1 00:00:11,100 --> 00:00:13,300 Hi everyone. Welcome back to daily gospel 2 00:00:13,300 --> 00:00:15,700 exegesis. Today, we have a really 3 00:00:15,700 --> 00:00:18,800 important passage to look at and there's a lot to say about this 4 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:20,600 one so we'll get straight into it. 5 00:00:20,900 --> 00:00:25,100 We're looking today at Matthew chapter 5 verses 1 to 12. 6 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:30,300 Seeing the crowds. Jesus went up the hill, there, 7 00:00:30,300 --> 00:00:33,400 he sat down and was joined by his disciples. 8 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:37,500 Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them. 9 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:41,400 How happy are the poor in spirit? 10 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:46,300 Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Happy the gentle they shall have 11 00:00:46,300 --> 00:00:50,500 the Earth for their heritage. Happy are those who mourn? 12 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:52,900 They shall be comforted. Happy. 13 00:00:52,900 --> 00:00:55,300 Those who hunger and thirst for what is right? 14 00:00:55,700 --> 00:01:00,200 They shall be satisfied. Happy the merciful they shall 15 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:04,099 have mercy shown to them. Happy the pure in heart. 16 00:01:04,599 --> 00:01:09,100 They shall see God. Happy the peacemakers they shall 17 00:01:09,100 --> 00:01:12,100 be called sons of God. Happy? 18 00:01:12,100 --> 00:01:15,200 Those who are persecuted in the cause of right. 19 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:21,100 Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Happy, are you when people abuse 20 00:01:21,100 --> 00:01:25,300 you, and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you 21 00:01:25,300 --> 00:01:29,900 on my account rejoice, and be glad for your reward will be 22 00:01:29,900 --> 00:01:33,300 great in heaven. This Is How They persecuted the 23 00:01:33,300 --> 00:01:38,400 prophets before you. So really, really important 24 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:40,500 passage one. That's probably familiar to many 25 00:01:40,500 --> 00:01:44,000 of you and there's lots of different angles that we can 26 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:46,400 approach this from and there's lots of really interesting 27 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:48,700 things about this. Passage. 28 00:01:49,500 --> 00:01:53,100 So firstly, what's the context we're in Matthew Chapter 5 and 29 00:01:53,100 --> 00:01:57,000 in chapters 1 to 4, he's already begun his ministry in Galilee. 30 00:01:57,600 --> 00:01:59,900 He's been teaching in various synagogues, particularly in 31 00:01:59,900 --> 00:02:04,200 chapter 4 and Performing. Lots of local healings by this 32 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:06,800 time, his gathered followers from All over Israel. 33 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,500 The section we have here at the start of chapter 5, begins The 34 00:02:11,500 --> 00:02:14,200 Sermon on the Mount, which goes for three chapters. 35 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:17,200 We're looking today at What's called the introduction to The 36 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:20,200 Sermon, on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount is one 37 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:23,100 of five discourses in the gospel of Matthew. 38 00:02:23,100 --> 00:02:26,400 This is the first one. And we need to make a few 39 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:29,700 comments about The Sermon on the Mount and what it's all about. 40 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:33,800 If you read chapters 5 to 7 and I do recommend reading it in one 41 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:36,700 block. If you can, the basic point of 42 00:02:36,700 --> 00:02:39,800 The Sermon on the Mount is, he's telling his followers. 43 00:02:40,100 --> 00:02:42,500 What it means to live under God's reign. 44 00:02:43,700 --> 00:02:46,200 He's going to teach his disciples what it means to have 45 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:49,300 God as their father. What it means to have Jesus as 46 00:02:49,300 --> 00:02:51,900 their Lord and Master. He's going to teach them what it 47 00:02:51,900 --> 00:02:55,800 means to love one another, and he's going to teach them how to 48 00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:59,800 love others, even their enemies. So he's telling his disciples 49 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:03,400 what their standard of life should be his teaching them and 50 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:07,100 it's a very high standard as we know he says be perfect. 51 00:03:07,100 --> 00:03:09,000 Just as your heavenly father is perfect. 52 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:12,900 That's later in chapter 5. But we shouldn't just say The 53 00:03:12,900 --> 00:03:17,400 Sermon on the Mount is just a discourse on how to live or 54 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:21,000 about ethics or something. Jesus also, says, some things 55 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:24,300 here that carry profound claims about his own identity and 56 00:03:24,300 --> 00:03:27,300 authority. And we'll look at these in the 57 00:03:27,300 --> 00:03:30,500 coming days as we move through chapters five to seven. 58 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:33,600 There's a lot we could say about the structure of the sermon. 59 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:36,200 Some have suggested that it's deliberately structured on the 60 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:40,300 three pillars of Judaism, which are the Torah worship and Good 61 00:03:40,300 --> 00:03:42,200 Deeds. They're To be the three 62 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:46,900 Essentials of the faith. So some have said, maybe it's 63 00:03:46,900 --> 00:03:49,800 deliberately been done so that chapter 5 is all about the 64 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:52,100 Torah. Chapter 6 is all about worship 65 00:03:52,100 --> 00:03:54,300 and chapter 7 is all about Good Deeds. 66 00:03:54,700 --> 00:03:58,500 That's one possibility. Certainly the Our father is 67 00:03:58,500 --> 00:04:01,100 Central, that's right in the middle of The Sermon on the 68 00:04:01,108 --> 00:04:04,100 Mount. And this is a quote from one 69 00:04:04,300 --> 00:04:07,800 Bible scholar. Thus The Sermon on the Mount 70 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:10,800 takes its readers along a way that leads them from God's 71 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:14,500 radical demands into the interior of Faith where they 72 00:04:14,500 --> 00:04:18,500 experience the father's nearness in prayer, then it leads them 73 00:04:18,500 --> 00:04:21,500 back into the Praxis of renouncing possessions and of 74 00:04:21,500 --> 00:04:25,300 love. And with the Sermon on the 75 00:04:25,308 --> 00:04:27,700 Mount. It's possible that this didn't 76 00:04:27,700 --> 00:04:31,300 all happen on the one occasion. Maybe Jesus said these things at 77 00:04:31,308 --> 00:04:34,500 different times in his ministry, and Matthew has collected them 78 00:04:34,500 --> 00:04:37,500 and put them all at the same point because they're about a 79 00:04:37,508 --> 00:04:40,200 similar thing. And in that sense, maybe Matthew 80 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:43,500 is deliberately crafting a kingdom, Manifesto of all the 81 00:04:43,500 --> 00:04:47,100 great things Jesus says about the Kingdom, so that Matthews 82 00:04:47,100 --> 00:04:50,200 readers will have it all in one place that's possible. 