Beauty of the Beatitudes.  The Beatitudes as Jesus intended.  The Sermon on the mount as Jesus intended.  The Beauty of the Beatitudes Revealed.  

Going to take a look at the sermon on the mount or the beatitudes the next couple of weeks.  

The sermon on the mount is one of the most beautiful and powerful messages Jesus preached during his earthly ministry if it is interpreted correctly.  It is full of power to set the captives free and lead people into the place where their hearts go to rest in God.

We can have wrongly looked at the beatitudes as if Jesus was teaching morality or behavior modification.  The traditional view of the sermon on the mount is that Jesus was teaching behavior modification and establishing a moral standard for people to live by in order to attain to the Kingdom of God.  

The traditional view of the teaching of Jesus there has left a lot of people feeling condemned and laboring and toiling in order to try and attain to the kingdom of God 

When we have thought of the teaching of Jesus in the beatitudes it has traditionally been taught as if Jesus is teaching behavior modification and establishing a moral standard for people to live by in order to attain to the kingdom of God.  

That unless we can be merciful to others God will not be merciful to us; that unless we can get our behavior lined up with the behavior Jesus described then we will have no part in the Kingdom of heaven/God.  

But, Jesus said in Matthew 11 that his teaching removes the burdens from people's lives and brings forth rest in them.

Mat 5:1  And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
The Beatitudes
Mat 5:2  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
Mat 5:3  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:4  Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Mat 5:5  Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Mat 5:6  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Mat 5:7  Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Mat 5:8  Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Mat 5:9  Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Mat 5:10  Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:11  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Mat 5:12  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of God"

What does it mean to be poor in spirit?  

It means to see that you can't cloth yourself with the fruit of God's life by your desire and willpower and self effort.  It means to see that you cant cloth yourself with eternal life by your works.  It means to see that you cant be exalted to the right hand of God through the good fruit you can produce.  You see that you cant bring yourself out of the grave so you feel poor in spirit.  

To be poor in spirit is to say in your heart I dont possess the ability to produce the fruit of God's life.  I dont possess the ability to cloth upon myself with the fruit of God's life.  I have an inability in my flesh to give myself life and so I turn to God to do it.  It means to see that you possess an inability in your flesh to make manifest the fruit of God's life by your works so you rest in God and his ability to come and do it on your behalf.  

We'll say it this way using the context of these verses.  Blessed are the poor in spirit.  Blessed are those who say I cannot perfect myself through my works to bring forth the fruit of God's life.  Blessed are those who say I have an inability to produce love in my heart for my enemies.  I dont possess the ability to bless them that curse me.  I can't pray for those who persecute me.  Blessed are those who say in their heart I have an inability to bring that forth.  

"Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted"

blessed are those that cry out to God to save them from death.  Jesus mourned in the cross we he cried out Father into your hands I commit my life.  Those whose hearts have been made sick from death & cry out to God will find their hearts comforted by the Word of eternal life.  

Blessed are those who cry out to God for justice from the death that was reigning over them.  Jesus cried out to God for justice as he hung on the cross & he was comforted(psalm 23)

The blessing for those that mourn is .......

Isa 61:3  To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

Psa 55:2  Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise;
Psa 55:3  Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me.
Psa 55:4  My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.
Psa 55:5  Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.

"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth"

james humble yourselves before the Lord & He shall exalt you.  Blessed are those that say not by my works o God will I be exalted but by You & Your grace alone of God.  We see the meekness in Abel & Jesus.  Both appeared before the Lord with blood & that blood declared they considered themselves dead to the life they can have through the strength of the flesh & alive to the life they can have by God & His doing.  Jesus turned his back on his own works to be exalted & he trusted in the Father to exalt him & the Father sat jesus on the right hand blessing Jesus.  Blessed are the meek.

