Introduction

Throughout the ages, many profound statements have been made. From Euripides and Heraclitus in Ancient Greece, to Spurgeon’s plethora of published sermons, to George Washington’s Farewell Address, to Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, to Susan B. Anthony’s speeches, to FDR’s War Message, to Martin Luther King’s, I Have a Dream Speech/Sermon, to President Obama’s inaugural speech in 2008, and to Maya Angelou’s poetry. Some say these words should be chiseled, in toto, in stone. Let’s be honest, we cannot remember the details of the Gettysburg Address and can’t remember what “four score” means. As great as the “I Have a Dream Speech is”, many only remember the celebratory ending anaphora. Even if chiseled in stone, words on monuments in cities around the globe and in Washington, D.C., many people have forgotten the when, the who, and the context. (This is true of the spirituals of our ancestors. This is another sermon or lecture for another day.)

Jesus’ Words are not chiseled in stone. Rather, they are Words sown into the fabric of culture, as Christianity spread from the Middle East, to Africa, then to Europe, then to North America, then to Latin America, and to India and to Asia. Many times, His Words were, hypocritically, not obeyed, but they were recited constantly.

Think about this. How is it that a carpenter’s son, this poor Jew from the nowhere town of Nazareth, who lived more than 2,000 years ago and who lived on earth fewer years than what is required to be president of the United States, made such an impact with His Words. I don’t care how little you have studied the Bible or how little you have attended church services; you have likely heard Jesus teaching from the Sermon on the Mount.

Many theologians think the Sermon on the Mount is the essence of Christian life and the Beatitudes are the essence of the Sermon on the Mount. The Beatitudes is a concatenation of the phrase “The Blessed Attitudes.”  The Beatitudes compliment the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments tell us how to behave; the Beatitudes describes the proper attitudes that Christians should have as they behave properly.

The Beatitudes show a contrast between the values of the world and the values that Christians should have. What seems to be a disadvantage according to the world’s calculation, is really an advantage.  What Jesus told the original audience seemed like a paradox to them. If the great contextual contrast between what the world believed and what Jesus was teaching in the Sermon on the Mount is disregarded through time and translations from the original language, then the impact to the original listeners is lost. What Jesus was teaching was totally radical to them. Let’s look at the first three and unpack them. While we always lead with the King James Version of 1611, I will give you my own “dynamic equivalent” translation of the passages.

Exposition

1. The Blessing Of Spiritual Poverty.

(Even Though You Think You Are Not Spiritual Enough, You Have Already Entered The Kingdom, Because You Want To Get Closer To Me.)

(An Attitude Of Constant Improvement.)

(The Common People Thought They Were Not Spiritual Enough, When Compared To The Hypocritical Public Acts Of The Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, And Priests.)

(By The Mere Fact That You Feel This Way, Proves You Are Spiritually Healthy.)

2. The Blessings Of A Broken Heart.

(Even Though Your Heart Is Broken And You Are Sad, You Are Still Blessed, Because God Will Give You Comfort.)

(Jesus Is a Mighty Counselor.)

(A Little Talk With Jesus Will Make It Right.)

3. The Blessing Of A Humble Spirit.

(Even Though You Think You Are At A Disadvantage Because You Are Meek And Humble And Not Overly Aggressive, You Will Still Get What God Predestined For You.)

(Humility And Meekness Imply Self-Control.)

(God Has A Plan For Your Life, And No One Can Alter It But You.)

Closing Thoughts

No matter what we are going through, we must remember we are still blessed, because God has not abandoned us.

I will close with the words of a familiar gospel hymn:

“The Lord is blessing me right now,

Oh, right now!

The Lord is blessing me right now,

Oh, right now!

He woke me up this morning,

And started me on my way;

The Lord is blessing me right now!”

End Notes

The Words of Jesus have permeated our language. Not only English but many of the other world languages. “My two cents worth” refers to the widow’s mite in Mark 12:41-44 and in Luke 21:1-4. When President Lincoln said, “A nation divided against itself cannot stand,” he was paraphrasing Jesus as recorded in Matthew 12:25 and in Mark 3:25. Most states have Good Samaritan laws. The list goes on. It is ironic that our language is embedded with phrases from the Bible, but yet we fall short on a personal and a systemic level to live up to the requirements. There is a difference between Christian culture and Christian commitment. Through it all, we are still blessed.

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