83 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:53,800 Although we shouldn't rule out that Jesus may have said all of 84 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:55,500 this. In one go and certainly that's 85 00:04:55,500 --> 00:04:59,500 quite possible. So verse 1, we're starting at 86 00:04:59,500 --> 00:05:03,000 today, it says, seeing the crowds so by now, we know that 87 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:06,400 there's these huge crowds following Jesus, he went up the 88 00:05:06,407 --> 00:05:11,000 hill or more literally Mountain. That's what it says there. 89 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:12,600 So why would he go up a mountain? 90 00:05:12,900 --> 00:05:16,200 Probably because he plans to teach the crowds and we know 91 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:19,400 that the mountains in Galilee are really good for amplifying 92 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:21,900 sound, you can stand at the top and people all the way down. 93 00:05:21,900 --> 00:05:24,000 The bottom can hear your teaching with any. 94 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,800 Don't have to yell, you can go there today and try it with a 95 00:05:26,808 --> 00:05:30,200 tour group and its really cool. One person gets up there and 96 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:32,900 says something quietly but everyone down the bottom of the 97 00:05:32,900 --> 00:05:36,500 mountain can hear it, but there might be another reason why 98 00:05:36,500 --> 00:05:39,800 Jesus went up the mountain and why Matthew highlights, the fact 99 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:43,100 that Jesus went up the mountain, perhaps it's to set up a 100 00:05:43,100 --> 00:05:46,300 parallel with Moses. Remember, Moses goes up the 101 00:05:46,300 --> 00:05:49,500 mountain to present the teachings or in fact to receive 102 00:05:49,500 --> 00:05:51,200 the teachings of the old Covenant. 103 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:54,400 And now Jesus goes up the mountain here to announce the 104 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:57,600 teachings of the New Covenant. And in particular, the 105 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:01,800 Fulfillment of the Mosaic law. So Jesus is being presented as a 106 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:05,100 new Moses. That's certainly a possibility 107 00:06:05,100 --> 00:06:07,900 but there is a key difference though between The Sermon on the 108 00:06:07,900 --> 00:06:11,800 Mount and Moses going up the mountain which is that Jesus 109 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:14,600 Takes people with him up the mountain here, whereas Moses 110 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:18,900 went up by himself. But it is true that all 111 00:06:18,900 --> 00:06:22,800 throughout the Old Testament, the phrase Moses went up. 112 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:26,800 The mountain is very common to when the Jews are reflecting on 113 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:29,000 when Moses received the Ten Commandments. 114 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:30,800 And so the same phrase is used here. 115 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:35,500 Jesus went up the mountain now, we're not sure exactly which 116 00:06:35,500 --> 00:06:37,800 mountain it was. But there is a traditional site 117 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:41,900 of where Jesus did this sermon, it's called The Church of the 118 00:06:41,900 --> 00:06:44,900 Beatitudes. That's where it's believed to 119 00:06:44,900 --> 00:06:46,500 have occurred and you can go there today. 120 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:50,300 So Jesus goes up the mountain there, he sat down and was 121 00:06:50,300 --> 00:06:54,000 joined by his disciples, so Jesus sits down and that's the 122 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:57,600 posture of a rabbi teaching. Now there is a bit of a question 123 00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:00,200 here, about what's the audience of Jesus? 124 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:04,100 His disciples are, who is mentioned here, but we also know 125 00:07:04,100 --> 00:07:07,500 that there's crowds following him and listening to him EC 126 00:07:07,500 --> 00:07:10,500 intending this message for the crowd or for his disciples. 127 00:07:12,100 --> 00:07:14,900 Certainly the content of what he says here would only really make 128 00:07:14,900 --> 00:07:17,900 sense to disciples. So perhaps the best solution is 129 00:07:17,900 --> 00:07:23,700 to say that the Sermon on the Mount is directed at the crowd, 130 00:07:23,700 --> 00:07:26,600 but most of the crowd, are his disciples already. 131 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:28,900 They're one in the same or at least they want to be his 132 00:07:28,900 --> 00:07:31,000 disciples. So there isn't really a conflict 133 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:33,900 there. Verse two, then he began to 134 00:07:33,900 --> 00:07:38,000 speak, this is what he taught them or more literally and he 135 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:39,500 opened his mouth and taught them. 136 00:07:39,700 --> 00:07:41,400 So we're going to hear quite a solemn. 137 00:07:41,900 --> 00:07:46,400 Hear from Jesus and Jesus is going to preach in our passage 138 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:49,000 today. Verse 12. 12, what has come to 139 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:53,800 be known as the eight Beatitudes and the word Beatitudes needs a 140 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:56,700 bit of unpacking. Essentially it means blessings. 141 00:07:58,100 --> 00:08:03,000 The word blessed which is or our lectionary translation, renders 142 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:08,800 it as happy the Greek word there is makarios Jesus says that you 143 00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:11,100 are makarios. If this happens to you you are 144 00:08:11,100 --> 00:08:12,800 makarios. If this happens to you 145 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:16,400 basically, happy is an okay translation but the basic 146 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:20,800 meaning is favored. It doesn't refer to a happy 147 00:08:20,900 --> 00:08:23,800 positive emotional state. It's not an emotional thing, 148 00:08:24,100 --> 00:08:28,000 makarios means being in a fortunate situation and it's the 149 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:32,299 same basic idea when the angel Gabriel appears to, Mary and 150 00:08:32,299 --> 00:08:35,299 says, highly favored, you are all blessed you are. 151 00:08:35,299 --> 00:08:39,000 It's the same sort of basic Jewish idea of having favor in 152 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:42,200 God's sight. Now, what about the word 153 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:45,100 Beatitudes? You've probably heard that word, 154 00:08:45,100 --> 00:08:47,900 lots of times before and assume that it was just a label that 155 00:08:47,900 --> 00:08:50,000 was attached to this particular sermon. 156 00:08:50,300 --> 00:08:54,200 Actually, it was a key part of Jewish tradition, even before 157 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:56,300 Jesus. And in fact, other parts of the 158 00:08:56,300 --> 00:08:59,100 ancient world had this word Beatitudes as well. 159 00:08:59,700 --> 00:09:01,600 A beatitude was a way of speaking. 