Beatitudes (1)

“Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. He said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Mt 5:1-12)

​Introduction
Last Sunday, we finished the book of Colossians. I really like Colossians because it contains some essential elements of Christianity such as who Jesus is, what the gospel of Jesus Christ is, and how to live out our faith in Him. So, I want to thank you one more time for joining us in studying the book together and for sharing your opinions.
 
Starting today, I want to begin a new sermon series about one of the most famous sermons in the Bible—the Beatitudes. The word ‘beatitude’ comes from the Latin beatitudo, meaning "blessedness."
 
In Matthew 5, Jesus went up a mountainside and taught his disciples what real blessings are. Jesus said 8 statements that started with the phrase “Blessed are.” These 8 blessings are called ‘the Beatitudes,’ and the entire teaching is called the Sermon on the Mount. 
 
But, when we read the 8 blessings, we notice that Jesus’ definition of a blessing is different from what people normally think of as a blessing because the 8 blessings are not about this world, but about the world to come—the kingdom of God—and about becoming its members as children of God.
 
What people generally call ‘blessings’ are things in this world—good health, a lot of money, social status, a good car and house, and so on. These are good things, but they are limited to this world. They will eventually perish and fade away. However, the real blessings that real Christians seek don’t belong to this world, nor do they perish.
 
People don’t call poverty a blessing, but Jesus said “blessed are the poor.” Even though Matthew emphasizes its spiritual meaning by writing “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Mt 5:3), Luke wrote as if being poor itself is a blessing. He wrote, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” (Lk 6:20)
 
People don’t call sadness a blessing, but Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn” (Mt 5:4). People don’t call persecution a blessing, but Jesus said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted” (Mt 5:10).
 
The reason Jesus calls them ‘blessings’ is because even though they may be poor, persecuted, and in mourning in this world, they will inherit the eternal kingdom of heaven where they will be truly comforted and see God face to face, calling Him Abba, Father.
 
As Revelation 21:4 says, “There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain” (Rv 21:4).
 
What Jesus said about blessings on the mountain is impossible to understand from the point of view of this world, but if we look at them through the eternal perspective that God gives us through the Holy Spirit, we can understand what real blessings are.
 
The real blessing is to be chosen by God and adopted to sonship through Jesus Christ. The real blessings are that our sins are forgiven through the redemption of Jesus Christ and that we were born again and became new creations in Him. The real blessing is that we join in the gospel even if we go through hardships and suffering because that’s how we will also participate in the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ in the kingdom of God.
 
What we know from the Beatitudes is that believing in Jesus and following him requires sacrifice. Paul said, “Join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.” (2 Tm 1:8)
 
Because Jesus suffered and sacrificed many things to accomplish our salvation and give us the good news, we can’t truly receive the gospel without joining in His suffering as His disciples.
 
But what we also know is that the suffering and hardships we may face on earth because of the gospel are actually blessings in disguise because they will ultimately lead us to true, eternal blessings in heaven. The more we sacrifice in this world for the sake of Christ, the more we will gain in Christ in the kingdom of God.
 
The apostle Peter said, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you” (1Pt 1:3-4)
 
People who don’t know that there will be an eternal world after this life put their hopes only in temporary things on earth and seek them. But, those who have the new, eternal, living hope that was revealed through the resurrection of Jesus Christ put their hope in God and seek His kingdom and righteousness first.
 
So, it’s very important for us to know the kind of hope God has given us through Jesus Christ. This new living hope opens our eyes, enables us to see the things which are unseen and leads us to put our hope not in things that belong to this world, but things that belong to the eternal kingdom of God.
 
Paul declared, “We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Co 4:18)
 
Paul  said that he fixed his eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. This sentence sounds strange at first glance.
 
How can we see things that are unseen? Is it possible to fix our eyes on what is unseen? These sentences themselves are contradictory. But they reveal the truth we’re to seek and follow as Christians.
 
The eyes Paul mentions here are not our physical eyes but spiritual eyes. An amazing change that happens in our lives when we believe in Jesus is that God opens our eyes to see the things that we can’t see on our own.
 
That’s what I expect to see through this sermon series. I really hope that God opens our eyes and fills us with His wisdom so that we become able to see what’s unseen, glorious, and eternal with our faith and that we desire and seek the kingdom of God more.
 
Biblical Blessing
  Before we jump into the Beatitudes, let’s first discuss the biblical meaning of blessing. One of the most important passages about God’s blessing is Genesis 12:1-3. Let’s read it together.
 
“The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Gn 12:1-3)
 
This passage is very important in the Bible. Even though there are a total of 66 books in the Bible, the whole Bible can be divided into three parts: introduction, body, and conclusion.
 
Genesis chapters 1-11 is considered to be an introduction to the entire Bible, and Revelation is considered the conclusion.
 
The introduction part deals mainly with human sin and corruption since Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
 
God made them in His image and gave them the authority to rule over the world, but they turned away from God by eating from the tree. Since then, sin continued to spread to the whole world, and finally God judged them through the flood and only Noah’s family survived.
 
However, even after the flood, sin kept spreading throughout the world. In Genesis 11, we read how humans turned against God by building a tower called ‘Babel’.
 
Sin entered with the first humans’ disobedience and it finally spread to the whole world. As the Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23).
 
But, God didn’t leave them in their sins and death. He started to work on our salvation by choosing one man in Genesis chapter 12. That’s why this chapter is considered to be the beginning of the main body of the Bible.
 
