Target year level: Year Two, Year Three, Year Five, Year Six, Year Seven, Year Eight

Scripture text

Matthew 5:3-11

Introduction

Scripture scholars think that the Gospel of Matthew was written in the last part of the first century CE, sometime after 70 CE. Matthew’s intended audience was Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians who were familiar with Jewish culture, religious belief and religious practice. Matthew’s text has many Jewish references that take for granted an audience familiar with Judaism.

It is important to understand that the edition we now have was written after the destruction of the Temple and the expulsion of the Jesus sect from Judaism.

For more information about Matthew’s Gospel please see the teacher background information, Who wrote the Gospels and when?

Also see the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), Introduction to Matthew, for further information on the background, characteristics and structure of Matthew’s Gospel. 

World behind the text

Many scholars believe Matthew’s Gospel was written at Antioch, a Greek-speaking city with a number of Jewish synagogues, probably after 85 CE. Antioch became the capital of the Roman province in Syria in 64 BCE and in the first century CE was the third largest city in the Roman Empire. Christianity had become well established in Antioch by 80 CE. A number of other possible locations with a similar demographic to Antioch are also suggested as possible sites for the writing of Matthew’s Gospel. See Gospel of Matthew Composition and Setting.

The focus throughout the gospel of Matthew is on Jesus as the new leader of Judaism: the new Moses. Matthew's most persistent theme is that Jesus is the fulfilment of the hopes and the spirituality of Judaism. The most likely hypothesis is that the author was a Jewish Christian who saw being a disciple of Jesus as the only way to be faithful to his Jewish tradition. He had to face the fact that Jesus had been rejected by the religious leaders of Judaism, and that only a minority of Jews had joined the community of Jesus' disciples.

Matthew reflects a period of consolidation for the early Christian communities. The second coming (Parousia), seen as immanent in Mark, is not so pressing in Matthew. The threat of immediate and total persecution has passed, though tensions between Christians and their Jewish and Gentile neighbours are real. The final beatitude refers to persecution and revilement of disciples because they believe in him.

Matthew’s frequent references to the Jewish scriptures and traditions suggest that his readers were predominantly converts to Judaism. This is particularly true to the concepts in the Beatitudes. However, he also has a missionary outlook and openness towards a Gentile audience, and the beatitudes describe the ideal for all disciples. This audience is quite likely an urban community. Matthew uses the word for “city” (polis) twenty-six times and the word for village only three times.

There is some internal evidence that the Matthean community was relatively wealthy. Whereas Mark and Luke tend to refer to small change or lesser denominations, Matthew frequently uses terms such as gold, silver and talents in his gospel.

Jewish Christians are now clearly separate from other Jews as seen by Matthew’s reference to “their” synagogues and the strident criticism of the Scribes and Pharisees he puts into Jesus’ mouth.

Issues about order, discipline and authority in Matthew’s gospel need to be understood in the context of this community settling down as a church reflecting on its life and mission.

Matthew 5:3-11 focuses on core attitudes of mind and heart and the implied accompanying actions that are to be characteristic of individual Christians and groups in the early Christian church communities for whom Matthew was writing. In particular, the Beatitudes are to be understood in relation to questions and disputes in Matthew’s community about the precise relationship between the Christian churches and Judaism, particularly with regard to the continuing relevance for Christians of Jewish Law and its associated religious and cultural practices and observances.

This and other matters were a source of ongoing tension between Early Christian house churches and the local Jewish Synagogue. Within Christian churches there were disputes over the extent to which the observance of Jewish Law was required of Jewish and Gentile Christians.

Matthew 5:3-11 is communicating the message that Jewish Law and its associated practices and observances is one thing but fundamental to the life of Christians are authentic Christian attitudes and the Christ-like actions that flow from such attitudes.   

World of the text

Matthew situates this ‘sermon' on a mountain. He wants to present Jesus' teaching as the fulfilment of God's revelation to Moses, and so he alludes to that other mountain (Mt Sinai/Mt Horeb) on which God revealed to Moses the way the people were to live in order to obey God and reach the goal of their journey (Exodus 24:12)

Like Moses on Sinai, Jesus preaches the Beatitudes (the New Law) from the mount. He is transfigured on a mountain (Mt 17:1-2) and it will be from a mountain that the risen Jesus will commission his disciples to go forth and teach as he has taught (Mt 28:16-20). The physical setting of the mountain is used to emphasise the closeness of Jesus to God (thus he has God’s authority) and that Jesus is now the new Moses, the new Law Giver for Jews and Gentiles alike.

