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The Bible Teaching Commentary on Genesis: The Book of Foundations
Commentaries that specialize on training the teacher!
The Beatitudes
Matthew 5:1-12
Jesus declares the eight founding principles or beatitudes of God's kingdom.
How many Beatitudes are there? Eight or nine?
There are actually eight Beatitudes given by Jesus, but it looks like nine. Each beatitude begins with the word ‘Blessed’ meaning happiness. This word 'blessed' does occure nine times, but the last two (verses 10-11) really are one. The the original Greek in verse 11 reveals the slight variance. The first eight all have the word following 'Blessed be the...' (Greek 'oi') forming a closed pattern. But in the ninth usage (verse 11) a different word structure is used, clearly revealing that it only is an expansion of the eighth beatitude, not a new one.
These eight beatitudes describe the fundamental heartward change of those in the kingdom of God, thus shaping the character of God's kingdom.
Matthew 5:3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." |
Moral CrisisOften overwhelmed by personal problems. |
"Poor in spirit" describes the result of going through a personal moral crisis in which he realizes he has horribly failed. |
Matthew 5:4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." |
RepentantSees beyond consequences of his wrongdoing into the real offenses done to others. |
"Mourn" describes a person who becomes aware of his personal offense to God and the pain that he has brought to others by his sinful behavior. |
Matthew 5:5"Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth." |
New Life!
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"Gentle" describes a person's humbled spirit which is finally willing to live by God’s principles of life. |
Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." |
Holy Standard
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"Hunger and thirst for righteousness" describes a man's relentless pursuit of God's righteous standards which he can only gain from God. |
Matthew 5:7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." |
Love
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"Merciful" is a tender compassion for those in the wrong around them. Because he too has been forgiven, he cares for the special needs of those around him. |
Matthew 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." |
Other Motivated
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"Pure in heart" speaks not of a person's old heart but his new heart and motivation. God has given the ability to seek the welfare of others above the desires for oneself. |
Matthew 5:9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." |
Reconciler
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"Peacemakers" describes those who are no longer protecting their own self-interests but seeking to implement God's principles of truth and graciousness in the relationships around them. |
Matthew 5:10-12 "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. |
Endurer
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The word “Persecuted” depicts those who have clearly made important decisions about the world to come. They have chosen to value what the King treasures rather than those things that man is attracted to by his eye and ear. |
The material on the web here is only a small fraction of the great media-enriched resources that we have both in the OT and NT. Click here or on the picture to look at our New Testament digital online library. For example, it contains a full message on each of the Beatitudes, powerpoint and video/audio on the whole. That is just the beginning of our huge library of quality biblical training materials–always filled with many applications.
A. Know the Principles (Matthew 5:1-12)
Jesus first teaches us the eight (nine) principles of the Kingdom of God better known as the Beatitudes. Each principle is a key to living a godly life. Each brings a blessing from God. They are focused positively on what we should be like rather than on what we should not do. Although they are in perfect agreement with the Ten Commandments, they are different. They do not merely keep us from evil but lead us to the truth. Because of the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, the people of God can have the love and holiness of God dominate their lives.
How well do you know these beatitudes? Explain each one of them.
Why are so many people wear sad faces? What does Jesus say is the source of happiness (blessedness)?
What hard decisions have you made in your life to live faithfully by them?
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Scriptures typically quoted from the New American Standard Bible unless noted:
(C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1988