In the face of loss or fear, we might wonder how we could ever be joyful. Jesus told his disciples about eight key attitudes that lead to joy, no matter our circumstances. This passage in Matthew, called the Beatitudes, includes some of the most familiar but misunderstood verses in the Bible. These verses can teach us to experience a joy unlike any other!
Day 1
Scriptures: Matthew 5:1-12, John 16:22
Few sections of Scripture force us to take a hard look into our hearts as does the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew’s account, the Sermon on the Mount was the first major event in Jesus’s ministry. Matthew 5:1-2 tells us that on this day, Jesus was teaching hundreds of men and women who followed Him and His teaching.
Right at the start, Jesus got to the heart of a question many people have today: What is true joy—and how do we find it? The Beatitudes Jesus spoke of (from the Latin beatus, meaning “blessed”) are eight attitudes that reflect the character of all true followers of Jesus Christ. The first four Beatitudes focus on our relationship to God, while the second four focus on our relationships with one another. The first and last beatitudes end with the same reward: “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (vv. 3, 10), indicating that the entire list deals with God’s kingdom.
In the Beatitudes, Jesus turned what we think we know about the world on its head and declared this new perspective “blessed.” Then He offered a promise with each paradoxical saying.
Before we look at each Beatitude, let’s consider what Jesus meant when He used the term blessed. Blessed is one of those Christianese words we use, often with little understanding of what we are saying.
The Greek word makarios, or “blessed,” doesn’t have a precise English equivalent, but it’s akin to joy—an inner contentment that is unshakable. It’s a joy that never falters and can never be taken away, just as Jesus promised: “No one will take your joy away from you” (John 16:22).
Happiness is a superficial emotion that depends on happenings, or circumstances. Joy is a deep, bedrock assurance that God is in control of the happenings of our lives and is using them for our good and His glory.
When you see the big picture of the coming kingdom of God, you can be joyful no matter what circumstances you face. More than that, those who are blessed are overcome with joy because they have found favor with God. When God blesses us, He approves of us. What could be greater than that?
How do we tend to use the word blessed in our culture and churches? How is this similar or different to its real meaning?
Day 2
Scriptures: Matthew 5:3, Isaiah 64:6, Luke 18:11-13, Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23
Jesus began His hillside sermon with, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:3). Jesus was not talking about material poverty here. He wasn’t saying there is something particularly blessed about being financially poor.
When Jesus said “the poor in spirit,” He was talking about those who are impoverished spiritually. The Greek word translated as “poor” (ptochos) means “to cower, cringe, or crouch like a beggar.” Applied to spirituality, it characterizes a person who is bankrupt of spiritual resources, which accurately describes each of us.
Isaiah put it like this: “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6). And Paul wrote, “There is none righteous, not even one . . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:10, 23).
In Luke 18, Jesus illustrated what it means to be “poor in spirit.” In this parable, two men went to the temple: a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Pharisee prayed, “God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector” (v. 11). However, the tax collector prayed with his head hung low and beat his chest, saying, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” (v. 13).
That’s what it means to be “poor in spirit.” The tax collector approached God in a spirit of utter dependence and found the doors of the kingdom flung open. But the doors were slammed shut in the face of the prideful Pharisee.
Do you feel like you’re not succeeding in your Christian life? You know you ought to pray more and read the Bible more, but you just can’t do it, and you wish you could be better than you are? Jesus said, “Be joyful. Because one day that struggle you have in your Christian life is going to be satisfied.”
To the poor in spirit, Jesus gave this promise: “Theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:3). When we come to God with nothing in our hands to offer but our spiritual bankruptcy, He gives us the key to heaven, not only for our salvation today but also for the right to rule in His kingdom tomorrow.
Why would God call us to come to Him with empty hands?
Day 3
Scriptures: Matthew 5:4, Psalms 51, 2 Corinthians 7:10
In Jesus’s second beatitude, He said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matt. 5:4). The Greek word for “mourn” (pentheo) describes those who feel
anguish over a distressing situation, like the death of a loved one.
I know that grief all too well—I’ve mourned the deaths of my parents, as well as many close friends. But I believe something even more painful is losing a loved one through
defection. Their heart turns cold toward you. They leave you.
