12 says, the wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him. Verse 32 says, the wicked watches for the righteous, and seeks to put him to death. In spite of persecution, David persevered, and he was given an earthly kingdom.  This is a foreshadow of the future kingdom when the son of David, King Messiah, will rule. More scriptures on persecution include Psalm 44:22, Psalm 58:10-11, Isaiah 66:5, Luke 21:17, John 15:20, Acts 7:52, 2 Timothy 3:12, 1 Peter 4:14, and Revelation 1:9.

The Hebrew word torah means instruction. In the Sermon on the Mount, Yeshua is giving His followers instructions on how to live under New Covenant Law. As we live in these last days (which I believe we are), let us take these marching orders to heart.  New Covenant law is not easy, and it requires the power of the Holy Spirit to be able to live out these premises. And that is the crux of New Covenant Law - the Lord's precepts written on our heart!

More torah/instruction from Matthew to come soon.