Reflection on Matthew 4:17 and Matthew 5:1-3a (Lent)

Matthew 4:17

¹⁷From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Matthew 5:1-3

5When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. ²Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

³“Blessed are…”

Reflection

During Wednesday in Lent this year, as we try to ground our lives in God and all that God cares about once again, it seemed wise to take a look at what the good life looks like according to Jesus.  So, we will be looking at the Beatitudes in the very beginning of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew.  If you ever wanted to know what Jesus’ vision of life looks like, the vision he casts in the Sermon on the Mount is the place to go.

Now, to set us up, I read that little snippet of scripture that comes just a little ways before the Sermon on the Mount begins.  It is Jesus’ first sermon in the book of Matthew.  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17).  Another way to say that would be, “Imagine your life in a new way.  Clear your mind and turn your life in new direction, because the time when God’s goodness is going to spread is right in front of you.”

Wow, that alone is an amazing word from the Lord to take in.  It is like your parents pulling up in the van after school, full of luggage and saying, “Get in, we’re going to Disney World.”  Or, it is like the young man who is pulled aside by his wife, who has a huge smile on her face, and hears these words, “Guess what, I’m pregnant!  We are finally pregnant!”

“Get your life ready for something new and great!  The time when God’s goodness is going to spread is right in front of you.”  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

That is great news, but it leaves us excitedly wondering, “Exactly, what is this good life going to look like?”

That is a great question.  In fact, that is precisely what Jesus preaches about in the Sermon on the Mount.  In Jesus’ sermon he declares, “Blessed are…” and then he lists some people who are blessed.  But, there is a reason that I stopped at “Blessed are” because, before we explore what this great kingdom is all about, we need to understand exactly what “blessed” means.

The word has puzzled me for a long time because Jesus says things like “Blessed are those who mourn.”  In my experience anyway, the feeling I have when I have lost someone who is really, deeply important to me is anything but blessed.  How can that be, Jesus?  If blessing is being given an abundance of good things, how can losing someone important being blessed?  I did not gain, I lost!

But, what if the word translated as “blessed” does not mean what we think it does?

The Greek word translated as “blessed” is “makarios.”  In Greek, “makarios” means, “the good life.”  This is exactly what we were talking about earlier.  The kingdom of heaven has come near.  The time when the good life will be given by God is right in front of us.

The Hebrew equivalent of “makarios” is “ashrey.”  And, when we see “ashrey” used in the Old Testament it is always connected with trees that thrive and bear fruit, and it is also connected with times when people live in safety and stability.  In other words, when we see the words “blessed are” we really should be hearing, “the good life is for.”

In today’s world, we might say, “The kids who move into a house next to an awesome park with multiple slides and swings are living the good life.”  The good life is for those kids.  Or, we might say, “The good life is sipping a cup of coffee while playing a game and talking with close friends.”  The good life is for the happy and well connected.

Jesus has his own idea of what the good life looks like and who it includes, but we will look a little closer at that next time.  For now, simply meditate on the words of Jesus:

“The good life is for the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The good life is for those who mourn, for they will be comforted. The good life is for the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”  (Matthew 5:3-5)

 

For more information on the Sermon on the Mount, and to discover the source information for this reflection, check out the Sermon on the Mount study series on Bible Project.