'beatitude - supreme blessedness; exalted happiness; from 'bless - to bestow good on.
*183 V3 *(note - each verse # preceded by V) BLESSED THE BEGGARLY IN SPIRIT; FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF THE HEAVENS.
*(note - Lenski's translation of the original Greek words of each verse will be capitalized.)
the Beatitudes read like a Psalm;
Makarios*(note - every Greek word from the Original manuscript, in the case of the Book of Matthew, by one of Jesus' 12 original disciples, will begin with a Capital.) at once recalls the 'ashre' (Hebrew) of Ps. 1.1 Blessed! intoned again and again, sounds like bells of heaven, ringing down into this unblessed world from the cathedral spires of the kingdom inviting all men to enter. the word, like it opposite Ouai 'woe', is neither a wish regarding a coming condition, nor a description of a present condition, but a judgment pronounced upon the persons indicated, stating that they must be considered fortunate. the form is almost exclamatory: 'O the blessedness of those who,' etc! and it is Jesus who renders this judgment, which is, therefore, absolutely true although all the world may disagree.each of the 8 judgments is at once established by revealing in what the blessedness actually consists and the 8 judgments is at once established by revealing in what the blessedness actually consists; and the 8th judgment is even doubled and its blessedness is unveiled in 2 strong statements. all this blessedness is spiritual, each part of it coming from the great Messianic kingdom, true soul-blessedness, a rich possession now but with a glorious promise of still greater riches - the very opposite of the word's happiness which is poisoned already in the bud and soon blasted forever. 'Blessed' means joy for those concerned. but this is
*184 the heavenly way: the great gifts of the kingdom are ours, insuring a constant flow of joy, so that even if for a moment we be sad and sorrowful, the joy will again well up in our hearts. John 15.11 ('these things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full.')
the word PtOchos (long sound greek letters are capitalized). it is stronger than 'poor', it is 'cringingly, beggarly poor'....Robertson (translates)..'beggarly poor with respect to the spirit'...Isaiah 66.2 'But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit and trembleth at my word' the poverty here referred to is not one against which the will reels but one under which the will bows in deep submission. it is more than a state or condition, it is the attitude that grows out of the profound realization of utter helplessness and beggary as far as any ability or possession of self are concerned. these wretched beggars bring absolutely nothing to God but their complete emptiness and need and stoop in the dust for pure grace and mercy only. this is the condition and attitude of True Repentance preached by the Baptist and by Jesus as basic for all who would come to God and to Hi kingdom. the disciples had attained it and the Twelve gave the special evidence i that they forsook all and followed Jesus looking to Him and receiving from Him alone.
the astonishing thing is that Jesus should pronounce people such as this 'blessed', fortunate in the highest degree. Pharisees, Sadducees, and the world generally would do the very opposite. but the coin of all such is counterfeit, never passes with God, who accepts
*185 no coin from men but only beggars' empty hearts and hands. and thus it is not at all astonishing that such beggars, stooping before God, are 'blessed'. 'For theirs is the kingdom of heavens', 'theirs' in the sense of 'theirs alone', barring out all others who come before God with a different attitude.
the text reads: 'is' = is Now; yet some interpreters would tell us that this refers to a Future possession because the following verses have future tenses. but how about v10? others make the copula timeless and refer to the Aramaic where the copula is omitted and they consider 'the kingdom' eschatologic: 'the world as it well be when it has again become god's in the regenerated world of the future', but this is contrary to all that the gospel reveals concerning God. He feeds and satisfies the poor, Luke 1.53; he does it the instant they come to him and does not only promise future bread; we are to eat now and we do eat the Bread of Life, possess the treasures of the kingdom. for the kingdom which the Baptist and Jesus proclaimed as being at hand is 'within you' Luke 17.21, and actual Present Possession. Christ's kingdom is one of grace and glory combined; the grace is now here, the glory has not yet been revealed, I John 3.2.
