Seeing God’s Character through His Blessings: Matthew 5:1-12

At the opening of His famous “Sermon on the Mount”, Jesus shares a list of blessings and He ties each blessing to a lifestyle and/or a character quality. For many years, I believed Jesus was sharing different blessings to different groups of people, and the conclusion in my mind was that someone could only be a part of one, maybe two, groups.

But as I looked closer at Jesus’ list, I realized that this list of blessings describes those who God wants to bless in specific ways. This list also describes a way of life that is different from the common culture during any and every period in earth’s history following the fall of Adam and Eve.

In the nine blessings Jesus shares, we see a picture of God’s love and a picture of how He interacts with us, and as I read this list, I see a progression in the order of the blessings.

• Opening the list of blessings is a blessing for “those who recognize they are spiritually helpless.” The reward is God’s kingdom of heaven. This reward is entirely based on the truth that we are fallen from perfection, and we cannot live spiritual lives without God’s help. (v. 3)

• Next is a blessing for “those who mourn.” People who are going through a difficult time or who have experienced loss are people who God wants to wrap His arms around and comfort. The world is a painful place, and God is not interested in sitting on the sidelines. He wants to comfort those who mourn. (v. 4)

• Third comes a blessing for “those who are gentle.” Jesus says their reward is inheriting the earth. While this sounds backwards, since it seems like the world is run by the least gentle people imaginable in most cases, Jesus may be referring to the recreated, sinless “new heaven and earth”. The people who ultimately receive the earth after sin has been destroyed will be known as “those who are gentle.” (v. 5)

• Following this is a blessing for “those who hunger and thirst for God’s approval.” Jesus says they will be blessed by being satisfied. This is another challenging idea for some, because if we feel we never are measuring up to what God wants from us, we will never feel as though He approves of us. However, Jesus came and His life met God’s standard, and Jesus offers His life to each of us. Through Jesus, we are approved by God and we can be satisfied. (v. 6)

• Half way through this list is a blessing for “those who show mercy.” The reward for those who give mercy to others is that they will receive mercy – maybe not from some people, but ultimately from God. Like a parable where a servant is forgiven a massive debt and the expectation is he would pay the forgiveness forward, God’s people have been shown amazing mercy, and we are to pay-it-forward by living a life where we give mercy generously. (v. 7)

• The sixth blessing is one for “those whose thoughts are pure.” The blessing they receive is simple: they get to see God. While this is obvious when we take a new heaven and new earth perspective, I wonder if it may also be true in the present world. I wonder if those whose thoughts are pure will be able to recognize God’s movement and what He is doing while those who have evil thoughts are blind to God’s presence and movement. (v. 8)

• As we near the end of the list, we find the seventh blessing is one for “those who make peace.” These people will be called God’s children. What is amazing to me about this blessing is it supports a God who is filled with love more than a god who is interested in war. The future God has in mind is one that is filled with peace, and only those who are willing and able to live peacefully will be able to join God’s family as children. This doesn’t mean we must be peaceful before we come to God, but it does mean we must let God work and create peaceful living within our hearts. (v. 9)

• Second to last is a blessing for “those who are persecuted for doing what God approves of.” Like the first group, these people will be blessed by receiving God’s kingdom. This is a promise to us that heaven is in our future when we do what God approves of – and it is something secular culture will never understand. This blessing helps keep us focused on what matters most – which is doing what God approves of, and it helps us remember heaven is our true home! (v. 10)

• Finishing off the list is a blessing that echoes the previous one while taking a slightly different approach. While all the blessings have been directed at “third-party” groups, Jesus finishes off the list talking directly to those present and those of us who are reading His words. Jesus says, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, lie, and say all kinds of evil things about you because of me. Rejoice and be glad because you have a great reward in heaven! The prophets who lived before you were persecuted in these ways.” This last blessing takes the focus off of being on “someone else” and it directs the focus onto you and me. (v. 11-12)

In these blessings, we see God’s character through how He blesses those who are living within His will for their lives.