Matthew 5:1-12: Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
We must take these verses in light of 5:17-20. The beatitudes and the remainder of the Sermon on the Mount are not meant to be some “new” Law, but to show the circumcised heart of the righteous man. Verses 1-12 show this especially. These are the ways in which the regenerate man fulfills the Law. He is poor in spirit, he mourns, is humble, desires righteousness, is merciful and pure in heart, seeks to make peace, and is persecuted. The fact is that one can follow the Law to the letter like the scribes and Pharisees, but of himself, no man can produce these character qualities. 5:20 is true; one must be more righteous than the most rigorous followers of the Law. The whole point here is the heart. Does a man follow the Law because his heart has been changed? The main point of this passage is to show that the man with the heart that seeks after the Lord will receive the blessings of the Lord.
Under this setting, Jesus continues with his sermon, which seems to be a new law, a higher law. He commands what seems impossible in some cases, and expects something more difficult than the Law of Moses, at least at first glance. In light of 15:17 it seems that Jesus is not replacing the Law with one of his own, but rather he shows that this was supposed to be outcome of the Law all along. Men with righteous, circumcised hearts were supposed to do the Law. In fact those were the only ones who could truly do the Law of God in the old covenant. For example, the Pharisees could technically do the Law, and even go beyond it to ensure that they did not break any commandment. However, having uncircumcised hearts, their devotion was only an empty shell. Thus Jesus called them “whitewashed tombs” (23:27) and even “brood of vipers” (23:33), connecting them back to the serpent in Genesis 3. The heart is the deciding factor when it comes to the Law. This is the problem in view in 7:21-23 where not every follower of the Law will enter into the kingdom. They have done the Law and even done wonderful things in the name of the Lord, but their hearts are far from God.
This sermon is right at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and serves to show what his ministry will be about, both to his recently called disciples (5:18-22) and the following crowds (4:23-5:1). In this passage and in the sermon in general, Jesus explains what doing the Law is all about, and what it has been about through all of salvation-history. The man who wishes to do right in the sight of God must do the Law out of a righteous heart. This must be shocking to those who are with Jesus, especially in light of 5:20. How could anyone be that righteous? Jesus is the answer to this question. For he came to fulfill the Law in behalf of his people, to do what they could not do perfectly, and to become their righteousness for them. He came to save those who could not fulfill the Law perfectly but through faith could take on Christ’s righteousness. This faithfulness to the Law, this perfect obedience to Christ is what we look back to and what the Old Testament saints looked forward to.
Gaining Ground 