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled"

We will look more into this as we continue unwrapping these verses.  But, when Jesus says blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled he is saying blessed are they that seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness for all these things shall be added unto them.But, Jesus explains what it means to hunger & thirst after righteousness in Matthew 6:33 when he says seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. 

Connect to inheriting the earth.  Blessed are those whose hope is that righteousness that inhabit the earth.  Blessed are those who hunger & thirst after the righteousness of God. Means blessed are those whose hearts cry out for the life of God & rest in His equitable deed & character to manifest that life.  

"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy"

Not saying the way to get mercy is to be merciful.   I mean God poured out His mercy on all people through Jesus when there wasnt anyone who had been merciful.

Blessed are the merciful doesn't mean blessed are those who perform mercy.  It is saying blessed are those who exalt mercy over condemnation. That believe mercy is greater than judgment.  Blessed are those who see God is a God of mercy & not condemnation.  Blessed are those who see God is a God of mercy & not condemnation for those who can see that shall experience the mercy of God in their lives.  

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God"

Blessed are those who have had their hearts washed clean from their works for they shall be able to stand face to face with God unblamable in love.  Blessed are those whose hearts are unblamable in the presence of God because they have been purified from are those whose heart has been sprinkled clean by the blood of Jesus from a conscience filled with laboring & toiling to be justified & have life.  Blessed are those whose hearts have been cleansed from the sting of death.  Blessed are those whose heart has been purged from death by the Word of eternal life in Jesus. Blessed are those whose heart have been stung by the eternal life that has been from the beginning for they shall see God.  

"Blessed are the peacemakers: For they shall be called the Sons of God"

Blessed are those who preach the message the brings forth peace ....

I'll stop here explaining what the blesseds all mean but all these things are all really pointing to the same thing.  They are all an aspect of one thing which is to rest in God and His ability to save you from death & to cloth you with eternal life.  

Mat 5:13  Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Mat 5:14  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Mat 5:15  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Mat 5:16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Jesus is speaking to His Jewish brethren here and tells them they were supposed to be the salt of the earth but that they lost their savour.  The reason he says they lost there savour was because they were not poor in spirit; they had not mourned; they were not meek and pure of heart.  They had all gone astray.  There wasnt one that did good, not one.  There mouths were full of death; their tongues dropped the doctrine of the serpent.  They trusted in the strength of the flesh; they trusted in the works of the law for righteousness instead of resting in God to bring forth righteousness in them.  

So Jesus gives a teaching here that can season them with taste again and they can be a light in the world. 

The good work that Jesus said that would let their light shine before men is to be poor in spirit; to mourn; to be meek; to seek the righteousness of God instead of your own righteousness; rightouesness that was of the law; the flesh.  

Matthew 5:16 good work is what Jesus described in Matthew 5.  Jesus is saying through the good work of believers resting in God for life they will be immersed in the love of God & that will shine like a light to people to also rest in God for life.
 When a person becomes animated by the love of God it shines as a light to other people pointing to the good work of resting in God for life & this will cause other to have the same good work of glorifying God.  Glorifying God speaks of resting in God to bring forth His life in you.

Good works/let your light shine=believe on Jesus.  Let your light shine by being poor in Spirit; by mourning; etc.....

Mat 5:17  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Mat 5:18  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Mat 5:19  Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:20  For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Verse 17 Not come to destroy but to fulfill

In hebrew mind the word fulfill would not just mean to complete or finish something.  It would also mean to bring a thing to light or to reveal something for what it actually is.  

The word fulfill here doesnt just mean to complete or to finish something.  It also means to bring a thing to light or to make something manifest for what it actually is.  

Jesus came speaking the spirit of the law to a people who had been busy with the letter of the law and because of this a lot of the Jewish people in Jesus' day thought he was preaching against the law of God.  But, Jesus says he did not come to destroy the law, or the prophets he came to reveal what the law and the prophets were talking about all along.  He says I've not come to destroy the law and the prophets I have come to reveal and make manifest what the law and the prophets were talking about all along.  

