Blessing

Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount with a series of statements that each contain an apparent contradiction. Those who are poor whether physically or spiritually are in need; they are hungry. Yet Jesus said that they are blessed. He did this for eight characteristics, each of which puts a man in need. What He said appeared to be a contradiction. The one who is hungry is not blessed, is he?

Those who were listening probably had an assumption of what "blessing" should be; it does not include hunger. Aristotle contrasted this Greek word "blessed" in the text with a word meaning "the needy one". The one who is blessed should not be needy. This Greek word for blessing comes from the Greek idea of the state of the gods; the gods, on Olympus, are blessed. Jesus did not intend this Greek meaning of blessing.

The Hebrew word for "blessing" that corresponds to this Greek work is word found in Psalm 1.

"How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked..."

This word comes from their word for "straight"; it is used in the sense of a straight path, a good path. By extension, it means happy, not from lots of stuff, but from a straight path in life.

This is the sense of the word "blessing" that Jesus used; He used the blessing of the Scriptures, not the blessing of Greek mythology. Those who are blessed are on a straight path; their path is not full of obstacles.

What is not stated at first by Jesus is how the needy are blessed. He did not explain this as He taught. But He did explain this in the last statement; those who are persecuted have a great reward in heaven. The present experience is on a straight path leading to what is good. The same applies to each of the statements. But this blessing is not just in heaven, the straight path begins on earth.

Those in need cry out to God. In this, things change on earth. He bows the heavens; He comes down. He delivers men from their strong enemy. The kingdom of God comes near in this life.

The blessing of the Beatitudes is not an intrinsic quality that accompanies suffering; the blessing of the Beatitudes is in the experience of God coming near in answer to our cries. We have known the cords of death, and the torrents of ungodliness; in our distress we cried out. Each of these eight things is a different experience of need. But for an individual his need is significant; each need can lead a man to cry out.

Blessing is a place to grow. The needs of life can bring us to cry out to the Lord; this is the beginning of growth. But we cannot grow until we are poor in spirit, until we know we need help.

For some, the circumstances of life are the means by which they see their need. For others, the challenges of life are the means by which they see their need. Those who do are blessed.

The blessed are the delivered, not the lucky.