Some of the terms we use to describe parts of the Bible do not themselves appear in Scripture, yet they identify a part that we immediately recognize. One such example is the “Beatitudes.”
The term “Beatitudes” came into our English language from the French language, and has its roots before that in the Latin beatus, which means “blessed.” We commonly use it to identify that part of Matthew 5 in which Jesus Christ describes nine spiritual conditions that should be found in Christians’ lives.
The Beatitudes mark the beginning of Jesus Christ’s public ministry as recorded by Matthew. Jesus had been healing the sick and preaching the gospel of the Kingdom prior to this, as recorded briefly in Matthew 4, but it is with the Beatitudes—and the entire Sermon on the Mount of which they are part—that Matthew begins to give the detail of these teachings, which occupy such an important place in Jesus’ ministry.
When we read this section of Scripture, we typically focus on the personal states that are outlined in each of them, and on the rewards that are offered. Seldom do we stop to consider the first word of each of them: “blessed.” This word is used nine times at the start of the Sermon on the Mount. But what does it mean? Was it just a rhetorical device, or was the repetition intended so that we might learn a valuable lesson?
“Blessed” is the preferred translation of the term in almost all English-language Bibles. Yet a couple of translations use “happy,” and one (the Amplified Bible) uses “spiritually prosperous”—signs, perhaps, that the translators are seeking to indicate the depth and subtlety of meaning of this word.
The English word “blessed” is derived from the Greek word makarios. Some of you older readers may remember it as the surname of an Eastern Orthodox archbishop who sought to lead Cyprus to independence from Great Britain in the 1950s. But what does the Bible mean in speaking of us as being blessed? In what ways are we blessed—or, what is the cause of our spiritual prosperity?
“Blessed” Behavior
We can gain understanding of this term by seeing how it is used elsewhere in Scripture. The Book of Psalms starts with these words: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:1–2).
Hebrew writers used “triads”—groups of three phrases or concepts—to emphasize the totality of a subject as going beyond just the three specific items mentioned. For instance, the “stranger, fatherless and widows” (Deuteronomy 14:29) were intended to describe all the marginalized in society, rather than just people in those three categories. The command to “do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly” (Micah 6:8) was a call to develop every aspect of God’s holy and righteous character in our lives, not just those three qualities.
Similarly, the man described in Psalm 1:1 is a person who has totally and unequivocally rejected an evil way of life and has chosen instead the path outlined in verse 2. In that regard, Solomon, the son and successor to King David the Psalmist, explained that “happy is he who keeps the law” (Proverbs 29:18).
The words that are translated as “blessed” and “happy” in the two verses noted above are derived from the Hebrew word esher. But in order to understand the meaning and intent of Matthew’s use of “blessed” we should also examine another Hebrew word that is more frequently translated as blessed: “barak.” Barak is first used in Genesis 1:28 when humanity was created. Our Creator, having formed human beings, provided them with a blessing (barak) and gave them a charge (Genesis 1:26–28).
We find this term used again in terms of the blessing to Abram, actually four times in two verses, but especially that his seed would be a blessing to all nations (Genesis 12:2–3). When the firstborn received the birthright blessing from his father the term used for that blessing is the Hebrew barak (Genesis 27:4–29). With the term barak, the focus of the blessing is on the giver. It is an understanding of what the Eternal or another greater person does for the recipient.
Similarly we find barak in the final words the Eternal spoke through Moses to the children of Israel, where they were admonished: “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing [barak] and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).
The blessing referenced in Psalm 1:1 and in the Beatitudes is clearly different from these gracious actions by God. They describe an appropriate response by the recipient to an initial blessing bestowed by God.
Concepts of Blessedness
When we come to the New Testament, we find that separate Greek words are used to translate the Hebrew terms barak and esher. The Hebrew barak is portrayed by eulogeo or eulogia from which we derive our ideas of a eulogy—speaking well of, or praising or blessing an individual. Luke, recounting the end of Jesus’ time with the disciples, describes: “And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed [eulogeo] them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:50–51).
The term eulogeo was also utilized when Gabriel came to advise Mary of her place in the Father’s plan for His Son to become flesh (Luke 1:28). It is also the type of blessing we are to give to those who mistreat us (Matthew 5:44) and, above all, the blessing we receive when we inherit the Kingdom of God (Matthew 25:34).
But barak is not the Hebrew equivalent of the term used in the Sermon on the Mount. There, it is not a simple blessing given by God or a superior. Esher—the Hebrew word for “blessed” and “happy” in Psalm 1:1–2 and Proverbs 29:11—is a word that requires something more of us. The Psalmist gives us an insight when he states: “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed [esher] are all those who put their trust in Him” (Psalm 2:12).
