The Beatitudes by
Arthur W. Pink
Introduction
Opinion has been much divided concerning the design,
scope, and application of the Sermon on the Mount. Most commentators have seen
in it an exposition of Christian ethics. Men such as the late Count Tolstoi have regarded it as the setting forth of a
"golden rule" for all men to live by. Others have dwelt upon its
dispensational bearings, insisting that it belongs not to the saints of the
present dispensation but to believers within a future millennium. Two inspired
statements, however, reveal its true scope. In Mt
5:1-2, we learn that Christ was here teaching His disciples. From Mt 7:28-29, it is
clear that He was also addressing a great multitude of the people. Thus
it is evident that this address of our Lord contains instruction both for
believers and unbelievers alike.
It needs to be borne in mind that this sermon was
Christ's first utterance to the general public, who had been reared in a
defective Judaism. It was possibly His first discourse to the disciples, too.
His design was not only to teach Christian ethics but to expose the errors of Pharisaism and to awaken the consciences of His legalistic
hearers. In Mt 5:20 He said, "Except your
righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye
shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of heaven." Then, to the end of
the chapter, He expounded the spirituality of the Law so as
to arouse His hearers to see their need of His own perfect
righteousness. It was their ignorance of the spirituality of the Law that was
the real source of Pharisaism, for its leaders
claimed to fulfill the Law in the outward letter. It was therefore our Lord's
good purpose to awaken their consciences by enforcing the Law's true inner import
and requirement.
It is to be noted that this Sermon on the Mount is
recorded only in Matthew's Gospel. The differences between it and the Sermon on
the Plain in Luke 6 are pronounced and numerous. While it is true that Matthew
is by far the most Jewish of the four Gospels, yet we believe it is a serious
mistake to limit its application to godly Jews, either of the past or the
future. The opening verse of the Gospel, where Christ is presented in a twofold
way, should warn us against such a restriction. There He is presented as Son of
David and as Son of Abraham, "the father of all them that believe" (Ro 4:11). Therefore, we are fully
assured that this sermon enunciates spiritual principles that obtain in every
age, and on this basis we shall proceed.
Christ's first preaching seems to have been
summarized in one short but crucial sentence, like that of John the Baptist
before Him: "Repent ye: for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Mt 3:2; 4:17). It is not appropriate in a
brief study such as this to discuss that most interesting topic, the Kingdom of
heavenùwhat it is and what the various periods of its
development areùbut these Beatitudes teach us much
about those who belong to that Kingdom, and upon whom Christ pronounced its
highest forms of benediction.
Christ came once in the flesh, and He is coming yet
again. Each advent has a special object as connected with the Kingdom of
heaven. The first advent of our Lord was for the purpose of establishing an
empire among men and over men, by laying the foundations of that empire within
individual souls. His second coming will be for the purpose of setting up that
empire in glory. It is therefore vitally important that we understand what the character
of the subjects in that Kingdom is, so that we may know whether we belong to
the Kingdom ourselves, and whether its privileges, immunities, and future
rewards are a part of our present and future inheritance. Thus one may grasp
the importance of a devout and careful study of these Beatitudes. We must
examine them as a whole; we cannot take one alone without losing a part of the
lesson they jointly teach. These Beatitudes form one portrait. When an artist
draws a picture, each line may be graceful and masterful, but it is the union
of the lines that reveals their mutual relation; it is the combination of the
various artistic delineations and minute touches that gives us the complete
portrait. So here, though each separate aspect has its own peculiar beauty and
grace and shows the hand of a master, it is only when we take all the lines in
combination that we get the full portrait of a true subject and citizen in the
Kingdom of God (Dr. A. T. Pierson paraphrased).
God's great salvation is free, "without money
and without price" (Isa 55:1). This is a most merciful
provision of Divine grace, for were God to offer salvation for sale no poor
sinner could secure it, seeing that he has nothing with which to purchase it.
But the vast majority are insensible of this; yea, all of us are until the Holy
Spirit opens our sin-blinded eyes. It is only those who have passed from death
to life who become conscious of their poverty, take the place of beggars, are
glad to receive Divine charity, and begin to seek the true riches. Thus
"the poor have the Gospel preached to them" (Mt
11:5), preached not only to their ears, but to their hearts!
Thus poverty of spirit, a consciousness of one's
emptiness and need, results from the work of the Holy Spirit within the human
heart. It issues from the painful discovery that all my righteousnesses
are as filthy rags (Isa 64:6). It follows my being
awakened to the fact that my very best performances are unacceptable (yea, an
abomination) to the thrice Holy One. Thus one who is poor in spirit realizes
that he is a hell-deserving sinner.
Poverty of spirit may be viewed as the negative side
of faith. It is that realization of one's utter worthlessness that precedes a
laying hold of Christ by faith, a spiritual eating of His flesh and drinking of
His blood (Joh 6:48-58). It is the work of the
Spirit emptying the heart of self, that Christ may fill it. It is a sense of
need and destitution. This first Beatitude, then, is foundational, describing a
fundamental trait that is found in every regenerated soul. The one who is poor
in spirit is nothing in his own eyes, and feels that
his proper place is in the dust before God. He may, through false teaching or
worldliness, leave that place, but God knows how to bring him back. And in His
faithfulness and love He will do so, for the place of humble self-abasement before
God is the place of blessing for His children. How to cultivate this
God-honoring spirit is revealed by the Lord Jesus in Mt
11:29.
He who is in possession of this poverty of spirit is
pronounced blessed: because he now has a disposition that is the very reverse
of that which was his by nature; because he possesses the first sure evidence
that a Divine work of grace has been wrought within him; because such a spirit
causes him to look outside of himself for true enrichment; because he is an
heir of the Kingdom of heaven