The Beatitudes
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3
Our Savior begins His Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes. These are His declarations of the blesséd condition of believers. What a wondrous thing to be numbered among the MAKARIOI (Greek), the blesséd ones. (Some refer to the beatitudes as “macarisms.”)
Note the accent over the final “e” in blesséd (bless-ed). It is abundantly evident that we are blessed (blest – EULOGETOS), i.e., that God has blessed us. However, Jesus is not speaking of this in the Beatitudes. He is speaking of people on whom He bestows a special status: the blesséd ones. These (we) are in a state of spiritual well-being. Whereas, EULOGETOS speaks of what we have received, MAKARIOS speaks of what we are.
The Old Testament, also, speaks of the blessédness of believers. For instance, “Blesséd is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the instruction of Jehovah, and in His instruction he meditates day and night.” (Psalms 1:1,2)
As we journey through the Macarisms, we need to keep this in mind. Some read the Beatitudes as a recounting of what we should try to be. No. This is what Christians are. Moreover, Jesus is assuring us of the marvelous blessings that accompany blessédness. This is not to say that we earn these blessings. It is God’s doing that we are blesséd, just as it is His doing that blessédness is crowned with blessings.
As will be seen, each of the Beatitudes is connected with Jesus Christ. Without His work of redemption, the blesséd state could not exist. Therefore, we begin by giving thanks to Jesus for freeing us from our former wretchéd state and bringing us into this blesséd state.
Blesséd are the sons of God,
They are bought with Christ's own blood;
They are ransomed from the grave,
Life eternal they shall have:
With them numbered may we be
Here and in eternity! AMEN!
The Lutheran Hymnal 391:1