Life in Tension E-Book

Stephen W. Hiemstra

• Herausgeber: T2Pneuma Publishers LLC
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

When God comes into our lives, we change.

Our new identity in Christ comes into tension with our old identity in ourselves as the Holy Spirit works in our hearts and minds. This tension arises between who we were and who God created us to be, between us and God, and between us and those around us. The Apostle Paul calls the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives sanctification.

Life in Tension reflects on Jesus' Beatitudes in the context of scripture. The Beatitudes serve as an introduction to the Sermon on the Mount and lay out Jesus' priorities in teaching his disciples. Because the sermon serves as a kind of ordination service for the Apostles, the importance of the Beatitudes for the early church, Christian spirituality, and discipleship today cannot be overstated.

Life in Tension is organized as a devotional. Each chapter offers a reflection, a prayer, and discussion questions. Chapters are organized around the nine Beatitudes in Matthew.

This revised edition facilitates ease of reading. It has an updated cover, fewer Greek and Hebrew references, and fewer footnotes than the original edition. Some editing to enhance clarity has also been done.

Hear the words; Walk the steps; Experience the joy!

Key words for this book include: Beatitudes, Christianity, spirituality, Jesus, Bible, devotion, faith. prayer, spiritual growth, discipling, Christian spirituality, devotional, sanctification, and faith.

Author Stephen W. Hiemstra (MDiv, PhD) is a slave of Christ, husband, father, tentmaker, writer, and speaker. He lives with Maryam, his wife of 30+ years, in Centreville, VA and they have three grown children.

Leseprobe

Contents

Endorsements

Other Books by Author

Title Page

Copyright

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

INTRODUCTION

Gospel as Divine Template

Tension within Ourselves

Tension with God

Tension with Others

The Beatitudes

PART A: TENSION WITH OURSELVES

1. HONORED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT

1.1: Honored are the Poor in Spirit

1.2: Mission Statement

1.3: Be Humble, Be Salt and Light

1.4: Living Out Poor in Spirit

2. HONORED ARE THOSE THAT MOURN

2.1: Joy in Sorrow

2.2: Lament Over Sin

2.3: Death Means Resurrection

2.4: Grief Defines Identity

3. HONORED ARE THE MEEK

3.1: Resolve Tension into Identity

3.2: Meekness Speaks Volumes

3.3: Meek is the Pastoral Gene

3.4: Lead Out of Meekness

PART B: TENSION WITH GOD

4. HONORED ARE THOSE THAT HUNGER AND THIRST

4.1: Passionately Seek the Kingdom of God

4.2: Hunger and Thirst for God

4.3: Fools for Christ

4.4: In Jesus Completeness is Restored

5. HONORED ARE THE MERCIFUL

5.1: Show Mercy, Receive Mercy

5.2: God's Core Values

5.3: Mercy as a Path to Salvation

5.4: Jesus Models Image Ethics

6. HONORED ARE THE PURE IN HEART

6.1: Be Holy For I am Holy

6.2: A Right Spirit and Clean Heart

6.3: Prune, Intensify, and Apply

6.4: Living Into Our Call

PART C: TENSION WITH OTHERS

7. HONORED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS

7.1: Make Peace—Embody Shalom

7.2: Prince of Peace

7.3: Trinity of Peace

7.4: Peace on God's Terms

8. HONORED ARE THE PERSECUTED

8.1: Prosecute Righteousness

8.2: Righteous Suffering

8.3: Christian Paradox

8.4: Blessing Those that Persecute

9. HONORED ARE THE REVILED

9.1: Persecution Gets Personal

9.2: Suffering Often Predates Salvation

9.3: Persecution Can Be Transformative

9.4: Persecution and Lethargy

CONCLUSIONS

Surprising Priorities

Links and Tensions

The Road Ahead

REFERENCES

About

Notes

Guide

Cover

Contents

Start of Content

We live in a fallen world. It leads to life in tension, and sometimes a life full of stress. Stephen Hiemstra takes us on a needed tour of the kind of character it takes to face such a life. His careful look at the Beatitudes through the portrait of Life in Tension frees us to reflect God well in a world full of need. Read this book and be better equipped to face life as it is.

Dr. Darrell L. Bock

Executive Director for Cultural Engagement, Howard G. Hendricks Center for Christian Leadership and Cultural Engagement and Senior Research Professor of New Testament Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary

Dallas, Texas

Stephen Hiemstra’s Life in Tension reminds me of Bonhoeffer’s Cost of Discipleship, because it is an earnest, personal effort to hear and follow the voice of Jesus here and now. Hiemstra was a professional economist but is also trained in reformed theology, and thus he speaks as one whose feet are on the ground and who has walked some of the walk and has stumbled along the way. Unlike Bonhoeffer, though, Hiemstra knows his hearers are not deeply familiar with the Sermon on the Mount. Yet his book is also for people who know from experience what Luther meant by “sin boldly but believe more boldly.”

Jonathan Jenkins

Pastor, Klingerstown Lutheran Parish

Klingerstown Pennsylvania

A thorough examination of Bible verses given the three tensions that we, as human beings, are confronted with. The soul reflection—within ourselves, with others, and with our almighty creator God, helps the reader to take ownership of their spiritual journey, and empowers healing through forgiveness and biblical reflection.

Sam Lee

Manassas, Virginia

I recommend Stephen Hiemstra’s book, Life In Tension, to readers who want solutions to the stresses and burdens of life. It is generally accepted among Christians and even secular people that our lives have too much tension and too little peace. Surely, our Lord speaks with great wisdom as He gives answers for these dilemmas of life. He had better plans for us than most of us have yet consistently experienced. Stephen with courage gives practical answers for applying the profound truths of the Lord’s words to our everyday lives.

