μακάριοι

Of all people, the Lord’s are blessed. “Blessed” translates the Greek μακάριοι (makarioi), which means “privileged recipient of divine favor” (BDAG Greek-English Lexicon, p. 611). The most famous catalog of these privileged people is found at the front end of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Since the Latin Bible translates μακάριοι as beatitudo, it is from Latin we get the word “Beatitudes.”

Each verse in Matthew 5:3-10 begins with the word μακάριοι (i.e. blessed). God’s people are called “blessed” because they receive blessing. What’s a blessing? Money? A new car? Health? A job promotion? More vacation? Lower taxes? Turns out none of those are mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 5:3-10. Instead, the promised blessings are of a different quality altogether.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (ESV). Many are financially poor. Others have poor health. There are poor thinkers. We aspire to none of those kinds of poorness. But, says Jesus, there is one type of poverty that is right to desire and rewarded forever: to be “poor in spirit.” We must debase ourselves in our own eyes. “Our old self...the body of sin” has to be “brought to nothing” (Rom. 6:6). We are hopelessly broken by sin, and only God can fix it. The humbled will be exalted, inheriting heaven’s kingdom.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” There’s pain enough to go around, and grief galore for saint and sinner. Mourning is not intrinsically special. Mourning is an aspect of the human experience. If mourning, itself, isn’t special, there are special ones “who mourn.” In contrast to “worldly grief” that does no good, these blessed mourners have “godly grief” that results in “repentance that leads to salvation” (2 Cor. 7:10). They sorrow over sin, and know the comfort of forgiveness. And, when life deals them harm and hurt, they draw close to the “God of all comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3). When comfort doesn’t seem immediate, they still know it will be eternal, eventually. And, who better can appreciate relief than those who have known pain?

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” “Meek” is from πραεῖς, meaning “...not being overly impressed by a sense of one’s self-importance, gentle, humble, considerate…” (ibid., p. 861). It does not mean weak, soft, effeminate. Xenophon, an ancient writer who died over 300 years before Christ was born, used this word (πραεῖς) for “a horse broken to bridle” (Jack P. Lewis, Living Word Commentary on Matthew, vol. 1, p. 81). A horse that’s been broken is now useful instead of wild. Both gentleness and self-control are fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:23). The meek know their place in relation to God and man. There’s a new earth and heaven coming (Rev. 21:1), and the meek are the ones who get to live there.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Everyone has a sense of right and wrong because we’re made in God’s image. But, few these days talk of “righteousness”—being upright in God’s eyes. Getting there is no accident, but by intense, sustained longing like a “thirst” that doesn’t go away without being slaked. “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God” (Psalm 42:1). “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Pet. 2:2-3). How does the gospel taste to you? Bitter? Boring? Bland? If so, you’re not the person Jesus is talking about.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” “Merciful” is from ἐλεήμονες: “It indicates being moved to pity and compassion by the tragedy and includes the fear that this could happen to me” (Rienecker & Rogers, Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament, p. 12). Mercy is sympathy for the sufferer, knowing we’ve been there, or will be, or could be. If you want mercy, give mercy (cf. James 2:13). But remember, mercy is for the living—not for lies. When it came to false doctrine, Paul was merciless and rightly so: “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God” (2 Cor. 10:5).

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Some think of heaven as everlasting vacation resort, a place without problems, and, as a bonus, God will be there. That’s backward. With heaven, the essence of the experience is that God is there. Everything else is icing on the cake. The Greek καθαρός means “clean, pure, (free from the admixture or adhesion of any thing that soils, adulterates, corrupts)” (The New Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon, p. 312). A lot of folk who don’t want pollutants in the air, or chemicals in the water, or plastics in the ocean have no concern for the greatest pollution—sin in the heart. The “pure in heart” guard against lust in the mind, porn on the screen, profanity on the tongue, lies on the lips, immodest clothes in the closet, alcohol in the fridge, etc. Contamination may be in degrees, more or less, but purity is all the way (and only attainable by constant application of Jesus’ blood [1 John 1:7]). Anyone can see the devil. Only “the pure” will see God. Life here and now is all about “the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14).

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Saints don’t crave conflict, and unity beats animosity (cf. Rom. 12:18). We want peace among brethren. And we want the lost, through the gospel, to be brought to peace with God. Yet, the 1873 Colt Single Action Army revolver was also known as the “Peacemaker” because, then as now, sometimes peace is only purchased by winning a fight. Ultimately, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Rom. 16:20). Peace at the price of total victory. “Peacemakers” are Satan-crushers.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The world lacks the traits Jesus extols, and they hate to see those attributes in others since the very presence of holiness is a form of judgment against their own evil. In building the ark, Noah “condemned the world” (Heb. 11:7). The world’s hatred is a given, and given opportunity, they often lash out in persecution of the righteous. But, whatever form it takes, persecution cannot keep the righteous from their inheritance, which is why they’re “blessed.” If you’re a Christian remember, when the world turns malicious, you are makarioi.