Maybe you have suffered the loss of a loved one either through death or defection. Jesus was saying, “Blessed are you who weep right now, for one day you will be comforted.”
But Jesus also had in mind those who mourn over their sins. This mourning naturally follows the poverty of spirit. To believe you’re “poor in spirit” is an act of the intellect, agreeing with God’s assessment of who you really are. But to mourn over your failure before God goes much deeper than intellectual agreement about your transgression.
You will never turn from your sin until you are first of all broken over your sin. That’s why to mourn over your sin is an act of the emotions as well as the intellect. This was the case with the apostle Peter. After Peter disowned the Lord three times, “he went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:62). The apostle Paul was also deeply remorseful for his sins, saying, “Wretched man that I am!” (Rom. 7:24).
Do you find yourself, like Peter and Paul, reeling over your own sinfulness? Then this beatitude gives you hope! When you turn to the Lord in your mourning and confess your sins to Him, you will receive God’s forgiveness (1 John 1:9), and He will comfort you.
In 2 Corinthians 7:10, Paul said, “The sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation.” Godly mourning, or sorrow, for your sin is temporary and leads to repentance.
To those who mourn over sin, Jesus gave this promise: “They shall be comforted” (Matt. 5:4). No one said it better than David after his sin with Bathsheba: “The sacrifices of
God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise” (Ps. 51:17).
What is the difference between “feeling guilty” and truly mourning over sin in your life?
Day 4
Scriptures: Matthew 5:5-6, Matthew 11:28-30, Psalms 37:11, Galatians 5:22-23, Philippians 4:8
We tend to think of those who are described as “meek” as being wimps. But meekness isn’t weakness at all. Meekness can be defined as “power under control.” In classical Greek, the same word was used to describe wild animals that had been tamed.
No wonder Jesus said, “Blessed are the gentle” (Matt. 5:5). Gentleness is a characteristic close to the Lord’s heart. He described Moses as “very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth” (Num. 12:3). And it’s the only characteristic Jesus used to describe Himself. “Come unto Me,” He said, “for I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matt. 11:28–29).
To those who are gentle, or meek, Jesus gave this promise: “They shall inherit the earth” (5:5). David affirmed this promise in Psalm 37:11: “The meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”
Immediately following Jesus’s words about the strength of meekness, He speaks of another paradox—the fullness of hunger: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matt. 5:6).
“Righteousness” is often used in the Bible to refer to the act of spiritual justification in which God exchanges our unrighteousness with Christ’s righteousness at the moment of faith and declares us “not guilty” (Rom. 4:5; Phil. 3:9; 1 Pet. 3:18). But that’s not what Jesus meant here. Jesus was talking about spiritual hunger and thirst for what I call “ethical righteousness,” which refers to behavior in the world that aligns with God’s commands.
This also applies to the hunger and thirst for righteousness in our own lives. You’ve heard it said, “You are what you eat!” What’s true physically is true spiritually. If you crave violence, materialism, or eroticism, then eventually you’ll personify these things. But if you crave righteousness, then you’ll personify the fruit of the Spirit outlined in Galatians 5:22–23.
That’s why Paul advised in Philippians 4:8, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”
If you hunger and thirst for righteousness in your own life, then this promise is for you: “They shall be satisfied” (Matt. 5:6).
Why would God promise us delight and satisfaction? How is this different than the world’s promises to us?
Day 5
Scriptures: Matthew 5:7-8, Matthew 23:27, James 1:27
Mercy is often confused with grace. The simplest distinction is this: grace is receiving what we do not deserve; mercy is not receiving what we do deserve. Mercy cuts against our natural inclinations, especially when we’re asked to extend it, but Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful” (Matt. 5:7).
In one sense, to show mercy means to pardon those who have wronged us. That is what Joseph did when he said to his brothers after they had wronged him (see Gen. 50:19–21). Mercy is the perfect antidote to the poison of bitterness.
Mercy also means to reach out to those who are in need. James wrote, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress” (1:27).
To give mercy is to receive mercy. If we have received the mercy of God through the crucifixion of His beloved Son, then we must be willing to give mercy—and it will return to us in our own time of need.
