13 April 2024
We continue with the Beatitudes.
4. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." Bailey notes that, while we understand the concept of hunger and thirst physically, few of us have actually experienced much of either compared to what might be more common in Jesus' day. He recounts having been on a desert outing when a major portion of the supply of water was lost, and he went a whole day-and-a-half without. Relief came at an oasis. It's rare for any westerner to go through that.
Grammatically, the Greek term takes pages to explain, but the Hebrew term for righteousness focuses on the concept of a relationship, not some objective status based on ethical norms. There are four components here.
The whole point is that you don't get enough righteousness. What a privilege it is to be addicted to that! God will see to it that you are filled.
5. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." Bailey fails to explain the meaning of mercy in this context. Rather, he points to examples of mercy and compassion, particularly in the way Jesus ministered. But mercy implies feudal relations. Someone with the upper hand declines to enforce what is due the recipient, and setting aside their privilege to seize recompense. Bailey doesn't offer this perspective.
But he does approach it by linking mercy with forgiveness. He cannot decide whether it's (a) showing mercy in order to obtain mercy, (b) showing mercy because we have received it, or (c) embracing mercy in parallel. It's not chicken versus egg. In the Hebrew mind, mercy is a privilege that characterizes the Kingdom of Heaven; there is no distinction between giving and receiving. You are either in it or out of it.
6. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Bailey gets this halfway right. He points out that the rabbinical traditions had already amassed a pile of silly rules about external purity, but the Talmud never mentions a pure heart. Thus, it's clear Jesus is distinguishing His teaching from theirs.
Purity is the opposite of defiled, but defilement is more about slandering God's reputation than getting yourself dirty. It still hangs on that feudal relationship and how God regards you, not some objective standard such as the Pharisees tried to generate. It's a matter of the heart. Bailey recognizes that in the West, "heart" is just a function of sentiment, but fails to explain that in Hebrew it's your commitment and faith. However, he does get around to saying that purity means your commitments are transparent; you aren't hiding anything.
7. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall called sons of God." Bailey briefly explains, quite correctly, that this refers to peace with God, not simply the absence of conflict (not pacifism). He neglects to mention that having a habit of making peace with God frequently generates conflict with humans. So, we should not paint this with the false secular notion of what "sons of God" should look like.
8. "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." You can see how the previous item segues into this one. Bailey notes dryly that a lot of people who provoke others call it "persecution" when they get a predictable bad response. That's obviously not what Jesus is referring to here. This is not self-righteousness, but the righteousness of God as defined above. If you promote the reputation of the Father, you belong to Him, you belong in His realm.
9. The final Beatitude continues the thought for the eighth. It is laid out in lyrical structure of seven: an opening line, two negatives, a reference to Jesus, two positives, and a closing line.
Bailey correctly notes that this is the crescendo of the Beatitudes. All the other eight are referenced in the Old Testament. However, with this one, Jesus places himself as the Lord of the Kingdom of Heaven. The whole point is your feudal submission to Him personally. All of the prophets who were persecuted in the past were pointing to Him. If you keep pointing to Him, you will be in their company.
This is the ultimate privilege of the Covenant in His Blood.
I note sadly that Bailey equates all churches in history that faced persecution. Not all of them were oppressed for faith. Many were oppressed for simple politics, but claimed it was faith.
Comments
Jay DiNitto
"Bailey notes dryly that a lot of people who provoke others call it 'persecution' when they get a predictable bad response."
So it goes. Western Christians can have a persecution complex, like when one pastor at a church I thankfully never went to or liked, said his church was being persecuted because one of the local bureaucrats blocked the purchase of land for a new church building. No, man, that bureaucrat did it with everyone, not just you. Again with the "it's all about me" interpretation of scripture.
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