An analysis of the sayings of Jesus about the Blessed helping us see the aim of Christian living in the formation of character.

1. The Beatitudes
Matt 5:1-13
The Inner BEBEing of Discipleship
ATTITUDESATTITUDES of the Kingdom
Viv Grigg, May, 2006

2. The Context of the Be Happy’s
 Birthing a community
Defining values (e.g. Lifestyle)
Defining universals
Drawing on the wisdom
of the sages of Israel,
each beatitude from the
Old Testament

3. The Disciplines of Jesus
 Like facets of a diamond
Perhaps closest we have
to a succinct description of
the nature of God?
These are used as a basis
for ethics
Impossible except for the
indwelling Spirit
Do you know the
overwhelming presence or
are you blocked up?

4.  Each beatitude includes:
A blessing or a curse
A description of the character of God’s “godly
poor”
A promise

5. Matthew 5:3-12
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.
6 Blessed are they who hunger and
thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are
persecuted because of
righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11
-
12
Blessed are you when people
insult you and persecute you and
falsely say all kinds of evil against
you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward
will be great in heaven.

6. Luke 6:20-26 Blessings…
 "Blessed are you who are poor, for the
kingdom of God is yours.
 Blessed are you who are now hungry, for
you will be satisfied.
 Blessed are you who are now weeping, for
you will laugh.
 Blessed are you when people hate you, and
when they exclude and insult you, and
denounce your name as evil on account of
the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on
that day! Behold, your reward will be great in
heaven. For their ancestors treated the
prophets in the same way.

7. …and Woes
 But woe to you who are
rich, for you have received
your consolation.
 But woe to you who are
filled now, for you will be
hungry.
 Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will grieve and
weep.
 Woe to you when all men
shall speak well of you, for
their ancestors treated the
false prophets in this way."
Auckland Professionals
•High Salary
•Dining Out
Sumptuously
•A Partying Lifestyle
•Honoured Professions
How would Jesus view
them?

8. The Poor in Spirit
 Luke says, “Blessed are you poor”
 This was an economic class, the labouring poor
 Out of their poverty they responded to God
 The term had developed during the prophetic period
as Israel had urbanised, and the society polarised
between the oppressive rich and the oppressed poor.
 It has nothing to do with rich people who have a
poverty of spirit.
At home in
Tatalon

9.  The opposite of poverty of spirit
is the spirit of the rich.
 The rich are always right.
 They are independent of others and of God.
 They have a sense of power and control.
 The poor in spirit have an internal poverty,
 They are people who depend on God,
 recognising their spiritual need,
 their lack of spirituality,
 their frailty.

10. Is poverty blessed?
 No, the poor are blessed –
those poor who respond to God
 The Conundrum (Luke 6)
 Poverty is a curse
 The poor are blessedThe poor are blessed
 Riches are a blessing
 But the rich are cursedBut the rich are cursed

11. Rich man, poor man…
 Can we be rich externally
and poor in spirit?
 Jesus chose poverty in
birth, life and death, laying
aside his wealth.
 He asks us to follow.
 Flee earthly riches
Internal
Poverty
External
Poverty
Internal
Humility
External
Humility
?

12.  The beatitudes are
an expansion of the
blessings on the
godly poor.

13. Blessed are those
who mourn…
 God weeps, God sits where
men and women sit, where
people hurt. He dwelt (e.g. Tumbakan).
 The dying disciple wears
sackcloth in their heart for the
sins of his/her people.
 They cry over the slave trade in
Manila,
 over the putrid stench of the
alcoholic in their arms
 over the pain of the childless
orphans of Rwanda.
 They pour out their soul for
the hungry (Isa 58:10).
Wailing- Bernard Hinds

14. Blessed are the meek…
 Meekness dies to power
and chooses powerlessness.
 You cannot put the meek down
for they have chosen the bottom.
 The steel of the inner is
tempered by the compassion of
a gentle and quiet spirit in
outward relationships.
 Like sponge rubber on the outside
and steel in the backbone
 Women like this are beautiful
before God (1 Pet 3:4).
 (e.g. fetching water)
Humility - M (Feuerteufel)
by Karin Kuhlmann (Germany)

15. …they shall inherit the earth
 The meek person does not have to fight for his own
rights.
 They have chosen not to have rights.
 Such powerless people are the ones who are truly powerful.
 This is the central character of a successful missionary.
 The meek can cross any barrier.
 These are those who inherit the earth.
 From one small obedience stepping into a slum, come
the hundreds of works – this is our inheritance, 1000’s –
if we would choose the downwards path.

16. Blessed are those who hunger and
thirst for righteousness
 Meekness is weakness without the burning
desire for truth and God.
 This hunger is not a hunger for knowledge but for
knowledge in action – a commitment to action for
justice
 Righteousness is not just vertical
 It is both dying to self-righteousness and trusting
in the righteousness of God.
 It is also a hunger for holiness
e.g. land rights consultation

17. Blessed are the merciful
 Mercy balances the drive for righteousness
 It is death to cruelty, the harsh word, the rigid
hardness that blames others, demands from others
 A tenderness
 that easily forgets and forbears, daily choosing to
forgive (Eph 4:32)
 It walks softly among the bruised souls of mankind
(Prov 15:1; Isa 42:3).

18. Blessed are the pure in heart
 The heart is the inner shrine,
the temple of God
 The pure heart is fixed on
God alone, undivided
 By desires to please self
 By courting the approval of
others
 By the cares of owning and
buying and selling
 By the delight in a wife,
husband, family
 By pride of position
 These do not steal away that
pure devotion to him (1 John
2:15,16)

19. Blessed are the peacemakers
 The cross is a cross of pro-active
reconciliation
 Peacemakers are able to speak
the truth in love
 They are not peaceful people
watching television
 They enter into conflict when it
solves the sins that destroy
people and communities.
(e.g. Raineer)
or

20. Blessed are the persecuted
 We are hated
 Friends are irritated by our goodness
 Families hate those who choose poverty and
powerlessness, it goes against their goals for success
 Communities hate us: A pure love for Jesus is deeply
offensive to those who love self and darkness
(e.g. CIA or Marxist)
 Politicians seek to destroy those who would destroy their
oppressions
 Yet we always rejoice and overcome the hatred of our
closest friends and families with love (II Cor 6:10)

21. And the promises
From righteous poverty to ….
 The Kingdom of heaven
 From pain to comfort
 From meek response to oppression to inheriting the
earth
 From oppression and injustice, they will be filled with
righteousness, see the transformation of the nations
 From cruel slavery, they will find mercy, forgiveness
 They will see God, the centre of the Kingdom
 They will be adopted as sons and daughters
 Persecuted but theirs is the Kingdom of heaven

23. Kingdom Economics
Advice for the Middle Class
 Earn muchEarn much
 Consume littleConsume little
 Hoard nothingHoard nothing
 Give generouslyGive generously
 Celebrate lifeCelebrate life
 Grigg, 1984,
Companion to the
Poor, Authentic
•Production
•Consumption
•Simplicity
•Redistribution
•Focus on Deity