Here, God chose one man and said that He would make a nation through him for the purpose of saving the world. That man was Abraham.
 
When God called him, God promised him three things: a nation, a land, and a blessing. God promised Abraham that a great nation would arise through him, that he and his people would take possession of the land He promised, and that they would be blessed.
 
These promises were achieved throughout the history of Israel. From Abraham came the people of Israel. God led the Israelites to the land of Canaan, the promised land, and gave it to them.
 
However, it seems ambiguous what kind of blessing Abraham received. God promised Abraham that he would be blessed and that all the people of the earth would be blessed through him. What does the blessing refer to here?
 
Some people interpret Abraham’s blessing as material things. They think that God blessed Abraham so that he became rich. And it is true that Abraham became rich. He had many servants and even an army that won a war against several kings.
 
But I don’t think that’s the kind of blessing that God wanted to give him and expected to be passed on to all people on earth through him.
 
If becoming rich is a blessing, a lot of people in the Bible weren’t actually blessed. Jesus didn’t even have a house. He said, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (Lk 9:58).
 
From the point of view of this world, no one would say that the apostle Paul was blessed. Before he met Jesus on the way to Damascus, he lived a good life. He was a prominent Jew who was respected by many people in Jewish society. He had many things to boast about. He might have thought these were blessings from God.
 
But Paul said, “whatever were gains to me I now consider loss…” (Php 3:7). He lost everything that he had relied on before he met Jesus. He had thought of them as blessings, but now they were like garbage to him. This wasn’t because the blessings he had had before were not valuable. Many people at that time sought after them.
 
What Paul really found in his encounter with Jesus was how valuable it is to know Him and follow His way. It was so valuable and precious to Paul that he came to consider what he had had garbage compared to the worth of knowing Christ.
 
Paul continued, “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.” (Php 3:8)
 
Then, Paul added what he really considered a true blessing, which is, “having a righteousness of my own… which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” (Php 3:9)
 
Here, we find the perfect, biblical definition of God’s blessing. It is to possess righteousness that comes from God through faith in Jesus Christ. I believe that’s what God wanted to give Abraham and planned to spread to the whole world through him and his descendants.
 
We also find this blessing in Abraham’s story. Genesis 15:6 says,
 
“Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” (Gn 15:6)
 
When Abaraham was disappointed because God hadn’t given him a son, God appeared to him and said that he would give him a son and that his offspring would be as countless as the stars in the sky.
 
Even though it was hard to believe this because he was already too old to have a child, Abraham chose to believe in the Lord and God credited his faith as righteousness.
 
This was the first time when the relationship between faith and righteousness was revealed, which I think is one of the most important concepts in the Bible. The apostle Paul also mentions it when he explains the righteousness those who believe in Jesus have in Him.
 
Paul said, “What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness… to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.”” (Rm 4:3, 5)
 
And Paul concluded, “The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness - for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead” (Rm 4:23-24).
 
How amazing these verses are! How wonderful God’s plan to save all human beings by freely giving them His righteousness without demanding them to do anything! Just as Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness, those who believe in Jesus will have God’s righteousness through Christ.
 
I believe that’s the blessing God gave Abraham. The biggest blessing Abraham received from God wasn’t that he became rich because no matter how good it was at that time it was only temporary. The real, true blessing that God gave Abraham was to be righteous by faith in Him. That’s the blessing God wants all people on earth to have as well.
 
The more direct interpretation of Genesis 12:1-3 is found in Galatians 3:6-9. Let’s read it together before we wrap up.
 
“So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” (Gl 3:6-9)
 
This passage is very important in understanding the blessing Abraham received from God. Here, the apostle Paul clearly says what this blessing was. It was actually the gospel, that is, to be righteous through faith. That’s the real biblical blessing given not only to Abraham but also to all those who believe in Jesus.
 
That’s the blessing we should seek as Christians. Even though worldly things are good, we should know that nothing in this world can compare to the eternal blessing God gives us through Jesus Christ.
 
But when we really understand the meaning of biblical blessing—the blessing of knowing Christ and being found in Him—we won’t seek anything but Him and His righteousness. And we will do our best to get the blessing no matter what it costs us, like Paul did.
 
I think this is the basis for understanding the meaning of the Beatitudes Jesus taught. Those who have a worldly concept of blessings will never understand it. But those who know the true value of knowing Christ and following Him will find profound meaning in the blessings God gives us through Christ.
 
That’s what I want us to find during this time. I hope and pray that God opens our eyes and allows us to see what’s unseen, glorious, and eternal so that we may know what’s truly valuable and seek it in our lives. Let’s pray.
 
[Closing Prayer]
Heavenly Father, thank You for allowing us to have this great opportunity to think about the blessings You give us through Christ.
 
As we start to study the Beatitudes, I ask that You open our minds and hearts and give us Your wisdom through the Holy Spirit so that we may hear what You want to say to us through Jesus’ teaching.
 
We thank You, Lord, for giving us Your righteousness through Your Son, Jesus Christ. We know we became righteous because we believe in Him. Please help us to hold on to what’s true so that we can continue to seek Your kingdom and Your righteousness first in our lives. 
 
We thank You for everything You’ve done to save us through Your Son.
We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
 
[Reflection Questions]
1. How is the concept of worldly blessings different from biblical blessings? What do you think is the most distinctive difference between them?
 
2. When do you most feel like you’re blessed by God? Please share the greatest blessing you think you’ve received from God and why you think so.