Jesus’ kingdom confused the mountainside crowd.
What they knew was that Jesus was an up-and-coming spiritual leader who not only had wisdom, but the ability to heal. Before Jesus, life seemed increasingly confusing and their nation helplessly oppressed. There had been prophesies of a Messiah who would bring thriving and freedom… could this be him?
In fact, he had been preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!” (Matthew 4:17) Longing for escape from the Roman kingdom, the people crowded around Jesus on the mountainside to hear how his kingdom would make their lives better (blessed, happy, fortunate); what they heard seemed the opposite.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst 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.”
Matthew 5:3-12
The Greek word for blessed here is μακάριος (makarios), which translates “happy, blessed, fortunate, to be envied.” While “blessed” has a religious connotation for us, at this time it was a common word, and you could imagine the crowds confusion when Jesus followed makarios with things that were very much not “happy, blessed, fortunate, to be envied.”
Poor. Mourning. Meek. Hungry and thirsty. Persecuted. This is not only far from the kingdom they wanted, it sounded worse than the one they were in!
“Happy, blessed, fortunate, and to be envied are those who are poor, mourning, meek, hungry, thirsty, and persecuted.”
Does Jesus’ kingdom make life worse?
Jesus’ words only make sense if there are actually two kingdoms; our problem is we live as though there is only one. We know the “kingdom of this world”, all the rules that shape it, and what it looks like to thrive there. When we encounter someone spiritual like Jesus who speaks of a different kingdom, we tend to shove his words into the kingdom we know. This is why so many struggled with his invitations; so much of his reality led to loss and hardship, which is bad in the kingdom we know! Who would envy such painful lives?
His kingdom, however, is not our kingdom. His kingdom is shaped by different rules, and thriving looks far different than the security, wealth, and power we pursue here on earth. In his kingdom, you can be in what seems the worst situations and actually be positioned for the best; look back at why he said these people were blessed:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
for they will be comforted.
for they will inherit the earth.
for they will be filled.
for they will be shown mercy.
for they will see God.
for they will be called children of God.
great is your reward in heaven.
In our kingdom, “happy, blessed, fortunate, to be envied” requires being the best, having the most, and avoiding anything negative; however, even the best incarnation of such a life could never accomplish this list of blessings!
Only Jesus’ kingdom can bring these things, and we can only receive them when we release our hold on the kingdom we know.
As long as our goal is to avoid poverty, mourning, meekness, hunger, thirst, and persecution, we will be unable to hear and receive his invitation; when we are open to his words — like those in the Sermon on the Mount — and willing to step towards them, we will discover a level of “blessed” immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20)