160 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:05,400 It was almost like a greeting and it particularly involved, 161 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:09,600 the form. Blessed is the one who does X. 162 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:12,600 If you ever had a teacher That was in that format was called a 163 00:09:12,608 --> 00:09:16,500 beatitude we find that several times in the Psalms and then the 164 00:09:16,500 --> 00:09:19,900 wisdom literature, if you've ever heard the Psalms proclaimed 165 00:09:19,900 --> 00:09:22,900 that say something like blessed is the one who does God's 166 00:09:22,900 --> 00:09:25,300 Commandments or blessed? Is the one who walks in the ways 167 00:09:25,300 --> 00:09:27,500 of the Lord. That is a beatitude because it's 168 00:09:27,500 --> 00:09:29,100 in the form of blessed is the one. 169 00:09:29,100 --> 00:09:34,800 So to in the Jewish World, a beatitude either, commended 170 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:39,400 those who take a certain path in life or it promises future 171 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:41,600 consolations to those in a fictions. 172 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:45,500 Now we see both elements in what Jesus says here. 173 00:09:45,500 --> 00:09:48,900 Jesus is going to teach his disciples about certain groups, 174 00:09:48,900 --> 00:09:52,200 of people who are fortunate. And he's also going to tell us 175 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:56,500 why they're fortunate. So, these are Jesus Beatitudes. 176 00:09:56,500 --> 00:09:58,900 Basically, the ones that he unpacks for his disciples. 177 00:09:58,900 --> 00:10:03,800 Most Old Testament, texts refer to be attitudes as imparting 178 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:07,300 blessings in the present life. But there are some later ones 179 00:10:07,300 --> 00:10:10,800 that focus on eschatological blessings where they promised. 180 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:14,900 Listen to the faithful who are afflicted, when God ultimately 181 00:10:14,900 --> 00:10:17,800 vindicates, the just so we do have these promises about 182 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:20,900 blessed is the one who perseveres blessed is the one 183 00:10:20,900 --> 00:10:24,600 who remains on Judgment Day. Some key texts here, which are 184 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:27,100 well worth looking at. Because these are probably in 185 00:10:27,100 --> 00:10:33,100 the background of Jesus thinking here, tobert 13:14 and Jan, 186 00:10:33,100 --> 00:10:36,800 Daniel 12:12. Both have this idea of people 187 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:40,600 receiving blessings at the end of time, if they persevere in 188 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:41,600 doing. His will. 189 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:45,300 What we're about to see is one of the hardest parts of the 190 00:10:45,300 --> 00:10:48,500 Gospel of Matthew to interpret. There's so much that could be 191 00:10:48,500 --> 00:10:50,000 said about it. You've probably heard lots of 192 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:52,900 sermons preached about it. Usually, you'll probably hear 193 00:10:52,900 --> 00:10:56,200 sermons preached about spiritual senses of this text. 194 00:10:56,700 --> 00:10:59,500 We want to discern the literal sense of the text, and that's 195 00:10:59,500 --> 00:11:01,100 what our podcast is all about helping. 196 00:11:01,100 --> 00:11:04,100 You understand what the author and what Jesus intended on the 197 00:11:04,100 --> 00:11:08,300 most fundamental level? It's not an easy text to do that 198 00:11:08,300 --> 00:11:10,300 for. So I'm going to do my best but 199 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:12,400 there might be some things that I don't get. 200 00:11:12,500 --> 00:11:16,000 Quite right. On the most basic level in 201 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:19,100 general here. For each of the eight 202 00:11:19,100 --> 00:11:23,300 Beatitudes, Jesus is teaching his disciples of the ones who 203 00:11:23,300 --> 00:11:27,200 are truly blessed are not those who the world sees, as blessed 204 00:11:27,500 --> 00:11:30,400 or even what conventional wisdom, or what the Pharisees 205 00:11:30,700 --> 00:11:34,100 taught about. Who is blessed, he's saying that 206 00:11:34,100 --> 00:11:35,900 all of those Notions that incorrect. 207 00:11:35,900 --> 00:11:39,100 He's turning the world standards for happiness and blessedness 208 00:11:39,100 --> 00:11:42,000 upside down. So on a fundamental level what 209 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:44,500 Jesus is teaching here is that those who are Ian is 210 00:11:44,500 --> 00:11:48,300 disadvantaged by the world are actually in a very favorable 211 00:11:48,300 --> 00:11:51,800 position. When his followers live by God's 212 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:55,100 standards, they will be in a truly fortunate state of life, 213 00:11:55,300 --> 00:11:57,800 no matter what their circumstances may be. 214 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:02,700 Because they bring a glimmer of the joy and hope of the Heavenly 215 00:12:02,700 --> 00:12:05,600 Kingdom into the afflictions of the present world. 216 00:12:05,700 --> 00:12:08,000 So that's the overall, big picture of what we're going to 217 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:11,800 see here in the Beatitudes, that's the general meaning. 218 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:14,900 However there's also some specific promises to each of the 219 00:12:14,900 --> 00:12:18,100 types of people. We can't ignore the promises 220 00:12:18,100 --> 00:12:21,600 that Jesus gives. Perhaps the best way to 221 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:24,300 interpret, what we're about to see here is that all of the 222 00:12:24,300 --> 00:12:27,900 promises in the coming verses refer to basically the same 223 00:12:27,900 --> 00:12:31,100 thing, which is entering the kingdom of heaven and that is 224 00:12:31,100 --> 00:12:32,900 certainly a key theme in the gospel of Matthew. 225 00:12:32,900 --> 00:12:37,300 So all of eight Beatitudes, the reward is the same entering the 226 00:12:37,300 --> 00:12:41,000 kingdom of heaven. Once we've established that 227 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:43,900 though, there's still a further question about the Beatitudes is 228 00:12:43,900 --> 00:12:47,900 Jesus, promising them things in the future, or is he telling 229 00:12:47,900 --> 00:12:49,500 them things that they already have? 230 00:12:49,500 --> 00:12:51,800 In virtue of already being in the Kingdom of Heaven? 231 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:54,600 Is it a present tense thing or is he telling them? 232 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:57,000 What will they will receive on Judgement Day? 233 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,600 When the Kingdom of Heaven comes in its fullness. 234 00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:03,800 So there's two options if he's referring to present things. 235 00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:07,700 That his disciples are already experiencing because they're 236 00:13:07,700 --> 00:13:09,700 already in the kingdom of God, then. 237 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:13,100 Jesus is saying here that they are already happy or blessed. 238 00:13:13,100 --> 00:13:15,200 So when he says blessed are you he's just saying it. 239 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:17,500 Like it is your blessed already because you're already in the 240 00:13:17,500 --> 00:13:20,800 kingdom of God but if he's referring to Future things, 241 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:22,800 they're going to inherit on Judgement Day. 242 00:13:23,700 --> 00:13:26,000 When the kingdom of God comes in its fullness. 