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James Tissot, The Beatitudes Sermon, c. 1890, Brooklyn Museum. The Beatitudes (/ b i ˈ æ t ɪ tj u d z /) are blessings recounted by Jesus in Matthew 5:3-10 within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, and four in the Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke, followed by four woes which mirror the blessings.
St. Augustine was convinced that there should actually be seven Beatitudes, as seven was considered the holy number. He thus felt that this one was not actually a separate one, but rather a rephrasing of the first Beatitude at Matthew 5:3. To Augustine this eighth Beatitude symbolized Christ rising on the eighth day, which was also the first day.
After a brief introduction (Matthew 5:1–2), the chapter contains the section known as the Beatitudes, which includes some of Jesus' most famous teachings. Robert H. Gundry suggests that the Beatitudes can be divided into two quartets. The first group of four beatitudes describes the ideal righteous behaviour of Jesus' disciples.
Jesus presents the Beatitudes as a list of those he considered "blessed," or "fortunate," (due to his arrival and their subsequent invitation into the "Kingdom of Heaven"), as opposed to Ben Sira's list of "blessed" peoples (Ben Sira 25:7-11). The Beatitudes work as a welcoming statement to this group of people, and as an introduction to the ...
This verse is generally believed to have been taken from Psalm 24:3–5 either by Jesus or the author of Matthew who was adding this verse that is not found in Luke. A number of scholars have been certain that there were originally seven Beatitudes, as seven was a holy number.
Other than "blessed are the meek" in Matthew 5:5 this is perhaps the most famous of the Beatitudes. It was the personal motto of James I of England, and has been used by a number of other groups and organizations. In The Canterbury Tales "The Tale of Melibee" this verse is one of the main themes.
The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit is one of several lists of virtues, vices and blessings in Christian devotional literature which follow a scheme of seven. [12] Others include the seven deadly sins , the seven virtues , the seven last words from the cross , the seven petitions of the Lord's Prayer , and the Beatitudes .
In almost all cases, the phrases used in the Beatitudes are familiar from an Old Testament context, but in the sermon Jesus gives them new meaning. [12] Together, the Beatitudes present a new set of ideals that focus on love and humility rather than force and mastery; they echo the highest ideals of Jesus's teachings on spirituality and compassion.