I am a Jesus pusher!!! The opening statements of the Sermon on the Mount are called “The Beatitudes.” This title or word is not found in the Greek language. However, there is a structure and focus which places certain statements in both the Old and New Testaments in this form. Beatitudes are shaped by certain literary structure making them distinct from proverbs. A proverb is a simple and profound statement aimed at making an insight permanent. It strips the concept or truth down to its essence and presents it in a memorable phrase. A Beatitude is always a pronouncement of blessing. It is phrased in a literary formula beginning with “Blessed.” Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with the Old Testament use of “Beatitudes.”
The subject matter of the first Beatitude caused the response of the crowd to Jesus’ message: The people were astonished at His teaching (Matthew 7:28). They were “ekplesso,” “knocked out of their senses.” Jesus pronounced a “blessing” on the poor. No one is congratulated for poverty. The rich are obviously “blessed” by God. No one envies the “poor.” We long to be like the rich. In the kingdom of earth great value is placed on wealth. How strangely different the Kingdom of Heaven must be.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
The Kingdom of Heaven has a different value system than the Kingdom of earth! It is an eternal perspective! Jesus is at the heart of this value system. I value Him! I am a Jesus pusher!!!