While the following sermon is composed by Matthew, the sayings are those of Jesus, whose words would have been carefully treasured by those who heard him. However, the disciples of Jesus did more than remember Jesus' words. They pondered their meaning in the light of all they knew of Jesus' life and death and in the light of their post-resurrection experiences of Jesus' continued presence in the community.

One should expect, therefore, that in some instances, Matthew is recording not Jesus' remembered words, but the meaning of Jesus' teaching expressed in Matthew's own inspired words and applied to the new situation of his community. The Beatitudes are therefore a construct of Matthew from sayings Jesus would have delivered over and over again during his ministry. (Note, as evidence, that Luke constructs his Beatitudes differently. Lk 6:17-26)

Blessed: One must first look at the significance of the word translated here as ‘blessed'. The Greek is makarios, which itself translates the Hebrew ashre. Some versions of the Bible translate the word as ‘happy'. The translation ‘blessed' correctly directs attention to God, whose blessing is the source of the joy which Jesus is describing. This teaching is fundamental to the Scriptures, as the following typical statements from the psalms indicate: ‘Blessed are those who trust in God' (Psalm 84:12).

Poor in spirit: Jesus is presenting this as the fundamental attitude of a disciple, only because it is his fundamental attitude also. The word “spirit', when applied to human beings, always refers to one’s relationship with God. The word ‘poor' applies to those who do not have the resources to meet their own needs. One is ‘poor in spirit', therefore, to the extent that one recognises that everything one is and everything one has is a gift from God, on whom one totally depends.

The ‘poor in spirit' are those who recognise their need and cry out to God in their distress. The whole Biblical tradition is that the God of Israel will always heed this cry.

The second to the seventh beatitudes (vv. 4-9) spell out important aspects of being ‘poor in spirit'. While the first and last beatitudes are in the present tense (the intimate communion with God is a reality experienced here and now by Jesus and by his disciples), the six intermediate beatitudes speak of the future. God's blessing did not protect Jesus from the harm brought about by the ignorance or malice of human beings. Neither is there a guarantee of protection for Jesus' disciples. Jesus did not avoid suffering and he is not pretending to his disciples that they will avoid it by following him. He is however teaching them a way of responding to life that will lead them to the fullness of beatitude which God has promised those who open themselves to the gift of his love.

Those who mourn: The ‘poor in spirit' are those who mourn' (v. 4). Jesus assures them that they are blessed by God and that one day they will be comforted. This, too, is traditional Jewish teaching. Those who mourn are those who feel their own affliction, whatever its source, and the pain suffered by others. Those who do not mourn suffer from the hardness of heart that is characteristic of the egotistical. Jesus is speaking to those who dare to allow God to give them a ‘heart of flesh' (Ezekiel 36:26) that cannot avoid the pain, but that cries out to God in faith. Matthew is writing for communities that feel deeply the separation from their Jewish brothers and sisters who have not accepted Jesus.

The meek: The ‘poor in spirit' are also spoken of as being ‘meek' (v. 5). They have the strength to maintain a love that, in the words of Paul, “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things' (1 Corinthians 13:7). Moses had this quality to an extraordinary degree: “Moses was very meek, more than anyone else on the face of the earth' (Numbers 12:3). The perfect example of meekness is Jesus himself. The meek do not abuse power. Faced with evil, they heed the words of Paul: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good' (Romans 12:21).

Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: Longing to do God's will is one of the central themes of the Scriptures of Israel. Jesus’ first words in Matthew's gospel show his concern ‘to fulfil all righteousness' (Mt 3:15), a commitment that he sustains when put to the test. He lives “by every word that comes from the mouth of God' (Mt 4:4).

The merciful: When Paul writes that God is ‘rich in mercy' (Ephesians 2:4), he is expressing an understanding of God that is central to Jewish faith. The Greek word (eleos) translated here as ‘mercy' is used in the Bible to translate three Hebrew words, each of which expresses a central idea concerning God. The first is hesed or chesed which speaks of God's faithful commitment to his promises and to the covenant love he has for Israel. The second is hanan which speaks of the favour which God shows those whom he loves. The third is raham, which derives from the word for ‘womb' and speaks of the tenderness of God's love. God is spoken of as ‘merciful' hundreds of times. Jesus epitomises the mercy of God. Those who give expression in their lives to the mercy of God do not sit in judgment on others and are always ready to forgive. Their heart of flesh hurts with those who are hurting. Reaching out to others they will experience God reaching out to them (Mt 25:35-36).