Percy Burns

Pastor

Charlotte, NC

We don’t often think of our life as one lived in tension, but as believers that’s exactly how we live. Stephen Hiemstra’s Life in Tension takes us through the Beatitudes and provides a blueprint for Christians to navigate this tension with ourselves, with the world and with Christ. Each chapter ends with a prayer and reflective questions designed to draw the reader into deeper contemplation of this tension. For those seeking answers on how to live a life in tension, this is the book for you.

Sarah Hamaker

Author of Ending Sibling Rivalry: Moving Your Kids From War to Peace

Fairfax, Virginia

The Christian life is filled with tension, paradox, and upside-down requisites for obedience to the biblical text and the clarion call of God. Life in Tension provides a solid, biblical theology for how God invites us to reflect his priorities in this life. With the Beatitudes as our faithful guide, Hiemstra unpacks Jesus’ loving intentions for all of his disciples. Follow along and you’ll discover the abundant life.

Dr. Stephen Macchia

Founder and President of Leadership Transformations,

Director of the Pierce Center for Disciple-Building at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Author of ten books, including Becoming a Healthy Church (Baker), Crafting a Rule of Life (IVP), and Broken and Whole (IVP)

South Hamilton, Massachusetts

OTHER BOOKS BY AUTHOR

A Christian Guide to Spirituality

Called Along the Way

Everyday Prayers for Everyday People

Life in Tension

Living in Christ

Oraciones

Prayers

Prayers of a Life in Tension

Simple Faith

Spiritual Trilogy

Una Guía Cristiana a la Espiritualidad

LIFE IN TENSION

Reflections on the Beatitudes Revised

Stephen W. Hiemstra

LIFE IN TENSION

Reflections on the Beatitudes Revised

Copyright © 2016 Stephen W. Hiemstra. Revised 2020. All rights reserved. ISNI: 0000-0000-2902-8171

With the except of short excerpts used in articles and critical reviews, no part of this work may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in any form whatsoever, printed or electronic, without prior written permission of the publisher.

T2Pneuma Publishers LLC, P.O. Box 230564, Centreville, Virginia 20120, http://www.T2Pneuma.com

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, Copyright © 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Quotations from The Secret of Happiness, by Billy Graham, ©1955 Billy Graham, used by permission, all rights reserved.

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication (Provided by Quality Books, Inc.)

Hiemstra, Stephen W., author.

Life in tension : reflections on the Beatitudes /

Stephen W. Hiemstra.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

LCCN 2020919157

ISBN 978-1-942199-28-1 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-942199-42-7 (KDP)

ISBN 978-1-942199-33-5 (EPUB)

1. Beatitudes—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 2. Spiritual life—Christianity. 3. Values—Religious aspects—Christianity. 4. Stress (Psychology)—Religious aspects—Christianity. I. Title.

BT382.H546 2016 226.9’306 QBI16-900036

The image on the front covers is a scene of the passion of Christ called The Way to the Calvary and is a wooden carving from a church in Santiago de Compostela, Alameda, Spain. The electronic image is licensed from iStockPhoto (www.iStockPhoto.com) of Cagary in Alberta, Canada.

Cover and layout designed by SWH

FOREWORD

By Dr. Nathanael Snow1

Jesus dwelt among us to live a holy life, to forgive sins through his death and resurrection, and to establish a new kingdom, which is his church. The church is composed of individuals from every tribe and nation as a new organic entity, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, with a peculiar identity and ethic. The relationship between Christ and his church, described by the Apostle Paul as the bride of Christ, remains a great mystery (Eph 5:32).

Early in his ministry, Jesus’ disciples misunderstood his role. He was a healer, prophet, and teacher, but few thought of him as the Son of God (Matt 16:16). And none expected his brand of messiah.

For the attentive disciple, Jesus’ role and teaching was plainly described in the Sermon on the Mount. But go easy on the disciples for their ignorance—Jesus’ sermon, an ordination service for disciples, is still misunderstood. Consider the Beatitudes:

Honored are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Honored are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.Honored are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.Honored are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.Honored are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.Honored are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.Honored are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.Honored are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Honored are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. (Matt 5:3–12)

For a biblically challenged generation like ours, the Beatitudes still read like code. Yet, as Stephen Hiemstra explains, Jesus cast a new vision, a new identity, that calls his disciples out of the crowds to sit as his feet as he teaches. They are to be honored, not maligned, for being poor in spirit, prone to mourn, meek, hungry for righteousness, merciful, pure, peaceful, persecuted, and reviled. They are to be honored for their wounds place them in the company of prophets (Matt 5:12).

Perhaps the disciples misunderstood because he was talking to the crowd or to a unborn generation. But, as Hiemstra explains, disciples then and disciples now have no excuse. The Beatitudes provide the key to the code, a hermeneutic, a way of reading the Old Testament that reveals God’s eternal plan for his kingdom (Matt 5:17). In fulfilling scripture, Jesus boldly declares a simple truth: God keeps his promises—we should too.

Yet, we have trouble believing it. No one wants to be meek or poor in spirit; no one wants to make God’s peace; no one wants mercy or to offer it; no one wants to receive persecution graciously. These responses require regeneration—a higher calling, and a greater expectation than our nature allows. But, in Christ, our fallen nature is restored; we are a new creation (2 Cor 5:17).

In Christ, though I am at war with myself, Jesus loves me as I am. Though I hide from God, Jesus seeks me out, clothes me with righteousness, and ushers me into the Father’s presence. Though I resent my neighbors, Jesus loves them. The relationship gaps within ourselves, with God, and with our neighbors cause tension. Yet, in Christ and through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, God sovereignly dispenses his grace and heals our wounds, narrowing the gaps and relieving the tension.

Still, sanctification requires a lifetime of faithful devotion because our minds require reminders and our hearts require comfort. Through prayer we remain in Christ and through meditation we internalize God’s truth. This devotional offers direction for our footsteps and prayer for the journey.

Come and join disciples from every tribe and nation who sit at Jesus’ feet, learning who we are, and who we are becoming. Receive the blessings; pray without ceasing; linger in God’s grace. Embrace a life in tension; or, as Stephen suggests, hear the master’s words; walk in his footsteps; and experience Christian joy!

