I sit at my desk in my study with pictures of my nieces and nephews set beside my computer. When I look at them, I’m reminded of how cute they are, how much fun it is to be with them, and how much I miss them when they’re not around. Sure, they have their faults. Some of those faults include disobedience to their parents as well as fighting, complaining, and throwing temper tantrums. But they have certain characteristics that are innately theirs, gifted to them by God, which distinguish them from all the other children of the world, characteristics that mark them as my nieces and nephews, the offspring of my brother and his wife. And so they are special to me and I love them, in spite of their flaws, because of who they are.
I’m sure you share similar experiences in the case of your own children and grandchildren. I’m sure you love them in spite of their flaws and that it gives you joy when you hear someone say, “What beautiful kids you have!” I can imagine that such a statement might make you all the more proud, by virtue of the fact that your offspring reflect something of your own characteristics. And so it’s also a compliment to you. Even in the case of those children who have been adopted, though they may not carry the same physical characteristics as their parents, they begin to take on certain non-physical qualities that their parents have, simply by virtue of the fact that they live under their care in their home.
I bring all of this up, because when people read the beatitudes listed in today’s Gospel text they often times look at them in terms of qualities which disciples of Christ should work to achieve, in order that they might get blessed and receive all the gifts that Jesus mentions here. So, for example, when Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” many understand Him to be saying, “If you want to be blessed and get into heaven, you’ve gotta be poor in spirit (whatever that means!). So, get poor in spirit, and these things will be yours.” Such a view, however, turns the beatitudes into yet another set of commandments for Christians to follow, making their salvation dependent upon their obedience to them, thus doing away with Christ as our all-sufficient Savior.
But instead of looking at the beatitudes in terms of qualities that Christians are to strive for, a better way to look at them is as qualities that Christians are given by virtue of their new birth into God’s family by way of their Baptism into Christ. Like those characteristics that your children and grandchildren have by virtue of the fact that they are your offspring, you and I, who have been born from above by water and the Spirit, now have the characteristics of Christ, our Brother, who has made us sons of God with Him by faith in Him. Jesus is not teaching His disciples to try to achieve these characteristics, in order to get blessed. Disciples of Jesus have these characteristics because they are His disciples. Therefore, they are blessed and the kingdom of heaven, etc., is theirs.
Viewing the beatitudes in this way we see them as gifts, given to us by Jesus. We see our Lord here looking at us, whom He has given new birth and brought to faith in Him, expressing His love for His dear children as He, like a loving parent, dotes over those qualities and attributes which we have inherited from Him, and which show to the world that we belong to Him.
And that is why we can say that all of these qualities are ours in Jesus. Because we come into this world as sinners, we possess none of them inherently. They are descriptive of Jesus alone, who possesses them by nature as the God-Man, and who therefore perfectly displays these characteristics to the world. But because He has joined Himself to us, having given Himself to us in our Baptism and cleansed us of our sins with His blood, He doesn’t keep these qualities to Himself, but shares them with you and me. How often have you looked at a child and remarked how much he/she reminds you of his/her parents? Jesus looks at His disciples and observes how they take after Him. And so, the best way for us to see these characteristics in Christ’s disciples is to first of all see them in Jesus Himself.
The first characteristic Jesus mentions is that of spiritual poverty. Spiritual poverty has nothing to do with how much money you may have. The thing about spiritual poverty is that you may be poor in spirit yet still have a lot of money. On the other hand, you may not have a lot of money and yet not be poor in spirit. To be poor in spirit is to suffer from a lack of righteousness before God. Now, Jesus did not suffer this lack in heaven. But when He came in human flesh, He took your sin upon Himself, becoming a poor sinner before God in your place, so that He might enrich you with His righteousness. As a result, Jesus’ disciples confess themselves to be poor in spirit, having nothing but sin to offer to God. And yet at the same time they confess that they have a Savior, who made Himself poor for them, in order to deliver them from their poverty. Such people Jesus declares blessed, because He has given them the riches of His righteousness and holiness and has made them heirs with Him of the kingdom of heaven.
The second characteristic that Jesus gives to His disciples is the gift of mourning. Now, this kind of mourning is not the kind that even non-Christians can participate in - the mourning that happens, for example, at the death of a loved one. But it is the kind of mourning that only a Christian can do. It’s the kind of mourning that our Lord experiences over sin. An example of this kind of mourning can be seen in Jesus’ reaction to the unbelief that He encountered in Jerusalem, when He cried over the city and said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! The city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!” While non-Christians revel in sin, disciples of Jesus mourn over their sins just as their Lord did. Yet they don’t despair, because Jesus comforts such mourners with His words of forgiveness. Jesus calls His mourning disciples blessed, because they not only receive His comfort here and now, as they continue to fight against sin in this present evil age, but they also receive the comfort of His promise of the life of the world to come, where there will never be any more sin, devil, mourning, crying, or pain ever again. There we will live under our Lord’s comfort forever.
