1708 | Matthew 5:3
The Beatitudes
5:3-12pp — Lk 6:20-23
He said :
3 “ Blessed are the poor in spirit , for theirs is the kingdom of heaven . i
4 Blessed are those who mourn , for they will be comforted . j
5 Blessed are the meek , for they will inherit the earth . k
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness , for they will be filled . l
7 Blessed are the merciful , for they will be shown mercy .
8 Blessed are the pure in heart , m for they will see God . n 9 Blessed are the peacemakers , for they will be called children of God . o 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness , p for theirs is the kingdom of heaven .
5:3 i ver 10 , 19 ; Mt 25:34
5:4 j Isa 61:2 , 3 ; Rev 7:17
5:5 k Ps 37:11 ; Ro 4:13 5:6 l Isa 55:1 , 2
5:8 m Ps 24:3 , 4 n Heb 12:14 ; Rev 22:4
5:9 o ver 44 , 45 ; Ro 8:14
5:10 p 1Pe 3:14 5:11 q 1Pe 4:14
5:12 r Ac 5:41 ; 1Pe 4:13 , 16 s Mt 23:31 , 37 ;
Ac 7:52 ; 1Th 2:15
5:13 t Mk 9:50 ; Lk 14:34 , 35
5:14 u Jn 8:12 5:15 v Mk 4:21 ; Lk 8:16 5:16 w Mt 9:8 5:17 x Ro 3:31 5:18 y Lk 16:17 5:19 z Jas 2:10
11 “ Blessed are you when peo ple in sult you , q per se cute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you be cause of me . 12 Re joice and be glad , r be cause great is your re ward in heaven , for in the same way they per se cuted the proph ets who were be fore you . s
Salt and Light
13 “ You are the salt of the earth . But if the salt loses its salt i ness , how can it be made salty again ? It is no lon ger good for any thing , ex cept to be thrown out and tram pled un der foot . t
14 “ You are the light of the world . u A town built on a hill can not be hid den . 15 Neither do peo ple light a lamp and put it un der a bowl . In stead they put it on its stand , and it gives light to ev ery one in the house . v 16 In the same way , let your light shine be fore oth ers , that they may see your good deeds and glo rify w your Fa ther in heaven .
The Fulfillment of the Law
17 “ Do not think that I have come to abol ish the Law or the Proph ets ; I have not come to abol ish them but to ful fill them . x 18 For truly I tell you , un til heaven and earth dis ap pear , not the small est let ter , not the least stroke of a pen , will by any means dis ap pear from the Law until everything is accomplished . y
19 There fore any one who sets aside one of the least of these com mands z and teaches oth ers ac cord ingly will be called least in the king dom
5:3 – 12 These kingdom blessings ( beatitudes ) disclose God ’ s gracious favor toward his followers for traits that are opposite of what usually garners acclaim and popularity . The rewards for this countercultural behavior include present membership in “ the kingdom of heaven ” ( vv . 3,10 ) and future recompense for this life ’ s lack of glamour ( vv . 4 – 9,11 – 12 ). 5:3 poor . In the OT “ poor ” often refers to the economically destitute among God ’ s people ( cf . Luke 6:20 ) who trusted in God as their only hope ( cf . Luke 6:22 ). 5:4 those who mourn . Over both personal and corporate sins ( see Ezra 9:1 – 4 ). 5:5 the meek . . . will inherit the earth . Alludes to Ps 37:11 . In the OT faithful Israelites would occupy the land of Israel in peace and prosperity , but in the NT Jesus ’ humble followers encompass the entire globe and receive spiritual blessings . 5:6 hunger and thirst for righteousness . Have a deep longing for both personal holiness and justice for the oppressed . 5:8 heart . The center of one ’ s being , including mind , will , and emotions . see God . Experience his presence in this life and know him intimately in the life to come .
5:9 peacemakers . Those who promote peace , as far as it depends on them ( Rom 12:18 ). In so doing they reflect the character of their heavenly Father and so are called “ children of God ” ( see Jas 3:17 – 18 ). 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted . Righteous living is often offensive to others ( v . 11 ). Persecution provides an opportunity for believers to prove their fitness for the kingdom ( Heb 12:4 – 11 ). 5:13 – 16 salt . . . light . The point of both metaphors is that Jesus ’ followers should positively impact the world . While salt was used for various purposes in Jesus ’ day , its preservative power is probably the point of the comparison here . After the countercultural beatitudes , the salt and light sayings remind Jesus ’ followers not to isolate themselves from other people but to model discipleship in the midst of a fallen world . 5:14 light . Illuminates one ’ s way . 5:16 This verse does not contradict 6:1 – 4 because the point here of others seeing “ your good deeds ” is that they “ glorify your Father in heaven ,” not that they praise you . Here Jesus ’ main point is about the result of one ’ s actions ; in 6:1 – 4 it is more about one ’ s purpose .
5:17 – 20 Jesus ’ teaching is radical enough that he has to assure his Jewish audience that he has “ not . . . come to abolish the Law or the Prophets ” ( v . 17 ) — the two major , earliest divisions of their Scriptures , standing for their whole Bible . But neither is he preserving all of its principles unchanged ; he has come “ to fulfill them ” ( v . 17 ). 5:17 fulfill . As in Matthew ’ s earlier use of prophecies , “ fulfill ” means to complete an intended purpose . It can refer to articulating the final and complete intention of a commandment ( Gal 5:14 ), the typological recurrence of a significant pattern of God ’ s actions ( Jas 2:23 ), or the occurrence of something previously promised ( Acts 7:17 ). 5:18 Some regulations , like those involving animal sacrifices , were done away with by Christ ’ s death precisely because , as the oncefor-all sacrifice for sinners ( cf . Heb 8 – 10 ), he accomplished everything to which these laws had pointed forward . All OT texts , therefore , must be filtered through the grid of NT teaching to see how , if at all , their laws or principles have changed . But the OT remains binding for Christians once it is understood how each part of it is fulfilled in Christ .