I've come to interpret what the law and the prophets were talking about all this time, and guess what they were saying.........    

Blessed is the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God.  Blessed are those who say in their hearts they cannot cloth themselves in righteousness by their works.  Blessed are those who cry out to God to save them from death and cloth them in eternal life instead of trusting in their works and the strength of the flesh to be justified and clothed with life.  Blessed are those who say in their hearts I cannot of myself produce the fruit of God's life and rest in God to give birth to His life in them.  Blessed are those who say in their hearts they cant be exalted and be justified by their good works; or the works of the law of Moses; or by the good fruit they can produce.  

Blessed are those guys for they shall inherit the kingdom of God.  That's what the law and the prophets were all the time declaring.  And so Jesus revealed what the law and the prophets were talking about at the beginning of Matthew 5 when he says blessed are the poor in spirit.  So Jesus says think not that I've come to destroy the law and the prophets I've just revealed to you what the law and the prophets were talking about all of the time.  

Isa 2:3  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

“For instruction will go out from Zion, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.” The principal emphasis is upon the expressions “from Zion” and “from Jerusalem.”

Isaiah was prophesying that out of Zion; out of the city of Jerusalem there would go forth Torah, i.e instruction.

and Torah has come forth from Zion.  The Word of the Lord has come forth from Zion.  The Word of God spoken of in psalm 119 has gone forth from Zion.  In John 8 Jesus stood up & declared himself to be the light of the world.  It was the last day of the great feast when he said that.  The Jewish people would have been celebrating the Torah as the light unto their feet & lamp unto way on the day that Jesus stood up & declared himself to be the light of the world.  

The law of Moses did not come out of Zion or Jerusalem.  It came out of mt Sinai.  

If you look back to the beginning of Matthew 5 Jesus went up into a mountain and it says the disciples and multitudes followed him up there.  

Matthew 5 is Jesus giving the law of God.  He's up in a mount.  Where was the law of Moses given, Mt. Sinai.  Jesus is drawing a comparison and distinction between the teaching and instruction he is giving them and the law of Moses.  Law of God Jesus is giving in the sermon on the mount is the teaching and instruction of God concerning how a person can be made a partaker of eternal life and inherit the Kingdom of God.  He is preaching a message that can influence the hearts of people to turn away from their own righteousness; the righteousness that comes from the works of the law; the righteousness that comes from the strength of the flesh.  And turn towards the righteousness that comes from God andHis doing.  

Verse 18 not one jot or tittle shall pass from the law til all be fulfilled

Jesus is the law giver Isaiah prophesied of, and he says til heaven and earth pass away not one jot or tittle shall pass from the law til all be fulfilled.

What law is Jesus talking about here?  He isnt talking about the law of Moses.  The law he is talking about here is the law he just gave at the beginning of Matthew 5.  

Jesus is saying all the things I just said to you about blessed are the poor in spirit: for their's is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.  Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.   

Not one thing I just said shall pass away til the heaven and earth shall pass away.  Until this heaven and this earth pass away.  Until the sea that is currently separating heaven and earth be removed and no longer exist and heaven and earth become one and the kingdom of God manifest in our physical bodies and in the physical creation this saying will not pass away until all that stuff is fulfilled.  This saying of how a person can be made a partaker of eternal life in their flesh and inherit the kingdom of God and the earth will not pass away until you inherit the kingdom of God in your physical body and you inherit an earth where righteousness dwells and darkness has been removed.  

Not one jot or tittle of the law I just gave will pass away til all be fulfilled.  Not one jot or one tittle of what I just said will pass away til it be fulfilled.  Til those who mourn inherit the kingdom of God.  Heaven and earth shall pass away.  But my saying will not pass away til those who mourn inherit the kingdom of God.  When this heaven & this earth pass away those who mourned will inherit the new heaven and the new earth; the kingdom of God.....