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by Stan Smith
Recently I went over the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12). You know ... from Jesus's famous Sermon on the Mount. There are (essentially) eight "blesseds" in there. And I thought they deserved a look here.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:3-12)
I think we make a mistake when we try to understand "blessed" as "happy". They'll try to tell you that. Indeed, some of the translations actually use that word instead. "'Blessed', you see, is old school," they'll say. "What's really in view is 'happy'." Except I disagree. There is a fundamental difference between "blessed" and "happy". To be happy is to feel pleased or contented. To be blessed is defined as a connection with God. That is, to be blessed is to be given something good by God (or someone else, I suppose), as opposed to being happy which is simply to feel good about your circumstances. Okay, so that's word games. Fine. But does "happy" really make sense in the text? Jesus said, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake" (Matthew 5:10). Do you really understand that to mean "happy"? Do we really expect to be happy "when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account"? No, happy isn't the right word.
So what is "blessed"? In Jewish context (and Jesus was a Jew), there were blessings and curses. (That wasn't "happy" and "sad".) The standard Jewish blessing went like this.
The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)
And in this Hebraism we see "bless" and "make His face to shine upon you" as a parallel, a "same meaning". So is "be gracious to you" and "give you peace." "Blessed" means that God's face is toward you, that He keeps you and is gracious to you and gives you peace. "Cursed" is ... the opposite. Are you necessarily happy if God's face is toward you? No, not necessarily, but there is something much better, much deeper, much richer there even when you are not feeling pleased or contented. Do you see? That is the idea of "blessed". Much better than "happy". May even include "happy", but, oh, so much more.
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I'm married with four grown children and (currently) four grandchildren. My wife and I live in sunny Phoenix by choice. I hope to encourage people with my words and to share with others what God has shared with me.
For more writings you can see my blog at birdsoftheair.blogspot.com.
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