Matthew 5:1-12

The Sermon on the Mount (5:1-7:29)

The Beatitudes (5:1-12).
The Beatitudes describe the character of those in the kingdom of God.
v.1-2 Jesus went up on a mountain and sat down to teach his disciples. It was customary for Jewish teachers to sit while they taught. The mountain was probably a ridge of hills near Capernaum that overlooked the Sea of Galilee.
v.3 Poor indicates a humble dependence on God. Jesus said “the spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor” (Lk 4:18). It is the poor who remain faithful to God. “Poor in spirit” is to acknowledge our spiritual poverty before God. We are sinners deserving of the judgment of God. To such is the kingdom of God given. “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Lk 18:13). Only one who has repented and become like a child is poor in spirit (accs). See also Is 66:2.
v.4 Only when we are deeply sorrowful for our spiritual condition can we receive God's grace and comfort. We should mourn over our sin (and the sin of others) and long for the forgiveness and healing available only from God. We might translate: “happy are the unhappy” (Stott). Rightly does Paul moan “wretched man that I am! who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom 7:24).
v.5 The “meek” are the gentle and humble as determined by a true estimate of ourselves. Meekness is not a weakness but rather strength under self-control. Cf. Ps 37:11. Meekness will express itself in our attitude toward others. Imitate the meekness of our Lord, who says, “learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart” (Mt 11:29). The inheritance of the earth looks ahead to the coming kingdom reign with Christ in the grand climax of history with the new heaven and earth.
v.6 Believers have the assurance that all righteousness will be fulfilled someday. We long for righteousness to be fulfilled not only in our surrounding world, but in our own hearts. Our hunger and thirst is spiritual and shall be satisfied. Christians seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness (Mt 6:33). Cf. Lk 1:53. All unrighteousness makes them hunger for the Messianic Kingdom (2 Pt 3:13).
v.7 Mercy is compassion for people in need and forgiveness to the guilty. Cf. Mt 25:34-36. The good Samaritan “showed mercy” (Lk 10:25-37). Our God is a merciful God (Ps 18:25, Ex 34:6), but the world is unmerciful. See also Mi 6:8. Those who show mercy to the needy will likewise be shown mercy. Here mercy includes both pity and action.
v.8 Only the forgiven (“pure”) heart will enter heaven and enjoy (“see”) God for all of eternity (Rev 22:4, Heb 12:14). A person with a pure heart is free from falsehood in his relations with God and man (internal integrity that manifests itself behaviorally [becnt]). See Ps 24:3-4.
v.9 Every Christian should be a peacemaker in his or her community. As far as possible we are to live in peace with everyone (Rom 12:18). Peacemakers will be called sons of God because they seek to do what the father has done — loving people. Our peacemaking certainly includes promulgation of the good news of Jesus Christ. It also includes bringing harmony to interpersonal relationships.
v.10 The persecuted are those who have been treated wrongly or cruelly because of their faith. This verse is a blessing on those who actively pursue the righteousness of the kingdom and are persecuted for it — “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Persecution is a violent clash between two irreconcilable value systems. Those who persecute us have rejected Christ and will not live with us in peace. There is synonymous parallelism with the second part of v.3 forming an inclusio around v.3-10 (indicating that perhaps part of being poor in spirit is being persecuted and vice versa). This also applies to those who do not abandon the truth when they suffer persecution from heretics and/or liberals.
v.11-12 Begining with Cain's murder of his righteous brother Abel, there have always been those who oppose God's people. Jesus links persecution of his followers to the persecution of OT prophets. Jesus says to "rejoice and be glad" when persecuted. We may lose everything on earth, but we will inherit everything in heaven as a result.

Read Matthew 5:1-12