Who Are the Happy? (Mt 5:1-12)

Questions: Who Are the Happy? (Mt 5:1-12).

“Happy are those who are poor in spirit, for it is to them that the kingdom of heaven belongs” (R. T. France).

“God blesses the beggars in spirit because theirs is Heavens’ Empire” (Scot McKnight).

“How blissful the destitute, abject in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of the heavens” (David Bentley Hart).

“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs” (Mt 5:3, NLT).

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:3, NIV). 

Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (Lk 6:20).

• “To be poor in spirit means that you have nothing, and your heart relies on nothing of your own doing, but you depend entirely upon the grace and mercy of God.” Martin Luther.
  

The “problem” of happiness is that you have to face the unavoidable presence of unhappiness. The problem of blessedness is that–if you’re honest with yourself–there is the “curse” in the world you live in.

• The Problem: Pain. Pride. Unhapiness.
• The Promise: Peace. Paradise. Happiness.
• The Plan: Poverty. Purity. Piety. Perseverance. Prayer. Ponder the paradoxes.

Some sad stats according to the American Psychological Association:

• from 2005 to 2009–the %age of adolescents with major depression nearly tripled and anxiety almost doubled.
• from 2000-2023–the %age of adults of all ages who are “not too happy” about their lives more than doubled. Women were hit especially hard:
  • 45% between 12 and 26 had a diagnosis of anxiety or depression by 2024.
  • From 2004-2024, the %age of women <30 who said their mental health was “excellent” plummeted from 48% to 15%.

So, WHO are the HAPPY? They are those who [are]:

• “poor in spirit” (Mt 5:3), who know their helplessness and inability.
• “mourn“ (Mt 5:4), rather than always trying to find happiness which is always transient and evanescent.
• “hunger and thirst“ (Mt 5:5), rather than always striving to satisfy every desire.
• “meek“ (Mt 5:6), rather than those who agressively and angrily demand their preferred preferences.
• “merciful“ (Mt 5:7), rather than those who mercilessly demand their own form of justice.
• “pure in heart“ (Mt 5:8), rather than those who virtue signal.
• “peacemakers“ (Mt 5:9), rather than those who incite rage and anger.
• “persecuted for righteousness“ (Mt 5:10), rather than those who love to persecute and cancel anyone they regard as toxic.

The Good Life: The Paradoxical Values of the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:3-10, 11-12).

“Blessed/Happy…” (Ps 1:1; 32:1-2; 40:4; 119:1-2; 128:1; Mt 11:6; 13:16; 16:17; 24:46; Lk 1:45; 10:23; 11:27-29, etc): Also “fortunate,” “prosperous,” but originally with a connotation of divine or heavenly bliss. [Gk adjective makarios; verb makarizō (Lk 1:48; Jas 5:11); derivative noun makarismos (Rom 4:6, 9)]. Such “macarisms” are normally single statements; they are essentially commendations, congratulations, statements to the effect that a person is in a good situation, sometimes even expressions of envy.

No English word fully captures the sense of makarios; the translation of “happy,” despite its inappropriately psychological connotations, could be regarded as the least inadequate option in current English, for makarios does not state that a person feels happy (Mt 5:4), but that they are in a “happy” situation, one which other people ought to wish to share. “Fortunate” gets close to the sense, but has inappropriate connotations of luck. “Congratulations to…” would convey much of the impact of a “macarism,” but perhaps sounds too colloquial/informal. “Good on you” or “Well done” [Australian idiom “Good on yer” is perhaps as close as any to the sense]. “White is their world“ [Welsh rendering of the Beatitudes], an evocative idiom for those for whom everything is good. Beautitudes are descriptions and commendations of the good life.

Poor. A ptōchos is a poor man or beggar, but with the connotation of one who is abject: cowering or cringing.

Jesus the Messiah has begun to preach in Galilee, as Scripture foretold (Mt 4:12-17), and large crowds are being attracted to his teaching (Mt 4:23-25). After introducing Jesus’ ministry with the call of disciples (Mt 5:18-22), and Jesus going “throughout Galilee, teaching…proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing…” (Mt 5:23ff), Matthew comes to the 1st great section of teaching, usually called “The Sermon on the Mount [SotM],” which is “The Discourse on Discipleship“ (Mt 5:1-7:29)–specific demands of the kingdom of heaven, and not just a general code of ethics. [Matthew has 5 major discourses, interspersed with other aspects of Jesus’ ministry–healing and instructing his disciples.]

SotM sets a high standard. The demands of this discourse do not easily translate into a practical, day-to-day-moreality (Mt 5:39-42). The standard set is nothing less than perfection, being like God (Mt 5:48). Jesus’ typical use of extreme blanc-and-white categories lays down a challenge which cannot simply be converted into a set of rules and regulations for life in the real world. The essense of life in the kingdom of heaven is in fact the antithesis of a legalistic code (Mt 5:20). The SotM is intended as a guide to life, but only for those who are committed to the kingdom of heaven, and even they will always find that its reach exceeds their grasp.

Jesus‘ radical demands must confront us with all the unnerving ferocity with which they would have struck their first hearers. The gospel does not reject those who fail to reach the ideal standard, but desires to grant grace and forgiveness. Yet it is not the workless grace of much of Western Christendom. Rather the SotM trasforms those who meekly embrace it with fear and trembling, just as it crushes the arrogant and the religiously and socially satisfied.

So if you take it seriously you realize that you cannot attain it, and thus not merit salvation. It is the end of the law to drive you to seek salvation elsewhere, for no man can live the SotM in and of himself, and unaided. But when you have received salvation as God’s free unmerited gift of grace, the SotM shows you how you should live. It shows us what life is like in the kingdom of God. It removes all complacency.

Pure in heart (Mt 5:8). “Purity of heart is to will one thing.” Kierkegaard. In sexual purity, decisiveness is everything. It’s better to go limping into heaven than leaping into hell (Mt 5:29-30).

Outline of the SotM: The teaching in the hills (Mt 5:1-2).

1. The Good Life: The paradoxical values of the Kingdom of Heaven (5:3-10).
2. The Distinctiveness of the Disciples (5:11-16). Salt & light.
3. Fulfilling the Law (5:17-48): [a] General principles (7:17-20). [b] 6 examples (5:21-47). [c] Summary (Mt 5:48): Be perfect.
4. Piety, True & False: 3 contrasts (6:1-18).
5. Treasure in Heaven (6:19-24).
6. Trust Your Heavenly Father (6:25-34).
7. Criticism (7:1-6). Do not judge.
8. Expect Good Things from God (7:7-11).
9. Fulfilling the Law & the Prophets (Mt 7:12).
10. Responding to Jesus’ Words: 4 warnings (7:13-27). [i] The broad & narrow roads (Mt 7:13-14). [ii] False Prophets: Good & bad fruit (7:15-20). [iii] Insiders & Outsiders: Things may not be as they seem (Mt 7:21-23). [iv] Two House Builders: Hearing & doing (Mt 7:24-27).
11. The Authority of the Teacher Recognized (Mt 7:28-29).