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

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

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

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

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

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

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

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

– Matthew 5:3-12

 

The word blessed could be literally translated as “happy.”  However, it can be quite misleading to translate it that way.  Happiness is a subjective state, whereas Jesus is making an objective conclusion.  Blessed is a fact, not a feeling.  Jesus is not talking about what people feel like.  He is talking about what they are.

When God blesses a person, it means that He is approving of that person. Being blessed is being “approved by God.”  One commentator said, “those who are blessed will generally be profoundly happy, but blessedness cannot be reduced to happiness.”

[1]  We have to ask ourselves, what is more important to pursue:  the approval of God or the approval of man?

If God’s blessing speaks more to us than the approval of loved ones (no matter how much we care about them), or of the approval of colleagues (no matter how influential they might be), then the beatitudes will speak to us very deeply and personally.  I believe the pursuit of God is ‘A Better Pursuit.’

  • In Jesus’ day, people had largely strayed away from the things that God blesses and moved on to other pursuits.
  • In our day, the pursuit of God is rarely spoken of even in a church context.  Too often even churches are consumed with the pursuit of self instead of the pursuit of God.

Jesus is calling Christians back to the whole-hearted pursuit of God: a better pursuit.  The Beatitudes exemplify the passionate disciple.

[1] Carson, DA “Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount” pg 16

 

—

Mark Stafford

Senior Pastor