243 00:13:26,100 --> 00:13:29,200 Then Jesus is telling his disciples that they should 244 00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:32,900 consider themselves happy or blessed because of what they're 245 00:13:32,900 --> 00:13:35,200 going to receive one day. He's telling them that 246 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:38,400 ultimately They will receive these amazing things and 247 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:39,700 therefore they should consider them. 248 00:13:39,900 --> 00:13:45,000 Blessed that I think is the best interpretation that he's talking 249 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:51,100 about future promises mostly, because Jesus is mostly using 250 00:13:51,100 --> 00:13:55,500 the word shell in these coming versus so that implies a future 251 00:13:55,500 --> 00:13:57,700 fulfillment. That's not to say they can't 252 00:13:57,700 --> 00:13:59,800 experience some of these promises in the present, but 253 00:13:59,800 --> 00:14:05,200 it's mostly Jesus telling them what awaits them in the future 254 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:07,900 in the future Kingdom of Heaven. At the End of Time. 255 00:14:08,500 --> 00:14:11,700 Verse 3, he His first one. How happy are the poor in 256 00:14:11,700 --> 00:14:14,300 spirit? What does it mean to be poor in 257 00:14:14,300 --> 00:14:16,500 spirit? Well, it probably means those 258 00:14:16,500 --> 00:14:20,600 who recognize that they are powerless in and of themselves 259 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:23,500 and those who realize that God is the only one who can help 260 00:14:23,500 --> 00:14:25,800 them. So they find their security in 261 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:28,500 the Lord rather than in material wealth. 262 00:14:30,600 --> 00:14:33,300 Maybe that's meant to contrast with the Pharisees who are quite 263 00:14:33,300 --> 00:14:35,400 self-sufficient, but that's the basic idea. 264 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:38,900 It's those who are who recognize their need for the Lord. 265 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:45,000 Now, Luke's version of this passage of this beatitude is he 266 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:47,100 just says, blessed are the poor now. 267 00:14:47,100 --> 00:14:49,200 That has quite a different meaning from blessed, are the 268 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:52,200 poor in spirit. So many, many essays have been 269 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:55,000 written by biblical Scholars about, which is the right 270 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:56,400 version. Blessed are the poor and 271 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:59,100 blessed, the poor in spirit because they do have quite 272 00:14:59,100 --> 00:15:02,100 different meanings. It's not Just a simple variation 273 00:15:02,100 --> 00:15:06,000 in language, there's a question about which was the original, 274 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:10,200 which author wrote first and which, which of the author's 275 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:15,300 borrowed and modified, it it's not easy to solve may be part of 276 00:15:15,300 --> 00:15:19,600 the solution here, is that in the Old Testament, the word poor 277 00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:23,900 didn't just refer to those who in economic hardship, but it had 278 00:15:23,900 --> 00:15:27,400 also come to refer to those who are part of the oppressed people 279 00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:30,800 of God in general. So, we see that in some 30 Seven 280 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:34,100 in Isaiah, chapter 10 and in other places in Isaiah as well. 281 00:15:34,500 --> 00:15:36,800 That would make sense. I think, because Matthew is 282 00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:39,700 assuming his readers, know, the Old Testament, quite well. 283 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:42,500 So I think that's the best way of harmonizing. 284 00:15:42,500 --> 00:15:46,100 The two is that, when Luke says, blessed are the poor, he doesn't 285 00:15:46,100 --> 00:15:49,000 just mean economically poor. He has a broader notion of poor, 286 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:51,900 which basically corresponds to poor in spirit. 287 00:15:52,300 --> 00:15:54,800 Now, of course it could be that Luke's version which is 288 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:56,600 sometimes called the sermon on the plain. 289 00:15:56,900 --> 00:15:59,200 Maybe this is an entirely different speech and that is 290 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:02,100 quite possible because Jesus would have given similar 291 00:16:02,100 --> 00:16:03,800 teachings on different occasions. 292 00:16:04,500 --> 00:16:06,200 And in that case, we don't have a problem. 293 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:10,700 So blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom 294 00:16:10,700 --> 00:16:13,200 of Heaven. Of course, the Kingdom of Heaven 295 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:15,500 is a key theme all through the gospel of Matthew. 296 00:16:15,500 --> 00:16:19,600 And basically, it means it's where God's will on Heaven is 297 00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:23,500 carried out on Earth. The Kingdom of Heaven, According 298 00:16:23,500 --> 00:16:26,200 To Jesus begins during his own Ministry. 299 00:16:26,500 --> 00:16:29,900 It continues afterwards through the work of the Holy Spirit, and 300 00:16:29,900 --> 00:16:33,000 it will one day be consummated when God sets up, his final 301 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:35,900 Kingdom on Earth. So Jesus here, teaches that, the 302 00:16:35,900 --> 00:16:39,200 poor in spirit will be part of this Kingdom of Heaven. 303 00:16:39,900 --> 00:16:41,800 That's one group who gets to be in the Kingdom. 304 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:46,000 Now, we're about to see what we have is verse for most 305 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:49,200 translations of the Bible have verse 4 and 5 swapped around 306 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:51,200 compared to what we see in the lectionary. 307 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:53,800 I'm not sure. Sure why the lectionary has put 308 00:16:54,300 --> 00:16:58,000 blessed, are the meek before? Happy are those who mourn? 309 00:16:58,000 --> 00:16:59,100 Usually it's the other way around. 310 00:16:59,100 --> 00:17:02,900 It could just be a typo in the lectionary so if you studying 311 00:17:02,900 --> 00:17:07,800 the Bible, most Bibles will have happy are those who mourn next 312 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:10,700 but our lectionary has happy the gentle so we'll look at happy. 313 00:17:10,700 --> 00:17:14,200 The gentle first. And another word for gentle is 314 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:17,500 Meek. Lots of discussion about 315 00:17:17,500 --> 00:17:19,300 meekness. As I'm sure you've heard those 316 00:17:19,300 --> 00:17:21,099 different explanations of meekness. 317 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:24,700 I think the best way to understand meekness is that it's 318 00:17:24,700 --> 00:17:28,099 those who understand their place before God, and who do not 319 00:17:28,099 --> 00:17:32,400 overstep their boundaries. It probably does have some sort 320 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:34,400 of relationship to anger and aggression. 