These beatitiudes are not the goals or ideals to fulfill the requirements of the law so one can have citizenship in the Kingdom of God. No, this is the Kingdom of God breaking through time and space into human history, coming down from heaven to earth in the person and work of Jesus Christ, who brings all of the promises and blessings of God with Him.
These beatitudes from the beginning of Jesus Sermon on the Mount are blessings,
they are promises spoken to his disciples, to you and me today as a present reality.
These words from Jesus are so radical to us today precisely because they are not commands, exhortations, or encouragements to "become blessed." Instead they are a statement of fact - they are a picture of a world turned upside down by the kingdom of God, where those who mourn are comforted rather than abandoned or pitied, where those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are satisfied - not ignored or shouted down, where the meek inherit the earth instead of being ground into dust, where the poor in spirit are blessed simply because they know Jesus is their only hope.
For He is the One in whom all of God's blessings are given and all of God's promises come true.
He is the one who became meek and lowly and poor in spirit for us, He is the one who mourned over sin,
He is the one who was truly merciful and pure of heart, He is the one who hungered and thirsted for righteousness, He is the ultimate peacemaker who was persecuted in our place for righteousness sake.
1 comment:
Beautifully said.
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