When thinking of chapter 5
of Matthew
I usually think of the Beattitudes and specifically a study I was part of with my friend Brian which made this short but difficult passage even more difficult by making it clear. The Beattitudes are impossible, but vital to the Christian life. They tell us what it means to be truly like God.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (v. 3
) I must weaken my spirituality and taken on the Holy Spirit to be like God.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." (v. 4
) Is it really better to be sad because of sin and the world that loves it? Yes. God will be there for you.
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." (v. 5
) Those who use powerful abilities are not inheritors. Those who choose not to use what power they have will be.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." (v. 6
) But don't we all yearn for satisfaction in lust, gluttony, self-vindication? True satisfaction won't come from these things.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." (v. 7
) Show mercy and even if you fail to see the favor returned, it will be returned in heaven.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." (v. 8
) Who can possibly claim to be so pure?
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." (v. 9
) Who wants to make peace? We all want to have our rights instead.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (v. 10
) But why must I persecuted first? Why doesn't God just hand out the kingdom of heaven if He's so nice?
"Blessed 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." (vv. 11-12
) I don't want to be a prophet or lumped into the same group. I just want to be a guy who can live his life in peace. Why is being hated a good thing?
Anyone who wants to tell you that believing in God will make you happy and give you what you want isn't being entirely honest with you. Christians believe that the more we desire God the more we will be at peace and have joy and will get what we desire, but that's not exactly the same thing. If you desire God, the very nature of your desires will change and what you wants lusted for will seem less and what God will give you will be more.
The other aspect of these verses that is so disturbing is that they pretty much eliminate all Christians from receiving them. This is why Christians have been called hypocrites (ironically, that's a term popular in modern culture because Christ used it). However, hypocrisy is not when you hold up a high standard for everyone and yourself and fail to meet it. Hypocrisy is when you hold up a high standard for everyone and yourself and then excuse yourself when you fail to meet it. There's an important difference. Back to the point, no person on earth can meet this standard. Only the man who preached it ever did.
Reading forward in this chapter it gets worse. Christ goes on to preach about how the nation of Israel has failed to be salt and light to the world as the Church so often has. He says the law of Moses stands even though I think you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn't failed to desire something someone else owns ("Thou shall not covet") or fail any of the other hundreds of commands in addition to the 10 commandments. Christ actually says that just being angry and hating someone is enough to send you to hell. Just imagining the sin of adultery is the same thing as committing the crime.
Finally he tells us to simply tell the truth and never take revenge when someone wrongs us and to love even those who hate us. Who has failed to do these? This passage is hard. It's not hard to understand, but it's hard to read if you really read it and think about yourself. Anyone really reading to understand this passage should be feel like total scum when finished.
How can anyone think that God would care at all about our accomplishments after all that? A good person? Who's that? Can anyone claim they've never retaliated against someone, never thought lustful thoughts, never been angry, was pure of heart, never took pride in this world? No. Failures. Every single one of us.
May God have mercy on every one of our souls.
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