The Beatitudes: Jesus' Portrait of the Way of the Kingdom of Heaven

Jesus' Beatitudes. You know a few of them, don't you? Maybe you know them all. Or maybe in your mind you're thinking something like this:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit...Blessed are the meek...Um...the pure in heart, or something?" 

Maybe some of you think of classic quotes from Monty Python's version of Jesus' Beatitudes in the movie Life of Brian..."Speak up!" or, "I think it was 'Blessed are the cheesemakers'." (And then follow with discussion about why the cheesemakers are so theologically important.)

No matter how many of them you know, the important question is: what are the beatitudes, anyway? Why are they important?  They show up in two of the four gospels--Matthew and Luke--and they are a bit different in each gospel. (Let's not get started on which version Jesus actually spoke...that's another matter for another time.) I invite you to take some time and read each version, if only to ore-familiarize yourself with them: Matthew 5:3-12 and Luke 6:20-26.

As you read them, ask yourself: What are these statements? How should we take them? What do we do with them? Are the Beatitudes like commands? Or are they ideals we'll never quite reach? Are they things Jesus said we must be in order to be blessed? Are we supposed to take the beatitudes seriously with the goal of getting a reward in heaven?

Here's a question to ponder: What is it that you center your life around? 

You can say “Jesus.” But, let's face it. Our real lives often are centered around other things. Answer the question based on your habits, your attitudes, your outlook on who you are, how you should live, what you pursue, and generally what life’s about. Here are a few things to ask:

• Do I pursue my own agendas?
• Is my outlook on life such that I find that I want to make sure people know what I'm good at and what I've done?
• Do I judge others for any reason, thinking of myself as superior in any way?
• Do I actively seek reconciliation in all relationships, or am I more likely to harbor anger and resentment?
• Do I talk about someone in a less than uplifting way?
• Does sarcasm fill my talk rather than straightforward edification of others?
• Do I show love or favor to certain people, but not to others?
• Do I avoid the hard thing of proclaiming and living in ways that reflect Jesus' kingdom because it will make me uncomfortable or because I might have to turn away from ways of living that I am used to? 

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, it is reason to ponder whether your life is centered on something other than Jesus’ Beatitudes. This is not to say that you won't be saved or something. And it's not to suggest that you need to just do better. That's the wrong approach. 

_____________________________________________________________________________

Let me clarify by being clear about what the Beatitudes are not.

The Beatitudes are NOT a list of things you need to do or be to be “saved.” Jesus doesn't ever suggest "if you think this way, then you will be saved..." 

They are not a list of commands or things to do better to be more like Jesus. They are not things to pursue to be a better person. In fact, they are not about pursuing at all. 

It is helpful to think of the Beatitudes as painting a picture. Collectively they paint a picture; they give us the colors of the way of Jesus and his kingdom--on earth as it is in heaven. 

Read through the Beatitudes. As you read them, ask: What picture do the Beatitudes give you about the life of the kingdom? How do the various statements seem to relate to each other? What sort of life/living do they all point to?

Here’s some context for understanding the Beatitudes. Even though they occur in two gospels, let's focus on Matthew.

In Matthew's gospel, Jesus has just come on the scene and publicly announced his ministry in Matthew 4:17 (go ahead, read it). In this verse, Jesus announced that the kingdom of heaven is near.

Notice that Jesus does not say: "I'm here! The time has arrived! There is hope now for you to be forgiven so you can get to heaven when you die!"

That's not what Jesus said. In fact, he never says anything like this. Jesus announced and then lived out the coming of God's kingdom and its ways on earth.

As the reader of Matthew's story will learn, God’s kingdom arrives in Jesus--in his ministry and teaching, death and resurrection. As he heals, teaches, and reaches out to sinners, he proclaims the presence of the kingdom. As he teaches the disciples and navigates them through misunderstanding, he proclaims the presence of the kingdom. All throughout this, Jesus emphasizes death, taking up the cross. It is only through this that one fully participates in the life of the kingdom. And it's only after the resurrection that Jesus is given all authority as king of heaven and earth -- king of his kingdom. 

But we're getting ahead in the story. Early on in Matthew's narrative, the reader (or hearer) hasn't gotten there yet. Jesus hasn't done anything. 

