Scholars debate the authenticity of many of Jesus’ sayings. However, few doubt the veracity of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12 and Luke 6:20-24). The opening words of the Sermon on the Mount have inspired countless millions to spiritual living. These memorable sayings have been understood as the kernel of Jesus’ universal message. Live humbly. Show compassion. Make peace. God will eventually comfort your heart—either here and now, or sometime post mortem.

 

While the Beatitudes may provide a blueprint for a blessed life, when Jesus uttered them in the Galilean countryside, they contained an unmistakable eschatological tone. A cursory look at the Beatitudes indicates their eschatological relevance. They offer the blessing of the kingdom of heaven, seeing God, divine sonship, and a reward worthy of the prophets.

 

In the Beatitudes, Jesus draws from influential Biblical texts that convey eschatological hope. Each of the nine Beatitudes contains an explicit eschatological blessing.    By applying them to his ministry and kingdom announcement, Jesus affirms that he is the one through whom God will bring the blessedness of eschatological fullness. This set of blessings sets the stage for Jesus’ kingdom message and praxis that he will preach and enact throughout his ministry.

 

In the forthcoming series, I intend to look at each of the Beatitudes and suggest some of their eschatological connotations, Old Testament background, relationship to the broader New Testament, and possible trajectories for their relevance to life today. First, though, I’d like to establish the context in which the Beatitudes fit in Matthew’s Gospel. (Throughout this series, I’ll make mention of Luke’s version of the Beatitudes too—which themselves fit neatly into their own eschatological framework.)

 

In part one of this series, I want to survey the first four chapters of Matthew that immediately precede the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount. In so doing, we will encounter several interrelated eschatological themes, including the new Exodus, the Abrahamic promises, Edenic imagery, the New Covenant, the end of the exile, God’s arrival in Zion, Davidic messianic claims, and the kingdom of God.

 

By layering multiple eschatological themes in the beginning of his Gospel, Matthew intends his readers to see Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s eschatological promises. The early chapters of Matthew set stage for the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes, which Matthew intends to be read in light of his imminent kingdom expectation. These four chapters narrate action that creates the setting for the spoken word in the Beatitudes. To separate the Beatitudes from what comes before them isolates them from their context and alters their function within Matthew’s Gospel.

 

Reading the Beatitudes within a broader kingdom context helps us to see that Jesus understood the Beatitudes as a blessing upon those who would participate in the kingdom.   In this setting, we find the Beatitudes forming an eschatological manifesto for Jesus.

 

 

The Book of Matthew opens by tracing the ancestry of Jesus. “An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matt. 1:1). Immediately, Matthew conjures up images of the Davidic and Abrahamic promises (2Samuel 7 and Genesis 12). Beginning the narrative in this way signals Matthew’s intentions. He is claiming Jesus to be the one through whom God would fulfill these promises.

 

The title “Christ” carries messianic, and thus, kingly significance. By emphasizing this, Matthew summarizes the entirety of Old Testament Davidic passages related to the promises that originate in 2Samuel 7. Matthew argues that Jesus, as the Son of David, is the anointed king who would build the house of God, and God would “establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2Samuel 7:13). (We’ll examine this more closely when we get to Matthew 3).

 

As he unfolds Jesus’ lineage, Matthew emphasizes a royal pedigree by tracing the genealogy of Jesus from David through Solomon and the subsequent kings of Judah. Jesus’ royal roots extend through the Babylonian exile via Zerubbabel. In Haggai 2:21-23, the word of the Lord comes to the prophet predicting that God would shake the heavens and earth, thereby bringing about a new Exodus. In that event, Zerubbabel would become the chosen one and the regal signet ring of God. By referring to Zerubbabel, Matthew echoes this prophetic passage, and thus, applies Haggai’s kingdom promise to Jesus.

 

The genealogical section of Matthew precedes the birth narratives, which are rife with eschatological significance. In Matthew 1:18-25, we observe the angelic announcement to Joseph concerning Christ’s conception. In a dream, the messenger assures Joseph that the child’s birth would come as a sign of Isaiah 7:14. “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” More than just describing Mary’s condition, this incident beckons us to read the text Matthew quotes.

