Let’s Go For Those Beatitudes
“And seeing the multitudes, he went up (ascended) into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,” Matthew 5:1-2 KJ
On our first trip to Israel, we had a wonderful, full of historical facts, guide. He was very, very intelligent. He was not a ‘Christian. I know this for a fact, because someone in our group asked him if he was a ‘Christian. He was very quick to say, NO. And, he was rather offended at the question. When we were at the Mount of Beatitudes, our guide said something very interesting. He said that Jesus would have sat at the base of the hill, to speak to the multitudes. He said it was because the mount was like a natural amphitheatre, and the people would have heard Him better. Back then, I thought the comment was extremely possible. I was thinking with my head. Today, I would beg to differ with our guide. My differing opinion is not based on any fact. But, my heart says to me, “that’s not right”. The Word says that He “went up into a mountain”. I can almost picture it in my mind and my heart. Jesus walked up and either stood or sat, and when the people saw this they probably sat and gazed upon Him, to listen. I think Jesus let them know that He was ready to speak to them. I believe that Jesus was perfectly capable of making Himself heard, by all who had come.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven“. Matthew 5:3
Happy, is a word used frequently for the word ‘blessed’ in the beatitudes. Blessed, in this case, means so much more. The ‘Greek word for blessed is ” ‘Makarios. It means possessing the characteristic of deity, ‘makariotes. It indicates the state of the believer in Christ (Matthew 5:3-11: Blessed…for my sake; Luke 6:20-22, Blessed…for the Son of man’s sake)…’Makarios differs from happy, because happy is the person who has good luck. A blessed person is one whom God makes fully satisfied, not because of favorable circumstances, but because He indwells the believer through Christ. To be ‘Makarios, blessed, is equivalent to having God’s kingdom within ones heart.” Quote from The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible
The Word is so filled with mystery, yet it is so beautiful. What a beautiful thought, “to be blessed is the equivalent to having God’s kingdom within our hearts”.
Blessed are the “poor in spirit“. To be poor in spirit is to be helpless (as if we are in need and have nothing at all), in need of being lifted up within that invisible part of us we call our spirit. It is more than just our broken hearts at the moment we gave our lives to Christ. It is to be in constant need of the kingdom of heaven. Happiness is a great emotion that we can feel because of good circumstances, or because we have our families that we love so dearly. I am so very happy that my husband is retired and he is getting to play golf (often), like he has always wanted to. I was so very happy when Jenna, Avery and Selam (my Grand-babes) accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I even believe that I feel the happiness in my heart. But to be ‘Makarios, is a satisfaction that I WANT. And hey, what a wonderful gift to receive for BEING “poor in spirit”…the Kingdom of Heaven.
The ‘Greek word for kingdom is ” ‘Basilieia. Its essential meaning is that spiritually the kingdom of God is within the human heart, and also denotes the everlasting (eternal) kingdom which God would set up and give to Christ.” The ‘Greek word for heaven is ” ‘Ouranos. It means in a physical sense, the over-arching, all-embracing heaven beneath which is the earth and all that is therein, and it means: God’s dwelling or resting place.” Quote from The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible
Key #1 to spiritual blessedness is realizing our spiritual helplessness. The gift we receive is the kingdom of heaven.
In your own words, using the study helps for today, write down verse 3 of Matthew chapter 5.
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Tomorrow, we will talk about why the Beatitudes ‘are most definately’ attainable for us. They are within our grasp. And, we will move on to verse 4.
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