321 00:17:35,500 --> 00:17:39,200 The the meek of those who patiently wait on the Lord and 322 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:42,600 made their afflictions and they refrain from responding in 323 00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:46,000 anger, or with Force against those who wronged them. 324 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:49,400 I do think that makes sense in context of other things. 325 00:17:49,500 --> 00:17:51,700 Matthew says, in The Sermon, on the Mount here. 326 00:17:51,700 --> 00:17:54,800 He does talk about what to do when you're Afflicted. 327 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:56,300 That's kind of what the whole thing is about. 328 00:17:56,300 --> 00:17:59,700 So I think a good explanation here of meekness is those who 329 00:17:59,700 --> 00:18:02,500 patiently wait on On the Lord rather than retaliating. 330 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:07,000 So, in other words, they rely on God, not their own strength to 331 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:09,300 set things, right? That is a Meek person. 332 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:14,700 Meekness is in the Bible, the meekest person according to the 333 00:18:14,700 --> 00:18:16,600 Bible in the Old Testament is Moses. 334 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:20,100 It actually says, Moses was the meekest person on Earth. 335 00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:24,100 That's in number 12, numbers 12 verse 3, and then Jesus himself. 336 00:18:24,100 --> 00:18:27,900 Of course, says that he is Meek in 11:29. 337 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:33,400 This same basic teaching, Jesus is going to amplify shortly in 338 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:35,800 The Sermon on the Mount when he says turn the other cheek, 339 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:38,800 that's basically what it means to be meek is to not retaliate, 340 00:18:39,100 --> 00:18:44,000 but to submit ourselves to On Happy the gentle or the meek for 341 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:47,000 they shall have the Earth for their Heritage or more 342 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:49,700 literally, they shall inherit the earth. 343 00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:52,300 Now, this is a quote from Psalm 37:11. 344 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:54,700 In fact, it says pretty much this. 345 00:18:54,700 --> 00:18:57,900 In Psalm 37, the meek shall inherit the earth. 346 00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:01,600 Now in context of the psalm, the Earth there is about the 347 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:03,700 promised land. It's a promise that those who 348 00:19:03,700 --> 00:19:08,200 are virtuous in the Old Testament and to wait on God, if 349 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:10,200 they're patient, They will receive the promised. 350 00:19:10,500 --> 00:19:13,000 And Jesus here. Modifies that a bit to refer to 351 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:15,500 the Future coming of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. 352 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:20,600 So their hopes about the promised land Jesus says, that's 353 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:23,600 going to be fulfilled in a greater way in the, coming 354 00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:26,600 Kingdom of Heaven. So, Jesus says that those who 355 00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:30,400 are Meek and do not aggressively seek an honorable position, they 356 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:34,800 will inherit the Kingdom. That will be quite a radical 357 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:37,400 teaching since the conventional wisdom of the time. 358 00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:40,400 If you think about it, was that those with the biggest and most 359 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:44,200 powerful Army would be those who inherit the earth, that was how 360 00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:48,000 the Roman World worked. So Jesus turns that on his head 361 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:50,400 verse five, happy those who mourn. 362 00:19:50,700 --> 00:19:53,000 Now that seems like an oxymoron. Happy those. 363 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:57,800 Who mourn morning. He refers particularly to the 364 00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:02,200 Jewish conception of morning. And in particular, its thinking 365 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:05,400 of those who grieve over wickedness, like, Daniel and 366 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:08,300 Ezra in the Old Testament. They were said to, to mourn and 367 00:20:08,300 --> 00:20:11,700 grieve over wickedness. Jesus says, happy those who 368 00:20:11,700 --> 00:20:15,800 mourn they shall be comforted. So in context here, Jesus 369 00:20:16,900 --> 00:20:20,000 basically saying that those who suffer and mourn, as a result of 370 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:23,400 wickedness will one day be comforted by God. 371 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:26,700 It doesn't mean that everyone who is sad will get to heaven. 372 00:20:26,700 --> 00:20:28,700 Often you'll see this quoted at funerals. 373 00:20:29,300 --> 00:20:30,800 Happy those who mourn. They will be. 374 00:20:30,900 --> 00:20:33,600 Added. Perhaps there is an application 375 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:36,100 there on the spiritual level of the text, but on the literal 376 00:20:36,100 --> 00:20:37,500 level. It's talking about those who 377 00:20:37,500 --> 00:20:42,100 grieve over wickedness. So here Jesus is encouraging his 378 00:20:42,100 --> 00:20:44,100 disciples to mourn about wickedness. 379 00:20:44,100 --> 00:20:47,100 He's telling them that it's a good thing to do that and when 380 00:20:47,100 --> 00:20:49,600 they do that, they should have hope that God will vindicate 381 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:53,300 them because they will be comforted verse 6. 382 00:20:53,300 --> 00:20:56,800 Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right, or a 383 00:20:56,800 --> 00:20:59,300 better translation there is for righteousness. 384 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:02,800 Now, is in the Jewish mind, meant following God's 385 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:04,900 Commandments. That's what righteousness was to 386 00:21:04,900 --> 00:21:07,700 be a righteous man was to follow God's commandments. 387 00:21:08,500 --> 00:21:11,800 So here Jesus is talking about those who hunger and thirst 388 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:14,400 which means to seek something with your whole heart. 389 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:18,000 So, just hunger and thirst for righteousness. 390 00:21:18,100 --> 00:21:22,100 It means someone who is totally devoted to doing God's will. 391 00:21:22,300 --> 00:21:26,300 Jesus says these people are happy and he says, they shall be 392 00:21:26,300 --> 00:21:29,900 satisfied. So, those who long to see God's 393 00:21:29,900 --> 00:21:34,200 will followed on Earth, will see it happen in the final kingdom 394 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:36,300 of heaven and this should be a question for all of us. 395 00:21:36,300 --> 00:21:41,600 Do we long to follow God's Will and see it done on Earth and 396 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:44,000 interesting here. Jesus uses satisfied and that 397 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:47,000 sort of completes the Metaphor. He started about hunger and 398 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:50,400 thirst, they hunger and thirst, but they will be satisfied. 