Matthew 5:1-12

¹ And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. ² Then He opened His mouth and taught 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 meek, For they shall inherit the earth. ⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. ⁷ Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain 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 are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹ “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. ¹² Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Commentary

Vs. 1-2 ¹ And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. ² Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

And so now Jesus will begin His discourse on and declaration of just what His disciples will look like, and just what He wants them to be like (chapters 5:1-7:27); of which there is both the work of Holy Spirit renewal of our persons, as well as our own obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ’s commandments and decrees. Therefore what will be stated here by the Lord is for those who by their own personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ have now begun a personal relationship with God through Him alone, for that is the beginning of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. Everything else then is born out of that redeemed and restored position we now enjoy with God. Therefore in these first twelve verses (commonly referred to as the beatitudes) there will be stated promises, as well as requirements, and even revelations about the nature and disposition of the born-again people of God who enter into the Kingdom of God.

Vs. 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

To begin Jesus’ declarations in each of these opening statements are a state of being blessed, not a “blessing” per say, but a state of being blessed when one by their personal faith and trust in Him exemplifies the qualities He declares here. For when one does they are opening the door for the Kingdom of heaven to fill their hearts, souls, and lives. To begin then the Lord Jesus says to His disciples that “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” For those who are poor in spirit know they have nothing that can commend them to God (consider Isaiah 66:2), and so it is that many who come to Christ, only come to Him when they see their own bankruptcy before Him (consider Luke 18:9-14) and thus they enter the Kingdom of heaven on Christ’s merits not their own. For that is how one enters the Kingdom of heaven not by one’s own righteousness or good deed’s (as the rich young ruler tried, see Matt. 19:16-26) but by faith (i.e. trust) in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so Jesus here pronounces everyone who does so blessed, for all who do so enter the Kingdom of God. Therefore the poor in spirit are quite literally the opposite of those who being proud in spirit, walk in their own counsels, self assuredness, strength and pride, and thus who do not perceive their own wickedness, wretchedness, and ultimately nakedness before God (consider Rev. 3:17-20). These then do not enter the Kingdom of God since they themselves do not see their own need for God. For the “self made” man or woman only shut them themselves out of God’s Kingdom when they do not see their own need for their own redemption from sin and death, and thus do not enter the Kingdom of God because wherever there is human pride or self justification at work, there is a barrier to the Work of the Gospel in that person’s heart and life. Jesus blessing then does not come on the proud in spirit but the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. And so it is that many people down through the centuries have entered the Kingdom of God and continue to enter it during what is often referred to as a “crises moment” in their lives when by the perfect timing of God, God brings them to see themselves as they really are, and in that moment of utter desperation and despair they cry out to the Lord Jesus Christ and He opens the door of the Kingdom to them, “for whoever calls upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved” (see Rom. 10:9-10, 13; also consider Psalm 107). 

Vs. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.”

In His second Kingdom discourse Jesus declares that those who mourn are blessed. It’s a profound insight into who God looks at and whom He comforts. And so rather then expounding to His disciples to pursue the things that make for their own “happiness”, Jesus lifts up mourning as something that actually brings God’s Comfort into one’s life, and ultimately a state of being blessed that is not a conditional state, “as the pursuit of happiness is” but has eternal value and significance attached to it. Now in this world there is a lot that one could mourn over: injustice, greed, racism, war etc. And so the mourning here in one sense is the mourning of the Godly who see and perceive all of the evil around them and mourn for those both inside and outside of the church who are still unrepentant (1 Cor. 5:2; 2 Cor. 12:21). This mourning then can likewise be said to be the mourning of the repentant who see their own sinfulness and in godly sorrow seek God’s mercies and assistance to overcome it all (see 2 Cor. 7:8-11 also consider James 4:8-9). Thus it is not the mourning of the world, of those who never come to repentance from their sins and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. For the sorrow of the world only leads to death, but the sorrow of those who repent and believe, and thus receive the Lord Jesus Christ for themselves will be comforted, not only in the healing process from their sins, but also for all eternity for all the things that we suffer and will suffer in our faithfulness towards Christ down here (Rev. 21:4). Likewise then those who laugh now, whose lives are found and filled in this life, will mourn for all eternity because in their self-confident unbelief they never repented and believed, and received Christ for themselves (Luke 6:25).

Vs. 5 “Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.”

Jesus’ blessing on the meek is on those who by His Holy Spirit within them become by the Nature of the Lord Jesus Christ within them meek (consider Matt. 11:28-30). And so whatever they are naturally they are not by His Spirit within them and so our inner disposition is that of meekness, not weakness, (for a meek individual can be very brave and strong for standing up for what is right, consider the Apostle Paul in 2 Cor. 10), and so meekness is not timidity, but rather being meek means being gentle in ones dealings with others, being willing to yield when it comes to exercising one’s own “rights”, and being willing to accept God’s dealings with oneself in all circumstances of life as good, and having our best interests in mind. Thus a meek person is the antithesis of those who by wielding rule, authority, or power think to control their own lives and circumstances, or worse others; who think by strength of man they will attain too their own desires and ends (consider 1 Samuel 2:9). Thus a meek person in whom is Christ’s Spirit brings rest, not distress, to those they are around (consider Matt. 11:28-30). Therefore just as Jesus declares His blessing on the meek He also promises that they will inherit the earth, meaning they will attain too all the rewards and riches that the “push and shove crowd” thought to attain for themselves in this life. And so during Christ’s 1000 year millennial reign the meek will not only reign gloriously with Him, but also exceedingly prosperously as well (consider Isaiah 61:6-7; Rom 8:17; 1 Cor. 4:8; Rev. 5:10).

Vs. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.” 

