Friday, January 14, 2011
The Beatitudes, Part 10 of 50
TEXT: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matthew 5:3-12).
IDEA: The word “beatitude” contains more meaning than can be captured in a single word.
PURPOSE: To help listeners understand and appreciate the meaning of a “beatitude.”
When we say that a translation of the Bible is a “good” translation, what do we mean?
When scholars or missionaries translate the Bible into a modern language, what tensions do they have to deal with?
I. The Sermon on the Mount starts with eight or nine statements that have been called “beatitudes.”
Read the statements from Matthew 5:3-12 (above).
What do these statements have in common?
Each one begins with a person to whom Jesus gives the descriptive title “blessed,” and in each case a matching condition follows in the second line.
The exception to this arrangement is in the ninth or last beatitude. Is it significant that the beatitude which focuses on persecution has extra material in its center? The persecution goes along with being a blessed person.
Is that “beatitude” one of the beatitudes?
The first and eighth beatitudes promise the same reward: “Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” This is a literary device called an inclusio. What does this usually accomplish?
II. What is a beatitude?
The word “blessed” translates the Greek word “makarios.” Two words in both Hebrew and Greek are translated into English as “blessed.”
One of the Greek words is eulogia. It isn’t used in the beatitudes. This word is used in prayer when we ask God for some good to come to an individual or a community. “O Lord, bless our outreach effort” or “O Lord, bless Helen who is in the hospital.”
The other Greek word is makarios. “It doesn’t invoke a blessing. Instead it recognizes an existing state of blessing and good fortune” (Raymond Brown). Makarios affirms a state of spirituality already present. It isn’t asking for something; it is affirming a state that is already present.”
Makarios does not mean “Help people to do X so they will receive Y. The beatitudes are not an exhortation to behave in a certain way.
Instead they are more like, “Blessed is the happy state of Robert Smith because he will inherit the family business.” Robert is not working to inherit the business. Everyone knows how fortunate he is because his future in the business is assured. The special feature of makarios in the New Testament is that “it refers overwhelmingly to the religious joy which accrues to a person from his share in the Kingdom of God” (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament).