'Kingdom' (compare the exposition in 3.2) must not be taken in the sense of an outward realm as we speak of earthly kingdoms, thinking of land and of people. this 'kingdom of the heavens' centers in the king, Jesus Christ and in the powers of grace,might and glory that go out from Him. where he is, there the kingdom is because there he exercises grace and power. the rich and proud in spirit resist that exercise as it would work in and over them for salvation. the poor in spirit cry out for that exercise of saving grace and help. it is impossible that the King should let them go on crying - He at once fills their
*186 hands and their hearts. whatever He may have in store for them in the future, already now he has a vast abundance. thus the Poor in spirit become Rich toward God, Luke 12.21. their royal riches consist in Christ's grace, pardon, adoption, sanctification, 'all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ', Eph. 1.3 not that these gits now end the attitude of the beggarly in spirit , so that this term no longer describes them. the case is this: as long as we live in this world of sin and in spirit of all grace 'sin daily', so long our poor hands are stretched out to God's grace in Christ, daily receiving grace for grace. and the flow of God's rich grace goes out and ca go out to us only as long as we keep that attitude to which God Himself has brought us and in which His grace works to keep us. thus the kingdom is ours Now and, being ours, in its progress it will bring us all that God still has laid up for us.
v4 BLESSED THEY THAT ARE MOURNING; FOR JUST THEY SHALL BE CONSOLED.
this second pronouncement is as paradoxical as the first. the verb denotes loud mourning such as the lament of the dead or for a severe, painful loss. the sorrow for our sins in true contrition should not be excluded from this mourning. do our sins inflict no loss upon us? do they not rob us of what is dearer than relatives, money or other goods? instead of excluding sorrow for sin, this is the chief part of the lament. but, of course, we must include all other grief and sorrow due to the power of sin in the world as this inflicts blows, losses and pain upon the godly. it includes every wrong done us, as well as every painful consequence of our won wrongdoing. it is almost self-evident that this mourning is not like that of the world which howls loud enough when its sins find it out: 'but the sorrow of the world worketh death' II Cor. 7.10
*187 behind this sorrow of the godly lies the recognition of the merciless power of sin and of our helplessness to ward it off and to escape. hence this mourning is a constant cry to God in their distress. the substantivized participle is the present tense and thus characterizes the godly as mourning constantly. as far as contrition is concerned , let us keep in mind the first of Luther's famous 95 Theses, that OUR ENTIRE LIFE MUST BE A CONTINUOUS CONTRITION AND REPENTANCE. as far as other sorrows are concerned. 'we must through much Tribulation (def - grievous trouble; severe trial or suffering. 'distress - mental suffering, affliction, trouble) Enter the Kingdom of God. Acts 14.22; in fact, all the passages that speak of tribulation belong here. God's people are, indeed, a mournful lot! (note - and a Joyful one too!)
but HOW can they be called BLESSED, emphatic (AUtoi), 'they, THEY ALONE!'? because THEY ARE THE ONLY ONES who 'shall be consoled'. the passive implies that God is their consoler. and this Is a future tense. Chiliasts (def - believers of a 1000 year reign of Christ on earth at the end of time) interpret: 'shall be consoled in the glorious earthly Messianic Millennium, when all the forces of evil are crushed, when all the Christians shall at last be triumphant'. until that time these mourners must remain comfortless save for the prospect of that distant comfort must Christ says 'i will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.' John 14.18 and when he came, we read, 'Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord'. John 20.20. No; this chiliastic comfort kingdom is but a mirage. the future tense is future to the mourning: THE COMFORT ALWAYS AT ONCE FOLLOWS THE MOURNING. cf. II Corinthians 4.15f (for all things are for your sakes,that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. for which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things that are seen, for the things that are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.) remember the 'little while' in John 16.16 ('a little while and ye shall not see Me and again, a little while and ye shall see Me, because I go to the Father.) the greatest of all comfort is the absolution pronounced upon every contrite mourning sinner. without this all other comfort is vain. and in tribulation God's Word, God's deliverance and help, God's support, cheer and uplift us as nothing else could do. finally, God's promises of
*188 future deliverance from all evil in the heavenly kingdom fill us with abounding comfort. as our mourning rises unto God in this vale of sin and tears, so his constant comfort flows down to us. thus we who mourn are of all men most blessed, for we, indeed, are comforted.
v.5 BLESSED THE *MEEK; FOR JUST THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH.
