S3 93: Blessed
The Beatitudes [37:50]
Episode Length: 37:50
Published Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2018 01:00:00 -0800
Session 3
About this episode:
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings continue the journey through the gospel of Matthew and into the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount.
BEMA 74: Silent Years — Synagogue
The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard
Notes
*Note: The following notes are handwritten by me, Adam, and I reserve the right to be wrong.
BEMA Episode 93: Blessed - Study Notes
Title & Source Summary
Episode: 93 - Blessed
Hosts: Marty Solomon and Brent Billings
Focus: Matthew 4:12-5:12 (The Beatitudes and the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount)
This episode explores Jesus’s withdrawal to Galilee after John the Baptist’s arrest, his calling of the first disciples, and the introduction to the Sermon on the Mount through the Beatitudes. The hosts examine how Jesus’s teachings redefine who receives God’s blessing, challenging traditional religious assumptions about righteousness and favor.
Key Takeaways
- Jesus’s “withdrawal” to Galilee was not retreat but an aggressive move to continue ministry directly under Herod Antipas’s authority
- John the Baptist likely served as Jesus’s informal rabbi, making Jesus’s response to John’s arrest deeply personal
- The first disciples were likely “dropouts” from the traditional Jewish educational system who received a second chance
- The Beatitudes are not aspirational virtues but pronouncements of God’s blessing on those the world considers unblessed
- Jesus’s teaching audience was specifically his disciples, in response to seeing diverse crowds gathering
- The Beatitudes form a chiastic structure with mercy and hunger for righteousness at the center
- Matthew’s agenda throughout his Gospel focuses on the mamzer (outcast/illegitimate) receiving God’s favor
Main Concepts & Theories
Jesus as Mamzer and John the Baptist as Rabbi
The episode presents Bruce Chilton’s theory that Jesus was culturally viewed as a mamzer (illegitimate child), which would have prevented him from traditional rabbinical training. This context helps explain:
- Why John the Baptist, as a “rogue priest” trained by the Essenes, would have taken Jesus as a disciple
- The relationship between Jesus and John reflected typical rabbi-disciple dynamics
- Jesus’s ministry style as a “ragamuffin rabbi” calling “dropout students”
- Why Jesus could call disciples who had already left the traditional educational system
The Geography of Kingdom Proclamation
Jesus established his base in Capernaum, strategically located:
- Within walking distance of Tiberius, Herod Antipas’s capital
- In the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali (fulfilling Isaiah 9 prophecy)
- At the crossroads of diverse populations
Matthew emphasizes crowds coming from:
- Galilee (religious Jews)
- Decapolis (pagans)
- Jerusalem and Judea (Sadducees, Herodians, academic Jews)
- Syria (northern regions)
- Region across the Jordan (possibly zealots)
This diverse gathering demonstrates the universal reach of Jesus’s kingdom message and sets up the context for the Beatitudes.
The Jewish Educational System and Calling of Disciples
The traditional three-stage Jewish education system:
- Bet Sefer - Elementary Torah education
- Midrash - Intermediate study for promising students
- Talmud - Advanced discipleship under a rabbi
Most students (99%) were told to “go back to your father’s trade” before completing the system. The disciples Jesus called were:
- Peter and Andrew: fishing independently, likely over 13, already released from rabbinical pursuit
- James and John: still fishing with their father, possibly 11-13, not yet independent
When Jesus said “Lech achari” (Come, follow me), he offered these men a second chance at rabbinical discipleship.
