After nearly 70 years, I have heard lots of sermons on lots of biblical texts, and even a few on no text at all. Certain denominations seem to emphasize certain passages that highlight their distinctiveness while neglecting others.
Some pastors choose a text that supports their predetermined desired outcomes for the congregation but skip over a verse or two that might undermine their goal. (I usually find the verses they skip to be more revealing than anything they say.)
Others bravely preach a text that seems at odds with what they believe. They sometimes work hard at explaining why the text does not mean what it plainly says. (“It’s all in the hermeneutics,” I sometimes hear.)
And of course, some faithfully preach the full council of God week after week. We all need to affirm their work in ways that are meaningful to them and communicate their value to the rest of the Body of Christ. We also need to support their work in prayer so that the Holy Spirit will truly convict those of us who are hearers of this Word to become doers of the Word.
In reading through the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 recently, it occurred to me that a subtle, but important, value can unwittingly be left out through one time-honored pastoral technique: the sermon series. The writers of the New Testament conveniently gave us itemized lists of virtues or qualities that can be dribbled out in relative isolation one week at a time. Over the past few years, I have heard such series on the fruit of the Spirit, the armor of God, and, more than once, the Beatitudes. (In my younger days I also heard more sermons about the works of the flesh, but that list has lost popularity.)
I am not complaining about the sermon series as a concept. It likely is a helpful structure for the pastor and congregation. The danger is looking at each item of such a list in isolated detail so that its interaction with other items on the list (i.e., the larger context) is missed and important aspects of its practical meaning are lost.
For example, read the words, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Does this mean all those who mourn about anything will be comforted? Note that the Greek word used for “mourn” (πενθοῦντες) is the same one used in Revelation 18:15 describing those wealthy merchants mourning over the fall of the great city of Babylon. Surely these merchants’ mourning will not lead to comfort. What are some legitimate ways to understand the scope of this promised blessing?
Here are several explanations I found online about how blessedness, mourning, and comfort go together:
- “Since everyone mourns (it doesn’t matter what they are mourning about), we learn that God’s love and comfort isn’t just for a few, but for all.”
- “Loss is part of life and mourning is part of life here on earth. There will be spiritual solace in the process of continuing to worship and maintaining one’s interaction with God and others.”
- “I think it could mean mourning over most anything. Jesus brings joy to believers who might now be mourning the death of a loved one or some other sorrow.”
- “God says that He will wipe away the tears of the weak, the hungry, the ones that are oppressed by the rich, the ones who suffer. God knows who are the ones that mourn, they will be allowed to enter the Kingdom of God and will be comforted then.”
There are varying degrees of truth in these statements, I think. But how do we know if all this is what Jesus intended or are they just statements of opinion? The section below from a commentary shows us a way. It allows the context of the preceding beatitude to help define the meaning of this next one:
“The second beatitude builds on our mental recognition of our poverty of spirit by adding an emotional response of sorrow. When we face the evil in our own lives, it saddens us; when we face the evil in the world — which includes possible evil in our workplace — that, too, touches our emotions with grief.”
Where I see the need for balancing the beatitudes most is on social media. One can go to YouTube and view many videos that suggest individuals such as Billy Graham and Tim Keller were tools of Satan and have been cast into Hell. Putting the best possible spin on this, perhaps these self-appointed gatekeepers believe they are following the beatitude to hunger and thirst after righteousness. Yet, the context of all the beatitudes suggests that unless these critics also practice poverty of spirit, meekness, mercy, purity of heart, and peacemaking, then they are also not hungering and thirsting after righteousness. Thus, they will not experience a blessing from God.
On the other hand, those who believe in affirming practices that are clearly stated in God’s Word as being unrighteous and impure in the name of being merciful and peacemaking are not really merciful and peacemaking. They, too, will not experience a blessing from God.
One great insight I can share for certain is that Matthew 5:13-16 immediately follows the passage on the Beatitudes: Matthew 5:3-12. Jesus calls us to make a big impact on this world by being salt and light. He amazingly says we can be light that shines before all men in such a way that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven. How might we do this? I suggest that keeping the Beatitudes in balance is what the context directs. The world just might be astonished, and we will certainly experience God’s promised blessing.
Ronald Sloan is a retired academic administrator who served at both public and Christian institutions of higher education. He currently teaches as an adjunct music instructor at Taylor University, volunteers at his church, and serves as a court-appointed advocate for children needing special services.
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