PREFACE

Be holy because I am holy (Lev 11:44) says the Lord God.

When God enters our lives, we change. This change occurs as we increasingly reflect Christ’s divine image in our lives and the Holy Spirit works in our hearts and minds as we behold him (2 Cor 3:16–18). The Apostle Paul calls this process sanctification (Rom 6:19), which means that we accept Christ’s invitation to a lifelong journey to become more holy—sacred and set apart—and the Holy Spirit’s guidance along the way. As Christ’s church—the called-out ones—our sanctification is a group activity and, like any activity where individuals travel at their own pace, tension among believers is expected.

Tension? What tension? Sanctification is necessary because we sin. Sin separates us from other people, from God, and from the person that God created us to be. Sanctification presumably reduces our sin, encourages us to abide in union with God and draws us closer to the person that God created us to be, but it also widens the gap between us and those resisting the Holy Spirit (1 Thess 5:19). Consequently, sin and sanctification can both potentially tense up all three relationships.

Tension comes up daily, as a pastor observes: “Would you drink from a dirty cup? No—of course not. If you were given a dirty cup, you would refuse the cup and ask for another.2” Someone accustomed to clean cups immediately recognizes a dirty one. When we model our lives after Christ, we reveal our identity as Christians; we are set apart from those around us in tension with the world. As conscious image bearers, we naturally begin to share in the tension that exists between God and this world, which implies that how we live and how we die matters to God.

This tension that we feel is a subjective mirror image to three gaps that we can objectively describe. The first gap is within each of us, and it describes the distance between our natural selves and the person who God created us to be. This gap can lead to humiliation in the eyes of the world and shame within us, as we realize how far we have fallen from God’s image for us. The second is gap is between us and others, and it can lead to isolation, ridicule, and persecution, as we can no longer run with the crowd or accept its norms. The third is the gap between us and God created by sin that can lead to feelings of fear, abandonment, and a loss of spiritual power, as we realize what it means to live without God’s presence and blessings.

Can you feel the tension created by these gaps—the shame, the isolation, and the fear? Can you imagine being persecuted for your beliefs? Are you okay with it or do you try to run away? How do we respond creatively to this tension?

We are lost alone with these three gaps, but in Christ we are never alone. Christ works in our lives to close these gaps through his reconciling example in life, his atoning work on the cross, and his enabling gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables us by grace through faith to participate actively in our own sanctification while experiencing God’s peace in the midst of life’s tensions.

Early in his ministry, Jesus preached a sermon that served as a commissioning service for his disciples. He advised his disciples to be humble, mourn, be meek, chase after righteousness, be merciful, be holy, make peace, be persecuted for the right reasons, and wear persecution as a badge of honor (Matt 5:1–11). Incredibly, in the middle of this sermon and in spite of expected opposition, Jesus says:

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matt 5:14–16)

This parable about light offers two important insights for our understanding of tension. First, this passage makes no sense unless tension exists between darkness and light—light normally drives out darkness. Second, this passage alludes to the creation accounts where we read: “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. . . . And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.” (Gen 1:2–4) Creation creates light. The implication is that Christians who embrace tension with the world are participating in a second creation (2 Cor 5:17).

Recognizing Christ’s re-creative work in our lives, we participate through the power of the Holy Spirit, not only in our own sanctification, but in the sanctification of others. In other words, progress in reducing one gap in our lives affects the other two (Nouwen 1975, 15). Attending to the sin in our lives, for example, makes it easier to get along with others and helps us to receive the Holy Spirit. Likewise, reducing our gap with God helps us appreciate God’s love for those around us and sensitizes us to the corrupting power of sin in our own lives.

Structure of the Book. In exploring the spiritual dimensions of tension in our lives, I reflect on the Beatitudes in Matthew’s Gospel. The Beatitudes introduce Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and prioritize his teaching. Because the sermon serves as an ordination service for the disciples, the importance of the Beatitudes for the early church, Christian spirituality, and discipleship cannot be overstated.3

The chapters in this book divide into three parts: Tension with ourselves (part A), tension with God (part B), and tension with others (part C). Each part contains three of the nine Beatitudes found in Matthew’s Gospel (numbered from one to nine with decimal points identifying particular sections within them).

Four sections appear in each Beatitude. The first section focuses on understanding what Jesus said and how he explained it. The second section examines the Old Testament context for each Beatitude. The third section examines the New Testament context—how did the Apostles respond to and expand on Jesus’ teaching? And the final section applies the Beatitude in a contemporary context and how we should respond. Each reflection is accompanied by a prayer and questions for further study.

This revised edition has an updated cover, fewer Greek and Hebrew references, and fewer footnotes than the original edition. Some editing to enhance clarity has also been done.

Soli Deo Gloria.

∞

Heavenly Father,

I believe in Jesus Christ, the son of the living God, who died for our sins and was raised from the dead.

Come into my life, help me to renounce and grieve the sin in my life that separates me from God.

Cleanse me of this sin, renew your Holy Spirit within me so that I will not sin any further.

Bring saints and a faithful church into my life to keep me honest with myself and draw me closer to you. Break any chains that bind me to the past—be they pains or sorrows or grievous temptations, that I might freely welcome God, the Father, into my life, who through Christ Jesus can bridge any gap and heal any affliction, now and always.

In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In the fall of 2014, I was invited to speak at a local mosque about my book, A Christian Guide to Spirituality. Speaking at a mosque was new to me, and anticipating this visit, I spent three days fasting and praying for guidance. Instead of guidance on the mosque visit, God inspired me to write this book.

We never work in isolation. Without the support and encouragement of my editors—Sarah Hamaker, Reid Satterfield, and Nohemi Zerbi—this book might never have been written. Thank you.

Thanks also to my writing instructor, Mary J. Yerkes, whose lectures and readings inspired a re-write and substantive edit of Life in Tension during the later stages of this project.