399 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:55,500 In the final Kingdom of Heaven verse 7, happy the merciful they 400 00:21:55,500 --> 00:21:59,900 shall have mercy shown to them. Mercy is essentially showing 401 00:21:59,900 --> 00:22:02,800 kindness to those in need and that, teaching comes up a few 402 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:06,700 times in the gospels. Remember Jesus often says things 403 00:22:06,700 --> 00:22:10,000 like the measure you use will be the measure which is used for 404 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:13,100 you. All through the New Testament, 405 00:22:13,100 --> 00:22:16,700 there's this idea that God will show mercy and forgiveness to us 406 00:22:16,700 --> 00:22:20,600 only to the extent that we show mercy and forgiveness to others. 407 00:22:20,800 --> 00:22:24,700 Same basic teaching here, happy the merciful they shall have 408 00:22:24,700 --> 00:22:27,900 mercy shown to them. Perhaps Jesus here is 409 00:22:27,900 --> 00:22:30,700 contrasting with the Pharisees because the Pharisees in the 410 00:22:30,700 --> 00:22:32,500 other Jewish leaders. Probably they weren't 411 00:22:32,500 --> 00:22:36,000 particularly merciful and the implication would be that God 412 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:40,900 will not show Mercy to them. This eight, happy are the pure 413 00:22:40,900 --> 00:22:44,000 in heart. Now when we hear the word heart, 414 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:47,800 we might think of emotions. But in the Bible heart was the 415 00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:51,500 seat of reason and will, as well as the emotions it was 416 00:22:51,500 --> 00:22:55,700 considered to be the deepest part of man, and we might almost 417 00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:59,600 equivocate it to brain today or mind. 418 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:03,200 So this teaching is not about having nice emotions. 419 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:06,300 Happy the pure in heart doesn't mean being a nice person. 420 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:11,100 Jesus teaching here is Is about those who have a pure undivided 421 00:23:11,100 --> 00:23:14,100 dedication to following God. Their whole reason will and 422 00:23:14,100 --> 00:23:20,300 emotions dedicated to God with the out Mixed motives, this is 423 00:23:20,300 --> 00:23:23,900 an important reminder for Jesus disciples that truly entering 424 00:23:23,900 --> 00:23:28,100 God's promises requires, not only external Purity, which is 425 00:23:28,100 --> 00:23:31,600 what the temple rules said. But Jesus reminds them that 426 00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:35,000 there's also a requirement to have an internal disposition of 427 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:37,800 a pure heart and that is taught in Psalm 23. 428 00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:41,800 Versus 325 happy. The pure in heart for they shall 429 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:44,700 see God. What does it mean to see God? 430 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:48,500 This is almost certainly a reference to this state of 431 00:23:48,500 --> 00:23:52,600 being, which Catholic theology calls the beatific vision. 432 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:58,000 Those who have purify themselves from all sin according to 433 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:00,500 Catholic teaching will enter the glory of heaven and they will 434 00:24:00,500 --> 00:24:06,700 behold God as he is revelation, 22 verse 4 and it says here, 435 00:24:06,700 --> 00:24:08,700 they shall see God. And I think that's what it 436 00:24:08,700 --> 00:24:10,000 means. Is that one day they'll get to 437 00:24:10,008 --> 00:24:11,700 behold God. And that's something we have to 438 00:24:11,700 --> 00:24:16,200 look forward to if we remain pure in heart, if we remain 439 00:24:16,500 --> 00:24:21,700 undivided dedication to God. Verse 9, happy the peacemakers. 440 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:25,600 So people who encourage peace rather than conflict, that's who 441 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:29,400 Jesus is thinking of keep in mind that for the Jews piece, 442 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:34,200 didn't just mean the absence of hostility for the Jews piece. 443 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:37,000 Was almost a way of life that you wanted to strive for it. 444 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:40,500 Shalom, it referred to well-being and rightly ordered 445 00:24:40,500 --> 00:24:42,700 personal relationships and society. 446 00:24:42,900 --> 00:24:45,900 When the Jews dwelled in peace in society, it was considered to 447 00:24:45,900 --> 00:24:48,800 be the ultimate shell on. So Jesus here. 448 00:24:48,900 --> 00:24:53,400 He is probably telling his disciples to make peace in their 449 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:56,000 life as far as they can, in their own circles. 450 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:58,800 It's probably not a political kind of piece that he's thinking 451 00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:01,800 of here. And we're all called to do that. 452 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:04,000 It's hard, isn't it to make peace with everyone in our 453 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:06,700 lives, but that's the clear teaching of Jesus. 454 00:25:06,700 --> 00:25:10,100 Here, happy or blessed are those who make peace? 455 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:13,000 They shall be called sons of God. 456 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:15,600 Now, that will be groundbreaking, we can talk more 457 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:19,000 about sons of God as we go through The Sermon on the Mount, 458 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:22,900 but it implies deep intimacy with the father and that was a 459 00:25:22,908 --> 00:25:24,700 very radical concept for the Jews. 460 00:25:24,700 --> 00:25:28,900 They did not consider themselves to literally be God's Sons, but 461 00:25:28,900 --> 00:25:33,700 Jesus here serves That if you follow his Commandments then in 462 00:25:33,700 --> 00:25:37,500 a sense you can become his son and it's an adopted son ship 463 00:25:37,500 --> 00:25:41,100 where God chooses to bring people into his family and to 464 00:25:41,100 --> 00:25:43,100 partake of his kingdom out of God's Own. 465 00:25:43,100 --> 00:25:47,200 Love he chooses to adopt sons and daughters, and that's an 466 00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:49,600 incredible thing, that's well worth reflecting on. 467 00:25:50,900 --> 00:25:53,800 So here Jesus says, the peacemakers will get to be sons 468 00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:56,700 of God, but as we go through The Sermon on the Mount will see 469 00:25:56,700 --> 00:26:01,100 that other people can also be added to the category of Of sons 470 00:26:01,100 --> 00:26:04,700 of God verse 10. Happy those who are persecuted 471 00:26:04,700 --> 00:26:08,500 in the cause of, right? Or literally, for righteousness 472 00:26:08,500 --> 00:26:11,700 sake. So Jesus here is talking about 473 00:26:11,700 --> 00:26:16,400 people who are persecuted for following God's will Jesus knows 474 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:17,900 that. Many of his followers are going 475 00:26:17,900 --> 00:26:21,300 to be heavily persecuted by the Jewish authorities in the coming 476 00:26:21,300 --> 00:26:22,800 years. And of course, we see that in 477 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:25,800 the book of Acts, he knows that that's coming for them. 478 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:28,900 So that's why he tells them blessed, are you when you are 479 00:26:28,900 --> 00:26:31,200 persecuted for righteousness, His sake. 480 00:26:32,100 --> 00:26:33,600 Now, that might seem counterintuitive. 