A Quick Reminder About “Blessed”
In my previous post, we explored the words ashrei and makarios, the Hebrew and Greek words often translated as “blessed.” We discovered that these words carry far more meaning than a simple description of happiness or good fortune. They point toward a life that is flourishing because it is aligned with God’s purposes and experienced under God’s favor.
That understanding becomes especially important when we come to the Beatitudes.
For many of us, the Beatitudes have been familiar for so long that we no longer hear them. We read them as a list of virtues to acquire or spiritual achievements to pursue. We assume Jesus is giving us a set of character traits that we must develop if we want God’s blessing.
But what if that is not what Jesus was doing?
The Upside-Down Kingdom
It was New Testament scholar George Eldon Ladd who famously described the kingdom of God as an “upside-down kingdom.” Dallas Willard used similar language. The kingdom announced by Jesus often appeared to reverse the values and assumptions of the surrounding world.
The powerful are not necessarily the ones who flourish. The rich are not always the fortunate ones. The successful are not automatically the blessed.
Again and again, Jesus turned conventional wisdom on its head.
Yet perhaps “upside-down” is not quite the best description. From God’s perspective, the kingdom is actually right-side up. It is our world – with its obsession with power, status, wealth, and self-promotion – that has been turned upside down. Jesus came announcing that God’s reign was setting things right.
And remarkably, the right-siding work would happen through ordinary people.
Not celebrities. Not religious elites. Not political insiders.
Ordinary people…
People who mourn.
People who feel spiritually bankrupt.
People who are overlooked.
People who hunger for something better.
People who have been wounded and are trying to show mercy anyway.
When God is in Charge
The Beatitudes describe what life looks like when God is in charge.
Remember Luke describing the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry? In Luke 4, He entered the synagogue in Nazareth and began reading from Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor…” (Luke 4:18)
The passage continues with good news for the poor, freedom for captives, sight for the blind, and liberation for the oppressed. Jesus concluded by declaring that this Scripture had been fulfilled in their hearing.
The Isaiah passage ends with a fascinating phrase announcing “the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:19). In a way, Jesus had been describing God’s favorites.
So, when we arrive at the Beatitudes, we hear the same kingdom message. Jesus is identifying the very people upon whom God’s favor rests.
A Different Way to Read the Beatitudes
I want to encourage you to spend some time with the Beatitudes from Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase, The Message.
Interestingly, Peterson never set out to write a paraphrase of the New Testament. As a pastor, he found himself continually rephrasing biblical passages in sermons, Bible studies, and conversations so that the people in his congregation could hear them with fresh ears. Over time, those pastoral paraphrases eventually became The Message.
Whether or not you regularly read paraphrases, Peterson often helps familiar passages sound unfamiliar again – and that can be a gift.
The Beatitudes are one of those passages.
Many of us hear “Blessed are the poor in spirit” and immediately begin wondering how to become poor in spirit.
Peterson’s rendering slows us down. It invites us to hear Jesus speaking to real people in real circumstances in their everyday language. With Peterson’s help, instead of sounding like a spiritual checklist, the Beatitudes begin to sound like an announcement.
An Invitation to Listen Again
As we continue our journey through the Sermon on the Mount, I want to encourage you to try a simple practice. Read The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) every day for the next week or two from The Message.
Read it slowly. Read it prayerfully. Read it more than once.
And see what happens.
Eugene Peterson’s Paraphrase of the Beatitudes…
1-2 When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:
3 “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
4 “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
5 “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are – no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
6 “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.
7 “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.
8 “You’re blessed when you get your inside world – your mind and heart – put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
9 “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.
10 “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.
11-12 “Not only that – count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens – give a cheer, even! – for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.
Practical Theology Today 