(The Beatitudes)
3-26-24
Beatitudes and the SOTM
After a brief hiatus on writing on the SOTM I’m back at it. God has brought me full circle in teaching me of my own sinfulness and need for Him. The word that keeps coming to mind is Juxtaposition. I found a good article on the concept.
Juxtaposition means to place different things side by side as to compare them or contrast them or to create an interesting effect (© 2024 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated).
The bible is full of examples of juxtaposition and Jesus used it multiple times in His teachings:
Matthew 16:24-25 NIV1984
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.
Matthew 23:11-12 NIV1984
11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Jesus’ example showed that the Master became the servant; the Creator became the creation taking on flesh (fully God – fully man) (Phil. 2:5-11). God did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He was rich but became poor for our sakes:
2 Corinthians 8:9 NIV1984
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
Attitude of the Heart (The Beatitudes)
The Beatitudes are attitudes of the heart. They demonstrate the contrast (juxtaposition) between sinful pride and arrogance with godly humility and repentance. It is being lost and then found. It is moving from having favor with the world into being persecuted by the world for righteousness sake. It is moving from being under God’s wrath and then into God’s favor. The result: “theirs is the kingdom of heaven” and “great is your reward in heaven.”
Out of these attitudes come our actions.
“The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45 NIV1984)
What are the “Be” Attitudes:
1. Humility – a correct evaluation of who I am and my spiritual condition
2. Mourning – godly sorrow that leads to repentance – repentance for my sins and my spiritual condition asking God for forgiveness. Also, mourning the losses of life.
3. Meekness – builds on a correct evaluation of my spiritual condition and godly sorrow that leads to repentance. It is a surrender of my “self” so that God rules and reigns in my life. It is power under control – not my power, but God’s power working in me. It is a servant’s heart towards God. It is accepting and walking in God’s salvation in Christ Jesus.
4. Longing to know and be with God – hunger and thirst after righteousness or a right relationship with God. “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants [longs] for you, O God” (Psalm 42:1 NIV1984).
5. Mercy – Being merciful comes from a right relationship with the Father, seeing others through His eyes, wanting His will to be done. God’s desire is for none to perish giving all a chance to come to repentance and thus be saved. God postpones the Day of Judgment patiently giving the ungodly a chance to repent.
“By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men… 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:7, 9 NIV1984)
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31 NIV1984).
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:1-2 NIV1984).
“But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven…” (Matthew 5:44-45a NIV1984)
“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you… 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:27-28, 35-36 NIV1984)
6. Purity – pure in heart is the inner quality of who I really am with everything stripped away as I stand before a holy God (read Isaiah’s reaction to God’s presence in Isaiah 6). “Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place…10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:6, 10 NIV1984). “…For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34b).
7. Peacemaker- the attitude of desiring all to come to be at peace and reconciled to their creator. While Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross with His death, burial, and resurrection enabled there to be peace and reconciliation with God for our sins, there is still a spiritual war raging. Jesus did not come to bring peace to the earthly realm: it will be destroyed by fire! (2Peter 3:7). Jesus said His first coming was to destroy the works of the devil and to bring a sword to the earthly kingdoms of which Satan is currently the ruler. God is patiently putting off the Day of Judgment giving all the chance to be reconciled to Himself through Christ Jesus and to have peace with God. My task as a peacemaker is to “Get Jesus to people, and people to Jesus” (JD Farag). Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God!
“He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8 NIV1984).
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34 NIV1984)
8. Perseverance – a willingness to deny myself, take up my cross, and follow Jesus. I must love Jesus above all else – father, mother, sister, brother, son, or daughter (Matthew 10:36; Luke 14:26). I must be willing to deny myself, lay down this physical life, to be willing to die for righteousness sake (which is to take up my cross), and to speak the gospel of reconciliation between God and man through the Lord Jesus Christ. But remember, persecution will come as a result of following Jesus!
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12 NIV1984).
Prayer
Father, thank you for the passage of scripture that describes the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ – “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” Thank you also for the passage which states “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…” In these two verses you have shown the juxtaposition of your “foolishness” being wiser than the “wisdom” of the world. Thank you for the Beatitudes which show me the attitudes to cultivate so that I can walk in a manner pleasing to you that I might attain the blessing of becoming a part of the kingdom of heaven. Thank you that you have shown me the way of repentance, grieving for my sins, and turning to you accepting your free gift of salvation through the cross of Christ Jesus. In all these things I am eternally grateful that you have opened up the way to have a personal relationship with you. Thank you for loving me and “demonstrating your love for me in this: while I was still a sinner, Christ died for me!” I pray that I may know you in a deeper way than I have known you before that my love for you would grow so that my heart would overflow with “springs of living water.” I pray that you would bring me to maturity in these attitudes of my heart that “my love for you would abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight that I would be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Christ Jesus – to the glory and praise of God.” Lord, to you be all blessing, glory, honor, and power forever! I pray in the name of Jesus my Lord and Savior.
Amen
(For anyone who may read this, here are the scripture references I used while praying: (1 Cor. 1:25), (Romans 1:16), (Rom. 5:8), (John 7:38), (Phil. 1: 9-11), (Rev. 5:13).
Who Do You Say I AM? 
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