 

Isaiah 7 is itself rooted in a broader context related to Israel, her enemies, her deliverance, and God’s kingdom. Isaiah 7:10-16 assures Israel that the powers tyrannizing her would be forsaken by their princes. Chapter 8 indicates that a time of hardship will precede Israel’s deliverance; nevertheless, in chapter 9 Israel is freed from the rod of the oppressor. The end result would involve God’s establishment of throne of David bringing peace, justice, and righteousness. “For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this” (Isaiah 9:6-7). (Isaiah 9 will come into play again when we discuss Matthew 4).

 

So in the genealogy and birth announcement of Jesus, Matthew wants his readers to hear that Jesus is one through whom God would free Israel, establish the Davidic throne, and fulfill the Abrahamic promise. All this helps create the environment for the proclamation of the Beatitudes as statements concerning the kingdom of heaven.

 

 

Matthew continues kingdom themes in the magi incident. In Matthew 2:1-12, the magi see the star and trek through the desert. When they arrive in Jerusalem, the place one would expect to encounter the king of the Jews, they inquire, “Where is he who has been born King of the Jews.” A sensitive ear can hear Balaam’s prophecy in Numbers 24:17. “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near—a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the borderlands of Moab, and the territory of all the Shethites.”

 

Long recognized as a messianic prediction, Balaam looked forward to the Star of Jacob signifying the arrival of the royal scepter of Israel. “One out of Jacob shall rule” accompanied by the ruin of Israel’s enemies (Numbers 24:17; See also Genesis 49:8-10).

 

Importantly, Balaam indicates that this event was not near in his day. By alluding to the Star prophecy, Matthew intimates that the time had arrived for the scepter to arise with the birth of Jesus. (We find a similar use of prophetic timing in Hebrews 10:37-38, where the author quotes Habakkuk 2:3-4.)

 

Upon hearing of the magi’s arrival, Herod, the reigning monarch, fears for his throne. He asks the chief priests what to make of all this. They respond by quoting from Micah 5:2. “But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.”

 

This prophetic passage foretells of the messianic ruler of Israel. The remainder of Micah 5 (much like Isaiah 7-9), promises deliverance of Israel from her adversaries. Echoing the song of Moses, Micah sees God cutting off horses and chariots thereby enacting a new Exodus. This deliverance would take place in direct relationship to the ruler of Israel coming forth from Bethlehem—the city of David. By integrating Micah into his narrative, Matthew argues that Jesus is the one through whom God would bring about these eschatological events. This, in turn, helps to create the milieu from which the Beatitudes spring.

 

Matthew’s next vignette continues to build his case concerning Jesus and the kingdom of God. When Joseph and Mary receive a divine warning to avoid Herod, they flee to Egypt. They remained there until Herod’s death. “This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’” This multilayered passage quotes Hosea 11:1 and alludes to Numbers 24:7-8 (not to mention the entire Exodus scenario).

 

Hosea 11 comes at the conclusion of a long parable and narrative related to God’s redeeming action toward Israel. Even though Israel had sold herself, God (as incarnated by Hosea) would redeem her. This eschatological action implied a new Exodus, God’s deliverance (see especially 12:4), and ultimately resurrection (13:14).

 

Ensconced within the original Exodus narrative, Numbers 24:7-8 paves the way for the Star of Judah prophecy mentioned above. While not as famous as the other utterance of Balaam, this statement carries much eschatological weight. Balaam blesses the tents of Judah and the dwellings of Israel. In 24:6, he employs Edenic imagery by referring to well-watered gardens. In 24:7a and 24:9, Balaam echoes the Abrahamic covenant by speaking of Israel’s prolific seed and the Abrahamic blessing. Finally in 24:7b, Balaam envisions God’s chosen one, the ruler of Israel. “His king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. God, who brings him out of Egypt, is like the horns of a wild ox for him; he shall devour the nations that are his foes and break their bones. He shall strike with his arrows.”

 

Israel’s king, Balaam affirms, shall reign in a divinely exalted kingdom. Israel’s enemies shall be overthrown and the Abrahamic covenant would come to pass. By incorporating this prophetic vision into his account, Matthew suggests that Jesus is the one that God was establishing on the throne, delivering Israel, and making good on his promise to Abraham. All of this continues paving the way for the Beatitudes in chapter 5.

