While it may be surprising to most people today, the theme of the Beatitudes is how to find real joy in life. Everyone seeks real joy in life. Someone once asked three girls what they wanted to be when they grew up. The first replied, “President of the United States.” The second responded, “The wife of a famous doctor.” The third shrugged and said, “I just want to be happy.”
In reality, all three had the same goal in mind: Happiness. The first two thought happiness could be achieved by their positions or by their associations. But they all wanted to be happy.
The theme of Jesus’ sermon is the joy of discipleship. In the Beatitudes in particular, Jesus points his followers away from what people normally think provides happiness. Instead, he directs them to the source of real happiness: a proper relationship with him.
Nine times in this short passage, Jesus calls certain people “Blessed.” Literally, he is saying that this type of person is exceedingly joyful. That’s the meaning of the word “blessed.” Yet when we read these verses honestly, we sense that happiness could never be found in the things he mentions. Since when is being poor associated with happiness? And how often do we think of those who “mourn” or those that are “persecuted” as being blessed? Certainly from the standpoint of the world, Jesus must be mistaken. Yet he asserts that these people are the ones truly blessed. Let’s examine what he means by this.
The Foundation of the Disciple’s Joy
Jesus tells us something about the foundation of true joy in this passage. To begin with, you cannot find true joy in this life, unless you begin with heaven. If you have not settled the issue of what happens to you in eternity, you can have no true and lasting happiness here on earth. Someone once said: “You have not begun to learn to live until you have learned to die.” Another person noted that the two greatest mistakes in life were both mathematical: “to miscalculate the brevity of life and the length of eternity.”
That’s why Jesus concludes his sermon in Matthew 7 by a reminder about the coming judgment. Your eternal destiny determines your present happiness. Think about it for a moment. If you could be wealthy, popular and live a long life, what good would it do you if you lost it all in eternity? What value would a little bit of pleasure be for a short time here if it only resulted in unending misery later? People avoid such thoughts because they interfere with their feelings of pleasure now. But, even though you may try to suppress those thoughts, you occasionally wonder about eternity and it robs you of present joy.
Even more than that, we must face the reality that whatever we place our joy on here in this world can never fully satisfy. Suppose money and possessions bring you happiness. Many who put their hopes for happiness in money will tell you that some of the richest people in the world are often the least happy. They have learned that having things is no guarantee of happiness. Indeed, it only creates a greater thirst for more things because the things they have never fully satisfy.
Additionally, we must face the reality that whatever we place our present joy on here in this world can be taken away very quickly. How many people have banked their joy on having a certain position in life only to lose that position unexpectedly? How many have felt that some person could bring them real joy in life only to have that person die and leave them wondering if they could ever be happy again? How many have worked all their life to gain certain possessions only to lose it all on a bad deal? Unless your joy is founded on what you have in heaven, you will never have real joy here on earth.
Such thoughts are important for both believers and non-believers alike. For the non-believer to seek happiness apart from Christ is ridiculous. Whatever you may have can be lost forever. What little pleasure and joy you may have now is only temporary at best. One day it will all be gone. Only those who have a right relationship with Jesus can have a joy that transcends this world.
But believers also need to realize the great hope and reward they have awaiting them in heaven. Though we may experience sorrow in this life, all our grief is tempered by the fact that what we receive in heaven can never be taken away. That’s why early Christians could call persecution “blessed;” they knew that “the sufferings of this present age” were not “worthy to be compared with the glory to be revealed” in them in eternity. When we lose possessions here, we know that we have treasure in heaven that can never be stolen or destroyed (Matthew 6:19). When we lose loved ones here, we “grieve not as those who have no hope” for we know the resurrection from the dead for all who are the Lord’s. Christians experience real joy because all they have can never be compared with all they will receive.
The Nature of the Disciple’s Joy
We have seen that no one can have a lasting joy apart from the consideration of eternal things. Many who think they are happy now will one day wake up to the emptiness and temporary-ness of that happiness. Since the believer’s joy does not have its foundation here on earth, his joy is not one that can be shaken by the circumstances around him. That’s why believers often display unusual happiness even when they face unbelievable situations.
