Bible Word of the Day
Beatitudes (Part of the Sermon on the Mount)
Meaning
The Beatitudes are a series of blessings Jesus spoke about in His Sermon on the Mount. The Beatitudes can be found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The Beatitudes are not just blessings they also help us as followers of Jesus to understand the characteristics of Christian living. Each one of the Beatitudes gives a blessing with a description of what type of character or person is blessed, followed by what type of blessing they receive. The Beatitudes really contradicted the common thought of the day as well as the common thinking of the world at large.
In addition, they introduced a new reality to those of us who follow Jesus and accept Him as our Lord and Savior. Both the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke review and explain the Beatitudes from different perspectives which together, give us a complete picture of Jesus sermon. The Beatitudes also mark the opening of the Sermon on the Mount.
The Beatitudes include the following blessings. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land. Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall have their fill. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Together, these teachings give us a fuller picture of a life changed by Jesus and what it means to follow Jesus Christ our Lord.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Gospel of Matthew 5:3)
“Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.” (Gospel of Matthew 5:5)
“Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.” (Gospel of Matthew 5:5)
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.” (Gospel of Matthew 5:6)
“Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.” (Gospel of Matthew 5:7)
“Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.” (Gospel of Matthew 5:8)<
“Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.” (Gospel of Matthew 5:9)
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Gospel of Matthew 5:10)
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.” (Gospel of Matthew 5:11)