I am a Jesus pusher!!! Let me remind you, in the Beatitudes there is no verb connected with blessed. The word “are” is not present. Why is this? The Bible scholars state that Jesus did not speak the Beatitudes in Greek; he spoke them is Aramaic, which was what the Hebrew of Jesus’ day spoke. Aramaic and Hebrew have a common kind of expression. It is an exclamation meaning, “O the blessedness of . . .” This expression is common in the Old Testament. The following is an example of a pronouncement, an exclamation!
Blessed (O the blessedness of the man) 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; (Psalms 1:1).
There is one particular use of this Greek word (makarios) by the Greek culture that gives us a clear description of this state. The Greeks always called the island of Cyprus, the “makaria.” It was Cyprus, the blessed one. What did they mean by that? Cyprus was a lovely, fertile island. It had the perfect climate and was filled with flowers, trees, and fruit, lacking nothing. The minerals and natural resources contained within its coastline supplied all the materials for perfect contentment. Its inhabitants found everything they needed for sustenance and happiness within the boundaries of Cyprus. The island was blessed because its provisions were complete. This is the picture of Jesus for us! Our completeness, blessedness, is in Him. I am a Jesus pusher!!!