The Beatitudes: Finding the Good Life in Unexpected Places (1)
The Kingdom of GOD • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 54:41
0 ratings
· 38 viewsIn this series, we are looking at what it means to be citizens in the Kingdom of GOD. We take a look at how we should live and how we partner with the FATHER in HIS reign. This week we take a look into the details of the Sermon on the Mount as we dig deeper into the Greek and Hebrew behind the first three beatitudes to discover the first of three unexpected places JESUS says the good life is found.
Files
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Announce text: Matthew 5:1-16
Key Text: Matthew 5:1-16
Review
BibleProject video: Biblical Themes, Blessing and Curse (Short Version)
“The story of the Bible begins with God bringing life out of darkness, ordering our beautiful world, and then blessing all of its creatures. Not only are we one of God's creatures that can generate new life, we've also been appointed as God's representative image to rule and oversee this whole flourishing world on God's behalf. And God wants us to rule while trusting in his abundance, to eat from the tree of blessing that is the tree of God's own eternal life.”
Last week, we learned about the different Hebrew and Greek words behind the word blessed.
We began by looking at the Hebrew word that means blessed, as it is used in Genesis 1.
We discovered that was not the same word used in the Beatitudes.
In fact, the Greek word that is translated as blessed in that passage is a difficult word to translate.
However, the Hebrew word ashrey is consistently translated into the Greek word makarios which is the word translated as blessed used in the Beatitudes.
From the definition and uses of the word ashrey in the Hebrew Bible, we derive the meaning in the NT Beatitudes.
Makarios, then, is a persuasive, wisdom (34/45 uses in Ps & Pr) word that an observer uses to describe someone who is experiencing blessing.
We were reminded that only GOD can bless, and HIS Blessing involves HIS favor: abundance & stability/security.
So, as we begin to dig into the Beatitudes, we discover that JESUS is not pronouncing blessing on an individual.
Rather, HE is pointing out from HIS surprising perspective the individual who is blessed, followed by what the blessing is.
Matthew 5:3 “3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit (perspective), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (blessing).”
So, JESUS is reframing what it means to live the good life in a very surprising & unexpected way.
One final point to make about this before we dive in this morning, and it is a quote from Dr. Tim Mackie of the BibleProject:
“The logic of these nine sayings depends on Jesus' claim that he is bringing the Kingdom of God as it is in Heaven. And the Kingdom of God brings total reversal of our value systems and our estimations of who are the fortunate ones. And that's the work that these nine sayings are doing.”
Announce text again: Matthew 5:1-16
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
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.
10 “How good is life for people who are persecuted because of God’s saving plan! The kingdom of heaven belongs to you.
11 “How good is life for 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
Message
One morning R.C. Chapman, a devout Christian, was asked how he was feeling. "I'm burdened this morning!" was his reply. But his happy countenance contradicted his words. So the questioner exclaimed in surprise, "Are you really burdened, Mr. Chapman?" "Yes, but it's a wonderful burden--it's an overabundance of blessings for which I cannot find enough time or words to express my gratitude!" Seeing the puzzled look on the face of his friend, Chapman added with a smile, "I am referring to Psalm 68:19, which fully describes my condition. In that verse the Father in heaven reminds us that He 'daily loads us with benefits.'"
Source Unknown.
19 Blessed be the Lord. Daily he loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation. Selah
The beatitudes are 9 sayings of JESUS in which HE is reframing what the good life is. HE does this by drawing our attention to a group of people to unexpectedly persuade us that from HIS perspective, these people are living the good life - they are the fortunate ones. Then HE identities how each particular group of people is blessed - HE describes what the blessing is.
Just like last week, we are going to dig into the Greek and Hebrew words underlying our English translation of what JESUS is saying in our text. The first interesting fact is how the literary structure of these nine sayings is designed. The nine sayings are divided evenly into three groups of three sayings - or three triads. The first triad is what we will begin looking at today and covers vv.3-5.
Let's read these three verses again in succession for context, and then we'll dive into the first verse, v.3.
I will be reading from a modified version of the NTFE translation, as I have changed part of the original translation to reflect what we discovered JESUS meant when we see the English word, blessed.
