In the book of Matthew, following Jesus' temptation, he chose some of his disciples, healed the sick brought to him and now in chapter 5 he saw crowds of people had come to listen to him, his diciples came to him on the mount and he began to teach them all.
Matthew 5: 3:11
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those that mourn, for they will be comforted
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the Earth.
Blessed are they who hunger for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
If you recognize this passage then you are familiar with the beatitudes. In case you didn't know; the beatitudes are the blessings that Jesus mentioned in his sermon on the mount; so those blessing quoted above are the beatitudes.
So now that we know what the beatitudes say, what exactly do they mean?
Well the beatitudes were really declarations, the diciples had to know what they were getting themselves into.
Jesus was telling them what was expected of them as his followers.
The last part of the scripture was something like a prophecy, since they were insulted and persecuted, especially after Jesus' death.
So what does this mean for us. Well as followers of Jesus, we also have the responsibility of having the right attitudes and as the scripture tells us; we must be humble, kind, hungry for righteousness, merciful, peacemakers, pure in heart and know that even if we cry, we will be comforted and even if we are persecuted, God has a place for us in heaven.
It's not always easy keeping these attitudes in this world but we must remember to whom we belong and try our best to get along with others, especially since we know that it is not flesh and blood we fight against but against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness and wickedness in high places, Ephesians 6:12.
So let's try to uphold the same standards that Jesus set for his diciples since he walked in flesh upon this Earth knowing that his promises still stand rooted here and will remain until he returns.
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