Life is not all work. I would like to thank my family, especially my mom, for their constant encouragement and support when I was not as available, either in body or spirit, as I should have been. Thanks also to my friends in Christ at Centreville Presbyterian Church, at Almuerzo para el Alma, and El Shadai DC, who have encouraged me throughout this project

INTRODUCTION

Gospel as Divine Template

Tension within Ourselves

Tension with God

Tension with Others

The Beatitudes

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord

and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,

you will be saved. (Rom 10:9)

Christianity began in a graveyard with the resurrection (Ps 16:10). The resurrection could not have occurred without Jesus' crucifixion and death, which was, in turn, associated with his life and ministry. Because Jesus' life and ministry were chronicled after the resurrection, each sentence in the New Testament should be prefaced with these words: Jesus rose from the dead, therefore . . . Jesus' life, ministry, suffering, death, and resurrection are the Gospel story, which we know because after the Gospels themselves, sermons by both Peter (Acts 2:14–41; 10:34–43) and Paul (Acts 13:16–41) all focus on Jesus’ life story.

Just before his death, the Apostle Paul wrote from prison: “That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Phil 3:10–11) In other words, the Jesus story—life, ministry, suffering, death, and resurrection—was for Paul a template for the Christian journey of faith, beginning with the end in mind. Yet, we know that the end of the story—like its beginning—is in Christ and provides Christian hope (1 Pet 1:3).

While our eyes remain on the prize (Phil 3:14) and our expectations for the end times, our relationship with each member of the Trinity sustains us day to day. The Holy Spirit is with us, empowers us, and helps us to break the power of sin. Jesus Christ's life and ministry models a faithful life in a stressful world. God Our Father demonstrates love, grace, and sovereignty over all earthly powers. Because of God's sovereign power and presence, our hope of the resurrection transforms into our hope in Christ (Col 1:24).

The End in Mind

The resurrection accordingly influenced how early Christians read the Beatitudes, as in: Jesus rose from the dead, therefore “Honored are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 5:3) Notice that the Beatitude explicitly refers to the kingdom of heaven—a place of healing and rest where the resurrected are assumed to go. Because early Christians read this Beatitude in view of the resurrection, so should postmoderns.

More typically, postmoderns read the Beatitudes as pie in the sky—unobtainable and unrealistic. But how much risk is there in buying a stock if you already have tomorrow's stock report? If tomorrow's paper eliminates today's risk, why dawdle in buying the stock? Unobtainable and unrealistic goals suddenly become reasonable—in light of the resurrection, common fishermen become extraordinary apostles.

Knowing that the end of the story is in Christ, the Beatitudes outline the three tensions in our spiritual life: Our inward tension with ourselves (poor in spirit, mourning, and meekness), our upward tension with God (righteous, merciful, and pure), and our outward tension with the world (peacemakers, persecuted, and reviled). Inward tension exists, but we know the Holy Spirit will guide us. Upward tension exists, but we know that God loves us. Outward tension exists, but we have Christ's example in seeking reconciliation and an open door to the future (Rev 3:20).

Tension was not the Plan

Because of our reconciliation with God, we know that our sinful nature which drives this tension was not part of God’s original design. Breaking God's design, sin emerged in the Garden of Eden as Adam and Eve turned away from God and allowed sin to enter their lives (Gen 3:6). Yet, even as sin entered the world and tensed up our lives, God provided for our restoration through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Gen 3:15).

Jesus rose from the dead, therefore our faith starts with God, not with us.

∞

Almighty Father, Beloved Son, Ever-present Spirit,

We give thanks for the work of Jesus Christ, who lived, ministered, suffered, died, and rose from the dead that the Gospel might live in us. May we know him and his power; share in his suffering and his death; that we might also be resurrected with him into new life (Phil 3:10–11). Break the power of sin in us; empower us to live in reconciliation to one another; and grant us words to lift up in prayer all the days of our lives. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

∞

Questions

1. Where did Christianity begin and why do we care?

2. What is the Gospel template and what are its components?

3. What was the focus of early Christian preaching?

4. How should we read the New Testament?

5. What are the sources of tension with ourselves, with others, and with God?

6. How does the resurrection affect Christian living?

For I do not understand my own actions.

For I do not do what I want,

but I do the very thing I hate.

(Rom 7:15)

As North Americans, we are the best fed and most pampered generation of all time; yet, our young people and senior citizens are committing suicide at historically high rates and “ordinary children today are more fearful than psychiatric patients were in the 1950s.” (Lucado 2012, 5) Why?

One answer is that we have become painfully isolated from ourselves: “We live in a society in which loneliness has become one of the most painful human wounds” (Nouwen 2010, 89). Our isolation has been magnified by a loss of faith and community, leaving us vulnerable to anxiety and depression.

Isolated people often ruminate about the past. In ruminating, obsessing about a personal slight, real or imaged, amplifies small insults into big ones. For psychiatric patients who are not good at distinguishing reality and illusion, constant internal repetition of even small personal slights is not only amplified, it is also remembered as a separate event. Through this process of amplification and separation, a single spanking at age eight could by age twenty grow into a memory of daily beatings.

Amplified in this way, rumination absorbs the time and energy normally focused on meeting daily challenges and planning for the future. By interfering with normal activities, reflection, and relationships, rumination slows normal emotional and relational development, and the ruminator becomes increasingly isolated from themselves, from God, and from those around them.

Why do we care? We care because everyone ruminates, and technology leads us to ruminate more than other generations. The ever-present earphone with music, the television always on, the constant texting, the video game played every waking hour, and the work that we never set aside all function like rumination to keep dreary thoughts from entering our heads. Much like addicts, we are distracted every waking hour from processing normal emotions, and we become anxious and annoyed when we are forced to tune into our own lives, a kind of escalation behavior in the language of psychiatry. Rumination, stress addiction, and other obsessions have become mainstream lifestyles that leave us fearful when alone. In today's society, we are frequently alone even in the company of others. We are in tension with ourselves.

