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The Beatitudes
1. The Beatitudes
2. Blessed are ...
3. Beatitudes summary
Here is a quick summary of the Beatitudes. Each starts with "
Blessed are".
1. poor in spirit - theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
2. they that mourn - shall be comforted.
3. meek - shall inherit the earth
4. those that hunger and thirst for righteousness - shall be satisfied
5. merciful - shall obtain mercy
6. pure in heart - shall see God
7. peacemakers - shall be called children of God
8. persecuted for righteousness sake - theirs is the kingdom of heaven
...reviled... (follow-on, not same format as previous eight)
To
not be
negative, most series of
ARMS (Attractive Refrigerator Magnet Sermons) stop at number 6 or 7. The Sermon on the Mount then starts with "
salt of the earth" and ends with the "
house built on sand".
4. Application
For each Beatitude, one must decide if that Beatitude is prescriptive (for the Christian life), descriptive and/or predictive.
One should not force-fit a Beatitude into a prescriptive meaning if it does not really fit.
A difficult word to fit is "
blessed" which, in Greek, means "
happy", "
content", and/or "
satisfied". Another Greek word, not used here, means "
fortunate" as in a "
good word" said and/or some "
benefit received". See
Matthew 5: A eulogy of some blessed words on being blissfully happy.
5. Beatitudes in Luke: not exactly the same as in Matthew
Luke has an abbreviated form of the Beatitudes that are interesting.
There are only three (and the general persecution with "blessed" which is missing in Matthew 5).
One is a shortened form of the first beatitude, leaving out "in spirit".
One is a shortened form of the third beatitude, leaving out "after righteousness".
One has different words and it is not clear if it is a changed one, a new one, etc.
These are found in Luke 6.
6. Luke 6:19-20
Luke 6:19 And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all. [kjv]
6:20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. [kjv]
In Matthew the saying appear to be a private briefing to his disciples (more than twelve at this point). It is not as clear here in Luke.
For comparison, here is Matthew, where "
thirst" is added and "
after righteousness" is added, as compared to Luke (below).
7. Luke 6:19
KJV: And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.
Greek: και πας ο οχλος εζητει εζητουν απτεσθαι αυτου οτι δυναμις παρ αυτου εξηρχετο και ιατο παντας
8. Luke 6:20
KJV: And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
Greek: και αυτος επαρας τους οφθαλμους αυτου εις τους μαθητας αυτου ελεγεν μακαριοι οι πτωχοι οτι υμετερα εστιν η βασιλεια του θεου
9. Matthew and Luke
Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. [kjv]
Luke 6:21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. [kjv]
μακαριοι οι πεινωντες νυν οτι χορτασθησεσθε μακαριοι οι κλαιοντες νυν οτι γελασετε [gnt]
Luke also says "
you", as to those being addressed, which is very specific, while Matthew says "
they", which could be anyone at any time, and thus more general.
10. Matthew 5:6
KJV: Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Greek: μακαριοι οι πεινωντες και διψωντες την δικαιοσυνην οτι αυτοι χορτασθησονται
11. Revenge
The second Beatitude in Matthew appears to have a connotation with the "
avenger of blood" avenging those who had done evil, which would include the Roman government and authorities.
Might this have been changed to avoid antagonizing the Romans?
12. Hate
The next Beatitude in Luke has to do with persecution, etc., and relates to one in Matthew that does not have the word "
blessed". Here it is.
13. Luke 6:22-23
Luke 6:22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. [kjv]
6:23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. [kjv]
In the version of the Beatitudes found in Luke, true and false teachers are mentioned. It appears that the time will come, if it has not already, that "
standing up" for Jesus will get you into big trouble.
For a song written about standing up for Jesus, see the following.
Song: Stand up stand up for Jesus.
14. Luke 6:22
KJV: Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.
Greek: μακαριοι εστε οταν μισησωσιν υμας οι ανθρωποι και οταν αφορισωσιν υμας και ονειδισωσιν και εκβαλωσιν το ονομα υμων ως πονηρον ενεκα του υιου του ανθρωπου
Latin: beati eritis cum vos oderint homines et cum separaverint vos et exprobraverint et eiecerint nomen vestrum tamquam malum propter Filium hominis
Wessex: Eadige beo ge þanne eow men hatiað & ehtað. & on-huscað. & awurped eowre namen swa swa yfel for mannes sune.
Wycliffe: Ye schulen be blessid, whanne men schulen hate you, and departe you awei, and putte schenschip to you, and cast out youre name as yuel, for mannus sone.
Gothic: audagai sijuth, than fijand izwis mans jah afskaidand izwis jah idweitjand jah uswairpand namin izwaramma swe ubilamma in sunaus mans;
Luther: Selig seid ihr, so euch die Menschen hassen und euch absondern und schelten euch und verwerfen euren Namen als einen boshaftigen um des Menschensohns willen.
15. Luke 6:23
KJV: Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.
Greek: χαιρετε χαρητε εν εκεινη τη ημερα και σκιρτησατε ιδου γαρ ο μισθος υμων πολυς εν τω ουρανω κατα ταυτα τα αυτα γαρ εποιουν τοις προφηταις οι πατερες αυτων
16. Luke 6:24-26
Luke 6:24 But woe unto you that are rich ! for ye have received your consolation. [kjv]
6:25 Woe unto you that are full ! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now ! for ye shall mourn and weep. [kjv]
6:26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets. [kjv]
Skipping the verses that parallel previous verses on riches and hunger, we get to the parallel verses of the above.
Do these verses say (or imply) that if the world praises you, then you are a "
false prophet", telling the world what the world wants to hear?
Discussion question: Is a phrase that Christians need to "
outlove the world" a phrase that would be said by a "
true prophet" or a "
false prophet"? Explain. You might consider the following in your explanation.
Does the world set a high bar or a low bar with respect to "love"?
17. Luke 6:24
KJV: But woe unto you that are rich ! for ye have received your consolation.
Greek: πλην ουαι υμιν τοις πλουσιοις οτι απεχετε την παρακλησιν υμων
18. Luke 6:25
KJV: Woe unto you that are full ! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now ! for ye shall mourn and weep.
Greek: ουαι υμιν οι εμπεπλησμενοι νυν οτι πεινασετε ουαι υμιν οι γελωντες νυν οτι πενθησετε και κλαυσετε
19. Luke 6:26
KJV: Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
Greek: ουαι υμιν οταν καλως υμας ειπωσιν παντες οι ανθρωποι κατα ταυτα τα αυτα γαρ εποιουν τοις ψευδοπροφηταις οι πατερες αυτων
20. Summary
So there appear to be three Beatitudes in Luke, which are similar to some in Matthew, but not as many, and one that appears to be different or new.
21. Historical interpretation of church history
1 Churches
2 Parables
3 Beatitudes
4 Time periods
| Interpretations |
| ☐ Literal |
☐ Christian living |
| ☐ Figurative |
☐ Heresies over time |
| ☐ Historical |
☐ Prophetic details |
|
Note that the time of Roman persecutions was that of the universal church as a collection of small "mustard seeds" while the time of Roman acceptance was that of the universal church as "tree with birds making a home in the branches".
|
22. End of page
Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: … [kjv]
5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: … [kjv]
5:5 Blessed are the meek: … [kjv]
5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: … [kjv]
5:7 Blessed are the merciful: … [kjv]
5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: … [kjv]
5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: … [kjv]
5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted … [kjv]
5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall … [kjv]
