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Matthew
5:1-12
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Reading the Text:
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|
Historical References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
 | The
Five Gospels Parallels, John W. Marshall, University of Toronto. |
| Comparative World Scriptures from United Communities of
Spirit:
|
| Primary comparative texts of
Rabbinic Wisdom from Mahlon H.
Smith's Into His Own: Perspective on the
World of Jesus, Rutgers University. |
|
Chapter X,
The Epistle of Ignatius to the
Ephesians,
Ignatius of Antioch
(c. 110). (Longer version only - 4th cent interpolation.) |
|
Chapter II, The Epistle of Polycarp to the
Philippians,
Polycarp of Smyrna
(c 115). |
|
VIII, 18, 26-36;
Tatian's
Diatessaron
(c. 150-160). |
|
III.XXIII.2,
III.XXII.1,
IV.IX.2,
IV.XX.5,
IV.XXXIII.9,
V.IX.4,
V.XXXII.2,
Adversus Haereses,
Irenaeus of Lyons.
(c. 180) |
|
Chapter XIV,
On Baptism,
Tertullian
(c. 198) |
|
I.1,
II.5,
II.11,
II.18,
II.20,
IV.6,
V.1,
VI.14,
VII.3,
VII.14,
Stromata,
Clement of Alexandria
(c 200) |
|
Chapter VIII,
Chapter XI,
On Patience,
Tertullian
(c. 202) |
|
II.8,
To
His Wife, Tertullian (c. 206) |
|
Chapter XLI,
On the Resurrection of the
Flesh,
Tertullian (c. 211) |
|
Concerning Flight in Persecution
(paragraph 7, 12)
Tertullian (c. 212) |
|
Chapter IX,
Scorpiace,
Tertullian
(c. 213) |
|
Chapter II,
Chapter V,
On Modesty,
Tertullian
(c. 217) |
|
I.I.9,
II.III.7,
II.XI.2,
First Principles (De Principiis),
Origen.
(c.225) |
|
VI.IV,
VII.XXXIII,
VII.XLIII,
Against Celsus,
Origen
(c. 246) |
|
II,
Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Philocalia [anthology
of Origen prepared by St. Basil and St. Gregory Nazianzen],
Origen.
(c.247) |
|
XIV.7,
Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew,
Origen. (c.247) |
|
X.8,
XI.4,
XI.13,
XII.15,
Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew,
Origen. (c.247) |
|
On
the Unity of the Church,
Cyprian of Carthage
(c. 250) |
|
Epistle XXV --
Epistle XLV --
Cyprian of Carthage
(c. 251) |
|
Epistle LI --
Cyprian of Carthage
(c. 252) |
|
Epistle LXII
--
Cyprian of Carthage
(c. 253) |
|
Augustine:
"Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount."
(Book I, Part I.) |
|
Augustine, Sermon III:
"Blessed Are the Pure in Heart." |
|
Homily XV
- Matthew 5:1-2, Homilies on the Gospel of St. Matthew, St. Chrysostom (c.
380) |
| Commentary on a Harmony of the
Evangelists, John Calvin, 1558:
Matthew 5:1-12/Luke 6:20-26. |
| From the
Catena
Aurea, Patristic Commentary by St Thomas Aquinas. |
| From the
Geneva Notes.
 | "Christ teaches that the greatest joy and happiness is not in
the conveniences and pleasures of this life, but is laid up in heaven
for those who willingly rest in the good will and pleasure of God, and
endeavour to profit all men." |
|
| From
Matthew
Henry's Commentary.
| "Our Saviour here gives
eight characters of blessed people, which represent to us the principal
graces of a Christian." |
|
|
The
Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12, Thomas Watson. Full text.
| "Christ does not begin
his Sermon on the Mount as the Law was delivered on the mount, with
commands and threatenings, the trumpet sounding, the fire flaming, the
earth quaking, and the hearts of the Israelites too for fear; but our
Saviour (whose lips 'dropped as the honeycomb') begins with promises and
blessings." |
|
| From
Wesley's Notes.
| "...he here pronounces
eight blessings together, annexing them to so many steps in
Christianity." |
|
| The Sermon on the Mount:
Sermons by John Wesley.