(* Gentle; Endure injury with patience) the best commentary is Psalm 37.11 - but the meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace'. ) 'The meek' are the mild, gentle, patient. the word refers to an inward virtue exercised toward persons. when they are wronged or abuse they show no resentment and do not threaten or avenge themselves. the opposite are the vehement, bitter, wild and violent. Jesus is the greatest example of meekness.
the paradox is again startling, the fact that people of this kind 'shall inherit the earth'. Jesus does not say, 'the new earth', yet many regard his word as a reference to the millennial earth or to Rev. 21.1. and Jesus says 'shall inherit', namely with Christ, the heir of all the earth. this lot is theirs in accordance with their Lord's will and testament. Read psalm 37: the wicked shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb - evildoers shall be cut off - yet a little while and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place and it shall not be - and so the story of the wicked goes on. there is not much inheriting of this earth according to the Psalm. but look at the anavim Heb. (also in Isa. 61.1), the meek'. Jesus is merely repeating Ps. 37.11,22. they are cautioned not to vex themselves when the wicked grow haughty and appear mighty and great. they may suffer, but the divine blessing constantly follows them also in This life and on This earth. it will not do to day that the temporal blessings promised to I (Heb) Israel in the old covenant are not to be regarded as being promised also to those living in the new covenant. the Christian Church has fared even better than Israel fared.
*189 the idea that in the Psalm 'earth' signifies Canaan and thus the heavenly Canaan in Jesus' beatitude, is specious (def- superficially pleasing though lacking real merit); for Jesus indicates no difference of this kind. it will always be true (v16): 'a little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked,' for his little has God's blessing and their much God's curse. our meekness, however, often shines by its absence; our covetousness, pride and other faults necessitate God's discipline,who always follows higher aims that reach beyond temporalities. Chemnitz writes that God let His children find a little nest on the house that is intended entirely for them. Luther agrees that this beatitude adds the promise of 'temporal life and goods on earth'.
v6 BLESSED THOSE HUNGERING AND THIRSTING FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS; FOR THEY SHALL BE FILLED.
in verses 5,6 the order is the same as in the Lord's Prayer: first the Fourth petition for bread, then the Fifth for forgiveness of sins. hunger and thirst are very commonly used to express strong spiritual desires and needs. both participles are durative present tenses, for this hungering and thirsting continues and , in fact, increases in the very act of being satisfied. daily weary for forgiveness and daily God satisfies us. we are blessed just because our hunger and our thirst continue. if they should cease, Jesus could no longer satisfy us. Perfectionism finds no support here.
'Righteousness', dikIosUnA, is one of the cardinal terms of the gospel,fundamental for the entire Scriptures. it is the quality of one who is pronounced 'righteous' by the eternal Judge according to His norm of right. the term is always forensic. (def - art of argumentation...in this case 'at law') always back of it stands the divine Judge and his judgment bar; always it embodies his judicial verdict of acquittal. No man, however wise and powerful, has ever discovered a way to turn a guilty, sinful soul into a righteous one.
*190 men Justify and declare themselves righteous, but this amounts to no more than the criminal's denial of his crime and never stands before the court which has the full evidence of his guilt. but what is beyond all human ability is brought about by Christ who by His holy life an sacrificial death met the demands of God's norm of right, met them in our stead and now transfers His perfect righteousness to us through faith and thus wins our pardon and acquittal before the divine judgment bar. 'Righteousness' cannot here mean the power of right in human affairs in the world of men generally; for the passive 'shall be filled' denotes a gift of God to certain persons, rendering them 'righteous' in His sight. it cannot denote a virtue, the so-called acquired righteousness,when men live righteously and do what is right. the passive verb shuts out also this. this word cannot be translated 'goodness'. DikIosUnA is never agathOsUnA. (on all similar Greek terms in both secular and religious uses , are never anything but forensic (law), a verdict pronouncing righteous.
