Who or what is Jesus Calling Our Attention To in the Beatitudes?

Russ Ramsey

Who or what is Jesus calling our attention to in the Beatitudes? Over and over in the sermon on the Mount Jesus repeats the refrain, “You have heard it said… but I tell you…” At the conclusion of the sermon he says, “Whoever hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house upon a rock…” And even the crowds noticed something amazing and unusual about his teaching—Matt 7:29 tells us they were amazed because He taught as One who had authority.

In every single paragraph of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is pitting one thing against another. He is pitting two kingdom’s against each other—the Kingdom of this world and the Kingdom of Heaven. He begins each remaining segment of Ch 5 with “You have heard it said… but I say to you…” The message is that this kingdom will pass away—along with all that is broken and messed up about it, but the Kingdom of God will be established forever. But the message goes further… Jesus is saying that the Kingdom of Heaven is available and accessible to all earthbound creatures—and the accessibility is not found in some teaching or moral law or ceremonial code—but in Jesus Himself. He is the King of the Kingdom of Heaven—the Authority!

And if you look carefully at each topic addressed, you’ll see that this is the world’s most applicable sermon. It deals with grief, loss, humility, marriage, divorce, integrity, turning away wrath, loving enemies, giving to the needy, prayer, fasting, worry, judging, and ultimately how to enter into heaven. Each of these themes represent some reality in the lives of each person there that day on the banks of the Sea of Galilee… and in the lives of each man, woman or child hearing this today. Jesus is telling us, point by point, that He is the authority and the rule by which His Kingdom is established. The messenger here is also the King!

These words of Jesus were not the cryptic words of some Holy Man perched atop some lofty mountain where a pilgrim, if he could make the journey, could access the throne of Grace. NO!!! Jesus, the Incarnate Son of God, is walking among the peopleoffering them not just a way to Heaven… He is offering Himself!