As we begin to focus on differing aspects of the Beatitudes, we must ask “who” those are that are blessed and “why” they are blessed. But first we must consider the “when” of the blessing. Our first clue as to the “when” the blessings start is when each of the Beatitudes begins with a “blessed are.” For example, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mat 5:3). There are many ramifications for when this blessedness starts. But people are not said to be blessed exclusively in the future, but the blessing or inner joy is to be now. At least that is the clear teaching of the first beatitude. At the very least the blessing starts now.Each of the beatitudes begins with the “blessed are,” but not all of them say that the reason for the blessing is that it is a present possession. In fact, the second through the seventh give the reason that people are blessed with the words that start off with “for they shall.” That certainly sounds like something that people will have to wait until eternity to have. However, we should not jump on that idea too fast without giving it some serious thought. Why are people blessed now if they have to wait for it until eternity? True enough that the full experience of the blessings of salvation and of knowing God will have to wait until eternity, but that does not mean that salvation and knowing God do not start now. In eternity those things will grow.
We can at least admit the possibility that just because the words are in the future tense does not necessarily mean that one must wait for eternity for the whole blessing. Another point that must be made is that the first beatitude and the eighth beatitude have the same blessing. There is some discussion about whether the Beatitudes continue after the eighth beatitude or not. For the moment, we will look at the Beatitudes as having eight expressions. In that case, we have the first beatitude and the last beatitude as bookends. Each of them give the same reason for the blessing and both are in the present tense. Both tell us that certain types of people are blessed because “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” But how are we to understand this if the other six are in the future tense?
I would like to propose another way of looking at the Beatitudes. We know that the text teaches us that the kingdom of heaven is a present possession. Perhaps what we should ask is in what sense are the promises future. Are these promises held out as something to be obtained in heaven or things that will be obtained as people “fulfill the conditions” that are set out? In other words, if this is true the future tense simply points to the fulfillment of the conditions. For example, the second beatitude teaches “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Mat 5:4). Now we should not think of trying to force out mourning so that we can be comforted. But we should know that those that have hearts so tender to God that they mourn for the right reasons, then those are the hearts that shall be comforted. Is that heart comforted in eternity? Yes, but is the promise only limited to that? I don’t think that the future tense has to mean that. It only has to mean that it happens as a result of the mourning.
When the text tells us that “blessed are those that mourn,” the word “mourn” is a participle in the present active. In other words, this is a description that is ongoing of a certain type of person. This describes the character of a person and it describes a person that mourns over and over. Mourning is a description of those that are truly blessed of God. So I think that the future tense of the comforting of this type of person is a promise that this person will continue to be blessed in the future. To link this with the kingdom of heaven as in the first beatitude, the person that has the kingdom of heaven is the type of person that mourns and has joy in that mourning because he or she receives the continuing comfort of God. This also fits with the biblical portrait of God since His lovingkindnesses are new every morning. God is a God that gives fresh blessings and fresh strength. He renews the strength of His people. It also fits with God’s nature to work a heart in people to make them fit for blessings.
We must take into consideration that people are blessed because of the promise attached at the end of each of the Beatitudes. If the promise is not something that can be attained to now, then the blessedness is also not attainable now. But the text clearly tells us that people are in a state of blessing now. This means that the promises must be applied now as well. If a person that mourns is blessed right now and he is said to be blessed because he shall be comforted, then he is only blessed now if he is comforted now. The promise, then, must be an encouragement that it will always be there for those that follow hard after God and seek hearts that are described in the Beatitudes. This is a great encouragement that as long as we have a heart that truly mourns God will keep on giving the comfort. That is the strength that we need to keep mourning.
This way of looking at the Beatitudes is also important because of how each beatitude relates to the Beatitudes as a whole. Biblical expositors have looked at the Beatitudes in various ways and have linked them together in various ways too. If each of the Beatitudes builds on the other, then it makes far more sense to look at the blessings as building on each other as well. If the blessing for those that mourn, for example, is to be comforted, then that is what builds the person to be meek and to hunger and thirst for righteousness. It seems to be a great burden for people to practice all of the Beatitudes without the promises to sustain them. In this way the souls that are persecuted receive blessings to enable them to withstand the persecution rather than the persecution coming on top of mourning and meekness. While mourning and meekness describe those that are blessed, they also describe those that receive the comfort and strength of God through the promises.
I also think that it is best to look at the Beatitudes in this way (receiving the promises now) because of the way the Beatitudes relate to the rest of the Sermon on the Mount (SOM). When Jesus gives the Beatitudes, He does not leave them behind when He starts with the rest of the SOM. Rather, He is describing what kind of person that lives according to His teaching. Living out the Beatitudes is the only way to live out the SOM. Without the things promised to those described in the Beatitudes, the SOM is beyond impossible for a human being to accomplish. For example, Jesus teaches and commands several things in the SOM: “But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 “If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. 41 “Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ 44 “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?”
What does it take to turn our cheek when one is struck? At the very least, it takes a person that is poor in spirit, is meek, merciful, pure in heart, and a peacemaker. But the promises for being those things are what a person needs to carry out what those states of heart demand. One cannot just keep being struck without the promises of God applied to his heart to sustain him. So the promises are what sustain a person to keep turning the cheek. Then we see that man is to love his enemy as well. Surely it is clear that many of the Beatitudes are necessary to be able to love a person’s enemy. But the promises are as necessary as the state of the heart as well. It is those with a certain kind of heart that have the promises and the heart and the promise together sustain the person to keep on pursuing the things of God.
As we go on in our study of the Beatitudes, let us be careful to take each of the Beatitudes as a whole. There is the declaration of blessedness. Then it tells us what type of person is blessed. Then the text tells us what it is that makes that person blessed. The Beatitudes tells us of the kind of hearts that God loves and the kind of hearts that He works in His people. This is not a section of Scripture that teaches us how to attain a type of heart by hard work, but underneath this what is taught is that the Beatitudes describe how a fallen human being that has eternal life in His heart is to be. This should teach us great humility, not to be proud and think that we can attain hearts like this by our own works.
But for the moment, know that it takes great pain and death to self in order to have hearts like Christ describes in the Beatitudes. However, behold the promises that He sets out and know that this happens only by grace. Let us set our minds on things above and covenant with God to serve Him with our whole beings. Pray that He would open the eyes of our hearts so that we could see the things that we have reserved for self from Him. Pray that He would rip pride out of our heart by the roots. Pray that He would make us like Christ. After all, what do you think the Beatitudes point to? Surely you will agree that they Beatitudes teach us how to be like Christ and that we need the life of Christ in us to even begin to have hearts like this. Indeed, that is what is going on. Man is driven to the end of himself, even the death of self, and Christ must live in us if we will have hearts as described in the Beatitudes. The promises must be for the present because the promises are really the life of Christ in the heart as applied by the Spirit.
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