As I sat down to study the Beatitudes, I never expected to find the situation where most lay people have a better understanding of the Beatitudes than most pastors. The cause of this is a translation problem in 3 or 4 words of the Beatitude for the poor.
An interpretation was created as a fix for this, but it results in a completely different understanding of what the Beatitudes are about and why Jesus is teaching them. It is so different from the literal reading of the verse that no lay person would ever come up with it. This interpretation is being taught to pastors. In paraphrase translations, the interpretation is mixed into the literal text.
Therefore, before we can say anything about the Beatitudes, we need to decide which interpretation is correct and to do that, we must first clear up this translation problem.
The Poor - Translation Problem
We'll come back to understanding the meaning of this Beatitude in the next section. First, we need to iron out a problem in the translation.Blessed are the poor in [the] spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3 NIV)
The problem is that the usual translation, shown above, doesn't make any sense. Why would the poor-in-the-spirit be blessed? Shouldn't the rich-in-the-spirit be the ones blessed, or most blessed? Will the rich-in-the-spirit not receive the Kingdom of Heaven? Does God prefer that we be poor-in-spirit?
Everyone recognizes those problems. An interpretation has been created to patch over the problems. The phrase "poor in the spirit" is understood as "spiritually poor". Then that is twisted into "recognizing their spiritual bankruptcy." Ultimately the verse is twisted into "Blessed are those who understand that they have absolutely nothing of worth to offer God, for theirs is salvation."
Having twisted this Beatitude like this, it is necessary to twist all of them in a similar way, so they match. The last Beatitude must be dropped because it just can't be twisted that way. The result is something that no reader would be able to understand from reading the text. This wisdom-of-men is taught from many pulpits.
The root problem is that the Greek is unclear here. Literally, the Greek says:
That isn't a typo that makes it sound like that. Greek doesn't specify the relationship between "the poor" and "the spirit". The reader is supposed to understand that from the context. That is difficult here. A preposition must be added to make it readable in English. The preposition "in" is being added by the translators, but it could also be "to", "by", "with" and other words.Blessed are the poor the spirit …. (Matthew 5:3 NIV)
In all translations the word "the" is being removed. Sometimes that is necessary when translating Greek to English due to differences in usage.
In this case the "the" is removed because we wouldn't say "for the Abraham."… to raise up children for Abraham (Matthew 3:9)
In addition to choosing a particular relationship between the two nouns, they are converting the two nouns into the noun phrase "poor in spirit". Is it valid to do what they are doing? How can we know?
Fortunately there is a repetition of the Beatitudes in the Bible. We can compare that with Matthew's to determine the correct understanding. This repetition comes from Luke's account of Jesus' teaching. In his account, Luke lists only a few of the Beatitudes.
Luke's account is also interesting because he provides something Matthew's account does not, a matching set of anti-Beatitudes, woes. These still have the form of a present physical situation followed by a future spiritual woe.And he lifted his eyes upon his disciples and he said, "Blessed are you poor ones, because yours is the Kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
22 Blessed are you, whenever men shall hate you and shall separate you and shall insult you and shall cast out your name as evil for the son of Man's sake. 23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for your reward is great in Heaven, for so were their fathers doing to the prophets." (Luke 6:20-23)
Back to our main point, the meaning of "poor in the spirit" in Matthew's account. Luke's rendering is plainly the Beatitudes, though a smaller set. Jesus does not mention the spirit. It's obvious in Luke that Jesus is speaking about the physically poor. If we try to assume that the "in the spirit" is implicit in Luke, that would mean the anti-Beatitude is referring to the spiritually rich, on which Jesus places a curse.But woe to you rich men, for you have received your comfort!
25 Woe to you satisfied ones, for you shall hunger!
Woe to you who are laughing now, for you shall weep and you shall wail!
26 Woe to you when men shall say wonderful things about you, for so were their fathers doing to the false Prophets! (Luke 6:24-26)
The only difference between the two accounts is the "in the spirit" but that plainly makes no difference because the blessing is the same Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore "in the Spirit" is an optional clarification of who does the blessing. This makes it clear, therefore, that the physically poor are in focus in Matthew as well.
