Last time we saw the background for Jesus’ message that we call the Beatitudes. He was getting ready to train His disciples to go out and preach.

Matthew 5:1-12

1 The Sermon on the Mount; The Beatitudes

When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.

Jesus saw (the word means to fully perceive and understand) the huge crowd, and understood that most of them were there for the miracles, or to be healed. He takes His disciples up on the mountain to hear the message. Of course, some did follow:

Matthew 7:28-29

28 When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching;

29 for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

Some put out the extra effort to climb up the mountain after him, and were rewarded! Anyway, back to the message. I’ll put the whole passage here, and then we’ll go back verse by verse.

2 He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

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

4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

12 "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Jesus is referring here to your attitude or mood. The word Beatitude means a happy or blissful state in the soul. Notice that the first group (verses 3-6) deal with one’s attitude toward self; the second group (verses 7-12) deal with one’s attitude toward others, which is dependent on your attitude toward self! These are all about how you think in your soul, and when you have the first ones toward yourself, then you will have the next group towards others.

To really understand these, we need to know what the word “blessed” means. The connotation today is that if you perform these things, then you will receive material blessings. The Greek word here is MAKARIOS, and it means blessed, happy, or fortunate. The ancient Greeks ascribed this word to their gods, to mean that they had everything they needed or wanted – FULLY SATISFIED. This word is an immaterial inner happiness and contentment, that is totally independent of how you are treated, your circumstances, or any of the other things we usually consider as “blessings.”

When you have these attitudes in your thinking, then you will have that inner contentment.

Now back to the specific verses:

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

Taking that understanding of MAKARIOS, look at this verse. Happiness belongs to the poor in spirit. Poor is the word PTOCHOS, meaning a beggar or one who is dependent on another for support. So the poor in spirit recognize their spiritual helplessness, and their dependence on Jesus Christ for all things spiritual. The spiritual beggar knows that they have no righteousness of their own to stand before God, and therefore depends on Jesus Christ for salvation. That’s why the kingdom of heaven is theirs! They will enter the kingdom of heaven because their recognize their dependence on Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Why would happiness belong to someone who mourns?! Remember these first beatitudes are attitudes toward self, so this means that they grieve or mourn because they recognize their own sinfulness. The comfort comes in realizing that our sins are forgiven!

Psalms 32:1

1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,

Whose sin is covered!

As we continue to look at these Beatitudes, keep in mind that this is where the path to true contentment, happiness and blessing is. It’s all about your thinking first!

More to come…