The Issue with the Beatitudes
Jesus sits on a mountain and delivers the single most well-known and important sermon in history. Reenacting the scene of Moses giving the law to the people of Israel from Sinai, Jesus lays out a New Covenant law: the Beatitudes.
I loved this scene from The Chosen as it depicts Jesus’ sermon prep for this particular moment in His ministry. I resonate with the depiction; there’s beauty in crafting a sermon that works in tandem with the Spirit, as well as using your own context and creativity to lay it out brilliantly.
He preaches daring statements like:
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.”
Or another daring statement like:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
At times, it can be difficult to really grasp the ideas and the implications that Jesus set in His speech. You may be tempted to read and interpret the sermon on the mount through a Pauline lens, noting that “Jesus has already done it all for us, so all we must do is believe in Him, and His grace is sufficient.”
Scott McKnight notes,
“What many such readings of the Sermon really want is Paul, and since they can’t find Paul in the Sermon, they reinterpret the Sermon and give us Paul instead.”
So, how should you read and apply the Beatitudes to your life? How can you be faithful to understand and live the Beatitudes how Jesus would have wanted you to?
The major lens through which you must read the Beatitudes is the reality of the Kingdom.
Scholars have noted that there is a reality of “the Kingdom now, and the Kingdom not yet.” Jesus preached that the Kingdom of God was at hand, yet had to face the realities of the fullness of the world. But as followers of Jesus, we’re looking to the coming Kingdom by living in it now.
Dallas Willard writes,
“Spiritual formation in Christlikeness during our lives here on earth is a constant movement toward this eternal appointment God placed upon each of us…”
In the Sermon, Jesus lets the listeners know this is how the Jesus people live, both now and in the coming Kingdom. Those uncomfortable with the Beatitudes will certainly be uncomfortable in the Kingdom of Heaven because that is how all will live.
What does this mean for you? It means that the sermon found in Matthew 5 should be in the front of your mind constantly. The sermon should not be neglected for a sermon series on Sunday, nor the occasional reading when it pops up in your reading plan.
The Beatitudes lay out the vision of what the Jesus people will look like. It’s a daring challenge to every listener and reader to partake in the Kingdom, even if it’s not manifested in it’s fullness now.