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.
Ok, so that’s the context of the triad, now let’s dig into it ...
We’re going to cover this first triad over the course of the next two weeks. We’re going to look at three unexpected places where JESUS says the good life is found. The first unexpected place - and with the word place, I mean more like a state of being - but the first place JESUS mentions ...
The good life is for the powerless.
So, each of these three unexpected places or states of being will be found in each of these verses. So, one unexpected place per verse. I hope that makes sense, but if not, it will as we go through this.
Let’s begin by taking a look at the first saying of JESUS, found in v.3:
3 “How good is life for the poor in spirit! The kingdom of heaven is yours.
Like last week, I want to ask a rhetorical question here: what comes to mind upon hearing the phrase, “poor in spirit?”
Perhaps you are like I was in thinking it might be a fancier way of saying humble, or it might have something to do with humility. In the NASB translation, there is a note that provides an alternative phrase to assist with the reader’s understanding, and that phrase is, “not spiritually arrogant.” I think a lot of commentaries and resources I own kind of lead down that way of thinking, also. What’s interesting is when you break the phrase down into individual Greek and Hebrew words, a different idea begins to take shape.
The first word of the phrase, poor, comes from the Greek word ptokhos.
pronounced: toe-koss
definition: poor
The last word of the prepositional phrase, spirit, comes from the Greek word, pneuma.
pronounced: new-mah
translation: movement of air
definition: Spirit, breath
So, JESUS is saying poor in relation to their pneuma.
The Hebrew equivalent for pneuma is ruakh.
listen to ruakh podcast for more deets
Refers in its essence to invisible energy.
It can be ...
impersonal, e.g., wind
personal, e.g., presence of someone’s life energy or spirit
Often biblical authors used both meanings at the same time.
Since humankind’s life energy comes from GOD, it is often called the breath of GOD.
7 Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Here’s another example of this, and I found this one interesting because - and Linda will love this - we have another “tie together.” In Job 12:10, we read:
10 In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?
Who remembers the Hebrew word for soul or throat from the Shema?
The Hebrew word nephesh.
So, the phrase “the life” is the word nephesh.
translations: Life, mind, heart
definition: Soul, being, person
So, it is a person’s energy & vitality - their life force - all of that comes from GOD. It’s what makes a human “go.” It’s the person’s “vibe.”
The basic meaning of ruakh can then become a Hebrew phrase in the Bible that describes people as
x of spirit
x in their spirit
… to describe the quality of their life energy
Here are some examples:
11 “Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
Job is talking about his suffering in this verse, and he says his spirit is in anguish. Some of your translations might use a derivative of the word, distress. That’s because the Hebrew word for anguish there is tsar.
Hebrew word Tsar
translations: adj. narrow, tight
definition: straits, distress
The word distress means “squeezed.” So, Job’s spirit is being squeezed, like in a vice.
Have you ever had days, weeks, months, years like this? Times where the weight of the world - the pressures of life make you feel like you’re going to “pop” or “explode” at any moment?
I have a friend who manages car dealerships, and for a brief season I worked for him. The pressure he was under was pretty intense (external & internal), and every once in awhile he would say, “Guys! I’m gonna crack!” Q, what’s the language you use?
Perhaps, you’re experiencing times similar to this now.
We can find another example in Genesis 26:35, where Isaac’s son Jacob has two wives that Isaac doesn’t like ...
35 and they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.
Again, some translations might word this differently, such as “bitterness of spirit.”
Isaac has become bitter, he’s so upset.
14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away; and I went embittered in the rage of my spirit, and the hand of the Lord was strong on me.
15 Then I came to the exiles who lived beside the river Chebar at Tel-abib, and I sat there seven days where they were living, causing consternation among them.
After having some unusual visions of GOD in which Ezekiel received his prophetic commission
to go the Israelites to explain YHWH’s judgement upon them
he was very angry … he is bitter with rage
an uncontrollable type of state
ever been that angry before?
4 Gentleness of tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it causes a break in spirit.
Now, there are KINGdom principles at work here, and there is so much that could be said about this. Maybe we’ll dig deeper into this later, but I want to draw something out here before we focus on the final phrase of this verse.
