The Pathway Of Blessedness

Matthew 5:3 poor in spirit

4 mourn

5 meek

6 hunger and thirst after righteousness

7 merciful

8 pure in heart

9 peacemakers

These verses describe what a blessed person looks like. There are six adjectives and two verbs which behave like adjectives. These eight words are the keys to understanding the verses. An adjective is a modifier of a subject or noun, so in these verses Jesus gives the description of the personality of a “blessed” person. These modifiers are not given as goals to attain, but each expresses a characteristic that exists in a blessed person.

These characteristics seem to be sequential, each leading to the other, and descriptive of real Gospel salvation which leads to a state of being which includes these characteristics. In other words, this is a description of the characteristics that to some degree accompany salvation.

Poverty of spirit is the first move toward God, and the closer we come to God the more we mourn over our poverty, which leads to meekness or a lower opinion of oneself, which then causes a person to hunger and thirst after righteousness which they do not possess, righteousness which can only be found in the Gospel. In this Gospel they find righteousness and the mercy of God in Jesus Christ. A person who has received such mercy is now naturally inclined to give mercy. From the giving and receiving of mercy flows a simple purity in the inner recesses of the soul. The power of love is experienced which brings a sort of singularity of understanding and purpose. And because peace with God has been experienced this blessed person is inclined to seek this path of mercy, truth, and peace when there is conflict.