This means the conversion from the two nouns ("the poor" and "the spirit") to a noun phrase is invalid. Instead "the spirit" should be a clause that clarifies who is performing the action.
The word behind "spirit" is "Ruach" which, in this context, could only refer to the spirit of a man or the Holy Spirit. In English we always use "the" with that noun, as in "the Holy Spirit". Thus it was also invalid for the translators to drop the "the."
Matthew should be translated as "Blessed are the poor, in the spirit" or "Blessed are the poor, by the spirit", or "Blessed are the poor, to the spirit." A little comma can be very important. The message is that the poor receive a blessing by way of the spirit.
This doesn't mean all the poor will receive this blessing - only those whom the Spirit would bless. Maybe that is the distinction that "in the spirit" is conveying. This blessing will only come to those who are worthy of any blessing.
It seems likely that this "by the spirit" clause is implicit in all of the Beatitudes and only explicit in this one.
From all of this, we can see that Jesus is speaking about the physically poor, not the spiritually poor.
The translation that I work from does not have this translation problem. You'll see it below.
Background
Understanding the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount requires understanding who Jesus was teaching and what Jesus was accomplishing by teaching it.
This message was given to his disciples. Jesus had separated himself from the crowd by going up into a mountain. When his disciples had assembled with him, he began to preach this sermon.
Everyone agrees Jesus is a Jew and he is teaching Jews. Fewer understand that he was often teaching Judaism to the Jews, which was the case here. This was not a new teaching, not a specifically Christian teaching. It is a teaching that is shared by both Judaism and Christianity.
The Jews had wandered away from God at that time. So part of Jesus' work was to bring them back to where they should have been. This was the focus of John the Baptist
We can confirm that Jesus was teaching Judaism in the Beatitudes by seeing a Beatitude in the Old Testament.
This verse also ties in the peacemakers Beatitude. There are authors who believe there is an Old Testament foundation for all of the Beatitudes.But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace (Psalm 37:11)
There was more to this sermon, though, than just reestablishing Judaism. It was also preparation for the future. At that time, Jesus' message was being well received. After Jesus' death and resurrection, many would reject the message and messengers violently.
The main theme of the Sermon on the Mount is "There is the physical and there is the spiritual and the spiritual is much better and more important to God.".
The Beatitudes show that theme and they have an additional message: "A time is coming when the world will make it difficult to be my followers."
The Beatitudes also contain another message, "Who am I to say these things?"
The Physical and Spiritual
This is an important message for that audience because they have become such physically oriented people and have little spiritual understanding. Jesus frequently laments their lack of spiritual understanding.
The purpose of the Old Testament and all of its teachings and observances was to build a spiritual person. That was difficult to achieve though because it required carefully reading the Bible and understanding. Our advantage in this covenant is that the Holy Spirit within us guides us, gives us understanding, and thus leads us to greater spiritual understanding.
A few specific examples of this physical-versus-spiritual message appear as:
- But I am saying to you, everyone who looks at a woman so as to lust for her, immediately commits adultery with her in his heart. (5:28)
- … it is profitable for you that one of your members be lost, and not that your whole body fall into Gehenna. (5:30)
- … whenever you do charity giving, let not your left know what your right is doing. 4 So that your charity may be in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you in public. (6:3-4)
Most people don't recognize this warning in the Beatitudes. They tend to focus on each individual Beatitude and never see the forest for the trees. We will see it most clearly in the summary of the Beatitudes that Jesus provides.
Who am I?
Jesus will also make a statement in a Beatitude that a man could never make. In doing this, he presents a question to them. Who am I? If the crowd had heard him say such a thing, they might have tried to stone him.
The Beatitudes
The Beatitudes are a list of specific groups of people, the poor, the mourning, etc. Associated with each group, there is a blessing.
Blessed are those who , for they will .
Most people don't notice that the blessing resolves the group's situation … in all cases. The blessings are not just random phrases. There is a relation between them and the situation and that tells us more.
It's also important to notice that the group's situation is present and physical and the blessing is future and spiritual. Luke's account of the Beatitudes uses "now" ("Blessed are you who weep now") to make that present physical and future spiritual nature clear. This nature ties in to the physical-versus-spiritual theme of the entire sermon.