'Shall be filled' is again future, the verb matching the figure of hunger and thirst. but this is not a distant future in a supposed millennium or in heaven but one that at once feeds the hungry and gives drink to the thirsty. the moment faith in Christ is wrought, at that moment righteousness is declared without even the interval of a second. and ever and ever as we yearn to be righteous in god's judgment, His Word in a 1000 places declared us so. with these declarations, all of them advance pronouncements of the final verdict at the last day, every contrite and believing sinner can satisfy and fill his soul. the verb ChortadzO (shall be filled) is strong. it is used to express the feeding and fattening of cattle with fodder and grain and men with abundance of
*191 food. he who is daily fed with Christ's righteousness is blessed indeed!
v7 BLESSED THE MERCIFUL; FOR JUST THEY SHALL BE TREATED MERCIFULLY. the first 4 beatitudes look toward God, the next 3 toward men. these treat of 3 virtues which mark the godly as blessed. 'the merciful' are, of course, the same persons as those referred to in the previous beatitudes. Luther well says that in all the beatitudes faith is presupposed as the tree on which all the fruit of blessedness grows. this, then, is not mere natural mercy as it is occasionally found among men generally but the mercy growing out of our personal experience of the mercy of God. God's mercy toward us always makes us likewise merciful, 18.21, etc. the noun eleos and its derivatives always deal with what we see of pain, misery and distress, these results of sin and Charis, 'grace', always deals with the sin and guilt itself. the one extends relief, the other pardon; the one cures, heals, helps, the other cleanses and reinstates. with God Charis (grace) is always first and eleos (mercy) second.
the agent back of the passive 'shall be treated mercifully' is again God and again the future means at once as we show mercy. in this future tense we ought to see the impossibility of a reference to the hereafter. there will be no misery there and thus no possibility of merciful treatment on the part of God. God first makes us merciful and then even blesses us for being merciful. this beatitude has stimulated God's people to do all manner of eleemosynary (def - of or pertaining to alms, charity or charitable donations; charitable.) work. it is well known how absolutely bare of even the idea of mercy many heathen religions are. the mercy of unchristian men about us, such as it is, disjoined from Christ, relieving only physical distress, is one of the indirect results of Christianity, never an outgrowth of the natural heart as such. the fearful cruelty which slumbers in the unregenerate heart, when occasion brings it out,
*192 is often appalling and its worst feature is 'man's cruelty to man'.
v8 BLESSED THE PURE IN HEART; FOR JUST THEY SHALL SEE GOD.
some regard 'the pure in heart' as a reference to sanctification, either in the wider sense (pardon plus good works) or in the narrower (good works); although only perfectionists think of complete sinlessness or 'total sanctification'. the Beatitudes are a perfect chain not a loose aggregation. placed between mercy to our fellow-men and peacemaking, purity in heart must denote a single virtue. a glance into the Old Testament shows us the bar lebab (Heb), the exact counterpart to katharos tA kardEa in Ps. 24.4 ('he that hath clean hands and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity , nor sworn deceitfully.) compare
Psalm 73.1- Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.
Genesis 20.5-6 - (Abimelech) said he (Abraham) not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, he is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this. (Abim had taken Abraham's wife Sarah into his harem based on what Abraham had said. and God said unto him in a dream, yea, i know that thou didst this in the integrity of they heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.'
I Tim. 1.5 - now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and of faith unfeigned;
II Tim. 2.22 - Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
I Peter 1.22 - seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heat fervently...
and Zahn's conclusion is evident :
'Pure in heart' = sinceritas (Latin), singleness of heart,
the honesty which has no hidden motive, no selfish interest, and is true and open in all things.
nothing is lost by thus specifying this virtue, for t is possible only in a heart that is justified and sanctified by God.
as the virtue, so the reward of grace; 'just they shall see God'. whatever may be said regarding seeing God in His Word by faith and regarding seeing him spiritually in communion with him in this life, 'shall see God' must here be the visio Dei in the other world, promised to the glorified saints,
I Corinthians 13.12 - for now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face:
now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
I John 3.1-2 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.
beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.
between God who is pure and the pure in heart...an affinity exists, the consummation of which is reached in heaven. the greatest joy of heaven will be the vision of God. we need not think of looking into the unfathomable essence of God; for As God's presence delights the angel hosts and fills them with ineffable blessedness, so His presence will be made manifest to the pure in heart. blessedness will flood them like light in the beatific (def - to make blissfully happy) vision of the All-pure.
*193 V9 BLESSED THE PEACE MAKERS; FOR JUST THE SHALL BE CALLED GOD'S SONS.
