Chapter 1: Meet the Beatitudes
Six big questions
- “Are Matthew’s and Luke’s Beatitudes the same, or different?” The two versions are different in content, in location, and other ways. Are they the same? There are many different opinions on this subject.
- Who are the Beatitudes for?
a. For no one. Three strands of thought.
b. For everybody.
c. For all Christians.
d. For the orders of ministry. - "Are the Beatitudes countercultural or the highest form of human wisdom.” If they are countercultural, which culture are they meant to counter?
a. Counter to which culture? Anti-Judaism. A common theme, especially up until recently.
b. Counter to which culture? A feminist critique. One common critique is that the beatitudes are too feminine. - Are the Beatitudes demands of descriptions? Reversals or Rewards?
a. Implicit exhortations.
b. God’s priorities: the great reversal. “Viewed this way, the Beatitudes function as an implicit invitation not to become poor or hungry, but to join with God in the work of that great reversal.”
c. Description of Jesus. Perhaps the only thing that all scholars agree on.
d. The two-stanza solution. - How many beatitudes are there?
a. Nine. The easiest to get to to because there are 9 “blessed” in Matthew.
b. Ten. Rare, but some pre-modern scholars count 10.
c. Eight. This is perhaps the most common. The last 2 in Matthew are combined into one.
d. Four. Only 4 in Luke.
e. Seven (or 7+1=8).
"Some of these numbering systems may strike you as fanciful. But they reveal the early Christians’ abiding belief that every word of Scripture, every jot and tittle, was a word of life for God’s people—therefore the number of the Beatitudes was not incidental but had riches of meaning to unearth.” - When are they for? Most common response is an ideal for now, but fully realized in the coming kingdom. Some think only later. Barth think for today.
Excerpt From: Rebekah Eklund. “The Beatitudes through the Ages.” Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-beatitudes-through-the-ages/id1551836162