Blessed Are You…,

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An examination of the Commands of Christ

Matthew 5:11-12

How blessed you are when people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of vicious lies about you because you follow Me! Rejoice, be glad, because your reward in heaven is great-they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.

Preface

This blog post is an examination of some of the very unique aspects of the profound exposition of the Beatitudes by Jesus of Nazareth. Our focal reference is Matthew 5:11-12, yet we will briefly outline each listed characteristic of righteousness that the Master communicated as essential requirements by those who are part of the Kingdom of Heaven.

What is perhaps not so visible in our study is the powerful public display and fulfillment of the historical arrival of Jesus not just as the Son of Man, but as the prophetic Prophet, High Priest, and King of Israel, and just how His implementation of the Kingdom of Heaven, blesses not just Israel, but all nations.

Jesus as the Prophet and King

Multitudes had heard Jesus’ message that the Kingdom was near. His message was confirmed by all of the many miracles that He performed throughout the regions of His travel. Those who were drawn to Him were curious and desired to find out for themselves if what they heard was in fact, a reality.

The Beatitudes or the Sermon on the Mound was a heavenly spiritual meal that the Master served to those who were present to receive this offering. I am reminded of the gathering of the Hebrew nation under the leadership of Moses, at the bottom of Mount Siani where God revealed Himself to His people making a covenant with them as His Nation. Deuteronomy 29

Now, Jesus has regathered the now oppressed, rejected, and exiled Nation of Israel under His leadership, thus implementing a far superior exodus than Moses that leads souls into the new promised land, the Kingdom of Heaven! The most essential question throughout His teaching on the precepts of the Kingdom of Heaven was, what was now, the spiritual requirements and blessings of those excluded from the presence of a Holy God.

To the attendees, it was common knowledge that God alone is the Holy and Blessed One for all eternity:

Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty for all that is in heaven and the earth is Thine, is the Kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as head above all. 1 Chronicle 29:11

Later on, Matthew would record the Lord’s prayer which communicates the same spiritual blessedness and high praise: Our Father in Heaven, May Your Name be kept holy…, May your Kingdom come, Let Your will be done on earth as in heaven…, for kingship, power and glory are yours forever. Matthew 6:10ff

God who is Holy is worthy to receive blessings nevertheless, Jesus begins to reveal in His teaching, the requirement for entrance into God’s Kingdom, and just how His Holy God will bless souls, thus bringing spiritual virtue to those who now have a renewed relationship with God in Messiah.

The question that is pending is just what kind of righteousness is needed by an individual for entrance into Messiah’s Kingdom? The simplest answer was no righteousness could not be earned by works of the human hands/wills, but it had to be received by faith and grace as a gift from God.

Jesus the Master teacher, list some of the initial characteristics of righteousness which would become the landmark identifiers of those who are within the Kingdom of Heaven. Before we look at these, there are major Scriptures and corresponding roles in each that are proof that God’s Kingdom was in the midst.

The Spirit of Adonai Elohim is upon me because Adonai has anointed me to announce the good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted; to proclaim freedom to the captives, to let out into light those bound in the dark; to proclaim the year of the favor of Adonai and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn..., Isaiah 61:1-2

Jesus quoted this passage in Luke 4:14-30, at the advent of His public ministry prophetically claiming that He is the one which the prophet spoke of. Just notice the emboldened conditions of the people in the Isaiah passage, clearly identify those who He is targeting in the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus of Nazareth now is far greater to the people of God than a carpenter, He is the promised King of Israel from the root of Jesse. It will happen on that day that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, who stands as a banner of the peoples; and his resting place will be glorious. Isaiah 11:10

This same Jesus, is far greater than “just the son of Joseph and Mary”, for God has raised Him as the Prophet like you from among their kinsmen, where I will put my words in His mouth, and He will tell them everything I ordered Him. Deuteronomy 18:18.

Jesus as the High Priest

As the firstborn son of Joseph and Mary, He was a priest/king that never glorified Himself to become High Priest; rather it was the One who said to Him, “You are my Son; today I have become Your Father.” Also, as He says in another place, You are the Priest forever, to be compared with Melchizedek. Hebrews 5:5-6 Jesus’ ministry had usurped the priesthood of Aaron.

Characteristics of the Righteous in the Kingdom

Jesus as the King, Prophet, and High Priest of this new exodus of people into the Kingdom of God, communicates to the masses Godly focuses on spiritual attitudes toward God and spiritual horizontal relationships with one another in their faithful fellowship in Messiah as the Great Shepherd. Micah 5:4, And He will arise and shepherd His flock In the strength of the Lord, In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God.

• Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. These are they who are souls who have no merit or righteousness of their own. They are those who utterly depend upon God for everything. Psalms 34:18, 51:17
• Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. These souls acknowldeged that they lack the righteousness of God and confess their sins to the only One against whom they have sinned. Christ promised those who acknowledged their sins would be comforted. Psalms 32:1-2
• Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Meekness recognizes God’s ultimate authority while those who are meek, willfully submit themselves completely to God’s authority. This is the mark of unquestioned submission of their will to God.
• Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they hall be satisfied. These who are righteous have an appetite for the things of God. Christ promised that those characterized by such an appetite will be satisfied.
• Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. God’s mercy is His loving response to the needs of those who are the object of His affection. True righteousness produces loving care and concern for the needs of others. Those soul who show this characterist will themselves be shown mercy.
• Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Purity is not measured by external practices but by the character of God Himself. One who has received righteousness from God is constituted as pure in heart and is acceptable to Him; thus Christ promised that those who have pure hearts-who conforms to God’s holiness, will see God.
• Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Souls who are peacemakers are they who inwardly are at peace with God. Those whom Christ spoke this message could have experience this peace if they have faithfully accepted His Word. Those who trust Christ’s Word and His works, will actively proclaim the Word in their lives, will be called children of God.
• Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Christ, in the various roles that He prophetically fulfilled, namely, as Messiah experienced threats against His life up to His crucifixion. All those who faithfully responded to His call of discipleship and the Message of God, would expect persecution. However Christ promised blessings for those who were willing to identify with Him, even though it entailed suffering.

The Righteous of God are not Exempted from Reproach and Persecution

Blessed are You and I who today, represent The Lord in the place where He has planted Us.

Matthew 5:11-12

How blessed you are when people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of vicious lies about you because you follow Me! Rejoice, be glad, because your reward in heaven is great-they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.

Words of Encouragement and Affirmation

In all of the previous sayings to the people, this righteous spiritual characteristic in verses 11-12, translates not as a general command, but a very personal tone. These words are particularly directed to the disciples of Christ and are designed to inform them/us, that they/we would not be exempted from reproach and persecution due to their/our faithfulness and service in the earth.

Such an announcement is given to the faithful ones to expect and fortify them/us against it. This was truthful and prophetic for the first disciples, such as is the case for faithful disciples in our current era. Any faithful disciple of Christ, who honors their respective calling and spiritual responsibility culturally, is to expect to endure for Christ’s sake.

No other servant but Messiah could make such a bold claim. Here He identifies Himself and His cause with that of righteousness, binding up the cause of righteousness in the world with the reception of Himself. For those who will endure persecution, do so in their divine calling as servants of the newly implemented priesthood that Christ begins and has no end.

Our rewards for ‘suffering for Christ’s sake’ according to the Word, God will reward their/our faithfulness in heaven. The first way is because of the disciple’s priestly calling in the society in which they represent God in the earth. Next, God blesses the faithfulness of their/our sacrifice to abide in their union in Christ as one who is called out of the world and into the Kingdom.

Some additional human relational lessons that we may glean from this passage, are because we are attached to Him, we are not to seek after such things. We are not to do things to offend others; to treat them harshly or unkindly. We are not to say or do things, though they may be if in the faithful demonstration of our faith in a godless culture, as our Master was, then we are to take it with patience and to remember that thousands before us have been treated in like manner.

Prayer

Heavenly Father,

Blessed are You my Lord, for You have giving each of us the Way to salvation, through Chirst our Lord and Savior. Blessed are Your for all eternity!

We honor You while we faithfully yield totally to Your Holy presence. We recognize and confess our humanity to You while requesting that your additional grace be applied on our behalf.

Blessed are You, my Lord that not only have called us out of the world but have sanctified and equipped us to be Your light and salt in the earth.

There is no greater honor in this life than to be Your faithful servants of righteousness and in the ministry of reconciliation.

Please, my Lord, forgive us of our trespasses as we forgive those who trespassed against us. Please lead us not into serve hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One.

For kingship, power and glory are Yours forever. Amen

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Thank you for your faithful support and readership of Spiritual Manna. This is a continuation of my personal examination of the “Commands of The Lord as recorded by the New Testament writers.

The following is a listing of the research material that was used for this blog post:

Holy Scriptures: Complete Jewish Bible and New American Standard; Jesus as Prophet, High Priest, and King was formulated by reading the works of J. Dwight Pentecost, The Words and Works of Jesus Christ. Aspects of the exposition of the Beatitudes were gleaned from the works of Elliott’s, Benton’s and Gill’s Commentaries. The listing and brief analyis of the Beatutudes, were recorded after reading, Jesus the Priest, by Nicholas Perrin.