October 2008 - Vol. 23

Commentary on the beatitudes, by Steve Clark, continued
 

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Righteousness here probably means the righteousness that Jesus is going to teach about in the course of the Sermon on the Mount. Those who want to see this kind of righteousness in their own lives, and in the lives of others will be satisfied.

"Satisfied" is a word that occurs in other places in scripture. It commonly turns up in places where God feeds people, for example, in the account of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes: "And they all ate and were satisfied" (Matt. 14:20). As it was with loaves and fishes, says the beatitude, so will it be with righteousness. Those who truly seek it will be granted it in full measure.

Looking at the first four beatitudes, we see that they all refer to people who are deprived in some way: the poor, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst. All these are people who are in some way in need.

However, this has mainly to do with a certain attitude, a frame of mind they adopt voluntarily, not just a condition they have fallen into. It is an attitude of reliance on God. The poor, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst — all are people who don't have what they want and who look to God to provide it for them: material resources, comfort and strength, power, righteousness.

These first four beatitudes say that those who look to God for these things will be provided for. They will be given the kingdom of heaven, they will be given comfort and strength (perhaps of the Holy Spirit), they will be given the land (the inheritance that God has for them), they will be satisfied with the righteousness they hunger and thirst for.

Thus the first four beatitudes deal primarily with how the disciples of Jesus, living in the hope of the kingdom of heaven, rely on the Lord for their needs. The second four, as we will now see in more detail, deal with how the disciples are to relate to others in light of this reliance on God.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Another translation of this is, blessed are the gracious, for they shall obtain grace, or favor. Those who are gracious, in the scriptural use of the term, are those who are generous, those who pardon, those who do favors for people.

In this case, the most apt meaning is 'generous'. The Sermon on the Mount is very concerned about almsgiving, and in the original Greek the word for almsgiving is one of the words that can be translated 'generosity'. Those who freely give what they have to other people, not because it is an obligation but because they are the kind of people who want to give freely, shall themselves be treated with generosity, probably by God.

Once we understand this meaning for the word merciful, that is, generous, we can see the correspondence between that and being poor in spirit. Those who lack resources look to God. God gives to them freely, which allows them to be generous; then, because of their generosity, they receive freely.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
The term 'heart' probably means 'intention'. The heart is the seat of the deepest thought and decision. 'Pure' is a term that means that there is nothing that is incompatible with standing in the presence of God. For instance, Psalm 24 says, "Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place?" In other words, who shall go to the temple and gain God's presence? "He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false, and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord, and vindication from the God of his salvation" (verses 3-5).

The beatitude then becomes, blessed are those who do not do the things that are incompatible with going to the temple and worshiping God, whose lives are clean; they shall see God. They will be able to come into God's presence, stand before him, see him.

Compare that with the second beatitude — blessed are those who mourn, or repent, for they shall be comforted, or strengthened. If they are repentant, God will strengthen them and enable them to be pure in heart. And if they are pure, then they can stand before God.