It’s likely we’ve read Jesus’ Beatitudes as a list of virtues—attitudes and actions that He wants us to pursue. So, we think, He wants us to be humble (Matthew 5:5), merciful (Matthew 5:7), pure in heart (Matthew 5:8), and peaceful (Matthew 5:9).
These are wonderful qualities to have. If we’re to be consistent in reading the Beatitudes this way, however, some of these “virtues” become tricky. Does Jesus really want us to mourn (Matthew 5:4) or to be persecuted and insulted? (Matthew 5:10-11). (Some have said we should mourn over our sins, but this is not actually said in the text.) This way of reading the Beatitudes can also lead to a works-based understanding of salvation. If we’re humble, gentle, merciful, and so on, we assume that God will then “bless” us.
Perhaps Jesus was making a different point. Luke’s recording of the Beatitudes makes it clear that Jesus was not addressing people who thought they were poor, hungry, or sad, but people who literally were (Luke 6:17-23).
This has led commentators like Dallas Willard to suggest that Jesus’ Beatitudes are not a list of virtues but a list of “outcasts” rejected by society but “blessed” by Jesus (the people mentioned in Matthew 4:23-25). They were spiritually impoverished (Matthew 5:3), sad (Matthew 5:4), shy and prone to abuse (Matthew 5:5), seeking but denied justice (Matthew 5:6), ridiculed for being merciful or living by their strict conscience (Matthew 5:7-8), peacemakers instead of political radicals (Matthew 5:9), and those persecuted for doing right or following Jesus (Matthew 5:10-11). All such people were “written off” by both the secular society and religious elite of Jesus’ day.
If this is what Jesus was saying, then the message of the Beatitudes is radical. Jesus welcomes all whom society rejects. Today that would include murderers, molesters, drug dealers, or the homeless, mentally ill, and overweight people.
Jesus ignores the world’s popularity lists. He takes anyone who will come to Him.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: 1 Kings 17:1-24
More:
Read Mary’s inspiring “magnificat” (also known as the song of Mary) in Luke 1:46-55 to see the way God reverses the fortunes of those who are despised by the world.
Next:
What hopeless or “written off” people do you know? How can you be as gracious toward them as Jesus is to you?
tom felten on April 18, 2013 at 2:10 pm
Love this take, Sheridan. Yes, God does love those whom society rejects and so should we! Sometimes all we see is the sin and not the person made in God’s image who is struggling with it. May we see all people with the loving eyes of our Father.
sheridan voysey on April 19, 2013 at 5:08 am
And sometimes it’s not even someone’s sin we can’t see past but their unpopularity or lack of ‘coolness’. Just look at how the glossy magazines treat any celebrity who puts on an ounce of weight – suddenly they’re splashed on the covers with horrendous headlines. The message is clear – only the slim and ‘perfect’ are acceptable.
Jesus doesn’t operate that way :).
Matt on April 19, 2013 at 9:06 pm
Here’s an honest reflection: I’m flat out loving many people who are perfectly “acceptable” in society’s eyes, let alone those who don’t “fit” . Some are annoying, some are boring, some are self-focused … their company is hard work that offers little in return for my company.
Hmm, who’s the self-focused one here?
What a blessing, what unconventional lordship over my life, that Jesus doesn’t simply demand that I love those who I find it difficult to love. He graciously gives me His heart for them; His desire to bless them with his unquenchable love. If I’m willing to ask for His grace, that is.
Praise God that there is no-one who He finds hard to love, not even selfish me.
tom felten on April 22, 2013 at 10:51 am
Matt, thanks so much for your transparency. I can definitely relate! Isn’t it cool how God uses others to mold us—peeling back the layers our pride and selfish ways to reveal the beauty of the humble and selfless ways of the Holy Spirit. May we live in Him today!
winn collier on April 26, 2013 at 11:32 pm
Dallas’s treatment of the Sermon has been formative for me. Blessed are the outcasts. In the Kingdom of God, truly all things are turned upside down.