If you’ve ever heard Carly or I talk about “speaking life” or “speaking death” … Here’s an example of why.
James says there’s all kinds of power in the tongue.
26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.
3 Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well.
4 Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires.
5 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!
6 And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.
8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.
9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God;
10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.
power to bless
power to curse
power to speak life
power to speak death
“speaking life” reflects eating (or feeding someone) from the tree of life
brings about
abundance
health
vitality
speaking distortions of the truth - lies - produces a crushing of the spirit
the opposite of the tree of life
All of these verses help to frame the idea of what JESUS is speaking about here in the phrase “impoverished (poor) in spirit.”
it is a lack of resources
no life energy
Two scholars from one commentary I have note the history of interpretation of the phrase, “poor in spirit” has been given what they have defined as a religious meaning. Meaning, those who lack spiritual excitement or energy. These are people who aren't spiritually or religiously influential or significant. This is what they call the religious meaning.
There’s also a thread in the history of interpretation of this phrase that they call the economic meaning, which is the social-economic meaning of poor.
Here’s a quote from them:
It must be stressed that the religious meaning of poor does not exclude its economic meaning. Rather, for Jesus, the two go together. With probably the majority of Jesus's audience, the religious state of poverty was matched by an outward condition. They suffered literal poverty— And experienced firsthand economic inequities. They knew the meaning of being needy because they were poor in spirit and poor in fact. They are literally without power in the religious structures of their day.
— W.D. Davies & Dale Allison
remember the audience JESUS was speaking to again
socially, they were powerless
they were without financial stability
lacked resources
both physically and metaphorically
the lack of practical resources led to their life energy lacking, also
So, powerless is a better word to use here in getting at what JESUS is saying.
“How good is life for the powerless.”
It reveals the tension of the upside down nature of the GOD’s KINGdom. Who wants to be powerless? No one!
This not a state anyone would want to be in, but there is something about being in a powerless position in a society that makes that person more easily grasp and understand the upside-down value system of the reign of God.
kingdom of the skies
GOD’s heavenly reality
HIS good will is done
“… on earth as it is in heaven”
JESUS brings that blessing to earth here & now
offered to powerless first
“… the last shall be first”
The good life is for the powerless because those who have no power are actually able to see the Kingdom and their hands are open and ready to take hold of it. We live in a world where the good life is for the movers and the shakers. And Jesus is saying, the good life is for the empty-handed because theirs is the Kingdom.
So, the BibleProject came up with an interpretive translation for the Beatitudes. As we cover each one, I’ll reintroduce the verse we cover using their paraphrased version. So, here’s v.3 again in light of what we learned:
3 “How good is life for the poor in spirit (powerless), because theirs is the kingdom of the skies.
So, that’s the state of the first marginalized group of people who are in poised to received GOD’s blessing.
So, pj … What’s the point?
Conclusion
Conclusion
So, the first triad - the first three beatitudes - are announcements by JESUS that GOD’s KINGdom has arrived, and it is being offered first to the powerless. There are two other states we’ll look at next week, but these are unexpected places where GOD’s KINGdom is breaking forth for those willing to accept and trust in JESUS’ Word(s). It is very good news to those who are perishing.
The first triad in the entire context as paraphrased by the BibleProject:
3 “How good is life for the poor in spirit (powerless), because theirs is the kingdom of the skies.
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.
don’t draw strange conclusions: KINGdom of GOD only for the poor
rich young ruler - sell all you have
he couldn’t
went away sad
parable of the talents
who got the talent that was stripped from the lazy servant?
the mandates from the Garden on display
take what was given and make something new - make it better
master wanted to partner with servants
all of the servants but one produced an increase
talent taken from the lazy servant & given to the servant who produced the most
Christianity - living in and being an active member of the KINGdom of GOD
not about activities
not about material wealth or resources
it’s always about the heart
man looks at the outward appearance
GOD looks at the heart
do you believe the words of JESUS & trust HIM in every situation?
Closing prayer & benediction
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:
27 “So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.”
So, receive and go with the blessings of YAHWEH!