481 00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:36,600 Why would that make you happy or blessed to be persecuted? 482 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:41,200 Well, well, Jesus says, theirs is the kingdom of heaven, and 483 00:26:41,300 --> 00:26:44,800 probably that means those who persecute them won't get into 484 00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:46,900 the kingdom. Jesus. 485 00:26:46,900 --> 00:26:50,900 Now develops this last beatitude a bit more in verse 11. 486 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:55,000 He says, happy are you when people abuse you and persecute 487 00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:58,900 you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my 488 00:26:58,900 --> 00:27:01,300 account. This is pretty similar to the 489 00:27:01,300 --> 00:27:04,400 previous verse except now he directs it directly at his 490 00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:07,300 Apostles. Notice he's using the word you 491 00:27:07,300 --> 00:27:09,400 now rather than they happy. Are you. 492 00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:12,900 So, maybe at this point, he's turned to his closest followers 493 00:27:12,900 --> 00:27:15,400 who were nearby as he says these words perhaps. 494 00:27:16,700 --> 00:27:19,400 Jesus tells his followers here that when they're persecuted for 495 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:22,800 following him and he knows that they're going to be they should 496 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:25,200 be encouraged rather than disappointed. 497 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:27,900 And he tells them a great reward is waiting for them. 498 00:27:27,900 --> 00:27:33,200 When they're persecuted for his sake, notice how extravagant and 499 00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:36,600 radical this claim is Jesus, explicitly Ashok Associates 500 00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:40,200 being persecuted for righteousness sake, with being 501 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:44,100 persecuted, for my sake. So, Jesus, he says that 502 00:27:44,100 --> 00:27:48,100 obedience to God's law. And righteousness now means 503 00:27:48,100 --> 00:27:50,800 obedience to Christ himself other. 504 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:53,200 Rabbis at that time, would never say anything like that. 505 00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:56,500 They would encourage persecution for the sake of God or the Torah 506 00:27:57,100 --> 00:27:58,300 Jesus. He says they're going to be 507 00:27:58,300 --> 00:28:02,200 persecuted because of him. Jesus is claiming an authority 508 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:05,100 that no Prophet or Rabbi in Israel would ever claim to 509 00:28:05,100 --> 00:28:07,900 possess and it's actually a Blasphemous claim. 510 00:28:07,900 --> 00:28:10,900 If he's not really the son of God, he's saying that you're 511 00:28:10,900 --> 00:28:13,200 blessed to be persecuted for my sake. 512 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:17,300 And this underscores how the Beatitudes that we've been 513 00:28:17,300 --> 00:28:19,700 looking at and not merely ethical principles, there were 514 00:28:19,708 --> 00:28:23,400 about Jesus, they statements about the unique authority of 515 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:27,000 Jesus and what it means for Christians to orient their lives 516 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:30,600 around him. So living the Beatitudes in a 517 00:28:30,608 --> 00:28:33,100 sense is actually imitating. Christ's life. 518 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:36,300 Jesus was persecuted. His humble all the things that 519 00:28:36,300 --> 00:28:39,200 are said here. Do apply to Jesus as our model 520 00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:43,900 and we get to share in his sufferings and persecution verse 521 00:28:43,900 --> 00:28:46,600 12. The final verse rejoice and be 522 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:49,000 glad for your reward will be great in heaven. 523 00:28:49,100 --> 00:28:51,100 So this is attached to the previous one. 524 00:28:51,100 --> 00:28:55,000 About those who are persecuted for his sake, notice the future 525 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:58,000 tense here, your reward will be great in heaven. 526 00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:00,800 No. Jesus tells his followers that 527 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:04,800 when persecution comes on his account and they should Rejoice 528 00:29:05,300 --> 00:29:07,400 since they have a reward in heaven. 529 00:29:08,500 --> 00:29:12,800 Now this verse might imply possibly because he says your 530 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:16,300 reward will be great in heaven. Perhaps that implies that some 531 00:29:16,300 --> 00:29:19,600 people are going to have more rewards than others in heaven. 532 00:29:20,500 --> 00:29:23,200 That's a legitimate interpretation and Catholic 533 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:26,600 teaching although it's not explicit, the it does tend to 534 00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:28,800 lend tend to lean in that direction that there are 535 00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:31,700 different Levels of reward. That's not the only 536 00:29:31,700 --> 00:29:33,300 interpretation of this passage though. 537 00:29:33,300 --> 00:29:36,400 Because you could just say your reward in heaven will be getting 538 00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:39,000 into heaven. That is the reward that not 539 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:44,400 everyone gets Jesus continued. Is This Is How They persecuted 540 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:48,000 the prophets before you, if, you know, your Bible all throughout 541 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:50,700 Jewish history. Profits appeared in Israel who 542 00:29:50,700 --> 00:29:53,700 are doing God's will? However, their message was 543 00:29:53,700 --> 00:29:57,300 usually rejected by the Jewish leadership and they were 544 00:29:57,300 --> 00:30:00,100 persecuted and sometimes killed as a result. 545 00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:03,300 Jesus, now tells his followers that they're going to face a 546 00:30:03,300 --> 00:30:06,500 similar situation, they're going to follow God's Will and they're 547 00:30:06,500 --> 00:30:09,100 going to try to Proclaim his truth and particularly they're 548 00:30:09,100 --> 00:30:12,500 going to Proclaim that. Jesus is the Messiah, but the 549 00:30:12,500 --> 00:30:15,600 Jewish leadership is going to reject them and persecute them 550 00:30:15,900 --> 00:30:19,800 in a similar way, to the way the Jewish leadership has done to 551 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:24,500 the prophets in the past. So those are the eight 552 00:30:24,500 --> 00:30:26,900 Beatitudes as you can see. There's a lot in them though, so 553 00:30:26,900 --> 00:30:28,300 much that could be said about them. 554 00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:31,800 But I think that gives you a decent sense of what is going on 555 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:34,400 in the literal sense. In terms of it being promises 556 00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:37,200 about the future Kingdom of Heaven. 