The pure in heart: Jesus, however, was not content with external obedience or conformity to regulations. He was concerned with a transformation of heart, with a cleansing ‘of the inside' (Mt 23:26). His teaching is traditional Jewish teaching. The ‘poor in spirit' have a heart of flesh that is pierced by the sufferings of life and open to God's Spirit.

Those who make peace: God is the one who makes peace. As God's children, believers mediate God's grace in the world. One day it will be seen that those who, as disciples of Jesus, have given their lives to be instruments of God's peace to the world are enjoying the fullness of divine intimacy enjoyed by God's Son: “they will be called children [sons] of God' (v. 9).

Persecuted because of righteousness: Matthew will develop this theme of persecution later (10:16-39). His community suffered through the tensions they experienced because of being misunderstood and rejected by their fellow Jews. They suffered also through the opposition they found when they attempted to put into practice the liberating love of Jesus in a society in which the powerful were determined to maintain the class divisions and unjust structures that supported their position. They suffered also through the tensions that occurred within their own Christian community (Mt 18:15-20). Matthew assures them that the person who is ‘poor in spirit' knows the blessedness of God's love. However painful the circumstances, the poor in spirit experience, even now, the bliss of divine communion.

Because of me: Here, Matthew moves dramatically from general principles expressed in the third person to Jesus' words addressed directly to his disciples (‘Blessed are you'). Jesus is inviting his disciples to experience his own freedom. To the extent that the disciples’ joy and gladness are dependent on the way other people treat them, they are not free.

“They” persecuted the prophets: Finally, Matthew links the suffering of the disciple with that of the prophets (v. 12). He is concerned to portray Jesus as the fulfilment of the spiritual hopes of Israel. Even Jesus’ suffering is prefigured in the suffering of those who were ministers of God's word to Israel (see, for example, Nehemiah 9:26; 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16). (From Michael Fallon, Commentary on Matthew 4:17-7:29 - pdf)

Note the separation from Judaism denoted by the word “they”.

The close link between Matthew 5:3-11 (The Beatitudes), and Matthew 22:34-40 (The Greatest Commandment), needs to be appreciated. In both passages Matthew sums up both his own and Jesus’ understanding of the Jewish Law: develop the attitudes communicated in the Beatitudes; act in accordance with these dispositions; and so embody, as a follower of Jesus, love of God and love of neighbour.

World in front of the text

Matthew 5:3-11 challenges contemporary Christians to:

• Recognise the connection between virtuous attitudes and virtuous action
• Understand that being authentically religious entails above all being a good human being as indicated in the Beatitudes
• Appreciate both the necessity of law and regulation in our society while recognising their limitations
• Work to develop both virtuous attitudes and virtuous actions at both a personal and social level

The Beatitudes express the moral calling of all Christians. In the Beatitudes, Christians see reflected the moral challenge of bringing about the reign of God in the world. Christians draw inspiration for living out the moral challenge of the Beatitudes by reflecting on the embodiment of particular Beatitudes in the lives of the saints of the Church, in the daily lives of Christians and in the example of many men and women of all religions and philosophies who have striven to live morally heroic and principled lives of commitment and service.

The Beatitudes reveal the goal of human living and the ultimate end of human activity. The vocation of the follower of Christ indicated by the Beatitudes is addressed to each individual personally. The Beatitudes confront each individual with decisive moral choices. Each individual is to purify his or her heart and learn that true happiness is not found in wealth, or wellbeing; in fame, or in any human achievement, but in God alone. God alone is the source of all good and of all happiness.

While the Beatitudes represent a law for living for believers and disciples across all time, the meaning of words changes over time and so use of literary criticism to understand the meaning of the words for the original audience and for today’s audience is critical. This is especially important for the term “Poor in Spirit” which has been used at times to water down for the wealthy the challenge of being totally reliant on God for one’s daily needs.

This text still represents a profound challenge to a world dramatically divided between rich and poor, where the wealthiest five percent of the world’s population controls ninety five percent of the world’s wealth and resources.

The text is still, therefore, a key Christian text used in the quest for social justice and human rights and equality.

It is a text that can unite Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths because its themes and teachings sum up the law of all three religions and the obligations on their followers.

Sources:

• Fallon, M. Commentary on Matthew’s Gospel.
• Goosen, G. & Tomlinson, M. 1999. “Matthew: Jesus the New Moses” in Studying the Gospels. HarperCollins Religious. Sydney NSW.