|
1 (Matt 5:1-4)
| "Poverty
of spirit then, as it implies the first step we take in running the
race which is set before us, is a just sense of our inward and
outward sins, and of our guilt and helplessness." |
|
|
2 (Matt
5:5-7)
| "They who
are truly meek, can clearly discern what is evil; and they can also
suffer it." |
|
|
3 (Matt 5:8-12)
| "God
admits no excuse for retaining anything which is an occasion of
impurity." |
|
|
| From the
Commentary on the Whole Bible
(Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
| "Of the two words which
our translators render "blessed," the one here used points
more to what is inward, and so might be rendered
"happy," in a lofty sense; while the other denotes rather what
comes to us from without." |
|
| From
The People's
New Testament, B.W. Johnson, 1891.
| "This wonderful
discourse of three chapters is to the New Dispensation what the law
given from Sinai was to the Old." |
|
|
The
Beatitudes, from Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, Ellen G.
White, 1896.
| "This kingdom is not,
as Christ's hearers had hoped, a temporal and earthly dominion. Christ
was opening to men the spiritual kingdom of His love, His grace, His
righteousness." |
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|
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Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
|
Matthew 5:1-12, All Saints, Gospel Analysis, Sermons from
Seattle,
Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle,
Washington. Detailed background and exegesis. |
|
"Exegetical Considerations,"
All Saints Day 2002, Richard Carlson, Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Using Greek
for Sunday Text Preparations.
| "How is this text, indeed the
whole Sermon on the Mount, grounded in Jesus’ declaration in 4:17?" |
|
|
"Blessedness," Ginny Doctor, Proclaiming Gospel Justice, The Witness.
| "My people had slipped
into a meekness that almost destroyed a culture. Fortunately, leaders
snapped out of that meekness in the late 1960s and began to look at ways
to strengthen and hold on to the culture. Now, many nations are looking to
that culture to protect Mother Earth." |
|
| Exegetical
Notes by Brian Stoffregen, at CrossMarks.
| "Powell critiques those
who would (1) try to fit all the beatitudes into the scheme of either
eschatological reversal or eschatological reward and (2) interpret each
beatitude on its own terms without any thought to the whole. He suggests
that the structure can provide a third alternative. It is clear that the
beatitude in 11-12 is different from the other eight by its second
person reference, its length, and its imperative mood (v. 12). In
addition, there are the "bookends" of "for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven" [an alternative translation will be offered
below] in vv. 3 & 10, which seem to separate these first 8
beatitudes from the last one." |
|
|
"Beatitudes in the Desert," study guide for
adults, Robert B. Kruschwitz, (other resources at)
"Sermon on the Mount," Christian Reflection, The Center for Christian
Ethics at Baylor University, 2008. |
|
"Who Are the Meek?" study guide for
adults, Robert B. Kruschwitz, (other resources at)
"Consumerism," Christian Reflection, The Center for Christian
Ethics at Baylor University, 2003. |
|
"Hearing
God's Blessing," Fred B. Craddock. Commentary from The
Christian Century, 1990. At Religion Online.
| "Those who in the face of
violence, oppression, abuse and neglect continue to turn the other
cheek, go the second mile and share possessions even with accusers
are not really victims. They are in a very real and profound sense
victors, set free to live by hearing Jesus extend to them the
beatitude of God." |
|
|
"Blessed Are the Poor in (Holy) Spirit?" Robert H. Smith,
Word &
World: Theology for Christian Ministry, Volume XVIII, Number 4, Luther
Northwestern Theological School, 1998.
| "...Matthew reveals a Christian movement of deep
diversity struggling inwardly for its own soul." |
|
|
"Let Your Light Shine: The Sermon on the Mount in Epiphany," David
L. Tiede, Word & World, 1984. |
|
"Matthew 5:1-12, The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany,"
Let Your Light Shine: The Sermon on the
Mount in Epiphany, David L. Tiede, Word & World: Theology for
Christian Ministry, Luther Northwestern Theological School, 1984. |
|
"True
Happiness," Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible
Studies and Sermons, Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources. Includes detailed
textual notes. |
|
"The Beatitudes," Larry Broding's
Word-Sunday.Com: A Catholic
Resource for This Sunday's Gospel. Adult Study, Children's Story, Family
Activity, Support Materials.
