The Beatitudes

The Beatitudes as Stages of Spiritual Development

I tend to look at things a little differently than many traditional interpretations. While reading through The Beatitudes it appeared to me that maybe Jesus was outlining an understanding of the stages of Spiritual Development—that each successive Beatitude is building on the previous as an individual progresses through one’s faith journey. The following is how I see it unfolding.

The Beatitudes Matthew 5:1-12

Stage 1: Poor In Spirit  Mathew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Here Jesus is saying that you are blessed if you recognize that you are spiritually bankrupt—in other words, you know that you don’t deserve salvation, and in some ways you have this fear that you can’t make it to heaven. You recognize that without someone else’s intervention, you won’t live eternally in paradise. And therefore, you seek that which is greater than you and capable of enabling you to make it there.

Jesus says you have reason to be happy if you are at this place in your spiritual journey because you are only one step away from finding salvation in Christ. You are already showing humility enough to recognize your need for God, and therefore you are ripe for God to make Himself known to you.

Theirs is the kingdom of heaven because they will inherit paradise as a result of their authentic seeking and finding of God as their Lord and Savior.

The Gist: Recognizing the problem of Spiritual bankruptcy; one’s recognition of a need for God

Stage 2: Those who Mourn  Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Here Jesus is talking about those who have recognized their bankrupt heart and are mourning their separation from God. They have recognized their imperfection, their sin, their disobedience, and they now know that they need to be right with God. So they cry out to God in repentance seeking forgiveness and expressing their shame and guilt.

Jesus calls these people blessed because they have taken that first step towards salvation—they have made their sins “known” before God—they’ve confessed, and now they are seeking redemption which often takes the form of crying out for forgiveness.

They are comforted in the hope of knowing that heaven will be the end of all their troubles, pains, failures, and losses.

The Gist: Repentance part 1—one’s conviction of guilt that brings remorse— recognition of guiltiness

Stage 3: The Meek  Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Here Jesus is saying that those who are patient and humble, those who are submissive to His call and obedient to His Word, gentle to their neighbors and maintaining a heart of humility are blessed. They are slow to anger and quick to forgive. They are often content with simplicity and not drawn towards popularity. They put other’s needs, wants, and hopes before their own.

The meek are blessed because they have found the courage of a lion to live a life as gentle as a lamb. In the face of persecution and a dog-eat-dog world, they have found happiness in the beauty of serenity.

They will inherit the earth because their humble nature allows them to simply be content, and their gentle spirit is charismatic—so while others are stepping on one another, and being stepped on, the meek live out their fulfilling lives peacefully, enjoyably, and with little stress. They inherit the earth in that they have all they desire already and feel no need to clutter their life with more.

The Gist: Repentance Part 2—humble submission to the Lord’s Will in obedience and service; doing a 180 by walking away form a lifestyle of sin to a lifestyle of service.

Stage 4: Those who Hunger and Thirst  Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Here Jesus says that those who long for and sense a need for being right with God will find true happiness because those who hunger and thirst seek food and water. If they must, they hunt, plant, toil in the soil, and harvest. If they must, they dig a well and regularly draw from it. They know that more than anything in life they need to be right with God, and being right with God is honoring the Great Commandment.

Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed because they know their priorities and their need for God. Therefore they ask, seek, and knock and God answers, is found, and opens the door.

They will be fulfilled because they will do what it takes to fulfill their hunger and thirst— they will feed on God’s Word and drink from the Spiritual Disciplines. God will honor their efforts and their earnest hearts and provide the nourishment they long for.

The Gist: One’s newfound desire to be right and stay right with God by filling their life with Him through Worship, Instruction, Fellowship, Evangelism, and Service.

Stage 5: The Merciful  Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Here Jesus is talking about two kinds of mercy—one of forgiveness and one of serving the less fortunate. Those who are merciful are often those who have recognized the mercy granted them, and in being merciful, the mercy they have been granted is amplified. It takes more of a person to be merciful and forgiving, than to be vengeful—it takes trust in God’s justice and hope that those who’ve wronged you will see their wrong, repent, and be saved. There is much mercy in that hope. Standing in the gap for the less fortunate, the marginalized, the hopeless, the needy is just as great a form of mercy. It requires sacrifice, generosity, and hospitality. Both are living out the Great Commandment by loving one’s neighbor.