Compare
Ephesians 4.3 - Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Romans 14.19 - for as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
I Corinthians 14.33 - for God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
Hebrew 12.14- follow peace with all men and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord...
at peace with God and thus themselves filled with sweet peace, they live in peace, if possible, with all men and work to keep and to make peace wherever peace is threatened or lost. theirs is the work of true Christians who follow in the footsteps of the Prince of Peace. nor is this 'peace at any price', which ignores confessional principles and is unwilling to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3) these are not unionistic peacemakers who combine contrary doctrines by agreeing to disagree. Truth of God comes first, peace with men second. friends are dear, the Word of our greatest Friend dearest. no 'blessed ' was spoken by Jesus upon the disrupters of the church who insist on their false views, nor upon those who regard the peace and the fellowship of their brother-confessors as being of slight value, so that they may run after other fellowships. the true peace of the church is a blessed possession, we cannot guard it too closely. contentious , stubborn, obstreperous church members - this beatitude ought to make them impossible. also in the world, wherever strife arises, the followers of Christ work for peace in the spirit of their Master.
the passive 'shall be called' implies 'by God', for He alone can bestow the title 'God's sons' in truth and in reality. here, too, the future tense means that God shall call them His sons now when they prove their relation to Him by their peacemaking. Chiliasts again think of their future mirage kingdom and others of the world to come. 'God's sons, UiOY, shall they be called; the title is not Tekna, 'children'. the latter carries rather the connotationof tender affection, the former that of dignity and high standing. hence also 'they shall be called ' God's sons; this high distinction
*194 shall be accorded to them and by God Himself. God Himself shall own them as sons of His. He who sent His Son to make peace between God and man will acknowledge as His sons those who in the spirit of His Son also make peace.
v10 Strange to say and a general paradox to all the designations of the godly thus far used, in particular also of the last, peacemakers, these people, loving and working for peace, shall themselves be accorded the opposite of peace in this warring world.
BLESSED THEY THAT HAVE ALLOWED THEMSELVES TO BE PERSECUTED FOR THE SAKE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS; FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF THE HEAVENS.
in this final beatitude 'blessed' occurs twice, but the second is evidently only a repetition and thus marks an emphatic conclusion of the entire line of the beatitudes. this full elaboration of the final beatitude casts a special glamour over it, making one welcome persecution when it comes. come it will as the Lord here intimates. in the previous beatitudes present participles are used, only here we have a perfect participle and that passive. it cannot here. this passive perfect be equal to a present: 'are persecuted' (A.V.)
and it seems to be more than just the ordinary perfect passive: 'have been persecuted'. in all the previous beatitudes the designations indicate more than just inflictions, they show an inner attitude. this seems to be the case with regard to DediOgmenoi. this passive perfect may e regarded as permissive: 'who have allowed themselves to be persecuted' or : 'have endured persecution'. the idea is that they did not flee from it but willingly submitted to it when it came to them. thus the perfect
*195 tense is explained; they held out under persecution and are now people of this kind, martyrs who have stood firm in just trials.
they endured 'for the sake of righteousness', 'Hneken DikIosUnA. the same term that was used in v6, and it has the same forensic ( def - pertaining to, connected with, or used in courts of law or public discussion and debate) sense. it is God who as the great Judge pronounces His verdict upon them and thus accords them the quality of righteousness. these are true believers and as such righteous in God's eyes. they confess their faith and live up to it in their lives and thus prove obnoxious to the world which visits persecution upon them. ''For the sake of righteousness' thus means more than that they suffered innocently, although this, too, is included. they suffered because of what they were in their character and their lives, for the divine approval that rested upon them. God adjudged them righteous, the world, in flagrant opposition to God, adjudged them abominable. because their whole character and their life, s approved of God constituted a standing rebuke to the world, indicating God;s judicial disapproval of the character and the life of the world, the world turned gains them and thus persecuted them.
having stood firm under the test of persecution in the righteousness they attained by God's grace, their great blessedness is that 'theirs is the kingdom of the heavens', all the grace, gifts and glory that go with the rule of the Messiah and King....whatever the world may take from them is more than made up by this heavenly possession which no one can take from them. to have Christ and all that Christ bestows by his kingdom and rule is more than life, liberty or earthly goods.
