The Beatitudes: Reframing the Good Life

Announce text: Matthew 5:1-16

Key Text: Matthew 5:1-16

Review

It’s been a few weeks since the last installment in our series, The KINGdom of GOD - almost a month, in fact. So, today’s review will cover a lot, but I’ll try to keep it at a 30k foot view to save time for what the LORD has for us this morning.

We’re continuing in our series on the KINGdom of GOD with a mini- / not-so-mini-series in the middle, which we are going to continue looking at today with a little help again from our friends at the BibleProject.

We began our series with a look at how the KINGdom of GOD is a theme that runs throughout the Bible, basically from cover-to-cover. Really, it is the story of GOD - HIS Love for humanity: HIS desire to rule and reign with mankind. It started in the Garden where GOD created man in HIS Image.

Being created in HIS Image, we discovered that we were given a royal task of ruling with HIM as gardeners. We were given the task of working with GOD’s creation to make something better. This might sound odd at first, but an example we looked at was forestry.

Forestry

GOD intended to share HIS rule and reign with us.

It was by design.

It was built-in.

Two main mandates:

Be fruitful & multiply

Cultivate the earth

Adam & Eve broke their trust in GOD.

Still have those tasks living in GOD’s KINGdom

However, now those tasks have been cursed & much harder to carry out.

Eventually, through Cain, man sets up his own kingdom

Effectively, GOD is replaced as the Ultimate Ruler

Man sets himself up in a role he could not possibly fulfill

Enters a state of rebellion - complete, willful disobedience

Announce text again: Matthew 5:1-16

Scripture Reading

Matthew 5:1–16 NTFE

1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the hillside, and sat down. His disciples came to him. 2 He took a deep breath, and began his teaching: 3 “Blessings on the poor in spirit! The kingdom of heaven is yours. 4 “Blessings on the mourners! You’re going to be comforted. 5 “Blessings on the meek! You’re going to inherit the earth. 6 “Blessings on people who hunger and thirst for God’s justice! You’re going to be satisfied. 7 “Blessings on the merciful! You’ll receive mercy yourselves. 8 “Blessings on the pure in heart! You will see God. 9 “Blessings on the peacemakers! You’ll be called God’s children. 10 “Blessings on people who are persecuted because of God’s saving plan! The kingdom of heaven belongs to you. 11 “Blessings on you, when people slander you and persecute you, and say all kinds of wicked things about you falsely because of me! 12 Celebrate and rejoice: there’s a great reward for you in heaven. That’s how they persecuted the prophets who went before you.” 13 “You’re the salt of the earth! But if the salt becomes tasteless, how is it going to get salty again? It’s no good for anything. You might as well throw it out and walk all over it. 14 “You’re the light of the world! A city can’t be hidden if it’s on top of a hill. 15 People don’t light a lamp and put it under a bucket; they put it on a lampstand. Then it gives light to everybody in the house. 16 That’s how you must shine your light in front of people! Then they will see what wonderful things you do, and they’ll give glory to your father in heaven.

Prayer for added blessing to the reading of the Word

Message

I want to start off this morning asking a couple rhetorical questions. The first is this: what comes to mind when you hear the phrase, “the good life?”

Perhaps a song comes to mind about the good life? A tune I can’t quite recall jumps into my mind every time, quickly followed by an image of Thurston Howell III, and his funny personality from Gilligan’s Island … not sure why ...

Here are a few examples of how some define the good life:

Maria, a chef in a small coastal town, once shared how she found her version of the good life. After a long shift at her restaurant, she’d head to the beach at sunset with a basket of leftover ingredients. One evening, she whipped up a gourmet meal right on the sand using a portable grill—fresh fish, herbs, and a splash of wine. A group of strangers nearby joined her, and they ended up sharing stories and laughter under the stars. Maria said it was the moment she realized the good life wasn’t about Michelin stars but about good food and great company.

Mr. Thompson, retired at 65 and decided to turn his backyard into a vegetable garden. He’d never gardened before, but last summer, he proudly displayed his first harvest—a single, slightly lopsided tomato. He laughed, saying, “I spent 40 years in an office, but this tomato? This is the good life.” Now, he spends his mornings tending his crops and giving away zucchini to anyone who passes by, grinning like he’s won the lottery.