 

The massacre of the innocents in Matthew 2:16-18 is one of the most shocking stories of the Bible. Herod, angry at the magi and afraid of losing his power, reenacts the murderous actions of the ancient Pharaoh. He orders death for all infant boys in the Bethlehem area. By incorporating this incident in his narrative, Matthew invokes images of the Exodus. Just as a child saved from the first slaughter redeemed the nation from Egyptian slavery, a child saved from the Herodian slaughter would redeem the nation for eschatological bondage (see John 8:31-36).

 

Additionally, Matthew sees this event fulfilling the prophetic utterance of Jeremiah 31:15. “Thus says the Lord: ‘A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.”

 

In Jeremiah 31 we read that the massacre of the innocents was not the final word. Verse 16 contains a divine assurance of resurrection and deliverance. “Thus says the Lord: ‘Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for there is a reward for your work,’ says the Lord: ‘they shall come back from the land of the enemy.’”

 

Moreover, beginning in Jeremiah 30, the weeping prophet foresees the coming days in which “I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the Lord, and I will bring them back” (Jeremiah 30:3). The end of the exile would signal the arrival of the divinely ordained eschatological kingdom. “On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will break the yoke from off his neck, and I will burst his bonds, and strangers shall no more make a servant of him. But they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them” (Jeremiah 30:8-9). Jeremiah predicts that all of this would occur “in the latter days” (Jeremiah 30:24). The prophet continues to speak of the renewal of Israel signified by the Davidic kingdom throughout chapter 31. This reaches a climax in the famous New Covenant passage in Jeremiah 31:31-40.

 

By invoking Jeremiah 31:15, Matthew calls to mind the totality of Jeremiah’s discourse. Matthew contends that Jesus is the one through whom God would end the exile for all Israel because Jesus is the Davidic king and the bearer of the New Covenant. All of this adds another layer to the Matthean narrative related to Jesus vis-à-vis the kingdom of God. The first Gospel’s opening words are saturated with eschatological import that propels the reader into the Beatitudes.

 

 

John the Baptist announces an explicit eschatological message. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” John unequivocally proclaimed the impending arrival of God’s kingdom. By declaring the approaching onset of the kingdom, John suggests the entirety of the kingdom prophecies—especially Daniel 2, 7, and 9—were about to come to pass in his day.

 

In preaching the kingdom of heaven, John baptized in the Jordan, further symbolizing the new Exodus and the arrival into the eschatological Promised Land. As mentioned above, the Exodus theme plays a significant role in Matthew.

 

Matthew quotes Isaiah 40 as evidence of John’s eschatological ministry. (We will revisit Isaiah 40 when we look at the blessing upon those who mourn.) Isaiah 40:3 states, “A voice cries out: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’”

 

Isaiah 40 speaks peace to Jerusalem because “her iniquity is pardoned” (40:2). This ultimate forgiveness allows the presence of God to come to Israel via the highway prepared by the voice crying in the wilderness. At this time, Isaiah envisions every eye seeing God. “Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (40:5). (We will return to this passage when we examine the blessing on the pure in heart.)

 

Isaiah foresees these good tidings (Gospel) arriving in Zion when “the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep” (40:10-11). Subsequently, Isaiah anticipates the beneficent rule of God feeding his flocks like the shepherd king David.

 

By quoting Isaiah 40, Matthew argues that John’s ministry denoted that the pending arrival of God’s presence in Zion thereby bringing Israel’s long awaited forgiveness. John signaled that Isaiah’s prophecy was coming to fruition in his day; the kingdom was “at hand” when John preached.

 

Both Matthew and John go to great lengths to show that John was not the one through whom God would establish his kingdom. John pointed to “one who is coming after me”—namely, Jesus. Jesus, John says, would carry a winnowing fan, purge the threshing floor and gather the harvest (Matthew 3:12). This statement echoes the eschatological prophecies of Malachi 3:3. The prophet pictured the messenger’s work happening immediately prior to the arrival of God who would “suddenly come to his temple” (Malachi 3:1).

 

Malachi 3 looks forward to the covenantal messenger who arrives commensurate with the eschatological judgment. “Then I will draw near to you for judgment” (Malachi 3:5). The prophet continues this theme through chapter 4. Following the judgment, mercy has the final say. “The sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings” (Malachi 4:2). All of this portends the “coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” (Malachi 4:5).