Jesus sees our tension and offers to relieve it, saying: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt 11:28–30) Self-centered rumination is a heavy burden, not a light one. Jesus models the Sabbath rest, prayer, and forgiveness that break rumination by encouraging us to look outside ourselves. In Sabbath rest, we look outside ourselves to share in God's peace, to reflect on Christ's forgiveness, and to accept the Holy Spirit's invitation to prayer. In prayer, we commune with God where our wounds can be healed, our strength restored, and our eyes opened to our sin, brokenness, and need for forgiveness. When we sense our need for forgiveness, we also see our need to forgive. In forgiveness, we value relationships above our own personal needs, breaking the cycle of sin and retaliation in our relationships and drawing closer to God.

Faith, discipleship, and ministry require that we give up obsessing with ourselves. On our own, our obsessions are too strong and we cannot come to faith, grow in our faith, or participate in ministry. For most people, faith comes through prayer, reading scripture, and involvement in the church, all inspired by the Holy Spirit. For the original apostles, the discipling was done by Jesus himself.

In the Beatitudes, Jesus tutors the disciples and says that we will be honored in at least three ways: “Honored are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Honored are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Honored are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matt 5:3–5) Jesus takes the world's threats to our identity, self-worth, and personal dignity, and reframes them as promises that we will receive the kingdom of heaven, be comforted, and inherit the earth. But Jesus ties these promises to discipleship as part of his yoke (Matt 11:28–30) and does not extended them to spectators.

∞

Father God,

We thank you for your willingness to break into our little worlds. Break our obsession with ourselves—the person that we know so well, but have trouble being truthful to. Shine your light into the darkness; drive the cloud of despair away; help us to accept your Gospel by engaging it, living it, and sharing it. Bridge the gap between our false selves and our true selves in Christ; bridge the gap between us and others; bridge the gap between us and you. By the power of your Holy Spirit, re-create us again as whole people. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

∞

Questions

1. What is ironic about our situation as the best fed generation to walk the face of the earth?

2. How does author, Henry Nouwen, interpret this irony?

3. What is rumination and why do we care?

4. Name three things Jesus models that break rumination. Why are they important?

5. What is the focus of the first three Beatitudes?

Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?

And he said, Who are you, Lord?

And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

(Acts 9:4–5)

The idea of tension with God surprises many Christians for at least three reasons. The first reason is that the church's focus on the humanity of Christ and off the divinity of Christ cloaks the urgings of the Holy Spirit, leaving us ignorant of our distance from God. The second reason is that a focus on conversion and off sanctification—the process of nurturing our faith—leaves us living secular lifestyles ignorant of God's will for our lives. A final reason is that our indifference to sin blinds us to our true selves in Christ, to our neighbors, and to God.

It is not an accident that each of these three reasons is highly theological because postmoderns mostly avoid theology—a fourth reason why tension with God may come as a surprise. The postmodern focus on the emotional content of faith and off the implications of these three theological trends hides our tension with God and quietly robs our faith of its power, like a vacuum cleaner that has been unplugged. Oblivious to the tension, Christians are lulled into believing in a kind of tension-free, ersatz Christianity that provides individualized services, such as childcare, and generally promises to insulate them from the problems of life without substantial obligation. When life’s problems arise, their ersatz Christianity provides no substantive guidance for dealing with them, leading people to become angry with God, and leave the church. It is accordingly helpful to review the reasons that people are unaware of the tension between them and God.

Humanity versus Divinity of Christ

Our secular society questions Christ's divinity but has no problem with Jesus' humanity. If Christ is only human, then Jesus is no more than an interesting teacher, the church becomes another interest group, and conversion is as mundane as joining another club. If Christ is not divine, then Jesus' teaching has no claim on us (1 Cor 15:17), and we can simply ignore any tension with God that Jesus' teaching might signal.

Conversion versus Sanctification

Over the centuries, Christian leaders have debated the priority of conversion over sanctification. For example, Jonathan Edwards, often praised as the great American theologian, advocated that church members have a personal relationship with Jesus—a fruit more of sanctification than of conversion—only to have his Northampton church dismiss him in 1750 (Noll 2002, 45). If sanctification can be thought of as a series of conversion experiences whose consequence is a closer relationship with God, then tension with God can be seen as a sign of progress in spiritual formation and maturity.

Think about the tension with God in the life of the Apostle Paul. When God told Ananias to go and baptize Saul, Ananias questioned God's intentions: “But the Lord said to him, Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” (Acts 9:15–16) Paul was called as a Christian and an Apostle to the gentiles and to suffer for the Name. Do you think Paul's calling created tension in his life, with God, and with others? Paul himself described the life he gave up as a Rabbi and a Jew as rubbish (Phil 3:8) compared to what he gained as a believer. Still, he met every sort of affliction during his ministry (2 Cor 11:23–28) and struggled with an unanswered prayer—a thorn in the flesh—a euphemism perhaps suggesting a grievous sin over which he was not victorious (2 Cor 12:7).

The point in this example is that if tension with God is a challenge even for the spirituality mature, then being unaware of our tension with God signals spiritual immaturity or, worse, spiritual lethargy.

Ignorance of Sin

Spiritual lethargy starts with ignoring sin, which even a hardened atheist should worry about. Sin can be doing evil (sin), breaking a law (transgression), or failing to do good (iniquity). Sin cuts us off from ourselves, from our neighbors, and from God, which leads to tensions in all three dimensions. Ignoring sin is like driving too fast on an icy road or throwing dirty sand in your gas tank—it can hurt others and messes everything up, including our relationship with God.

God’s forgiveness through Christ sets us right with God and relieves our guilt, but does not reverse the effects of sin on our person and on others. God can forgive the murderer, for example, but that does not bring the dead person back to life or relieve the perpetrator of punishment under law.

