The Blessed Ones

“What Does It Mean to Be Blessed?”

This morning, I’m going to kill one of the sacred cows of popular Christianity — I am certain many of you have heard this before the Beatitudes as “Be”–Attitudes.

Taught as if Jesus is saying, “Here’s a list of attitudes you need to adopt in order to be blessed.”

Be poor in spirit. Be meek. Be merciful. Be pure in heart.

Sounds nice. Motivational, even. You could slap it on a coffee mug or a Christian T-shirt — maybe even sell it at a Christian-themed Etsy shop with a side of gluten-free granola.

But it completely misses the point.

Jesus isn’t giving us a new set of commandments — He’s announcing a new reality. The Beatitudes Aare not about what we do to be blessed; they’re about who we are in Christ.

And that’s where we often get tripped up.

Scroll through social media today, you’ll see that word “blessed” everywhere.

A family on vacation — #blessed.

A new house — #blessed.

A winning team — #blessed.

We’ve come to use “blessed” as another word for happy or successful. Which, is a false gospel.

But when Jesus sits down on that Galilean hillside and opens His mouth, He completely turns that idea upside down.

He says:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are the meek.” (Matthew 5:3–5)

Wait a minute — what?

This isn’t what we usually think of as blessed! We’d say, “Blessed are the confident. Blessed are the strong. Blessed are the ones who’ve got it all together.” [You know, the kind of people whose highlight reels make the rest of us question why we ever left our pajamas.]

And yet, here on All Saints’ Sunday, we hear Jesus describing exactly who the saints are — not perfect people, not the spiritually elite — but those who belong to Him.

The poor in spirit who cling to His mercy. The mourners who find comfort in His cross. The meek who will one day inherit the earth — not because of their strength, but because of His grace.

That’s what it means to be blessed. Not that everything goes right in your life — but that you belong to the One who has made everything right by His death and resurrection.

Law: We Read the Beatitudes Like They’re a To-Do List

Here’s what happens all to often — and, even lifelong Christians stumble over this. We tend to read the Beatitudes as if they were somehow a new Ten Commandments.

We think Jesus is saying:

“Be poor in spirit — we try making ourselves gloomy and poor in spirit. Be meek — we remain quiet, reserves, sit in the back pews on Sunday. Be merciful — we try and be nice to people even those who have betrayed us.”

Blessed or else.

[Imagine putting that on a motivational poster: “Blessed or else!” Not exactly comforting, right?]

As if the Sermon on the Mount is a checklist for holiness, a ladder we climb to prove we’re good enough to get into heaven.

And so, instead of being comforted by Jesus’ words, we end up crushed by them.

Because, if we’re honest — we aren’t poor in spirit. We like to look like we’ve got it together. We’re not always meek or merciful; we’re proud, defensive, and often judgmental. We don’t hunger and thirst for righteousness; we hunger for comfort, success, and approval. We say we want to be “peacemakers,” but if it means swallowing our pride — well, maybe peace can wait till tomorrow.

See what happens? We take these beautiful words meant to bless and twist them into words that burden.

And that’s the tragedy of the sinful heart. We strive for worldly honor and happiness, missing the true blessings of God. We want the kingdom without the King, comfort without the cross, the crown without the crucifixion.

In short, we want to be self-made saints.

But Jesus will have none of that.

He doesn’t say, “Blessed are those who try really hard to be poor in spirit.” He says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Not as a command — but as a declaration.

The kingdom of heaven belongs not to the achievers, but to the beggars — to those who come before God with empty hands and broken hearts.

Gospel: Christ Fills the Empty Hands of the Poor in Spirit

Jesus says:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)

That’s not a future promise — it’s a present reality. “Theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” not “will be someday if you finally get your act together.”

You see, the poor in spirit are those who know they have nothing to offer God — and that’s exactly why He gives them everything.

That’s the heart of the Gospel: God doesn’t bless us because we’ve earned it; He blesses us because Christ has earned it for us. He became poor so that we might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). He mourned over our sin so that we might be comforted. He was meek before His accusers so that we might inherit the earth.

Every Beatitude finds its perfect fulfillment in Him. When Jesus describes the blessed life, He’s really describing His life — and the life He now gives to His saints.

That’s what we celebrate on All Saints’ Sunday. Not our accomplishments, but our belonging.

Revelation 7 gives us the picture:

“A great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.” (Revelation 7:9)

Who are they? John is told:

“These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:14)

There’s the key — washed in the blood of the Lamb. Not made pure by their “be–attitudes,” but by the blood of their Savior.

