"Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3
Many people wear t-shirts these days with the word “Blessed” emblazoned across the chest. I wonder how many of us understand what it means to be blessed by God. I assure you that it is so much more than anything we may desire from this world!
What does it mean when a man of God (in this case the very Son of God) pronounces a blessing. Pronouncing a blessing is a “benediction” (in Latin). The word bene-diction squeezes two words together making a new word. Bene means good, and diction means word or saying. A benediction is, therefore, a “good word.”
As a child growing up in church I looked forward to the weekly benediction at the end of the worship service, not because I was spiritual or looking for God’s blessing. I like the benediction because it signaled the end of the church service! Foolish me!
God pronounced many benedictions on His people throughout the Old Testament (OT). And acting as the ultimate Prophet, Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount (SOTM) with a series of nine blessings, or benedictions.
God not only pronounced benedictions in the OT, He also pronounced the opposite of benedictions: He pronounced “woes.” Woes are God statements of His displeasure resulting in judgment and curses. Luke’s version of Matthew’s SOTM (Luke 6:24-26) includes woes as well as blessings which, by contrast, help define the blessings.
The blessings encourage God’s people, first, that God delights to bless His people. Second, the blessings also give the redeemed hope as we eagerly await the ultimate blessing that we have been promised. That blessing will be ours when the Lord takes us to Himself in glory in Heaven—where there is no sin and no sorrow—only the pure vision of His perfectly holy and beautiful face.
I pray that the beatitudes will encourage you!
NOTE: For a more comprehensive treatment of the beatitudes that is still short enough to be easily readable, may I suggest the booklet “How Can I Be Blessed?” by RC Sproul.