Jesus’ blessing here is on those who long for righteousness, who see this world and it’s degenerate values for what they are, and thus long for God’s righteousness born out of His truth being established in the earth (consider Prov. 29:27; Isaiah 26:9-10; 2 Peter 3:10-13). Therefore in Christ’s Kingdom He will rule by righteousness and He will decide by God’s Holy Spirit using His Word’s just measure (Isaiah 11:1-9). There then will be no more showing of partiality, of peddling of influence and power, of this worlds wicked values being expounded, propagated and promoted (Isaiah 30:8-11; 33:14-16). For in the Kingdom of heaven because Jesus will rule with a rod of iron, even before the wicked begins to plan His evil schemes and seeks to execute his evil desires, the Lord will strike him! There then will no longer be any delay in God executing His justice and establishing His righteousness in the earth (consider Ecc. 8:11). Those then who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled! Fully satisfied!

Vs. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.”

If those who hunger and thirst for righteousness find complete satisfaction In Christ, in coming to Him and living for Him because it is His Spirit and His Word who indwelling them transforms them. So too will those who are merciful, for the key of the King and His Kingdom is His showing mercy where mercy is not “deserved.” Unlike then those who only trust in their own righteousness; who then have little stomach for showing mercy to others in their time of need; those who are Christ’s know that their Righteousness comes not from themselves, but from God, who has declared us righteous in His sight by our faith in His Son (Rom 4:1-8; 5:1; Gal. 2:21). And so Jesus’ blessing here is on all who show mercy because mercy is exactly what Jesus’ has showed and does show to us all who believe in Him (consider James 2:13).

Vs. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.”

Jesus’ blessing here is on those who are “pure in heart, for they shall see God.” And so unlike the scribes and Pharisees who made much of ceremonial and external purity (all which may give the appearance of moral purity and excellence), Jesus’ emphasis is not on what we look like on the outside but on what we are within (Matt. 23:25). Now purity of heart begins with our putting God first in our hearts and lives, for anything less will only leave one divided and conflicted, because God will not play second to anyone or anything in our lives (consider Matt 6:24). Therefore those who hearts are singly directed towards and devoted to God will see God, both here and now, but also for all eternity in the Kingdom of heaven. Now in a more personal sense being pure in heart means that one’s motives are plain, straightforward, and true. There is no duplicity when ones speaks with, or has dealings with someone who is pure in heart, for they strive to live their lives with a clean conscience before God and man. And so being pure in heart means that what one truly is, is easily self evident to one and to all. (Antithesis Psalm 28:3-5; Prov.11:20; 26:23; 26:24-26 etc.). 

Vs. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.”

In this world where conflict abounds, God’s sons and daughters are to be people who actively seek to be agents of reconciliation, for that is in the heart of each and every believer who has been born-again by God’s Spirit, not to see people at odds with each other, or with God, but at peace. And that is one thing that distinguishes true Christians from those who are not, an inherent desire to see people first being reconciled with God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, which then brings His peace to them, and then born out of that reconciled relationship with God peace with each other.

Vs. 10-12 ¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹ “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. ¹² Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Now Jesus makes it clear to us, His Kingdom people, that we will be persecuted for righteousness sake (vs. 10). In essence when we stand up for and live by Jesus’ Kingdom commands, decrees, and thus God’s Everlasting Word we will be persecuted, the god of this world will make sure of that (consider Rev. 12:17). Therefore standing up for God’s righteousness, that is His everlasting morals will always make us the objects of this world’s wrath, scorn, and ridicule. Now rather than trying to avoid the persecution that comes with standing up for and living by God’s Righteousness and capitulating to this worlds degenerate and degenerating morals and values; which only makes one an enemy of God (see James 4:4, 1 John 2:15); Jesus says we are to rejoice when we are persecuted for righteousness sake, because like the prophets who came before us, who suffered the same in their generations from those who likewise rejected God’s life, love, and rule for them, it shows that we are committed to God alone, and not this worlds degenerating morals which by their rejecting God’s rule through the Lord Jesus Christ for them are only running head strong towards their own eternal destruction and ruin. 

 Therefore let us all who know and believe the truth never be ashamed of our Lord and Savior, nor His life giving Words, for by Him and faith in Him alone anyone can have remission of all their sins and everlasting life (Rom 1:16-17). Therefore let us all who believe be of the same mind and always stand up for God’s Word’s truth in this world and not embrace, nor normalize the degenerate morals through which the world now seeks to normalize homosexuality and their abominations along with the so-called transgender perversions and lies, which they even teach to their children as being good and sound behavior! Yet God’s Word clearly warns us all not to do so (consider Lev. 18:22-30; Deut. 22:5; Rom 1:18-32; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Gal. 5:19-23). And so society by adopting those demonic and utterly perverse values the world has set itself on a course for not only their own rejection of God, but also by their doing so they are unwittingly preparing themselves to receive the anti-Christ, and thus their own everlasting destruction along with him when they receive the number of the beast which He will require of them (consider 2 Thess. 2:9-12; Rev. 13:11-18; 14:9-12). We are living in some very dark days now as anyone who now stands up for and lives by God’s truth will largely be judged an offender, a transgressor, a “hateful” and bigoted individual, and will even be treated by lawful authorities as such. That said, we will still love and long for Christ’s Person’s return and His Kingdom’s establishment where righteousness will reign forever (Prov. 8:13; Isaiah 26:9; 2 Peter 3:10-13). And so down here we will be slandered and abused, we will be misquoted and mistreated, we will be utterly misunderstood and rejected (just like the prophets before us were) but when Christ returns we will be greatly rewarded if we remain loyal to Him and suffer with Him down here for righteousness sake, because when we do we will be glorified together with Him forever (Rom 8:14-17).

Scripture Quotations

The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.