1 Seeing the multitudes, Jesus went up onto the mountain. When he had sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 He opened his mouth and taught them, saying,

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,

for they shall be comforted.

5 Blessed are the gentle,

for they shall inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness,

for they shall be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,

for they shall obtain mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they shall see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they shall be called children of God.

10 Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake,

for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Matthew 5:1-12 - World English Bible

In Matthew 5, Jesus taught his followers on the mountain, a sign of intimacy with God. Since the evangelist gathered the Lord's teachings into five discourses (like the first five books of the Bible, the Torah), he portrayed Jesus and as the new Moses. By instructing his disciples from the heights, the Lord implicitly gave them the new Law, divine commands.

Jesus began the first of his five discourses with the Beatitudes. These set of blessings would define the vision and direction of the rest. In other words, this teaching defined what it meant to follow the Christ. Notice blessing was not immediate, but deferred; the attitude of the disciple was strictly counter-cultural in the first three Beatitudes. The poor or impoverished in attitude would be blessed with the Kingdom (Isaiah 57:15, 66:2). Mourners (for the dead and dying) would be comforted (Isaiah 61:2, 66:10,13). The meek would receive the Promised Land (Psalm 33:7). Again, notice the recipients would not be the ones expected to have such blessings; in the popular mind, the Kingdom would be earned by proud military leaders; their conquest of God's land would not lead to mourning but to rejoicing.

The next four Beatitudes described the attitude of the disciple: a hunger for right living, mercy, unwavering focus on God and a desire for true peace. In each case, the virtue gained its own reward: fulfillment of righteousness, receiving mercy, seeing God and inner peace as God's children.

The last two beatitudes spoke to the negative side of being a disciple: hatred and persecution. The life of the follower would be suffering, just like the prophets suffered for proclaiming God's word to the people.

In all, the Beatitudes clearly laid out what it meant to follow Jesus. The path was usually not what the neophyte expected and not what was popular, but it did lead to the Kingdom and inner contentment.

How do you live the Beatitudes in your life?