The Beatitudes - Part Two

We will be continuing our series on The Beatitudes:

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Mat. 5:4, NASU

The usage of the term “mourn” commonly denotes the idea of sadness, grief, and misery – this is the very same idea the text describes here. Why should it be a blessing to mourn? The most important question is: What should cause us to mourn? To one who is attempting to follow after the path of Christ, walking in the light as He (God) is in the light (1 John 1:7), etc. the only cause of mourning in the world is the problem of sin. Those who are seeking to follow Christ are grieved because we know the truth about our own lives – we are not perfect. We fail God by our own sin, we are humbled by our own shortcomings and failings, and the world is indeed an evil place. When we mourn over our own sin and the consequence of sin in world, we will be comforted.

Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
Mat. 5:5, NASU

The usage of the term “gentle” in the New American Standard is rendered as “meek” in most other versions. This term does not describe “weakness” or “inability,” but instead describes voluntarily submitting one’s own will to another. An example of this would be the person Moses, who was described as the meekest man on earth (Num. 12:3). Moses choose to surrender himself to the will of another, namely the will of God. This choice was solely his own, just as is the choice of those who follow after the path of Christ. Those who submit in this fashion are promised an inheritance – a concept which is contrary to world’s teaching of “dog eat dog.” Inheriting the earth most probably describes the inheritance granted to the faithful in Christ.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Mat. 5:6, NASU

One of the most basic impulses within the natural world among both animals and men is the need to meet one’s own physical needs. Those who do not thirst for water or hunger for food are either sick or dead. The same is true within the realm of spiritual sustenance. One who does not seek to be refreshed by the Living Water Christ offers, or to be spiritually fed by the Word of God is either spiritually sick or spiritually dead. Hunger and thirst describes more than a desire, it denotes an actual real need and those who are seeking after the things of God and His righteousness (cf. Mat. 6:33) will have this need. The thirst and hunger will always be satisfied without exception or limit for those who have need.

We will examine more of The Beatitudes in the coming weeks.