The future that is described here is not later today or just a few days from now. The present situation in life must completely change. That change begins when Jesus returns and sets up his kingdom.
The Poor
As mentioned above, each Beatitude consists of a group in a present physical situation and their related future spiritual situation. In some Beatitudes, it's easier to see this relation; here it is less so. Luke's anti-Beatitudes help us understand the relation, when he says the rich have received their "comfort" by way of their physical wealth.Blessed by the Spirit are the poor, because theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 5:3)
In a sense, the poor are blessed in the present. They probably don't feel blessed but their lack of wealth keeps them from the deceptions of wealth that the Bible speaks of in many places.
People in this situation are presently physically poor, often not having a place to live and call their own or knowing where their next meal is coming from. In the future Kingdom of Heaven, they will have the comfort of spiritual wealth.
This blessing is not specified in future tense as most other Beatitudes are. It is in the present continuing tense (shown as 'is'). We know there is a present spiritual kingdom and that there is a coming physical kingdom and a final kingdom that will come after that. Therefore we understand this tense to mean the blessing begins in the present but is incomplete. In the future it will be complete. We have some spiritual wealth now but the fullness of it will come later.
The Mourners
This is a Beatitude where the relationship is easy to see. The present physical mourning will be replaced by comfort.Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. (Matthew 5:4)
We must ask the question, why are they mourning? There are many reasons to mourn, from death of a loved one to the condition of society. Jeremiah's Lamentations were his mourning, not just for the loss of Jerusalem, but for the loss of lives, the lost opportunities, the wasted effort to bring them to repentance, and more.
Living in this world, we should also see reasons to mourn for those who perish without receiving the gospel, for those who are stubbornly blind, for how a society that has turned from God suffers for that, and more.
The Meek
The word "meek" here means "humble, lowly, mild, or gentle." In short, they are content with what they have and do not have out-sized aspirations. In the future, they will receive everything in the earth.Blessed are they who are meek, for they will inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5)
This is an interesting Beatitude. Unlike many of the others, where the person will receive what he desires or lacks, in this one the person will receive what he did not desire.
Those Who Hunger and Thirst
This Beatitude is not about physical hunger and thirst. It is about having a spiritual hunger and thirst, while in a physical body and in this world. As such, it is a hunger and thirst that cannot be satisfied in the present. Paul talked about this situation.Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. (Matthew 5:6)
Paul hungers and thirsts to live a righteous life but finds himself in a body that is constantly at war with those desires.It was not the good that I wanted that I did, but the evil that I did not want to do, that I did. (Romans 7:19)
This Beatitude is not just about a hunger for righteousness within ourselves. It includes a hunger to live in a righteous society - to be among other people who are righteous. Instead we find ourselves among a people who do evil and like it that way. The speaker in Habakkuk describes that experience.
This Beatitude implies that this is how physical life is and will be. It also prophesies a future when this hunger and thirst for the spiritual will be satisfied. This will be a time when we are able to live that righteous life and only be among others who also live that life.Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. (Habakkuk 1:3)
The Merciful
The foundational idea here is that of a cascade of mercy. It is seen in the Bible in many places in two forms. In one, it is "you should show mercy to others because God's mercy has been shown to you." In the other, it is, as it is here, "if you show mercy to others, God's mercy will be shown to you."Blessed are they who show mercy, for mercies will be upon them. (Matthew 5:7)
In this context, the reference is to us, as physical people, showing mercy in the present with a future payback of spiritual mercy being shown to us - something we badly need.
Mercy is more than we usually think though. It isn't only showed to people who have wronged you. It is helping others who need the help that you are able to give.
Jesus is not the cause of the problem, yet the man asks for Jesus' mercy because he believes Jesus can help.And he said to him, "My lord, have mercy on me, my son has a lunatic demon and has become ill, for he has fallen many times into fire and many times into water." (Matthew 17:15)
The Pure in HeartAnd, behold, two blind men were sitting on the side of the road and when they heard that Yeshua was passing by, they gave a cry, and they were saying, "Have mercy on us my Lord, son of David." (Matthew 20:30)
Of all the Beatitudes, this is probably the hardest to see the connection between the present situation and the future one. Being pure is having the image of God, who is pure, within us. Therefore, the future reward we receive is to actually see all the purity that is God and to see that within us.Blessed are those who are pure in their hearts, for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8)
What does it mean to be pure in heart and how is that different from being righteous? A person is given a new heart, when he turns to God. This heart is pure like God is pure. It loves like God loves, desires to please God and does not desire evil. A person's human nature is not like that, even if his heart is. The result is that he desires to live a righteous life but is not always able to do so.