In Jesus’s next blessing, He said: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). In Jesus’s day, the Pharisees focused on their external appearance, wanting people to see their best side. (Sounds a little bit like today’s obsession with image consultants and Instagram filters, doesn’t it?) Later in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus lowered the boom on these religious leaders by calling them dirty dishes and “whitewashed tombs” (23:27) who were interested only in appearing righteous, not actually being righteous.
The word for heart in the Bible includes not only your emotions but also your intellect and your will. Jesus said the heart God blesses is one that is pure—singularly devoted to God in thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Those with impure hearts see in every situation nothing but sin, sexual innuendo, and dirty jokes. But those who are pure in heart see the hand of God, whether it’s in nature (Ps. 29:3–4, 7–10), in the face of a child (139:13–16), or in the ever-deepening intimacy we experience with Him (1 Cor. 8:3). This is the pure vision that receives the blessing of God.
Mercy and purity are two attitudes that go against the expectations of the world. Why do showing mercy and being pure in heart lead to joy?
Day 6
Scriptures: Matthew 5:9, Isaiah 52:7, Romans 14:19, Hebrews 12:14, James 3:18
The Greek term translated as “peace,” eirene, is similar in meaning to the Hebrew term shalom, conveying the idea of wholeness and overall well-being.
Shalom is a blessing conferred on another. Is it any wonder, then, that in Matthew 5:9, Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers”? The makers of peace—those who actively pursue it—don’t simply want others to be free from conflict; they want others to flourish. They make their life verse Hebrews 12:14: “Pursue peace with all men.” They seek to relieve tension, not fuel the fires of disagreements. They seek to resolve disputes, not egg on additional controversies. They seek to reconcile fractured relationships, not drive a wedge between people.
This isn’t to say that peacemakers are laissez-faire about life, with an attitude that says, “You do you, and I’ll do me.” They aren’t appeasers, willing to make peace at any price. Rather, peacemakers are interested in right living. As James said, “The seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (3:18). Instead of waging war, peacemakers “wage peace,” pursuing “the things which make for peace and the building up of one another” (Rom. 14:19).
Peacemakers reflect the Prince of Peace, which is why Jesus said, “They shall be called sons of God” (Matt. 5:9). Jesus came to reconcile sinners to a holy God—to make peace between humanity and God. This is what the prophet Isaiah said the Messiah would do: “How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation” (52:7).
Following in His footsteps, we proclaim peace whenever we proclaim the gospel, whenever we bring reconciliation to enemies, and whenever we submit to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. As peacemakers, we find peace within our own souls and become instruments of peace in the lives of those around us.
Making peace—and doing everything we can to “preserve the unity of Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3)—should be the desire of anyone who wants to be known as a child of God.
What are a few specific things you could do this week to pursue and preserve peace in your home, in your friendships, in your church, on social media, or in the workplace?
Day 7
Scriptures: Matthew 5:10-12, John 15:18-19, 1 Peter 4:14-16
If we want to live out the Beatitudes through the power of the Holy Spirit, we have to adopt attitudes and actions that are contrary to our culture. And living in a countercultural way invites the enmity of the world, just as Jesus said: “If you find the godless world is hating you, remember it got its start hating me. If you lived on the world’s terms, the world would love you as one of its own. But since I picked you to live on God’s terms and no longer on the world’s terms, the world is going to hate you” (John 15:18–19). And when it does, Jesus declared, “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness” (Matt. 5:10).
Sometimes Christians are “persecuted” because they are doing things that are rude, insensitive, or piously obnoxious. In those cases, the Lord doesn’t applaud. Peter clarified the persecution Jesus was talking about in the Beatitudes: “If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. Make sure that none of you suffers as . . . [an] evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name” (1 Pet. 4:14–16).
Persecution comes in all shapes and sizes, and it is usually incremental. Do you ever feel like you’re being ostracized from the rest of a group because of your commitment to Christ? Have you been passed over for a promotion or even lost your job because you won’t bend your Christian principles? That’s all part of the price for living for Christ. But Jesus went on to give the persecuted this blessing: “Theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (v. 10).
How do you make the Beatitudes part of your everyday life? Meditate on one of these attitudes a day for a month and ask God to help you live it out throughout that day. At the end of the month, evaluate your relationship with Christ and how it may have changed. Then continue into the next month . . . and the next . . . and the next. What will you gain? Only the blessing of God.