| "Which best describes your idea of
happiness: self-fulfillment, contentment, or a lack of want? Explain your
answer." |
|
|
Wellspring of
the Gospel, Ordinary 4A, Catherine McElhinney and Kathryn
Turner, Weekly Wellsprings. |
|
"The Paradox of Poverty,"
Ordinary 4a,
Fr. Gerry Pierse, C.Ss.R., from Sundays Into
Silence: Reflections on the Sunday Gospels in the Light of Christian
Meditation. Claretian Publications.
| "God knows already what we need even if
it is not what we want. God's Spirit is dwelling within us and will tell
us what is right if only we can shut up and let God be God." |
|
|
"Peculiar Blessings," Jerry Goebel, One
Family Outreach. "Focus on scripture from a justice perspective."
Exegesis, study, and teen study and activities.
| "Those who have toiled
endlessly for justice only to see scraps; Those who have seen
injustice and oppression and felt it like a blow to the gut; Those
who have crossed a desert of desperation seeking fairness for a just
cause but tasted only the salt of tears. For all of those; hope has
arrived!" |
|
|
"God
Cares about Money (Matt 5:1-2; 6:19-21, 24-33)," John C. Purdy.
Chapter 6 of God With a Human Face (1993), republished at
Religion
Online.
| "If our trust is
expressed as obedience, then we will not worry unduly about food,
shelter, and clothing. If we take care of the things God cares about,
God will take care of the money. God really does care for money - in the
most practical, matter-of-fact sense." |
|
| "The
Fatal Failures of Religion: #1 Secularism," from the
Biblical Studies Foundation.
| "...the circumstances
which bring some men to God’s blessing are identical with those which
cause others to curse God." |
|
|
"Hungering
and Thirsting after Righteousness," Geerhardus Vos, in Kerux:
The Online Journal of Biblical Theology (Reformed)
|
"The
law in the hands of Jesus becomes alive with God's own personality.
Majestic and authoritative, he is present in every commandment, so
absolute in his demands, so observant of our conduct, so intent upon the
outcome, that the thought of giving him less than heart and soul and
mind and strength in the product of our moral life ceases to be
tolerable to ourselves." |
|
|
Dylan's Lectionary Blog,
Epiphany 4, 2005. Biblical Scholar
Sarah Dylan Breuer looks at readings for the coming Sunday in the lectionary
of the Episcopal Church.
| "What
would it mean if we honored those whom God honors? What would happen if we
stopped playing all of our culture's games for status and power and
privilege? What would it cost us if we lived more deeply into justice, and
mercy, and humility?" |
|
|
"First
Thoughts on Year A Gospel Passages in the Lectionary: Epiphany 4,"
William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
| "Love and compassion are the hallmark
of the discipleship for which Jesus calls. It defines the content of
righteousness, which is not a negative kind of withdrawal from impurity,
but a wholehearted commitment to loving and caring applied in every area
of life." |
|
|
"It's the Indicatives, Stupid!" Mary Hinkle,
Pilgrim Preaching: Keeping Company with
biblical texts and the people who hear and preach them.
| "There is nothing wrong with
being meek, or hungering and thirsting for righteousness, but Jesus is
not exhorting those things in the beatitudes. These sentences are
blessings, spoken in the indicative mood, like Walter Cronkite's closing
line: 'That's the way it is.'" |
|
|
"Blessing as Freedom," Pilgrim Preaching, Keeping company with biblical texts and the people
who hear and preach them, a weblog for preaching, by Mary Hinkle, Luther
Seminary.
| "...the beatitudes begin
to paint a picture of what the world looks like when the Lord's Prayer
(also part of the Sermon on the Mount) is answered: 'thy kingdom come; thy
will be done…'." |
|
|
Comments
(commentary) and
Clippings
(technical notes for in-depth study), Epiphany 4, Chris Haslam, Anglican
Diocese of Montreal. |
|
Matthew
in the Margins, by Brian McGowan, Anglican priest in Western
Australia. |
|
| Articles & Background:
|
"Sermon on the
Mount,"
"Beatitudes," wikipedia. |
|
"Sermon on the Mount," multiple articles and resources, Christian Reflection, The Center for Christian
Ethics at Baylor University, 2008. |
| "Honoring
the Dishonored: The Cultural Edge of Jesus' Beatitudes," Jerome H. Neyrey.