Happy are those who are merciful because they understand the mercy they have received and continue to receive. Christ’s sacrifice is the ultimate act of mercy, and by becoming Him, and living out His life on earth we take part in the continual granting of our own mercy. Being able to serve Christ in this way is, in itself, an honor of mercy.

They will receive mercy because they understand their need for it, seek it, and partake in its granting. All mercy is a gift from God, and by acting on it we are receiving its fruits through us.

The Gist: One’s response to the mercy already given them by showing the same mercy to others—beginning to practice their Christ-like-ness

Stage 6: Pure in Heart  Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.

Here Jesus lifts up those who guard their hearts from being defiled. He points to authenticity in worship, in prayer, and in a daily walk, void of selfishness, as the key to “seeing” or experiencing God. Those who value purity in heart closely evaluate what they allow themselves to hear, see, taste, smell and touch. They steer clear of the temptations of lust, of greed, of self-service and self-promotion, of vengeance, and idolatry. Their priority is to present themselves as Holy and pure sacrifices to God—spotless and blameless.

Happy are these because they have found the way in which God called us to live. They understand their purpose in life and are fulfilled by living it out. They know the full joy of living the life Christ modeled and find contentment and fulfillment in applying this to their life.

They will see God because they have prepared their hearts to come before Him. They will see Him because they are in tune with His heart as they have aligned themselves with Him.

The Gist: One’s commitment to maintaining a pure heart by focusing on what is right and pure and good for the sake of growing closer to God.

Stage 7: The Peacemakers  Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Here Jesus is honoring those who stand in the gap to mend fractured relationships. Peacemakers live for harmony and work towards bringing people to the peace table. Peacemakers provide healing for both sides and work to bring about reconciliation. They value all hearts and understand the importance of unity and forgiveness and work for both.

Happy are the peacemakers because they know their calling. They have been gifted for specific ministry—a ministry we are all called to. They have recognized their hunger and thirst for righteousness, have exemplified mercy, maintain a pure heart and are implementing those joys in serving God through bringing people back to unity in Christ.

They are called children of God because they are following in the footsteps of Christ. Christ was the ultimate peacemaker by reconciling humanity to God—by bridging that gap of our sin and restoring our fractured relationship. Being a peacemaker is being Christ, the Son of God.

The Gist: One’s willingness to stand in the gap between people in conflict and people and God to bring about reconciliation as an expression of their adoption into Christ.

Stage 8: The Persecuted  Matthew 5:10-11 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

Here Jesus proclaims a paradox in saying that those who are most committed to Christ and following most closely in His footsteps will receive the same treatment as He did, but will yet be happy. Those who are persecuted are those who are willing to stand up in the face of life-threatening opposition. The persecuted stand firm even in the face of death, and are yet happy because they’ve found the secret to a fulfilled life—a life like Christ. They have stored up treasures in heaven rather than treasures that can be stolen and destroyed.

They are happy because their happiness is not dependent on an imperfect world—their happiness lies deep within a heart of gold ready to stand before God and rejoice in His presence. They, like Paul, are anxious to join their Father in heaven, and therefore, their earthly life, while valued and lived out richly, is less appealing than an eternity in paradise. They joyfully give themselves over to persecution that God’s power might be demonstrated more glorious through their unwavering commitment.

Theirs is the kingdom of heaven because they have kept the faith, endured the persecution and have a place reserved for them in heaven. Christ awaits them with arms open wide and the words, “Well done my good and faithful servant” on His lips.

The Gist: One’s ultimate stage of being so committed that they are now willing to literally take up their cross and follow Christ even to the point of death (Philippians 2)

Notice Jesus ends the first beatitude and the last beatitude the same—that those who are poor in spirit and those who are persecuted will both inherit the kingdom of heaven. The journey towards utter and total commitment to Christ begins with the recognition that we cannot be committed without Him, and that we need Him to make all else possible.

Beatitude = Supreme Blessedness