“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Lets remember the context. Jesus had been preaching the gospel of the kingdom to a great crowd and healed every disease among them. As a result there were no doubt a lot of brand new disciples in this crowd he was now teaching. They needed to know two things right from the start.

First – even though they had suffered extensively, they were now going to experience a second kind of suffering that was completely new to them.

The New Testament teaches two kinds of suffering. There is suffering because we live in a fallen world – the suffering that follows natural disasters and the awful suffering that accompanies so many diseases. Added to this is the suffering inflicted upon individuals because of the evil nature of people…shootings, assaults, robberies, etc.

But now Jesus tells them of a new suffering that would be theirs. This would be a suffering for righteousness’ sake; persecution for being a follower of Jesus and for being united with him. Peter talks about this suffering for righteousness’ sake, about being slandered and reviled for living out our godly convictions and for treating others with a Christlike behavior (I Peter 3:13-17). He adds that this should be normal and so don’t be surprised (I Peter 4:12). It comes with being united with Christ.

Once again this beatitude is not a standard we need to live up to in order to be blessed. It is a bold statement of the grace of God that is ours. And our experience of His grace will always be greater than the suffering. In the midst of our suffering we also experience life in the Kingdom of God.

“God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you are ready for anything and everything…” (II Cor 9:8, The Message).

PS– This takes us to the last Beatitude. Here is a suggestion: go back and review how each one is a statement of God’s grace and not a standard we must live up to in order to be blessed. Then take some time to thank God for His incredible grace towards you…that you never need to earn it. You just get to experience it.

 

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God” (Mt 5:9). Apart from the gospel of grace, being a peacemaker is a job you do not want. It’s horrible.

Why? When two parties are not at peace with one another there is a strong disagreement between them. Each feels they are right and the other is wrong. And the issue is so important and the feelings so strong that the relationship is broken. Often it is more than simply a broken relationship, there is animosity and hostility.

Enter the peacemaker. Into division, hostility, bitterness, strife and anger. It is hard to keep peace, but it is exponentially more difficult to bring peace where there is none.

And in this situation – what is the role of the peacemaker? To begin with he enters as neither parties friend. Then he attempts to help them see where they are wrong, where they need to act differently as a result of their convictions, or where they need to change their convictions, feelings, objectives, etc. Usually each party in some way has to change and not get their own way. They have to give up being totally right. Often each party feels like they lost…at least to a degree.

And so the peacemaker leaves as neither parties’ hero. They leave lonely, isolated and friendless. And then here comes the grace of God eliminating their aloneness – reminding them of their true identity as sons of God and that they are a part of the ultimate family. And even better than that – they are reminded that God is their Father!

Being a peacemaker is not a standard we have to live up to to be blessed. It is a reminder that as we live in the world as representatives of the ultimate peacemaker, we will experience the same treatment Jesus did. And as we experience rejection and at times hostility, God’s comes to us in our frustration and loneliness and blesses us just as we are.

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We have been pondering the Beatitudes and exploring how we can understand them in the same way the original audience most likely understood them. What we have discovered so far is that they are not a set of expectations that we need to live up to in order for God to be pleased and bless us, rather they are statements of grace to broken, hurting, and victimized people. People like us.

So – how about this one: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Mt 5:7). Did they receive mercy because they extended mercy…because of what they did? I don’t think so. They received mercy not because of what they did, but what was done to them!

People with the gift of mercy are attracted to the helpless, the hopeless, the disenfranchised…to those who desperately need help and can’t help themselves. The heart of the merciful moves them to give and then give again. And again. It can seem as if they are always pouring out and it is easy for them to become depleted and discouraged. The desire of their heart to help will always exceed their capacity.

But this wonderful gift of giving and helping and serving usually leads to something more serious than having an emotional, physical and spiritual tank that reads close to empty. Something sinister happens – and that is what happens to the merciful. There are people, when they discover someone with the gift of mercy, begin to take unfair advantage of them. They suck them dry like parasites. They ask and ask and ask. Finding a merciful person allows them to live in their irresponsibility.

And so merciful people are often taken advantage of, treated unfairly and become prey to the needy. And to those who have been taken unfair advantage of because of their desire to give and to help and to bring healing, God says “I have your back, I am here for you.”

In this beatitude God is speaking to those of us who have been burned in our giving and serving and are flat on our back. He is not telling us to get up and show more mercy so He can bless us. He is telling us as we lay stomped on and flat on our back that He is going to show mercy to us. Just as we are. He is going to serve, give and heal…and we don’t have to perform for it. That is grace.

ACTION: You have friends that need to hear that God’s grace will meet them just as they are, where they are. Ask God to bring their names to your mind and forward this good news to them. Suggest they go back to the beginning of this series and ponder these beatitudes in the context of grace instead of performance. They will find they desperately need the grace of God…and it is available to them in the Kingdom of God just as they are.