Tension with God is more critical than tension in a human relationship, because our existence depends on God—it’s like a diver at a depth of three hundred feet discarding an air tank because life itself is threatened. Sin cuts us off from God, but when we avoid it the channels of communication with God open up and we can perceive the promptings of the Holy Spirit. When we obey the Spirit's promptings, we join God in his ongoing creative work in the world and become more sanctified like Jesus, which involves pain and sacrifice. In turn, our sacrifices signal to God, to those around us, and to ourselves that our transformation in Christ is real (2 Sam 24:21–25).

Jesus honors disciples who faithfully pursue godliness: “Honored are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Honored are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Honored are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matt 5:6–8) Notice that these Beatitudes mirror attributes that God uses to describe himself—"merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (Exod 34:6)—and offer a key to growing as divine image bearers. These admonitions remind us that God is interested not so much in what we do as in who we become (Fairbairn 2009, 67).

∞

Father God,

Thank you for sending your son, Jesus Christ, into our lives to draw us closer to you. Save us from our own evil thoughts and feelings. Unstop our ears; open our eyes; and flood our hearts with the promptings of your Holy Spirit. Forgive our sin; redeem us from our transgressions; and cleanse us from our iniquities. Give us a heart for your word and grant us the mind of Christ. Teach us to lean on your law and to share your grace that we might become true disciples: Honored to hunger and thirst for your righteousness; honored to be merciful; honored to pursue godliness, through the power of the Holy Spirit and the grace available to us through Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

∞

Questions

1. Name four reasons that tension with God is not obvious to many people. Do you agree?

2. What is ersatz Christianity and why do we care?

3. Why is the divinity of Christ important?

4. What is sanctification and why is it important?

5. What is spiritual oppression and who in the Bible suffered it?

6. Name three kinds of sin. Why do atheists need to worry about it as much as Christians?

7. Which three Beatitudes focus on the tension with God?

8. Some people distinguish practicing holiness (stop sinning) from pursuing godliness (doing good). What is the difference between them?

You have heard that it was said,

You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

But I say to you, Love your enemies and

pray for those who persecute you,

so that you may be sons of your Father

who is in heaven. (Matt 5:43–45)

When we become Christians, our tension with others becomes obvious for two reasons. First, when we draw closer to God, the gap between the biblical values we are growing into and the cultural values we are leaving behind widens, and people notice. After I started seminary, for example, I noticed that some of my saltier friends stopped using profanity in my presence. Second, because God loves people, when we draw closer to God and become more like Jesus, we cannot help but love people too and notice our distance from them (John 13:34–35). Although sanctification creates a gap between us and others, God’s love flowing through us works to bridge this gap (Jas 2:15–16).

Consider the story of Abraham and his nephew, Lot. God blessed Abraham, then revealed plans to destroy two sinful cities, Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 18:17–20). Set apart from the world, Abraham then prayed to God to spare the cities for the sake of the righteous living there (Gen 18:23–32), presumably including his nephew, Lot.

Lot showed no problem living in Sodom or compassion for his neighbors. Quite the contrary, Lot displayed bad judgment in choosing to live in Sodom (Gen 13:10), and only left Sodom on the urging of angels sent to retrieve him (Gen 19:16). Lot’s wife found it even harder to leave Sodom and disobeyed the angels by looking back at the flaming city (Gen 19:26).

Reflecting on the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the church can position itself relative to culture in three ways: Working to redeem the culture like Abraham, inattentive to the culture like Lot, or beguiled by the culture like Lot’s wife. Jesus commends Abraham's approach (Luke 9:52–56), but the grace extended has limits, as Jesus instructs his disciples:

And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town. (Matt 10:11–15)

The disciples are to offer God’s peace to everyone for the sake of others willing to listen, but those unwilling to listen should have their wishes respected (Matt 10:14).

The gap between others and ourselves is the focus of the last three Beatitudes: “Honored are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Honored are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Honored are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” (Matt 5:9–11) In these Beatitudes, Jesus neither denies, nor excuses, nor runs away from persecution. Instead, he treats persecution as a ministry opportunity—“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt 5:44)—and he offers consolation for those suffering it. The implication is that tension with others is the norm, not the exception, for Christian disciples.

∞

Almighty Father, Beloved Son, Holy Spirit,

We praise you for being willfully present in our lives—teach us to be willfully present in the lives of those around us. We confess our need for holiness—may your example shine through us. We confess that we are often attracted more to culture and less to you—teach us how to live faithfully in tension with the world around us. We confess the need to be reconciled with those that pain us and those we pain—teach us how to live sacrificially in your name. We thank you for the life and sacrifice of your son, Jesus Christ, and for many spiritual gifts showered on us by your Holy Spirit. Grant us strength for the day, grace for those we meet, and peace. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

∞

Questions

1. What creates tension between us and others and what reduces it?

2. What three types of relationships between us and culture do we see in the story of Abraham and his family? What is a fourth possibility that we can see in the work of Christ?

3. What limits ministry to non-believers in the New Testament and why?

4. Which three Beatitudes deal with the tension with others?

5. What advice did Jesus offer for dealing with tension with others?

Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,

for his wrath is quickly kindled.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

(Ps 2:11–12)

The Beatitudes poetically introduce Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5–7) that sets priorities, redefines honor among disciples, and commissions his disciples. The sermon offers the lengthiest statement of Jesus' teaching and the early church cited it more frequently than any other passage in scripture (Guelich 1982, 14). As an introduction, the Beatitudes interpret the Old Testament in surprising ways.

Gospel Context

In both Matthew and Luke, the Beatitudes appear immediately after Jesus calls his disciples and addresses the disciples, serving as a preamble for the sermon that follows.

The sermon addresses the disciples personally, much like Jesus' earlier call to ministry—“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt 4:19). This is not a passive call to be spectators, but an active call for disciples who will share in his suffering, at a time when the arrest and beheading of John the Baptist was still fresh in their minds (Matt 4:12; 14:10).

Suffering—extreme tension—is an obvious theme in the sermon both because of John's recent death and because of the ongoing threats to Jesus' life (Matt 1:18–25; 2:1–13). Suffering, we learn in the Beatitudes, is part of being a faithful disciple. We know that the disciples got the message, because ten out of the eleven faithful disciples died a martyr’s death (Fox and Chadwick, 2001, 10).