A street musician named Leo played the guitar in a city square. One chilly evening, a little girl dropped a dollar in his case and asked him to play “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Leo turned it into a jazzy rendition, and soon a crowd gathered, clapping and dancing. He later told a friend that moment—making a kid smile and turning a cold night into a party—was his definition of the good life, no fame or fortune needed.

Historically, the term, “the American Dream,” was popularized in the 1930s by writer James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America, where he described it as "a dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement." It’s rooted in the U.S.’s founding principles of liberty and the pursuit of happiness, emphasizing individual effort over inherited privilege.

In practice, the American Dream varies across contexts:

For some, it’s material success: a good job, a house, a car, and financial security.

For others, it’s personal fulfillment: freedom to pursue passions, education, or creative goals.

Immigrants often see it as escaping hardship for a fresh start in a land of opportunity.

All of this provides a framework for what many consider the good life - or a chance at “the good life.”

In more recent times, it seems society has picked up on a biblical word and uses it to describe what they define as “the good life.” That biblical word is the word blessed. Perhaps you have seen articles of clothing or bumper stickers with this simple word on it?

I want to ask another rhetorical question: what do you think of when you hear the word blessed?

In the past year, we have discovered there are biblical words and/or phrases that often get repeated and used by the world outside of Christendom. In the last message in this series, we looked at the variants of the phrase “prodigal son” as an example - “the prodigal has returned.” There are those outside of Christian circles that at times are familiar with where the phrase originates - maybe even understanding in a broad sense the meaning or context - while at other times, there are those who have no clue. Perhaps, it’s just something familiar.

We have also discovered on numerous occasions how biblical words don’t always mean what we think they mean. There are numerous factors that go into this, and some of those factors we have looked at: culture, perhaps being the most prominent; context; time in history; etc.

Similar to how we studied the Shema, we are going to be digging into some of the words JESUS spoke in the SOTM in order to obtain a richer and fuller perspective on what JESUS meant by the words HE was speaking. This morning we’re going to begin with a single word - the word blessed.

The title of the message this morning is, The Beatitudes: Reframing the Good Life. This morning’s message is really going to be more of an informational teaching before we really dive into it. We will still have an application at the conclusion of the message, but this is really about setting up what we will be looking at in this series throughout the coming weeks.

There are three things I want to look at as we setup our study of the Beatitudes:

The Definition of Blessing

Lost in Translation

Brief reminder of spoken/written languages of JESUS’ time

Matthew’s Gospel in Greek

Summary of what JESUS spoke in Aramaic

Aramaic common language of the day

Read Hebrew Bible in Hebrew

traditions in Hebrew

Translations of Hebrew Bible in Aramaic & Greek (Septuagint)

Lost in Translation

Uses & Definitions

In the beginning

In our review, we talked about how the KOG began in Genesis. GOD placed Adam & Eve in the Garden to partner in the rule and reign of GOD. There is abundance of everything they (and their descendants after them) need to flourish in life. They walk with GOD in the cool of the day - everything is perfect. GOD blessed creation (1:22, 28).

Barekh

Hebrew verb form

Definition: to bless

Berakah

Hebrew noun form

Definition: a blessing

These are not the words used in Matthew.

Greek word for blessed in the Beatitudes

Makarios

Said to be difficult to translate

Possible translations: fortunate, flourishing, happy, [or blessed].

Know what Hebrew word was consistently translated as makarios

Not the Hebrew word in Genesis

The underlying Hebrew word in the Beatitudes

Ashrey

45 uses in OT to describe people who are called ashrey

34 come from Psalms & Proverbs

wisdom literature word

Examples of ashrey

OT

Psalm 1 NASB95

1 How ashrey [blessed] is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.

So, that’s Psalm 1. It also appears in Psalm 2.

Psalm 2:1–2 NASB95

1 Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the Lord and against His Anointed ...

Psalm 2:12 NASB95

12 Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How ashrey [blessed] are all who take refuge in Him!

So, together in these verses, we see this word can refer to abundance, flourishing, stability, safety.

It’s both things.

