Part 2 (Matthew 5:7-12)
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (v.7 NIV).
What is mercy? It originates in kindness and finds its expression in forgiveness. For a biblical explanation of the mercy of God we can turn to Psalm 103:
“The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy . . .
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities”
(Psalm 103:8,10).
Mercy is an outworking of who God is, His essential character. Believers in the Lord Jesus have been shown incredible mercy. God has forgiven our sins on the basis of the death of His Son, Jesus Christ, in our place. It is only right that we who have been shown such profound mercy be characterised by a merciful heart towards others.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (v.8).
Is it really possible to have a pure heart in our society today? We are bombarded by content and concepts that promote the very opposite of purity. The digital age has only accelerated this. However, the human heart remains unchanged from the days when these words were spoken by the Lord Jesus. It has always been hard to live a life of purity.
In his Psalm of repentance following his devastating sin with Bathsheba, David penned: “Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts” (Psalm 51:6). David understood that what the Lord was really asking of Him was not simply outward observance but inner purity. This cannot be brought about by our own efforts but must be a work of God by His Spirit in us: “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psalm 51:10).
The Lord relates purity of heart to a clear vision of who God is. As we increasingly yield ourselves to the purifying work of the Holy Spirit, we will gain a clearer understanding of the character of our holy God. This will be profoundly costly, but what a prize!
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (v.9).
We live in a world full of conflict and chaos. It appears that current events are leading to an increasingly unstable global situation. So many attempts to bring peace through political or diplomatic means are temporary or unsuccessful. How do we respond as followers of Christ? Nowhere in the Bible is the Church called to campaign for world peace. Scripture teaches that global peace will only be established when the Lord Jesus returns in glory to set up his perfect kingdom:
“He shall judge between the nations,
And rebuke many people;
They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore”
(Isaiah 2:4).
However, as followers of the One called the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6) we are called to be marked by peace, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18). The life of a Christian should not be characterised by conflict and disharmony. William MacDonald summarised it like this: “By making peace, believers manifest themselves as sons of God, and God will one day acknowledge them as people who bear the family likeness.”
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (vv.10-12).
From the very beginning of the Church age until the present time, believers in Christ have faced persecution. It is estimated that, in the 2,000 years of church history to this day, approximately 70 million Christians have been killed as a result of their faith in Christ. That is a shocking figure. Many believers in the contemporary West have never suffered anything close to real persecution. However, all believers will be familiar in their own way with the insults and prejudice that we can experience.
These final statements, perhaps more than all the others, are so contrary to our natural instincts. Our understandable human impulse is to avoid pain. Yet, the Lord here is proclaiming that persecution for His sake is a source of blessing and a cause for rejoicing. How can we understand this?
I will never forget hearing Dr Helen Roseveare speaking about her experiences in the Congo Rebellion of the 1960s. A single missionary doctor, she was captured, brutally beaten and raped. She experienced a level of suffering that most of us cannot imagine. Her testimony was that in those moments of agony the Lord made Himself known to her in a more profound way than she had previously experienced. She had been given a verse when she was saved: “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings” (Philippians 3:10). This verse took on fresh reality during her captivity. She realised that the blows that were directed to her were really being dealt to Christ. He was giving her the privilege of entering into the “fellowship of His sufferings”.
The Lord reminds us that our hope and reward are in heaven. This is at the centre of what it means to put “The Beatitudes” into practice – to live in this world according to the principles of heaven.