 

Matthew’s quotation of Malachi evokes the prophet’s eschatological ethos. Matthew’s intends to show that the presence of John points to Jesus, whom he understands to be the one through whom God will bring about the eschatological judgment spoken of by Malachi.

 

In time, Jesus went to the banks of the Jordan to submit to John’s baptism. Albert Schweitzer demonstrates that baptism is an eschatological act in itself. “In primitive Christianity Baptism guaranteed the forgiveness of sins and allegiance to the coming Messiah, and the prospect of sharing the glory which is to dawn at His coming” (The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle, 1998 edition, p.19).

 

When Jesus came up from the waters, the heavens opened, the spirit of God in dove form alighted upon him, and a voice from heaven declared, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). More than signifying God’s approval of Jesus, this incident carries eschatological meaning that hearkens back to the Davidic promise of 2Samuel 7.

 

After David proposes erecting a house for God, the prophet Nathan appears before the king with a revolutionary message. Instead of David building a house for God, God would make David’s house. However, this would occur after David’s death. David’s son would inherit the throne and reign as God’s chosen king. “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me” (2Samuel 7:12-14).

 

Notably, God promises to make David’s son the son of God. As ancient custom dictated, a king would often “adopt” a son to succeed him (consider Julius and Augustus Caesar). In this Davidic promise, God vows to “adopt” David’s son and install him on the throne (compare 1Chronicles 17:12-14). So by using the phrase “this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased,” Matthew echoes the covenant given to David. Matthew indicates that Jesus is the son of David, the son of God, the one through whom God would establish the kingdom. (It is worth nothing that “David” literally means “Beloved.” So when the heavenly voice declares, “This is my beloved son,” the witnesses may have heard, “This is my son David.”)

 

Matthew 3 adds multiple eschatological texts and themes to the mix. Together they contribute to setting in which Jesus preached the Beatitudes—and the entire Sermon on the Mount.

 

Chapter 4 commences with the temptation of Christ. In the first temptation, Jesus is enticed to turn stones into bread. He replies with Deuteronomy 8:3. “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”   Deuteronomy 8 fits into Israel’s Exodus setting.   The chapter contains Edenic language relevant to God’s deliverance.  For example, Deuteronomy 8:7 states, “For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and hills.” In drawing from Israel’s Exodus experience, Jesus suggests that the eschatological Exodus into the Promised Land has begun as he resists the temptation.

 

The second temptation tests Jesus’ claim to be the son of God—the Davidic heir. Jesus’ tempter quotes the messianic Psalm 91 in order for Jesus to prove himself. Jesus defers and retorts with another text from the Exodus event, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 6:16). Like the answer to the first temptation, Matthew shows Jesus invoking the Exodus from Egypt to parallel the eschatological Exodus that was taking place in Christ’s ministry. “Do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may go in and occupy the good land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give you, thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has promised” (Deut 6:18-19).

 

In the third temptation, Jesus is offered “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory” if he worships someone other than God. Jesus refuses this means of acquiring kingship and quotes a third Deuteronomic passage, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him” (Deut. 6:13). These words come from Israel’s Exodus experience and fall in the context of the Shema (Deut. 6:1-9). Significantly, Deuteronomy 6 entails references to the Abrahamic covenant. “When the Lord your God has brought you into the land that he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you” (Deut. 6:10).

 

The three specific temptations weave overt allusions to the eschatological Exodus, the kingdom, and the Abrahamic blessing. Together, Jesus’ approach to these temptations forms another statement indicating Jesus as God’s chosen one to bring about God’s kingdom in God’s way at God’s time.

 

Following the temptations, Jesus makes his way to Capernaum. Matthew sees this as a fulfillment of Isaiah 9:1-2. “But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined.”

 

As mentioned above, Isaiah 7-9 are situated in a context that speaks of Israel’s eschatological deliverance through her Davidic king. Additionally, Isaiah 9 specifically designates the “latter time” as the occasion of the fulfillment of God’s deliverance (compare Deut. 32:29-43). God’s light would shine even unto the Gentiles bringing life to those in the valley of death’s shadow.

