The Beatitudes: God's Teachings to Live Peacefully - Essay Sample

Introduction

The Sermon on the Mount, which is found in Mathew 5, teaches Christians a lot of God's teaching that every individual needs to practice to continue living a peaceful life to almighty God. In the book of Mathew, Jesus Christ emphasizes every beatitude by one opening and the common phrase "blessed are.." and this shows some similarities to the sermon on the plain which is found in the book of Luke 6 (Broughton, 2014).moreover the teachings of beatitude by Jesus Christ have a lot of meaning, and this shows that the believers and every Christian from all over the world should embrace certain characters and qualities in life to receive the blessings of divine favor from God. However, most of the Christians do not know the exact meaning of the term beatitude, which is a word derived from the Latin language (beatitudo), meaning "blessedness." Moreover, the concept or phrase blessed are in every beatitude signifies a current state of joy or wellbeing of a human being. In short, Jesus Christ emphasizes that those who possess these beatitudes or inward qualities are divinely fortunate and happy in life. This paper will examine the teachings of beatitudes and compare them to the teachings of the sermon on the plain in the book of Luke.

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Beatitudes Meaning and Analysis

There have been so many interpretations and teachings that have been set forth through the guidelines and principles to display the meanings of the beatitudes. Also, each of the beatitudes acts like a proverb that has a hidden meaning, and it is worth the study, and most of the scholars and authors tend to agree that the teachings give us a true image of the real and fake disciples of God.

1." blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them."

This beatitude means that those who believed in the word of God had few material possessions or wealth, and most people in the society could oppress them and make them feel useless and have little hopes or power (Quarles, 2015). Also, the believers had no say when it comes to resource sharing and ownership, and this made them depend on other people for their survival, and that is why Jesus emphasized the gospel of good news by making them feel vibrant and fulfilled in heaven.

People who tend to be deficient in spirit are the ones that are humble before God, and this means that they practice no arrogance, and they repent their sins and offer themselves as a sacrifice to be righteous and live to please God. It is apparent that for any individual to enter the kingdom of heaven, he/she has to be reduced in the spirit, which means one should cleanse and repent and always be humble when it comes to the matters concerning God's kingdom. Therefore, those who are willing and ready to enter the kingdom of heaven must still showcase the qualities of humility and ever express their wants and needs to the Lord.

2." Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall receive God's comfort".

This is also one of the most famous and used beatitudes that Christians from all over the world find it interesting when they are going through temptations or challenging times in their life. Also, Jesus goes ahead and encourages the believers that after a period of mourning, they will be comforted. Grief should always be in faith, and it should not be because of the suffering, but rather a believer should mourn because of the sinful actions or nature that has caused that particular suffering or pain his/her life.

In real-life applications of this beatitude helps the Christians to understand that their suffering and any kind of grieving are for the earth, which is ruined and lost, and only God will prevail in every situation. Also, Christians should know that any death upon the believers is not a final victory since the dead in Christ will once be raised incorruptible. Moreover, the mourning only applies to those individuals who mourn in Christ and they should grasp the proper understanding and meaning of grief so that they have a great and strong faith to see them through the hard times.

Comparison of the Beatitudes of Mathew and Luke

Four blessings are manifested or taught in the sermon of the plain in the gospel of Luke, which are believed to be the expansion of the beatitudes in the discourse of mount. One of the similar beatitudes found in the gospel of Luke is "blessed are those who are poor for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them." In the sermon on the plain, this verse emphasizes the previous meaning as outlined in the Sermon on the Mount (Meadors, 1985). Moreover, the beatitude in Luke's gospel portrays the fact that Christians need to continue being poor in spirit and always avoids the worldly desires and focus on the spiritual matters which please God. Another beatitude that resembles each other is that of "blessed are those who weep at the moment for they shall laugh at the end," this is a clear message that the Luke tries to pass across the Christians that no matter what struggles they are going through there is better ending and God uses such trick to taste a person's faith.

However, four woes accompany the beatitudes and these acts as a message to those who do not believe in God and whose ways are unpleasant to both human beings and God. For instance, "woe to those who are well-fed for they shall be hungry," this is a clear indication that if a person is enjoying himself/herself without God's presence, then he/she will experience adverse outcomes after the process. The woes are there to act as a sign of warning to non-believers and those Christians who do not have firm faith in God (Quarles, 2015). For instance, "woe to that person whom everyone speaks best about you for that is how ancestors used to treat the false prophet," this act as a warning sign that human beings are not perfect; hence you should also have some bad in you.

The Main Focus of Jesus Christ on Teachings

The main focus of Jesus when teaching about the beatitudes was to have a clear image of who is the ideal follower of God. However, these teachings do have not only impacts on disciples or followers of Jesus Christ but also influence other religious beliefs. For instance, Mahatma Gandhi, one of the Hindu holy prophets, was able to write about the significance of the beatitudes in the Hindu religion so that they can also change their characters to live a happy life that Jesus Christ wants us to live (Broughton, 2014). Moreover, Gandhi did not write the meaning of the verse out of nowhere, but he had to read the Bible and the poetry that pleased him and moved his faith was the Sermon on the Mount because of the beatitudes since they were best on authentic life experiences that human beings go through on their daily living. Jesus was so bright and emphasized on the beatitudes' teachings because they touched the all-round aspect of the Christian life. Also, through their obedience, they would end up spreading the gospel to other parts of the world for humankind to stop living a sinful life and always involve in activities that praise God.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the beatitudes of Mathew and Luke have four common sayings, which show that the teachings are crucial and of great help to human beings. Also, it is upon the responsibility of every individual to choose which path to follow when exercising their religious practices and faith in the world. Jesus Christ's teachings were in parables, but this was the simplest method to spread the gospel since from the Old Testament, they were used to preach, and others were written as law followed by remedies in case a person decides to break one of the rules. Therefore, any individual who has dedicated his whole life to live for Jesus Christ's blessings that person has deliberately chosen to leave and reject any of the earth's values and pleasures and only live to serve and please God.

References

Broughton, G. (2014). Interpretative strategies for Jesus' Sermon on the mount (Mathew 5-7). St. Mark's review: A journal of Christian thought and opinion, (227), 22-28.

Meadors, G. T. (1985). The "Poor" in the Beatitudes of Matthew and Luke. Grace Theological Journal, 6(2), 305-314.

Quarles, C. (2015). The Blessings of the New Moses: An Examination of the Theological Purpose of the Matthean Beatitudes. Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus, 13(2-3), 307-327.