V11 the fact that this is still the same beatitude although 'blessed' is repeated is evident from the applicatory second person which is now used and from the description of the persecution just mentioned.
*196 'Blessed are you' shows how the disciples are to apply all these beatitudes, although they are couched in the third person, to themelves, including in particular the last. the intimation in Hotan, 'whenever', is that many cases of the kind now specified will occur. the 3 plural verbs have indefinite subjects: 'whenever they shall revile you', etc. no need to say ho is referred to. they are the enemies of Jesus and his disciples who oppose the kingdom. the three aorists express actuality. men will actually 'revile ' the disciples , upbraid them with violent language; 'persecute' or inflict injury upon them and ever afterward 'will say everything wicked against you' whenever they mention you. these certainly are painful inflictions. 2 important modifiers are added: PseUdomenOI 'by lying', for which we should use an adverb: 'falsely' and Heneken emU, 'for Mysake'. these 2 modifiers expand what emU, 'for My sake'. these 2 modifiers expand what the phrase 'for the sake of righteousness' contains, namely the innocence of teh disciples and the real cause of this persecution, their adherene to jesus and to His teaching. on this subject jesus spoke fully to his disciples at various times and especially on the night before his death, John 15.18, etc. jesus nevr held out ny false prospects fo his followers.
VS 12 BLESSED ARE YOU WHENEVER THEY SHALL REVILE YOU AND PERSECUTE AND SAY EVERYTHING WICKED AGAINST YOU BY LYING, FOR MY SAKE.
instead of grieving and lamenting in view of this persecution or under the distress it inflicts, Jesus tells his disciples to 'rejoice and exult'. the 2 imperatives are durative: their gladness is never to leave them, no matter what they are called on to endure. an example of how the 12 lived up to this injunction is found in acts 5.41: 'rejoicing that they we accounted worthy to suffer shame (v40, beating) for His name' ;add ll the painful experiences of Paul and the martyrdom of so many. 'Rejoice' is not enough, 'exult' or 'skip and shout for joy', (agaliasthe), is added.
at once the adequate reason for the rejoicing under such circumstances is added: 'for your reward is great
*197 in the heavens'. this Misthos is 'pay', but never in the sense of something earned by works or sufferings of ours but as something unearned and freely bestowed by grace by the generous hand of God (19. 29). for He is ever a God who will let no man do a thing for Him and for His Son unless he reward it with an abundance that comports with his own greatness and glory. this 'pay' is 'great', not according to our merit, which does not exist, but according to him who bestows it beyond any merit of ours. it is 'in the heavens', laid up for us there like a wonderful capital drawing interest, to be paid out to us in due time. it consists, not in salvation, which becomes ours by faith before we ever do or suffer anything for Christ's sake, but in the greater glory that shall be ours in heaven.
with Gar an explanation is added: 'for thus they did persecute the prophets before you', namely in the old dispensation. here Jesus points to the most illustrious martyrs of the past (23.34), etc.) , so many of whom gave up even their lives for God. He ranges the Twelve and His other disciples alongside of these prophets. in one and in only one way may we join this most illustrious company in heaven ; by joyfully suffering persecution for Christ's sake. beyond question the highest glory in heaven belongs to the martyred prophets and next to them stand in due order all others who in their various stations suffered for Christ. not in spit e of our persecutions are we to rejoice, but because of our persecutions. the wounds and hurts are medals of honor. thy attest that we belong to Christ not to the world. in war promotions rapid and the war of Christ never ceases. II Tim. 4. 7,8,
'I have fought the good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me in that day
and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.'
yet (note - 'I') ..am afraid of a few scars for His sake.
the Beatitudes are not a string but a circle or circlet, for the last, like the first, bestows the whole kingdom. all are paradoxical but strikingly true. together they cover the whole life of the Christian.
*198 the first 4 in regard to God, the second 4 in regard to men. the main features of life are selected and combined in a grand whole. from the second to the seventh pertinent parts of the kingdom are assured, but no disciple ho has such a part can have it without having the whole. yet, whatever our experience in the disciple life - for that experience the kingdom has a corresponding blessing.
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