 

Bringing Isaiah 9 into his argument, Matthew wants his readers to view Jesus as the one through whom God would deliver Israel and the nations in the latter days. For Matthew, this was a sure sign that the latter-days deliverance had begun with the ministry of Jesus. The kingdom was at hand, and this was the very message preached by Jesus.

 

To be a teacher in the setting of second temple Judaism assumes an eschatological stance. Jesus was no exception. His earliest proclamation announced, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). The kingdom of God is, intrinsically, an eschatological matter. (I’ll be using “kingdom of God” and “kingdom of heaven” interchangeably throughout this series. Matthew prefers “kingdom of heaven.” Mark and Luke favor “kingdom of God.” I understand Matthew’s phraseology as a Hebraic euphemism denoting a Jewish respect for the name of God, such as the use of the word “adonai” or the modern penchant for spelling the name “G-D.”)

 

In his assertion concerning the appearance of the kingdom of heaven, Jesus (like John before him) states his belief that God’s kingdom (and all that entails) would arrive shortly, within the lifetime of his contemporaries. His expectation of the imminence of the kingdom permeates his ministry, as the Gospels attest (for example see Matt. 10:23; 16:27-28; 23:36; 24:34). The Beatitudes follow straightway on the heels of Jesus’ initial kingdom declaration, which itself is embedded in the broader kingdom context of Matthew’s Gospel.

 

As he preached, Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee. He saw the fishermen brothers Peter and Andrew and called them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” The call of Christ to these men is not simply a clever metaphor. Like all that comes before in Matthew, this statement is laced with eschatological import. In particular, it echoes Jeremiah 16:16. “I am now sending for many fishermen, says the Lord, and they shall catch them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks.”

 

In this prophetic text, God prepares Jeremiah for the disastrous exile that was befalling Israel (16:13). Exile, however, would not be the final word. “Therefore, the days are surely coming, says the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the Lord lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the lands where he had driven them.’ For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their ancestors” (Jeremiah 16:14-15). Jeremiah envisions a new Exodus, a greater Exodus, an eschatological Exodus. In this Exodus, God would send fishermen to bring back the exiles.

 

In describing Jesus’ call to fishermen, Matthew adds another facet to his eschatological Gospel. Jesus, Matthew contends, is commissioning the messengers to go out and gather the harvest because the time had come for their sins to be forgiven.

 

The fishermen traveled with Jesus around the region. “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people” (Matthew 4:23). Again, Matthew portrays Jesus preaching the kingdom, and in this case his message is accompanied with signs of healing.

 

As N.T. Wright points out, Jesus’ healing praxis signified the enactment of Isaiah 35 (Jesus and the Victory of God, p.428-429). As the weak hands and feeble knees are strengthened, as the blind eyes are opened and the deaf ears hear, “the ransomed of the Lord shall return to Zion” (Isaiah 35:10). They shall come to the mount of the Lord on the highway of holiness (which hearkens back to John the Baptist’s message and Isaiah 40). The paralyzed, Isaiah predicts, shall dance with joy when God comes in saving judgment.

 

Christ’s healings were not intended to be a magic show or proof of his hidden nature. Instead, they manifested that the exile was ending, the eschatological judgment was pending, and the redeemed were marching to Zion. “In other words, these healings, at the deepest level of understanding on the part of Jesus and his contemporaries, would be seen as part of his total ministry, part of that open welcome which went with the inauguration of the kingdom” (Wright, p.192).

 

 

In this cursory overview, I’ve presented a survey of the intertwined eschatological themes that run throughout the opening chapters of Matthew. Drawing from the Law, Psalms, and Prophets, Matthew presents his case for the imminent arrival of the kingdom of God. He sees the genealogy, birth, and ministry of Jesus as the beginning of the eschatological consummation that would culminate with the soon arrival of the kingdom of heaven.

 

This leads into the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes, which constitute an eschatological statement of Jesus concerning the unlikely nature of that kingdom. In the Beatitudes, we will find Jesus speaking of the kingdom of God, inheritance of that kingdom, the Abrahamic promise, seeing God, and solidarity with the ancient prophets. We will begin exploring the details of the Beatitudes in part 2 of this series.

 

URL: http://www.presence.tv/cms/cov-beatitudes-part1.php

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