Literary Context

The Beatitudes take their name from the Latin translation (beati) of the Greek word for honor (μακάριος), which means “humans privileged recipients of divine favor” or “favored, blessed, fortunate, happy, privileged“ (BDAG 4675, 2, 2a). Jesus repeats μακάριος nine times.

The Bible uses repetition for emphasis—twice is emphasis; three times is highly emphatic; and nine times is unprecedented. This emphatic repetition reinforces the sermon's content. The sermon in Matthew pictures Jesus as the new Moses issuing a new law of grace on a mountain (like Mount Sinai), while in Luke the sermon presents both blessings and curses (woes), a pattern associated with covenantal law (Deut 28). In other words, the literary style and content of the text stand out dramatically for a Jewish audience.

Old Testament Context

Jesus’ repeated use of μακάριος in the sermon alludes to Psalm 1 in the Greek translation (most familiar text to first century readers), where it says: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” (Ps 1:1–2) Psalm 1 pictures God's shalom, a call to holiness, and integration (the opposite of tension) within ourselves, with God (through obedience to the law), and with others with an amazing economy of words.

Other references to μακάριος speak, not of integration, but of tension, such as political tension (Ps 2) and affliction. In Isaiah 30, for example, God makes an interesting promise to those that wait for him: “And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.” (Isa 30:20) The teacher here is the Messiah who blesses those who suffer “the bread of adversity and the water of affliction”—a poetic phrase meaning persecution, while the word for teacher‎ also means early rain, a form of blessing in a desert region like Israel.

Commissioning Purpose

In his sermon, Jesus redefines the meaning of honor, an important, but neglected, translation of μακάριος (Neyrey 1998, 164). If Jesus had wanted to convey the idea of blessed—the usual translation of μακάριος, then the more conventional word in Greek would eulogetos (France 2007, 161). Honored is a more appropriate translation because the ancient world had an honor-shame culture where even a small insult requires an immediate and sometimes deadly response—Jesus forbids such responses. When Jesus taught forgiveness, enemy love, and turning the other cheek, he radically confronted the honor-shame culture, where masters had honor and slaves had mostly shame.

Dishonor in the ancient world Jesus redefined as honor among his disciples. Jesus said: “Honored are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matt 5:11–12) In other words, heavenly rewards follow from earthly persecution. In a culture obsessed with glory and honor—especially family honor, the preferred translation here is honor, not blessing. It is more consistent with the rest of Jesus' sermon and less consistent with the law of Moses with blessings and curses as in Psalm 1.

∞

Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace, Spirit of Holiness,

We praise you for blessing us with life, a vision of how to live it, and a family to share it with. We praise you for your faithful presence on good days and not so good days. Forgive our pride and willfulness. Forgive us for sins against you and sins against those around us. Plant in us the seeds of forgiveness and the patience to watch them grow. Plant in us the desire to follow you and to prosper your kingdom. Let us use our blessings to bless others (Gen 12:2–3)—blessing not only those easy to love but also those who need our love. Grant us strength for the day, grace for those we meet, and peace in all things. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

∞

Questions

1. Where do the Beatitudes appear in scripture?

2. What is the context for the Sermon on Mount?

3. What is the role of suffering in discipleship?

4. Where does the word, Beatitude, come from?

5. Where else in scripture do we see Beatitudes?

6. Why is the English translation, honored, to be preferred to blessed? Do you agree or disagree? Why?

PART A: TENSION WITH OURSELVES

In the first three Beatitudes, Jesus focuses on tension within ourselves, and honors disciples who live humbly, mourn their fallen state, and embody a spirit of meekness. These disciples receive comfort in the journey, and, at journey’s end, both heaven and earth. They also experience Christian freedom journeying from the desires of the flesh to the fruits of the spirit (Gal 5:19–23).

Writing about this inward journey, Nouwen (1975) described a movement (or journey) within ourselves from loneliness to solitude. This loneliness can take the form of alienation, a sense of incompleteness, or a yearning whose proper object is God, but whose current object is something else. Solitude differs from loneliness because it stems from communion with God and God’s peace during this journey of sanctification.

1. HONORED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT

1.1: Honored are the Poor in Spirit

1.2: Jesus’ Mission Statement Gives Us Hope

1.3: Be Humble, Be Salt and Light

1.4: Living Out Poor in Spirit

Honored are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

(Matt 5:3)

Jesus chose words carefully.

If he spoke Hebrew (the language of the Old Testament) rather than Greek (the language of the New Testament), then the First Beatitude could be stated in only seven words, which aided memorization, a common first-century practice. Because the disciples memorized his words, Jesus could speak playing word games with them, starting sentences and letting them finish them (Crawford and Troeger 1995, 17).

Jesus used this technique in disputing with the Pharisees, as in Matthew 21:16 where he cites the first half of Psalm 8:2, and, by inference, slams them with the second half (Spangler and Tverberg 2009, 38). Jesus’ careful choice of words and use of word associations helps us interpret the Beatitudes.

For example, the first word in the phrase in Matthew 5:3—“Honored are the poor in spirit”—brings to mind the first Psalm: “Honored is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” (Ps 1:1–2) The phrase, poor in spirit, brings to mind Isaiah 61:

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. (Isa 61:1–3)

The first text, Psalm 1, plainly references the Law of Moses and the second text, Isaiah 61, references a messianic prophecy that Jesus himself cites in his call sermon in Luke 4. Together, by using the word, μακάριος, Jesus associates with both the Law and the Prophets that added gravitas for a first century Jewish audience.

Today’s commentators normally highlight that the expression poor in spirit is not used elsewhere in the Bible. Luke’s version of the Beatitude refers only to poor, as in: “Honored are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” (Luke 6:20) Poor here refers not just to low income, but to begging destitution—someone utterly dependent on God (Neyrey 1998, 170–171). Matthew, unlike Luke, was one of Jesus’ disciples, which makes it likely that his phrase, poor in spirit, is more accurate.