But let us move on to examine something of the nature of this joy. In one word, we can describe its nature: it is different. Deitrich Bonhoeffer, in his The Cost of Discipleship, noted that the gap between the believer’s joy and the joy experienced by non-believers widens with each beatitude. The believer finds his joy in things totally different from the things that give joy to others. Let’s examine some of these differences.
First, the believer’s joy is not dependent on circumstances. Notice the paradoxes in these beatitudes. In every case, the very things that would normally make one unhappy Jesus cites as reasons for being called “blessed.” When was the last time you heard someone say, “If I could only be poor. . . if I was only mourning more. . . if I was only more persecuted. . . then I’d really be happy. Yet that is exactly what Jesus says!
Believers do not lose their joy even in the most difficult of circumstances because their joy is not dependent on those circumstances.
Christians face all sorts of difficulties yet they are not troubled. Before they experienced any persecution, Jesus told his disciples, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Christians face difficulties, but even difficulties cannot take away their joy because it does not depend on circumstances.
Second, the believer’s joy is not dependent on worldly possessions. Many say, “I would be happy if I only had. . . .” For some, another job would make them happy. For others, a different spouse or better children would make the crucial difference. For still others, more money or more possessions seems to be the key. But for all the above, even when they get what they thought would provide happiness, they still find an emptiness in their hearts.
The reason is simple: possessions can never fill a spiritual need. Solomon provides the best example. He had everything that a man could ever want: houses, horses, education, women, money. He had more than even the rich could dream about today. But what was his conclusion: it was all vanity–emptiness–unfulfilling! The Puritan Thomas Watson put it best when he noted “the things of this world will no more keep out trouble of spirit than a piece of paper will stop a bullet.” Paul said, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (Phil. 4:11-12, NIV). The Christian’s joy is different in that it does not depend upon things for happiness.
The Secret of the Disciple’s Joy
Real joy can only be found in a heavenly focus. How can believers be happy no matter what is going on around them? They are happy because they have learned to have a different focus than non-believers. In Matthew 6:22-23, Jesus reminded his disciples about the importance of the “single eye.” What he referred to was the ability to keep one’s eye focused on the single goal. That goal is a heavenly goal, not an earthly one. Paul says the same thing at the end of Philippians 3: ” Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven” (vv. 17-20). Notice the contrast: “their mind is set on earthly things;” our mind is set on our citizenship “in heaven.” The believer who has joy in this life is one who has learned to set his “mind on things above, not on earthly things” (Col. 3:2).
Look carefully at the difference. The joy of believers is characterized by the things they admire. What do you admire: pride, power, popularity? Or do you admire those who are humble, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, those who mourn, those who are persecuted? J. B. Phillips paraphrased the beatitudes to show how we today admire the exact opposite of what Jesus desires.
Happy are the pushers, for they get on in this world.
Happy are the hard boiled; they never let life hurt them.
Happy are those who complain; they get their way in the end.
Happy are the blase, for they never worry about their sins.
Happy are the slave drivers, for they get results.
Happy are the knowledgeable men of the world, for they know how to get around.
Happy are the trouble-makers, for they make people take notice of them.
Notice the tremendous difference! The world admires an entirely different set of characteristics. Believers are distinguished by what they admire.
Second, they are distinguished by what they seek in life. What do you hunger for? What do you desire more than anything else? Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” Near the end of his sermon, Jesus reminds his disciples: “For after all these things the Gentiles seek. . . . But you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matt. 6:32-33). What are you seeking in life? The secret of the disciple’s joy is found in seeking His righteousness and His kingdom first. But to seek the right things, we must begin to admire the right things. What a person admires, they will usually seek.
How different are believers from non-believers! That’s the message of the beatitudes. But often we as believers have slipped into admiring and seeking the same things as the world admires and seeks. The result is that we lose our joy because a joy rooted in this world can change at any moment. A joy focused on the life to come can never be taken away from us. What is the foundation of your joy?
Copyright Jim Ehrhard, 1999. You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author; (2) any modifications are clearly marked; (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction; and (4) you do not make more than 100 copies without permission. If you would like to post this material to your web site or make any use other than as defined above, please contact Teaching Resources International
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