The third beatitude that Jesus points out as being descriptive of His disciples is that of being meek or humble. Again, this doesn’t describe us by nature. It’s first and foremost an attribute of Jesus, who humbled Himself for us, took on human flesh, burdened Himself with our sins, and laid down His life for us on the cross, so that His disciples, who now humble themselves, confess their sins, and trust in Him, might be heirs with Him of the new heavens and the new earth that He is going to create for them. Such people may be scorned and hated by the world now, but they live under their Lord’s blessing and promise that they will someday inherit the earth.
The fourth description of a disciple of Jesus is the fact that he hungers and thirsts for righteousness. Jesus’ disciples hunger and thirst for righteousness, because Jesus Himself did. His desire and prayer was and is that His Father’s Name be hallowed, His kingdom come, and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And so He teaches His disciples to pray the same thing, calling them blessed, because they will be satisfied with God’s “yes” to these petitions. Just as Jesus’ hunger and thirst for righteousness was satisfied when He achieved that righteousness for the world through His cross, so He satisfies our hunger and thirst for that righteousness, when He delivers that righteousness to us through Baptism and the Word, when He feeds us on His body and blood in His Holy Supper, and when He causes us to live holy and godly lives, here in time and hereafter in eternity.
Next, Jesus says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” Because Jesus is merciful and has had mercy upon us, forgiving us our sins and saving us from God’s wrath, we, His disciples, mirror His mercy when we show mercy towards those who sin against us. This is such an essential characteristic of a disciple of Jesus, that those who refuse to show mercy cannot be called His disciples. They will not be shown mercy, either here in time or on the Last Day, when they will have to stand before Christ as their Judge. Disciples of Jesus show mercy just as He shows mercy. When we fail at this (as we all do at times), we confess such sin to the Lord, receive His forgiveness (as He died for this sin too), and ask Him to work in us the mercy He desires. The more we live under our heavenly Father’s mercy towards in Jesus, the more we will show that mercy towards others. Such people are called blessed by their Lord.
Pureness of heart is the next quality that the Lord praises in His disciples. Jesus alone is pure in heart by nature. He alone has the right to see God. We sinners, on the other hand, are not pure in heart by nature, with the result that if we were to stand before God in such impurity we would die. But Jesus took our impurity upon Himself, in order to cleanse us with His blood through the washing of our Baptism. Now, having been clothed with Him we stand before God by faith in the pure white garments of His righteousness, holy and blameless. And someday, we will stand before Him face to face, when the pureness of heart that we now have by faith will shine like the sun in His kingdom of glory. So, when the devil tries to remind you how impure you are on account of your sins, remember this blessing spoken to you by your Lord, that you are pure in heart because of Him, and for that reason you will see God.
Next, Jesus calls His disciples peacemakers. They are blessed, because they will be called sons of God. Jesus is called the Prince of Peace. But His kingdom is not of this world. He didn’t come to usher in a worldly peace, but peace with God. He did this by offering Himself up on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Through such a sacrifice He has reconciled us to God. The message He gives us is this message of reconciliation. It’s the same message that the angels announced at His birth: Peace on earth, goodwill towards men! Disciples of Jesus hear this proclamation for themselves and then carry this message of peace to the world, declaring that God has reconciled the world to Himself through the blood of Jesus, not counting their sins against them. Those who participate in this peacemaking vocation of the Son of God are themselves called sons of God.
Finally, the Lord speaks a double blessing for you and all His disciples, to whom it has been granted to suffer persecution in this world. According to Jesus, to be His disciple you must deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow Him. Disciples don’t make themselves disciples; they are made disciples by the Lord. Jesus calls His disciples to suffer as He did. Because the world hates Him, it will hate those who belong to Him. You will suffer in one way or another for being a disciple of Jesus, whether it’s at the hands of the devil, the world, or your own sinful lusts. But you are blessed, because the kingdom of heaven is yours and your reward is great. Jesus has triumphed over all your enemies through His victory on the cross. Even your sins, which had barred you from heaven, have been overcome, so that nothing can keep you from your Lord. He is your reward, given to you by God’s grace. You live and reign with Him under His kingdom of grace here in time, and you will live and reign with Him in His kingdom of glory when He returns for you on the Last Day.
These beatitudes, then, are what characterize both Jesus and His disciples, His saints, who have been clothed with His holiness in their Baptism. They may not necessarily be qualities that you can see in yourself or in anyone else, for that matter. In fact, it’s better not to try to focus on them. Focus rather on your Savior, Jesus Christ, and let Him boast in what He’s given you and speak His blessing upon you. He doesn’t see your faults, but His righteousness which covers you. And as He has His way with you in your life through His Word and Sacraments, these beatitudes will become increasingly manifest, so that you might reflect the glory of your heavenly Father, of whom you are His beloved child in Jesus Christ. Amen.