Let’s look at another example that encapsulates this.

Queen of Sheba

1 Kings 10:6–8 NASB95

6 Then she said to the king, “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 7 “Nevertheless I did not believe the reports, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. 8 “How ashrey [blessed] are your men, how ashrey [blessed] are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom.

Other Sources outside of Scripture

The Wisdom of Ben-Sira/Sirac/Ecclesiasticus

ashrey is the man who ...

rejoices in his children

lives to see the downfall of his enemies

lives with a reasonable wife

does not sin with his tongue

never has to serve an inferior

Dead Sea Scrolls

There are three things I want to look at as we setup our study of the Beatitudes:

The Definition of Blessing

The Source of Blessing

The Source of Blessing

Barukh

the word used to highlight that GOD is the ONE WHO has brought about abundance, safety & security in one’s life

we can pronounce blessing on each other, but we can’t bless one another

we’re asking GOD to do it

refers to the state of blessedness by GOD

often what people think the beatitudes are about

this is not what ashrey is

Barukh means God has given me the gift of favor and abundance and I'm in a state of blessedness. But when I want to convince you that a certain state of blessedness is actually the good life, I use the word ashrey

Leads us to third point

There are three things I want to look at as we setup our study of the Beatitudes:

The Definition of Blessing

The Source of Blessing

The Perspective of Blessing

The Proper Perspective on Blessing

Ashrey is a description of a state of happiness or privilege or fortune that's on someone that's being observed by another, by a bystander who isn't the one providing or bringing about the blessing. In the Hebrew Bible, one never prays to become ashrey—

—Jonathan Pennington

Ashrey is a wisdom word meant to be used in persuading the listener to see that a certain way of life is the blessed ideal state

So, in the Beatitudes, JESUS isn’t pronouncing blessing on someone, HE is redefining and persuading us to see the good life through a different lense - a different perspective.

San Fran - homeless

Ashrey? No way!

Beatitudes

first line is perspective

second line is the blessing

Matthew 5:3 NASB95

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

sneak peek - “poor in spirit” means powerless

Why would that be a desirable state of life?

Because they are being given the divine blessing of the Kingdom of heaven.

They get to receive the state of blessedness.

Thinking about JESUS audience at the time of the SOTM

JESUS doesn’t change the context in which they live, HE changes their perspective about the context

We often want GOD to change our context (health, finances, work, family, influence/position (how seen by others), etc.)

Sometimes HE does

… but HE always wants to change or reorient our perspective about the context

HE is infusing hope into their situation

HE wants to infuse hope into your and my situation

Seasons in life change - contexts change

Our perspective should not

We should trust HIM and HIS Blessing

It doesn’t always look like we think it should

My ways are not your ways

Neither are my thoughts your thoughts

JESUS reframes “the good life”

How good is life for ...

Matthew 5:1–9 NTFE

1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the hillside, and sat down. His disciples came to him. 2 He took a deep breath, and began his teaching: 3 “How good is life for the poor in spirit! The kingdom of heaven is yours. 4 “How good is life for the mourners! You’re going to be comforted. 5 “How good is life for the meek! You’re going to inherit the earth. 6 “How good is life for people who hunger and thirst for God’s justice! You’re going to be satisfied. 7 “How good is life for the merciful! You’ll receive mercy yourselves. 8 “How good is life for the pure in heart! You will see God. 9 “How good is life for the peacemakers! You’ll be called God’s children.

So, pj … What’s the point?

Conclusion

The KOG is starting now & fulfilled when heaven and earth unite

This is the upside-down kingdom

The point of the 9 sayings of JESUS is to define what the KOG is & what it means to be a part of it

What parts of our lives need re-examining in light of this truth?

What areas are you feeling the most beat up in?

health, finances, work, family, influence/position (how seen by others), etc.

This is the exact spot where JESUS want to start with you (& I) to reveal HIS KINGdom breaking in

Closing prayer & benediction

Numbers 6:24–26 NASB95

24 The Lord bless you, and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’

Scripture records the following words in v.27:

Numbers 6:27 CSB

27 In this way they will pronounce my name over the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

So, receive and go with the blessings of YAHWEH!