The Secret Codes in Matthew: Examining Israel’s Messiah, Part 4, by Kevin M. Williams
The second “crossing over” was for the talmidim of the Messiah of Israel. To follow Yeshua would also have certain requirements, with rewards and consequences.
If we believe the axiom that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, then the Beatitudes also speak of curses. For instance, we read, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The opposite reaction—or curse—might be written, “Cursed are the haughty in spirit, for they have nothing in the kingdom of heaven.”
An excellent test of one’s own attitudes is to look at this reversal of the Beatitudes to see where you land. It might be surprising.
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Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when [men] cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me (Matthew 5:3-11).
In the book, Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus, the authors write, “Without really understanding why, [Christians] tend to just “read over” the Synoptic Gospels. Phrases such as ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 5:3) sound so beautiful and poetic, but the for English speaker, do they convey any real depth of meaning?”6
The authors David Bivin and Roy Blizzard Jr., explain the Beatitudes from one Hebraic Perspective:
In the opening beatitude Jesus couples “poor in spirit” with “kingdom of heaven.” “Poor in spirit” is an abbreviation of “poor and crippled in spirit” in Isaiah 66:2. The Kingdom of Heaven is what Jesus calls the body of his followers, his movement. In Hebrew, “kingdom” can mean “rule” or “those who are ruled,” but it is never a territorial designation. “Heaven” is an evasive synonym for “God.” “theirs” is a classic mistranslation, still preserved in all modern English versions. The Greek word translated “theirs” should be translated “of these” or “of such as these.” We cannot possess the Kingdom. It does not belong to us; rather, Jesus is describing in these beatitudes the kind of people who make up the Kingdom. It is the “poor in spirit,” the spiritually “down and outers” who have no righteousness of their own; “the mourners,” the brokenhearted who have reached the end of their strength and cry out to God in despair and hopelessness; “the meek,” those who have thrown away their pride. It is people such as these who get into the Kingdom and find salvation.7
To paraphrase their translation, they feel Matthew 5:3 might read better, “Blessed are the poor and crippled in spirit, for those so ruled as these, belong in the Kingdom of God.” Their syntax reads very differently from traditional interpretations. It sounds, if you will, very similar to the enslaved Hebrews of Egypt, bitterly crying out to God for deliverance. Certainly they could be defined as the “down and outers”, the “mourners,” the “brokenhearted who have reached the end of their strength and cry out to God in despair and hopelessness.”
Category: Biblical Studies, Pneuma Review, Winter 2002
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