Here the concept of blessing involves something on our part. This form of blessing comes from putting trust in God. This same concept is reinforced in the Proverbs: “He who heeds the word wisely will find good, and whoever trusts in the Lord, happy [esher] is he” (Proverbs 16:20).
The blessing associated with esher requires something of us—trust in God. It entails placing ourselves under the authority of God’s Word. It involves the creation of a relationship with God that is pleasing to our Father. This concept is repeated frequently throughout the Psalms (See Psalm 34:8; 40; 84:5, 12). Notice also how the greatest exposition of God’s law begins: “Blessed [esher] are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed [esher] are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart!” (Psalm 119:1–2).
Placing ourselves under the authority of God’s Word leads to another action—living in accord with God’s way. So the Psalmist can write: “The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide” (Psalm 37:31). Likewise Solomon recorded a small vignette of a life lived God’s way: “He who despises his neighbor sins; but he who has mercy on the poor, happy [esher] is he” (Proverbs 14:21). Job also understood the totality of this commitment and dedication to the law of God when he wrote: “If my step has turned from the way, or my heart walked after my eyes, or if any spot adheres to my hands” (Job 31:7).
So, blessing (esher) requires a response from us—a dedication to the ways of the Eternal.
In Greek and Hebrew
Makarios, the word used for “blessed” in the Beatitudes, is the Greek equivalent of esher. It conveys the same ideas in the Greek language that esher does in the Hebrew. As such, makarios notes the aspect of ordering our lives according to the revealed will of God just as emphatically as Psalm 1:1–2 declare. This is brought out in the statements of Jesus Christ, where “blessed” is the English translation of makarios. We read: “But He said, ‘More than that, blessed [makarios] are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’” (Luke 11:28).
Also, speaking to the disciples as they were gathered around the table for that last Passover and having just washed their feet in an act of great humility, Jesus stated: “If you know these things, blessed [makarios] are you if you do them” (John 13:17).
John was also inspired to use this term at the very end of the Book of Revelation. Having described the New Jerusalem with the river and the trees of life, he was inspire to record this charge for us: “Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed [makarios] is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book” (Revelation 22:7).
Makarios, like esher, is the result of dedicating our lives to living in accord with God’s way of life, which in turn comes from having a yielded relationship with God. That action on our part is central to this term. It relates to the Covenant that our Father invited us to enter into with Him—a supreme blessing (eulogia) from Him.
Not surprisingly, we find this aspect of the dedication of our lives being expressed as part of the Passover relationship. The Apostle Paul makes a statement to the Church at Rome, quoting King David from Psalm 32:1–2 in relation to the effects of the Passover. Just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin” (Romans 4:7–8).
Why is makarios used three times in this section of Scripture to describe the type of blessing involved? Because, when we take the Passover properly, we show that we have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as atonement for our sins. As a result of that acceptance, we are prepared to live a life that reflects an obedient relationship with the Father and Jesus Christ. The end result is that we have a confidence that God will “do” according to His Word. It is a blessing that comes from giving ourselves to God’s way of life.
The Blessed Outcome of Living God’s Way
The Beatitudes then reveal the outcome of that relationship—the blessed effect of living this way, the way so beautifully expressed in Psalm 1:1–2, that includes being poor in spirit, meek, mourning and hungering for righteousness. This is so different from the normal attitude of those who may have a relationship with someone influential, famous or in high authority. Those situations are often flaunted in a way that states: “I’m better than you!” Our relationship with our Heavenly Father and His Son produces humility within us, so we are able to serve others as Jesus Christ has served us. It is a representation of the way of give as opposed to the way of get.
Another interesting point is that the book of Genesis, the book of Psalms and the public ministry of Jesus Christ (in the Gospel of Matthew) all start with a statement about blessings. Genesis is the first of the five books of the Torah. Psalms is divided into five books that parallel the five books of the Torah. Commentators note that the public teaching of Jesus Christ in Matthew’s gospel is divided into five sections as a parallel to the books of the Torah. If this is so, then this arrangement is certainly important to our Father and His Son.
Our Father wishes to bless us by making us part of His Family. That was the initial intent of the God Family in creating human beings, and why they were blessed as recorded in Genesis 1:28. Psalm 1:1–2 and Matthew 5:1–9 set out the proper response for each of us to that invitation to the ultimate blessing.
Most people seek blessings so they can be enriched or bettered. The blessings discussed here come from a relationship based on our commitment to live a way of life—a way that benefits others rather than the self. It is this form of blessing that the Father desires all to have.
So the term “blessed” is not just a rhetorical device that helps us remember the Beatitudes. It rather speaks to the yielded attitude through which we can display the character described in those verses. We cannot ever be that type of person without being totally submitted and committed to the way of life of our Father and His Son. Without that form of blessing, we cannot accomplish our Father’s goal for us.