557 00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:40,100 Now there's still a future question here that Scholars 558 00:30:40,100 --> 00:30:44,200 raise about what's the point in Jesus saying this when he's 559 00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:48,600 speaking to the crowd? You see encouraging them by 560 00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:50,400 saying that they're already blessed. 561 00:30:50,500 --> 00:30:53,200 That's one interpretation. He's saying that this is you, 562 00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:57,400 you're you're in the good books, you're being blessed or is he 563 00:30:57,400 --> 00:31:00,400 telling the crowd what they need to do in order to become 564 00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:03,000 blessed? So some Scholars really think 565 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:07,000 that we shouldn't say that Jesus would be is being prescriptive 566 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:08,700 here. He's not saying this is what you 567 00:31:08,700 --> 00:31:12,600 should be like rather what he's doing is he's just being 568 00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:15,100 descriptive, so he's making a contrast. 569 00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:18,900 Between his true disciples and he's describing what his true 570 00:31:18,900 --> 00:31:22,400 disciples are like already and his contrasting. 571 00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:26,600 That with the self-righteousness of the Pharisees that I think is 572 00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:29,800 a reasonable interpretation. Because a lot of The Sermon on 573 00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:32,600 the Mount is contrasting false righteousness with true 574 00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:36,300 righteousness, still though, even if we're saying, if we want 575 00:31:36,300 --> 00:31:40,400 to say that Jesus is being descriptive, telling it like it 576 00:31:40,400 --> 00:31:43,800 is at his present time rather than telling them what they have 577 00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:46,700 to do. Even if If we go with that, the 578 00:31:46,700 --> 00:31:48,300 message for us is still the same. 579 00:31:48,300 --> 00:31:51,600 The message for us is that for us to get into the kingdom of 580 00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:55,500 heaven, we need to be like, what Jesus is describing at that 581 00:31:55,500 --> 00:31:57,600 particular time. So the message for us is the 582 00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:01,000 same regardless. Now The Sermon on the Mount 583 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:04,000 continues over the next couple of chapters and we're look at 584 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:07,500 that in the coming days as part of the weekday cycle. 585 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:12,600 So the next part will be read on Tuesday of week, 10 in ordinary 586 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:16,600 time. Now, as you can imagine, there's 587 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:18,900 a lots of places. Lots of really, really 588 00:32:18,900 --> 00:32:22,500 interesting places in the catechism where the Beatitudes 589 00:32:22,500 --> 00:32:25,000 get reference quite explicitly, there's sections in the 590 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:28,500 catechism about poverty of heart which is based on what we see 591 00:32:28,500 --> 00:32:30,000 here. There's sections there about 592 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:33,600 Christine Beatitudes, about what it means to be pure in heart. 593 00:32:34,300 --> 00:32:38,700 It gets summarizes part of the fifth commandment, and it's 594 00:32:38,700 --> 00:32:41,700 linked to what Jesus says here about be a peacemaker. 595 00:32:42,500 --> 00:32:44,700 And there's all sorts of really interesting ones, but in the 596 00:32:44,700 --> 00:32:47,300 interest of Of time because I know this is a long episode. 597 00:32:47,700 --> 00:32:53,800 I'll just read out paragraph 17 16 and 17 17, which is all about 598 00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:55,500 this passage. It's a commentary on the 599 00:32:55,500 --> 00:32:58,200 Beatitudes. So here's what the Catholic 600 00:32:58,200 --> 00:33:00,500 Church teaches about the Beatitudes that we've heard 601 00:33:00,500 --> 00:33:05,000 today, the Beatitudes are the Heart of Jesus preaching. 602 00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:08,200 They take up the promises made to the chosen people since 603 00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:10,600 Abraham. The Beatitudes fulfill the 604 00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:14,000 Promises by ordering them no longer merely to the possession 605 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:16,700 of a territory. But to the kingdom of heaven, 606 00:33:17,700 --> 00:33:21,000 and then it goes on to list all the Beatitudes, and then it 607 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:24,000 finishes by saying the Beatitudes depict, the 608 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:27,400 countenance of Jesus Christ and portray his charity. 609 00:33:28,100 --> 00:33:31,500 They express the vocation of the faithful associated with the 610 00:33:31,500 --> 00:33:34,600 glory of his passion. And Resurrection, they shed 611 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:37,600 light on the actions and attitudes characteristic of the 612 00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:40,200 Christian Life. They are the paradoxical 613 00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:43,400 promises that sustain hope in the midst of tribulations. 614 00:33:43,900 --> 00:33:47,400 They proclaim the blessings. Has and rewards already secured 615 00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:50,000 however dimly for Christ's disciples. 616 00:33:50,300 --> 00:33:53,500 They have begun in the lives of the Virgin Mary and all the 617 00:33:53,500 --> 00:33:58,100 saints. So that's paragraph. 17, 16 and 618 00:33:58,100 --> 00:34:01,300 17 17. I'll include all the paragraphs 619 00:34:01,700 --> 00:34:04,000 and they're well worth reading. I'll include those in the show 620 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:06,600 notes. Hopefully you learned something 621 00:34:06,600 --> 00:34:09,699 new today I certainly did as I Was preparing this there's a lot 622 00:34:09,699 --> 00:34:12,600 of richness in the entire Sermon on the Mount. 623 00:34:13,100 --> 00:34:16,000 If you think there's people in your life, who would benefit 624 00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:19,600 from hearing this exegesis of the literal sense of the 625 00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:22,199 Beatitudes, then please share it with them. 626 00:34:22,199 --> 00:34:23,900 I would love it. If you could do that more and 627 00:34:23,900 --> 00:34:25,699 more people could hear about the podcast. 628 00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:28,500 Thank you. And we'll continue tomorrow.