Matthew 5:1-12
The Beatitudes are to the spiritual realm what the laws of science are to the physical realm.
People have puzzled over what these nine statements are for years, perhaps even from the day Jesus first spoke them. Some say they were commands, but they do not have that language or feel; compare them with Jesus’ instructions later in his sermon. Some think the Beatitudes were striking statements to get listeners’ attention or jar them out of usual ways of thinking.
Perhaps the beatitudes are exactly what they seem to be—simply statements of truth.
Scientists talk about laws such as the Law of Gravity, Law of Relativity, and the Ideal Gas Law. These laws are not the prescriptive kind, stating what ought to happen, but are descriptive, stating does happen.
Similarly, Jesus was stating laws about how the spiritual realm works. By today’s usage, he could have talked about the Law of the Mourner, Law of the Righteousness Seeker, and Law of the Peacemaker.
How do the Beatitudes, nine spiritual laws, fit into Jesus’ sermon? They are the foundation on which the rest of the sermon was based. Actually, everything he did and taught for the rest of his life was based on them.
The Beatitudes are not commands any more than the Law of Gravity is a command but they are helpful to us in navigating through the spiritual realm just as understanding the Law of Gravity helps us navigate safely through the physical one.
Think how we esteem a scientist who understands the physical world enough to discover its laws. For example, we are in awe of Einstein because of his influence on modern physics through discovering several laws of physics. Scientists of his caliber think on a different level than the rest of us.
Similarly, Jesus thought on a different level when it came to the spiritual world. Never before or since has a person explored so broadly about spiritual principles. He deserves our unreserved respect and dedication.
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14 years ago
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Good thinking, Ron. Might be
ReplyDeleteyour computer science background
helped you out a little here, huh?
Never really thought about it
quite like that before. Are you
saying these spiritual laws aren't
just true because He says them. He
says them because they are true!
Is this Jesus observing the spiritual
principles at work in God's Kingdom
and putting them in simple language to
guide us?
I believe (but don't have conclusive proof) that these spiritual laws are true because they are woven into the frabic of the universe.
ReplyDeleteI think philosophers of science use to debate about whether the physical laws, like the Law of Gravity, worked because God ordained them or because there was no other way to create a physical universe that ran correctly.
Likewise, I don't know whether God ordained that those who "hunger and thirst for righteousness will be fed" or He simply couldn't create a universe any other way given who He was.
It's an interesting question. But the one thing I've sure of is that Jesus, our teacher, somehow discovered these spiritual laws and spoke them to us in awesomely simple language.
He just thought on a different level when it came to the spiritual nature of the universe. Perhaps as we grow more like him, this part of our thinking will be a little more like his.