That’s what makes them saints. That’s what makes you a saint.

You, baptized into Christ, bear His name and His righteousness. You’re already part of that great multitude — even if right now, you still feel like one of the “poor in spirit.”

1 John 3:1 reminds us:

1 John 3:1 ESV

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Notice the present tense again: “and so we are.” Not “we will be someday when we finally get our act together.” You are God’s child now — because Jesus has made you His own.

That’s what it means to be blessed. Not that life is easy, but that eternity is secure. Not that we’ve made it to the top, but that Christ has stooped to lift us up.

So when you mourn, when you hunger and thirst for righteousness, when you feel meek, overlooked, or weary — don’t despair. You’re not losing. You’re living the blessed life Jesus describes. You are blessed because you belong to Him.

The Present and Future Hope of the Saints

The Beatitudes describe not only what we will be in heaven, but what we already are in Christ now. Jesus says, “Blessed are…” — not “Blessed will be.”

Even now, when you feel poor in spirit, worn out, or broken — you are blessed, because the kingdom of heaven is yours. Even now, when you mourn — over loss, sin, or the state of the world — you are blessed, because Christ Himself comforts you. Even now, when you hunger and thirst for righteousness — longing for what’s good and true in a world gone wrong — you are blessed, because Jesus fills you with His righteousness.

But these blessings also point us forward — to that great day pictured in Revelation 7, when all the saints stand before the throne and the Lamb, clothed in white, singing:

“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:10)

There — no more hunger, no more thirst, no more tears. The Lamb will be our shepherd and will lead us to living water (Revelation 7:17). That’s not wishful thinking — that’s your future. That’s the inheritance of the blessed.

The Song of the Saints

Psalm 149 begins with these words:

“Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints.” (Psalm 149:1)

That’s what we’re doing today — joining the chorus of all the saints who’ve gone before us. Their song isn’t about what they accomplished, but about what Christ accomplished for them.

It’s the song of the redeemed. The song of those who were poor in spirit but made rich in grace. Those who mourned, but are now comforted. Those who hungered for righteousness, and now feast forever in the presence of the Lamb.

And here’s the mystery of faith — we sing that same song even now. Right here in this little congregation in Hayward, Wisconsin, surrounded by ordinary sinners made extraordinary by grace, we join the same praise that echoes in heaven.

The world might look at us and see weakness, smallness, even irrelevance. [And honestly, sometimes we see it too — like when we step on the scale or check our email.] But heaven sees something else: the saints of God, clothed in white, singing a victory song that no one can silence.

Because the blessing of Jesus isn’t about how things look now — it’s about what He has already done and what He will bring to completion. Even when your heart is heavy, even when your spirit is poor, even when tears still fall — you are blessed. For the kingdom of heaven is yours.

Final Application

As we finish this morning, remember this:

The Beatitudes are not a ladder for you to climb — they’re a mirror showing who you are in Christ. They are not a list of rules to make you holy; they are a portrait of the saints, and by faith, that portrait is your portrait too.

When you feel poor in spirit, remember: yours is the kingdom of heaven — not because of anything you’ve done, but because Jesus humbled Himself for you, taking your sin and shame upon Himself, so that you might stand forgiven before the Father.

When you mourn — over sin, loss, or the brokenness of the world — remember: you will be comforted — not by your own efforts, not by a motivational platitude, but because Jesus wept over the very same things and now invites you to find rest in His compassion and mercy.

When you hunger and thirst for righteousness, remember: you will be filled — not by chasing the world’s standards, but because Jesus lived the righteousness you could never live, and now shares it freely with all who trust Him.

When you are persecuted, mocked, or weary, remember: great is your reward in heaven — not for your cleverness, toughness, or endurance, but because Jesus endured everything for you on the cross and rose victorious, securing for you a crown that cannot be taken away.

This isn’t wishful thinking or spiritual optimism. This is the promise of your Savior. Everything the Beatitudes point to — the blessing, the comfort, the inheritance — flows from what Jesus has done for you, not what you can do for Him.

And so, like the saints before us — those who have gone on before us in faith, and those who surround us now in the body of Christ — we lift our voices and praise the One who has called us His own:

“Blessed be the name of the Lord, who gives and takes away — yet always blesses His people in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Amen.

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, You call us blessed — not for what we’ve done, but for what You have done for us. You comfort the mourning, lift the poor in spirit, and promise the meek a place in Your kingdom. On this All Saints’ Day, we thank You for those who have gone before us in faith. Keep us faithful until we join them, washed and made clean in Your blood, singing Your praise forever.

Amen.