How to Be Happy
An Introduction to the Beatitudes
Matthew 5:1-10
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Many reading this will be familiar with these verses of Scripture. Commonly they are referred to as “the beatitudes”. If you are not familiar with them, don’t fret. The goal here is to methodically work our way through each of these statements of Jesus and see what they mean for us in the present. Therefore, whether you have read these hundreds of times, or not at all, you should be able to glean something from this series of blog posts.
In this post, my goal is to introduce you to the whole of the beatitudes by looking at the entire unit of Scripture in which they are found. If we were to turn in our Bible’s to Matthew 5, what you would find is that the beatitudes form the first words of Jesus’s “Sermon on the Mount”. The greatest sermon by the greatest preacher who ever lived.
You will also likely notice that these first words of this sermon take a very distinct form. All of them begin with the word “blessed,” describe a person with a certain type of character, and then end with some form of promise. In fact, this form is why they are called “beatitudes”. In the older Latin translations of the Bible the word used for “blessed” was beatus. Thus, these famous words of Jesus came to be known as the beatitudes.
At this point you may be wondering, “why devote a whole series of blog posts to this short portion of the sermon on the mount?” I have three basic reasons for why studying the beatitudes is a worthy endeavor. First, because they show us what true human flourishing looks like. Second, because they show us what the true Christian looks like. Finally, because they show us the promised results of living the Christian life. In short, we are looking at the beatitudes because they show us the why, the what, and the what’s next of the Christian life. Let’s look at these three things now.
1) The Beatitudes Show Us What True Human Flourishing Looks Like.
Imagine if we had words from Jesus that showed us what he, the Son of God, thought would bring about our lasting joy, happiness, contentment, and flourishing. Think about how quick we are to listen to podcasters, dieticians, wealth gurus, and so much more in search of flourishing. Since we are so quick to listen to these types of figures, imagine how much quicker we should listen to the words of God when he tells us what will lead to our flourishing. Well, that is precisely what these words are. The beatitudes show us what true human flourishing looks like.
Now I need to give a caution at this point. While the beatitudes may show us what true human flourishing looks like, they certainly should not be read as a formula that we can simply implement in our own strength. It is not a “do this and then this will follow” type formula. If you look carefully at the words of Jesus here, you’ll notice that he is not saying “be like this, then this will happen.” Rather, Jesus describes a certain type of people and then merely proclaims what will be true (or what is already true) of those people. Therefore, we shouldn’t read the beatitudes as a formula, but more like a portrait of the kind of person who truly flourishes. Darrell Johnson, one of my professors at Regent College, puts it this way:
“Poverty in spirit, mourning, gentleness, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, mercy, purity in heart, peacemaking, and being persecuted are all the result of the gospel breaking through us. They are consequences of turning around and embracing the reign of Jesus Christ.”[1]
These qualities paint a portrait for us of the type of person produced by the Gospel’s transforming power. The portrait painted here of flourishing is meant to be of the Christian.
2) The Beatitudes Show Us What the True Christian Looks Like.
Notice the language that Jesus uses in a few of his beatitudes. It should be clear, even from a cursory look, that some of these could only apply to a Christian. For instance, “poor in spirit.” What does this mean if it is not interpreted in a Christian context? Clearly, Jesus is trying to say something here about the type of person who sees themselves as spiritually impoverished before a holy God. Clearly, Jesus is talking about the person who sees themselves through the correct lens of their own sinfulness. Or consider “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” Who are these people but the ones who want to be obedient from the heart to God’s law? Who have a genuine and true desire to obey?
It should be clear from the above that the character Jesus is describing here in the beatitudes is meant to be a Christian. Jesus is describing what his followers should be like. In short, the beatitudes show us what the true Christian looks like. They look like someone poor in spirit, who mourns over their sin, who is humble, who wants to do right, who is merciful towards their peers, whose heart is pure, who seeks out peace, and who is persecuted. These things mark out what the true Christian is supposed to look like. Thus, the beatitudes give us a portrait of true human flourishing and it turns out that portrait is of the Christian.
Consider your own life for a second? How does it measure up to this portrait that Jesus has painted? Do you see yourself as spiritually bankrupt in constant need of God’s grace, or do you think you’ve got it all under control? Do you mourn over your sin? Are you meek, humble? Do you desire to be obedient to God’s law, to be righteous? Are you a merciful person, or are you quick to anger? Is your heart pure before the Lord? Do you seek to make peace, or to cause division?
As we begin to consider these things I think all of us should realize just how far off the mark we really are. As we ask these questions, we should quickly realize that we are in complete need of God’s love, mercy, and grace. Thank the Lord that we have that grace in Jesus Christ who draws near to us in our sin, forgives us, and empowers us by his Spirit to walk in newness of life.
3) The Beatitudes Show Us the Results of Living the Christian Life.
Each beatitude begins with a description of Godly character and ends with the promised result of living that life. Almost all of these endings are written in the future tense. Meaning that they “will” happen at some point in the future. However, the first and last beatitude have the promises written in the present tense when they say, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” I think this is significant.
What this shows us is that the promises of the beatitudes, the results of living the Christian life, are both now and not yet. The joy, peace, and happiness that comes with living in this way is both a present reality and a future reality. Here the Christian has a taste of the joy, happiness, peace, and flourishing that will be theirs to the full when all things are made right by Jesus Christ.
All true Christians can attest to this. We have tasted the joy that comes with following Christ. This is not to say that the Christian can expect their life to be all peaches and cream. It is not to say that there won’t be hard seasons. Yet, it is to say that the true Christian has had some kind of transformation of heart allowing them to experience a partial taste of the flourishing that is to come, even now.
Here we are comforted as we trust in the God who “comforts us in all our afflictions” (2 Cor. 1:4). Here we have inherited the earth as all things are ours in Christ (1 Cor. 3:22). Here we have been satisfied as God’s love has been poured into our hearts (Rom. 5:5). Here we have received mercy from God as we draw near to the throne of grace (Heb. 4:16). Here we see God as we look to Jesus Christ (John 1:18). Here we are already called sons and daughters of God as we have been adopted into his family (Gal. 4:5). Here we are already members of the kingdom of heaven which Jesus began to inaugurate in his life, death, and resurrection (Matt. 4:17). But at the same time we wait, patiently, for the final fulfillment of these things with Christ’s return.
Conclusion
We are studying the beatitudes because they show us what true human flourishing looks like, because they show us what the true Christian looks like, and because they show us the results of living the Christian life. Ultimately, we are taking this time to study the beatitudes because they show us where true joy, happiness, and contentment is found—in Jesus Christ.
Our search for happiness, for flourishing, will always end in frustration whenever we try to swim against the tide of God’s ordained means for that flourishing. When we look to material things to give us happiness it only ever disappoints us. I love the way the puritan writer Thomas Watson puts it, “A man may as well think to extract oil out of flint, or fire out of water, as blessedness out of these terrestrial things.”[2] Worldly things simply do not give us the lasting human flourishing and joy that we long for. Let us, therefore, turn to Jesus and look to what he says will give us the truly flourishing life, him.