Character of Holy Conduct
Blessed Are The Poor
In our study divisions of the Sermon on the Mount, we have separated the first seven beatitudes from the last two beatitudes and have put them in two different sections. The reason for this is that the last two beatitudes are quite different from the first seven beatitudes. The first seven (part one of our study) are about the principles of holy conduct (Character of Holy Conduct). But the last two are about persecution for holy conduct (Cruelty for Holy Conduct). Therefore, we have not included the last two in part one of our study but have put them in a separate section (part two) in our study in order to give special emphasis to the matter of persecution for those who live holy lives.
Before we get into the detailed study of the beatitudes, it will help us to know what the word translated “blessed” means. Since “blessed” is the hallmark and the most prominent word of the beatitudes, its meaning must be known or the beatitudes will make little sense. The meaning of the word translated “blessed” is basically “happy” (Robertson). In its use here in the Sermon on the Mount, it is not “happy” in the sense of happenstance or luck or chance as per dictionary meaning, but “happy” in the the sense of the highest form of happiness, joy, and blessing that one can have. This word translated “blessed” in the Sermon on the Mount is, in fact, translated “happy” in five other passages in the King James Version of the Bible. The meaning of the word also involves prosperity—not material prosperity here but spiritual prosperity. In its secular use the Greek word did indeed involve “outward [material] prosperity” (Vincent). But its use in the Sermon on the Mount is obviously limited to spiritual prosperity. And spiritual prosperity is blessing of the highest character. Material prosperity is limited prosperity and does not compare to spiritual prosperity.
Because the word “beatitude” is used frequently for these “blessed” verses, we do well to also know the meaning of “beatitude.” The dictionary meaning of “beatitude” is happiness and blessedness. Thus the word “beatitude,” which is not a word found in Scripture, is used as a synonym for “blessed.” In a practical, non-dictionary sense, we can say the beatitudes are those attitudes that should be in us. Christ’s exhortation in the Sermon on the Mount is that we should be of these attitudes.