Taken as a whole, the First Beatitude appears hyperbolic for two reasons. The first reason is that Jesus uses a form borrowed from case law, if X, then Y. Using a legal form suggests something like the reading of a will. Second, Jesus associates things not normally associated. Unlike princes, the poor do not normally inherit kingdoms; kings are not normally humble. Thus, the First Beatitude suggests by its form and content that Jesus is using hyperbole to warm up his audience for what is obviously a serious discussion (Isa 42:1–3).

The seriousness arises because the phrase kingdom of heaven was previously associated with judgment, as in: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 3:2, 4:17). Judgment may be implied in the converse of this Beatitude—do those who refuse to be poor in spirit (the proud) stand in opposition to the kingdom of heaven? Potentially, yes. Two candidates for judgment are almost immediately given:

Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments [in the Law and the Prophets] and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 5:19–20)

Those least in the kingdom of heaven are those who teach against the law. Those not to be admitted to heaven are those less righteous than the scribes and the Pharisees, according to Jesus’ own words (Matt 5:20).

Jesus chose words carefully.

∞

Oh dear Lord,

I give thanks that you are ever near to me—not too proud to linger with your servant and call me friend. Bless me with your spirit of humility and generosity—generous in time, generous in friendship, and generous in sharing yourself. Keep me safe from bad company; keep me safe from pious arrogance; keep me safe from my own sinful heart. Let me always be ever near to you, now and always, through the power of your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

∞

Questions

1. What passage does the word honored bring to mind and why?

2. What is hyperbolic about the First Beatitude?

3. Why does the First Beatitude suggest judgment?

4. What genre (law, poetry, hyperbole, and so on) do you take the Beatitudes to be?

Do not think that I have come to

abolish the Law or the Prophets;

I have not come to abolish them

but to fulfill them.

(Matt 5:17)

In Matthew 5:17, Jesus offers an interpretative key that explains how to understand both his ministry on earth and his words in the Beatitudes. When Jesus said that he came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, he means that he came to fulfill all of Old Testament scripture. In Jewish thinking, the term law brings to mind the first five books in the Old Testament—the Books of the Law (or the Pentateuch): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The term prophets loosely refers to the remainder of the Old Testament. The implication is that Jesus’ own words have meaning because they extend scripture.

The Books of the Law

The Hebrew word for poor in spirit also translates as: “Poor, afflicted, humble, or meek” (BDB, 7237). This word appears in the singular in the Books of the Law only in Numbers 12:3: “Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.” (Num 12:3). Only Moses is described as meek and Moses’ relationship with God is described as exceeding that of a typical Old Testament prophet (Num 12:6–8).

This invites two important observations. First, being poor in spirit draws us closer to God—Moses close. God spoke to Moses directly, face to face, not in riddles or dreams (Num 12:6–8), which is an intimacy with God rarely seen in scripture since Abraham, who was described as a friend of God (Jas 2:23).

Second, if Jesus spoke Hebrew in delivering the Sermon on the Mount, then the first three Beatitudes could have been expressed in the same word, which would be an emphatic statement of humility. The blessing associated with poor in spirit was to receive the kingdom of heaven while the blessing for meek was to inherit the earth. Taken together, being poor in spirit (or meek) in God’s eye gets you both heaven and earth, reminding us of creation (Gen 1:1) and meaning: Everything.

The Books of the Prophet

The phrase, poor in spirit, also appears in Isaiah 61:1–3, cited earlier. While the Books of the Prophet make many references to the poor, Isaiah 61 is quoted almost verbatim in Jesus’ call sermon in Luke 4:18–19 and stands out for at least two other reasons. The first reason is that the word anointed, marks this passage as a messianic prophecy. While priests, prophets, and kings were all anointed as messiahs in the Old Testament, God himself does the anointing here. The second reason is that the phrase broken-hearted (Isa 61:1), is a better analogy to poor in spirit than poor and it provides another reason to prefer poor in spirit over simply poor in interpreting this Beatitude.

Fulfillment

Jesus’ interpretative key is the verb fulfill which generally translates as: “To bring to a designed end, fulfill a prophecy, an obligation, a promise, a law, a request, a purpose, a desire, a hope, a duty, a fate, a destiny.” (BDAG 5981, 4b) In Matthew 5:17, fulfill is set in opposition to the verb, destroy, which is usually rendered as abolish. This verbal opposition is helpful because it underscores the dynamic element in fulfill—one abolishes something static simply by replacing it with a new item. Fulfilment clearly has an expectational element (or forward drift). To fulfill the law is, not to replace it, but to extend it.

This idea of extending the law was new, which perhaps explains why Matthew uses the word, fulfill, more than other Gospel writers. In Jesus’ day, for example, Rabbi’s preached from the Law using the Prophets to interpret its meaning. This tradition might lead someone to say, perhaps, that the law had been fulfilled by correctly complying with it. However, the Gospel of Matthew sees prophecy fulfilled in the sense of living it out or taking the next step rather than the merely honoring the boundaries of existing law (Guelich 1982, 163).

In the Law and the Prophets, we find Jesus anchored in God’s creation and promises. In the word fulfill Jesus focused on the future, giving his mission both continuity and purpose.

∞

Father God, Beloved Son, Holy Spirit,

We praise you for your example in life. In you, the Law and the Prophets are fulfilled, not in words, but in actions. We are no longer without hope—good news is preached; broken hearts are healed; and liberty is proclaimed to the captives. In you, there is jubilee; in you, there is comfort; in you, death is forever banished so that we may never mourn again. Amen and amen.

∞

Questions

1. What is Jesus’ mission statement?

2. What does the phrase, the Law and the Prophets, mean?

3. What is a good definition for the phrase poor in spirit?

4. What is the relationship between the word meek and the phrase poor in spirit and how do we know?