Jesus shared the beatitudes with us to illuminate the truth of our being, enlightening our authentic selves by waking us up to the divine nature we share with him. The great mystery of the Gospel is Christ in you! Which then becomes Christ through you to others.
The beatitudes were never meant to be a checklist to the blessed life, as in, if you do these things then God will bless you. Rather, Jesus was showing us the way to a flourishing life by seeing that even the difficult aspects of life can be viewed entirely differently if we can see they enrich our lives as essential parts of our spiritual journey. Then, Jesus walked this out before us in real time so we could watch what our lives were to look like. Even more than what hesaid, he lived the way of love in a beautifully breathtaking way.
Jesus was poor in spirit. He acknowledged his continual dependence on and deep need for his heavenly Father.
Jesus mourned. He felt deeply, had extreme compassion, and wept real tears, hurting for the people he came to save.
Jesus was meek. He was the model for ‘gentle strength’ and ‘power under control.’ Submitting himself to the will of his Father, his strength was focused on serving the weak. Instead of taking advantage over others less gifted, His power was invested in the powerless, like advocating for the little children who others wanted to push aside as unimportant.
Jesus hungered and thirsted for righteousness. He was deeply passionate for his Father’s kingdom and consistently walked in God’s ways, made clear to him through his intimate relationship with the Father. In doing so, Jesus also restored our vision, helping us see clearly what we had so profoundly misunderstood about the character, goodness, and nurturing heart of our tenderhearted Father.
Jesus was merciful. Everything he did flowed from his deep compassion for us. Again and again, he extended mercy to those who were broken, ashamed, or deserving of judgment—from the woman caught in adultery and brought before him to be stoned, to Peter, who denied him yet was lovingly restored. But perhaps the most profound expression of his mercy came in his final moments on the cross, when he prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)
Jesus was pure in heart. Because of his single-minded desire to please the Father, his motives were completely pure; he never sought to use or manipulate people for his own gain. His innermost being was free from darkness or self-interest, giving him a clear and undistorted vision of the Father. This purity made Jesus profoundly safe to be around, even in the presence of our deepest messes and failures—as seen in the woman who poured out her gratitude by anointing him with oil and washing his feet with her tears.
Jesus was a peacemaker. Unlike a peacekeeper, Jesus used his authority to protect the powerless and challenge those who held power to recognize the infinite worth of every person. We see this in the woman who anointed his feet, when Jesus confronted the judgmental posture of the Pharisee who had invited him to dinner. The one with authority in the room stood up for the one who had none. Ultimately, Jesus made peace between us and God through the cross, fully forgiving us and awakening us to see ourselves as our Father has always seen us—with love, mercy, and delight.
Jesus was persecuted for righteousness’ sake. Jesus was repeatedly rejected and mistreated because the goodness of God he embodied was so deeply misunderstood, especially by the religious elite. God did not kill Jesus—we did. He willingly became the unblemished Lamb led to the slaughter, absorbing the violence of a world that could not recognize the love he came to reveal. From the perspective of eternity, we see the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world; and looking toward the climactic vision of heaven, we see the entire universe erupting in worship of the Lamb who was slain. As Philippians 2 reveals, every knee bows and every tongue confesses the name of Jesus because he humbled himself, emptied himself, and embraced death in self-sacrificial love.
Jesus, who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:6-11 (NIV)
This Christ in you—this humble, merciful Jesus through your life, challenges and changes the world’s ways. It comes at a cost, but it’s what we were born from above to do.
Love, Pastor Brent
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