| "This study of
"poor" and "poverty" brings to the discussion a cultural and social
element. Stated most baldly, "poor" implies not simply scant economic resources,
that is, little land or money, but has a decidedly cultural component as
well." |
|
|
"Matthew's Nonviolent Jesus and Violent Parables," Barbara E. Reid,
O.P., (other resources at)
"Parables," Christian Reflection, The Center for Christian
Ethics at Baylor University, 2006.
| "Jesus' Sermon on the Mount instructs us to not
return violence for violence; instead we should be like God, who
offers boundless, gratuitous love to all. But in the same Gospel
Jesus tells eight parables in which God deals violently with
evildoers. Which of the divine ways are we to imitate?" |
|
|
"Beyond Just War and Pacifism," Walter Wink. Chapter 11 from
Engaging the Powers, 1984. At Progressive Christian Witness,
Pacific School of Religion. |
| "How
Honorable! How Shameful! A Cultural Analysis of Matthew's Makarisms and Reproaches,"
by K.C. Hanson, in Semeia 68 (1994).
| "...the terminologies of
Hebrew ashrę ("honorable") and hôy
("shameful"), and their Greek counterparts makarios
and ouai are part of the larger word-field of "honor
and shame" (see e.g., Hebrew kabôd "honor"
and bosheth "shame"; and Greek timę
"honor" and aischunę
"shame")" |
|
| "Transformed
on the Mountain: Ritual Analysis and the Gospel of Matthew," by
K.C. Hanson, in Semeia
67 (1994).
| "What happens on the
mountain is the group's initiation into Jesus' teaching." |
|
|
The
Eight Beatitudes, from the Catholic Encyclopedia. |
|
"Jesus,
The Multitudes, and Us," Charles G. Dennison, in Kerux: The
Online Journal of Biblical Theology (Reformed)
|
"Yes,
the multitudes are repeatedly seen in this favorable light, a light so
favorable in fact that we cannot but help recognize the gathering before
the Lord for blessing of all Israel and the nations. There is, however,
a reverse side. As if with divine omniscience, Jesus grasps the
multitudes' unnerving ambiguity; they are bewildered; they are hardened
and reject Jesus. While preaching the universal sweep of God's election,
they become the occasion for observing divine discrimination at work." |
|
|
|
Articles in
ATLAS Journals. (Direct link when you are
subscribed and logged in to
ATLASerials online collection of Religion and Theology Journals.):
| Allison, Dale C., Jr., "The Structure
of the Sermon on the Mount," Journal of Biblical Literature,
1987.
Image Browse -
PDF |
| Bailey, James L., "Sermon on the
Mount: Model for Community," Currents in Theology and Mission,
1993.
Image Browse -
PDF |
| Bibb, Wade, "Preaching in Ordinary
Time: The Extraordinary Subject of Jesus' Realm," Review & Expositor,
2007. (Section on this text begins on p. 311.)
Image Browse -
PDF |
| Brooks, James A., "The Unity and Structure of the
Sermon on the Mount," Criswell Theological Review, 1992.
Image Browse -
PDF |
| Burghardt, William, S.J.,
"Gospel Joy, Christian Joy," The Living Pulpit, 1996. (see
Joy issue focus of The Living Pulpit 5.4, 1996.)
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PDF |
| Carlston, Charles E., "Betz on the Sermon on the
Mount - A Critique," Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1988.
Image Browse -
PDF |
| Carter, Warren, "Love Your Enemies," Word & World,
2008.
Image Browse -
PDF |
| Carter, Warren, "Matthew's Gospel: An
Anti-Imperial/Imperial Reading," Currents in Theology and Mission,
2007. See entire issue of
Currents in Theology and Mission 34, image focus on Matthew's
gospel.
Image Browse -
PDF |
| Carter, Warren, "Narrative/Literary Approaches to
Matthean Theology: The 'Reign of the Heavens' as an Example (Mt.
4:17-5:12)," Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 1997.
Image Browse -
PDF |
| Cloete, Daan,
"In the Meantime, Trouble for the Peacemakers: Matthew 5:10-12,"
Journal of Theology for Southern Africa, 1985.
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