So, when Jesus proclaims the nearness of the kingdom in Matthew 4:17, and after he invites a few rag-tag fishermen to join up, the natural question these former fishermen (and the reader) might very well ask is: "So, Jesus...just curious...what does this kingdom you talk about look like? How do we tell it apart from the kingdom -- the political and social and economic reality -- around us right now?"

Glad you asked! The Beatitudes are the beginning of Jesus' answer. They provide central statements that define the way of the kingdom that Jesus will confirm throughout his life.

In other words, Jesus IS NOT saying the following:

• To be blessed, you must be like this...

Jesus IS SAYING this:

• Here is a picture--a description of what the people of kingdom of heaven look like in this world...

This is the crucial point: the Beatitudes of Jesus define in concrete language what the ways of the kingdom of heaven are like; they describe the outlooks or postures of life characteristic of Jesus' people, their lives, and their homes.

The Beatitudes don't tell us what to do in order to be blessed; they identify the sorts of people who are the blessed ones according to Jesus’ kingdom. They tell us more about nature of Jesus' kingdom than they do about how to get in. 

You don't 'get there' or work your way to live more like the Beatitudes. We’re not talking about achieving the Jesus version of the “American Dream.” This achievement mentality may be the most problematic thing for us understanding the Beatitudes in 21st century America. In order to rightly understand the Beatitudes, we need to pull away from this way of thinking and start thinking more about identity. 

The Beatitudes just describe who the people are who are in Christ. They don't tell us how to get "blessed." They define the sorts of people who, in Jesus' kingdom, are blessed. (This should be quite sobering for all of us, because the converse is that if the Beatitudes do not define who we are, or if our understanding of "blessed" is not that of Jesus' Beatitudes, then there is probably reason to think something else gives us the picture that defines our ways of thinking and living.) The Beatitudes present for us an alternative identity defined by Jesus. 

Question to ponder: who are you? Where are you going with your life? What are you working toward? How do the Beatitudes factor in how you answer these questions?

_____________________________________________________________________

Think, Talk, Apply

As we move ahead studying the Beatitudes, there are two main ways to apply what we'll be learning and pondering with regard to how the Beatitudes can order our lives. On the one hand, it is natural to think individually. How does this Beatitude stuff apply to me and how I order my individual world?

On the other hand, we want to be thinking about community. We want to be thinking in terms of how we live as Christian community and how we look as community to the rest of the world, and how the rest of the world experiences us. 

First thing's first...read through the Beatitudes, slowly, from Matthew 5:3-12. I encourage you to read these verses slowly each day and ponder them.

**Side Note: In our fast-paced world with character limits on what most of us read and write, we've run out of time and patience to  s l  o  w   d  o  w  n   and read Scripture, meditate on it, soak it in, re-read it, and live with it. If you ask me, this is a tragic situation that has resulted in the loss of something very profound. We just don't realize it because we're used to the lesser quality, fast-paced, no-time-to-slow-down-and-read life. So I'm an advocate of less is more, of slowing down, and of taking in Scripture meditatively. If this is not part of your daily life, give it a try for two weeks. Just takes 10 minutes (or more if you like). You might have to reshuffle something in your schedule. Which is probably good.

As you read the Beatitudes, here are a few things to think and talk about with others:

• The Beatitudes never tell anyone to do anything. They are NOT commands to follow. How does this affect how you interpret them?
• The Beatitudes focus on outlooks or postures toward everyday life. These, no doubt, play out in our actions, but it is the outlook or posture that Jesus focuses on—meek, hunger and thirst for justice, peacemaker, and so on. Why do you think focusing on our outlook or posture toward matters--maybe more than your individual actions?
• Notice what the Beatitudes focus on…is it on how we relate to God, or to others? What difference does this make?
• Each of these identifies those who are "blessed. Do we call these sorts of people "blessed" today? Why don't we if Jesus does?
• How many Beatitudes do you count? There are patterns and repeated words in what Jesus says and how he says it. What themes or repeated words do you notice? How might these help us understand what the Beatitudes are about? 
• On the surface, how does the portrait of life in your home or in your personal life match up with the portrait of the kingdom Jesus gives us in the Beatitudes? What outlooks or postures toward everyday life function as the center for you and your life? Do they align with the Beatitudes? What would change in your life if the picture the Beatitudes give us defined the center for you and your life?
• Here are a few other passages to take a look at and make some connections:
• Psalm 1
• Psalm 32
• 1 Corinthians 13