This Beatitude is similar to the one where people hunger and thirst for righteousness. The world we live in makes it difficult for us to remain pure in our hearts.
The Peacemakers
Our God is peaceful. Therefore his children, whom he has taught in his ways, are also peaceful. By making peace in the present, we show that we are his children.Blessed are they who make peace, for they will be called the children of God. (Matthew 5:9)
Peace depends on more than one person. In this world, therefore, peace can be difficult to achieve. Sometimes it can only be achieved by war; sometimes it can only be achieved by refusing to engage. The Bible shows God choosing both, as appropriate.
Once again, the world does not make it easy to be a peacemaker.And if it is possible, according to what is within you, make peace with every person. (Romans 12:18)
The Persecuted
This Beatitude seems to offer the same reward that is offered to the poor. That isn't the case though.Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the cause of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 5:10)
A persecuted person is one who isn't wanted where he is because of who he is. He is mistreated by others who are not like him.
The poor were offered the wealth of the Kingdom. Here we see the persecuted being offered a future place where they belong. A place where they are free from persecution and even free from the fear of persecution.
This beatitude includes a conditional clause. The blessing will only be received if you are being persecuted because you have acted "for the cause of righteousness." The blessing will not be yours if:
- You are not living a righteous life
- You are living according to your own definition of righteousness
This is not a Beatitude. It is different from the other Beatitudes in that it doesn't specify a specific group or a specific blessing. It says "you" instead and only says the reward will be great.Blessed are you whenever they revile you and persecute you and they say every evil word against you for my sake, in falsehood. 12 Then rejoice and triumph, because your reward is great in Heaven, for just so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12)
It starts the same as the others, "Blessed are …" and repeats "persecute" from the previous Beatitude. So, it is definitely connected to the Beatitudes and not something separate.
It is a summary of the previous Beatitudes but it has been tuned for the disciples to hear. "The way the world treats you in the present may cause poverty, mourning, etc. but don't worry, there is a great reward in the future. Do not see this as a sign that I am not with you. They did the same things to the messengers God chose and sent to correct them."
This is the Beatitude that is ignored by those who twist the scripture as discussed at the start. It is plain that the topic is literal persecution and it relates that to the persecution of the prophets, which we know was physical.
The previous Beatitude had the condition "for the cause of righteousness" that would not have troubled the listener. This summary also has conditions, two of them. The second one is similar, "in falsehood". The meaning is, if they say evil about you and they are speaking the truth, then that's on you.
There is an important difference in the first condition, though. The clause "for my sake" links Jesus into the condition. With that, he is saying, "If you are mistreated because you are doing my work, you are earning a reward in Heaven."
This is a claim to godhood - "My work is God's work and he will reward you". No man or prophet could ever claim that.
Beatitude Summary
Combining these together, the message we see is that these situations are a normal aspect of the physical world. Being poor, in mourning, or the other situations are part of the life we live now. Don't worry about these. There is a future world where you will be rich, comforted, etc.
What the Beatitudes are Not
The Beatitudes are not saying you need to be in all of these groups to receive all of these blessings, it isn't even saying that you need to be in at least one of these groups.
The message is not like that at all. It is only saying that the troubles of the present physical world may come, but that we should hold on for the blessings of the future spiritual world.
The Beatitudes are not steps to achieving something. It isn't necessary to first be poor and then be a mourner and follow that sequence to become something. That simply isn't the point Jesus is making.
To treat them like that is to rip them out of their context and twist them by adding to what the Bible says. To force "those who mourn" into being a reference to "mourning our spiritual poverty" could only make Satan smile. It also rings of Calvinist Total Depravity.
Salt and Light
More to come, hopefully soon.