Beatitudes

In the New Testament Gospel according to Matthew 5:3–12, Jesus ascends a nondescript mountain outside of Jerusalem, and from the top of the mountain delivers a sermon to a growing crowd. The Sermon on the Mount, as it is known, is a series of eight blessings given by Christ to his followers, known as the Beatitudes. The Gospel according to Luke (6:17, 20–26) features another account of the Beatitudes, a collection of four blessings and four corresponding cautions for Christ’s followers. Christians believe that through the Beatitudes, Jesus taught his followers the personal qualities and characteristics they should possess in order to enter the kingdom of heaven, and that Jesus’s words established him as the Messiah(the man that ancient prophets in the Old Testament predicted would one day become king of the Jews and proclaim God’s kingdom on Earth. The Beatitudes provided a foundation on which Christianity was built.

Brief History

Prophesies were made hundreds of years before the birth of Christ that said one day a Messiah (the king of the Jews) would arrive to establish the kingdom of God on Earth. Christians believe that when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in Matthew 3:16, he fulfilled these predictions.

At the time of Jesus, followers of the Jewish faith remained bound by the laws and traditions established in the Book of Exodus found in the Old Testament. Scholars think that Jewish law helped bring order and personal responsibility to a human race that had lacked such widespread order; however, the arrival of Jesus and his Sermon on the Mount represented a disruption to this order.

In Matthew 4:1–11, Jesus is tempted by the devil. It is after this encounter that Jesus begins to preach his message of repentance. In Matthew 4:12–17, he travels from Nazareth to the city of Capernaum to share his message. He continues through the land performing miraculous deeds, healing the sick, and generating controversy wherever he travels.

Matthew’s account of the teachings of Jesus is particularly significant for early Christians. Jesus, according to Matthew, was offering a "New Covenant" for God’s followers after they had broken God’s covenant with the Israelites. By appealing to such a widespread audience (as shown in Matthew’s Gospel), Jesus was drawing comparisons to Moses and sending shockwaves through the Jewish way of life.

Beyond Matthew’s account, very few detailed biblical or historical records exist about the chronology or location of Jesus’s famed sermon. Matthew’s account does not identify the mountainside on which Jesus spoke, except to note that it is outside of Jerusalem. There was no historical significance to the mount, nor were there any reported miraculous events associated with it. According to Matthew, "Jesus simply climbed up the slope, and in a quiet, even tone, delivered his sermon to the large audience he was attracting because of his ability to heal the sick." According to Luke, the sermon takes place after Jesus descends the mount and is addressed only to his closest disciples. In both accounts, the scene is humble, but the words of the sermon continue to inspire Christians in the twenty-first century.

Overview

In Christian interpretations of Matthew, Jesus uses the Beatitudes to remind his followers that they should develop spiritual grace and purity to enter the kingdom of heaven. He also indicates that believers who demonstrate these characteristics will also be happier while on Earth. The first beatitude, Matthew 5:3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," demonstrates the promise made by Jesus to his followers. The phrase "poor in spirit" refers to those who are humble before God, contrite, and repentant for their shortcomings—such qualities will give them peace on Earth and entry into heaven.

For the followers of Jesus, the Beatitudes outline the qualities a person must have to enter the kingdom of heaven. Those who "mourn," according to the second beatitude, Matthew 5:4, will be comforted by the Messiah. The third beatitude, Matthew 5:5, promises that the "meek" (the gentle in spirit) will inherit the earth. People who seek to be righteous, according to the fourth beatitude, Matthew 5:6, will also be satisfied.

Furthermore, the Beatitudes offer Jesus’s help to those who, of their own volition, want to be better people. According to the fifth beatitude, Matthew 5:7, those who are merciful to others shall themselves receive mercy. The sixth beatitude, Matthew 5:8, for example, says that the "pure of heart" (including those who want to be pure of heart) will be able to see God’s workings. People who aspire to create peace in the seventh beatitude, Matthew 5:9, will be called the "sons of God."

Finally, Jesus offers humanity a chance to be rewarded for its suffering. In Matthew 5:10, the eighth beatitude, those who are persecuted for their righteousness will be given the keys to heaven. So too, according to Matthew 5:11, will those who suffer in Jesus’s name.

Luke’s account of the Beatitudes is decidedly different from Matthew’s. Luke states that Jesus is in fact addressing his disciples, a group who are becoming religious leaders in their own right. The difference in audience is significant. Christ, in this account, is arguing that those who follow his teachings will be ensured entry into God's kingdom, and those who are not pious (specifically, those religious leaders who are not disciples of Jesus) will not.

Religious Impact

Although scholars today argue that Jesus’s famed Sermon on Mount should be seen as a complement to Jewish traditions established hundreds of years earlier, its teaching may also be perceived as divisive. In Matthew’s account of the sermon, Jesus (a rabbi himself) openly states that he, and not the Pharisees (the Jewish authorities), is the one who determines who is worthy of entering God’s kingdom; however, the Beatitudes are remarkably similar to other Jewish teachings. Promises that those who seek mercy or righteousness will be satisfied and comforted by God, for example, remain in modern Jewish teachings.

In Matthew’s account, Jesus—by suggesting that he is bringing with him a new covenant to replace the traditional covenant taught through the Old Testament—shakes Jewish tradition to its foundations. The Beatitudes call for a new perspective on life and the afterlife, with Christ as the face of that perspective. Matthew’s account of Jesus is echoed and further analyzed in the Gospels of Mark, Luke, and John.

Other religions seemingly embrace Christ’s call for peace and emulate his piousness. Islam, which came into being in the seventh century, accepts the idea that Christ was born of a virgin mother and that he was capable of miracles. Muslims, like Christians, also believe in the idea of one unified God. Many of Jesus’s teachings are in the Qur’an. For example, Surah 21:105 of the Qur’an states that "the righteous shall inherit the Earth," as would the pious. Furthermore, Buddhism also finds parallels between Jesus and Buddha. The Beatitudes, according to some Buddhist scholars, call upon followers to see Jesus as "the way" into heaven and God’s grace, a similar concept to the Dalai Lama’s call for Buddhists to emulate Buddha’s piousness. The question of Jesus’s divinity remains controversial among non-Christians; however, many of his teachings, evident in the Beatitudes, remain significant for non-Christians as well.

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