Remez in Matthew’s Gospel
Matthew quotes Isaiah 9:1-7 as a remez (textual hint) expecting his Jewish audience to recall the full context:
- Original context: God’s judgment on Zebulun and Naphtali, but promise of restoration
- Isaiah’s message: A new king brings a new day of opportunity
- Matthew’s application: Jesus brings the same new day, establishing God’s kingdom in that same region
- The “child born to us” becomes a messianic reference in Matthew’s hands
The Beatitudes as Kingdom Pronouncements
Traditional interpretation (challenged in this episode):
- The Beatitudes as aspirational virtues to achieve
- God’s blessing comes when we attain these qualities
Corrected interpretation (following Dallas Willard’s “The Divine Conspiracy”):
- The Beatitudes are pronouncements, not prescriptions
- God’s favor already rests on those the world considers unblessed
- The word “blessed” means “God’s favor rests upon” not “happy”
The Chiastic Structure of the Beatitudes
The Beatitudes form a chiasm with two parallel halves:
A. Blessed are the poor in spirit (experiencing internal brokenness) B. Blessed are those who mourn (internal pain) C. Blessed are the meek (power under restraint/oppression) D. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (CENTER) D’. Blessed are the merciful (CENTER) C’. Blessed are the pure in heart (difficult pursuit of wholeness) B’. Blessed are the peacemakers (experiencing external opposition) A’. Blessed are those persecuted (experiencing external brokenness)
Central message: True hunger for righteousness (tzedakah) leads to mercy. Righteousness is not about rule-following but about generosity and caring for others.
Two Halves of the Beatitudes
First Half - Experiencing brokenness:
- Poor in spirit (spiritually bankrupt)
- Mourning (in grief)
- Meek (oppressed, power restrained)
- Hunger and thirst for righteousness (lacking what we need)
Second Half - Engaging brokenness:
- Merciful (showing mercy is difficult, costly)
- Pure in heart (pursuing wholeness brings tears)
- Peacemakers (both sides hate you)
- Persecuted (result of engaging the broken world)
Tzedakah (Righteousness)
Hebrew concept translated as “righteousness” but meaning:
- Generosity
- Benevolence
- Taking care of the poor
- Justice enacted through mercy
Jesus redefines righteousness away from rule-following toward merciful action.
Examples & Applications
Historical Geography
Modern parallels help understand the first-century context:
- Capernaum to Tiberius: 10-15 minute drive today, about an hour’s walk then
- Setting up ministry this close to Herod’s capital demonstrated chutzpah (audacity)
- Jesus’s statement to “that fox” Herod: “I will do everything I want and it will take three days”
The Diverse Crowd’s Social Dynamics
Imagine a modern gathering bringing together:
- Conservative religious fundamentalists (Galilee)
- Secular humanists and atheists (Decapolis)
- Academic theologians (Jerusalem/Judea)
- Political activists from opposing parties (region across Jordan)
- International observers (Syria)
The disciples’ discomfort with this mixed crowd mirrors how uncomfortable we might feel in such a setting today.
Modern Application of Beatitudes
Traditional religious thinking: “When I finally get my spiritual life together, then God will bless me.”
Jesus’s message: “God’s favor is already on you in your brokenness, mourning, and need.”
Examples:
- Spiritually bankrupt? God is with you now, not when you figure it out
- Grieving? God’s favor rests on you in your grief
- Lacking righteousness? The path forward is mercy, not more rule-keeping
- Trying to make peace? God sees your costly work even when both sides reject you
The Difficulty of Kingdom Work
The Beatitudes aren’t “rainbows and unicorns”:
- Showing mercy: The last time you truly showed mercy, how hard was it?
- Being pure in heart: Pursuing wholeness in a broken world brings tears (symbolized by saltwater in Passover meal)
- Making peace: Both parties question why you’re not on their side
- Persecution: The natural result of living out kingdom values
Potential Areas for Further Exploration
- Bruce Chilton’s Scholarship - Investigate Chilton’s arguments for Jesus as mamzer and implications for understanding Jesus’s ministry
- Rabbi-Disciple Relationships - Deeper study of how rabbis and talmidim interacted in first-century Judaism
- Isaiah 9 Context - Full examination of Isaiah 9’s original context and Matthew’s interpretive use
- Dallas Willard’s “The Divine Conspiracy” - Complete study of Willard’s exposition of the Sermon on the Mount
- Galilean-Judean Relations - Historical roots of tension between northern and southern Jewish populations
- The Complete Sermon on the Mount - How Matthew compiled various teachings into one unified discourse
- Tzedakah in Jewish Thought - Hebrew concept of righteousness as generous action toward the poor
- Chiastic Structures in Biblical Literature - Understanding ancient literary patterns in Scripture
- The Essenes and John the Baptist - Connection between Essene teaching and John’s ministry
- Geography of Jesus’s Ministry - How physical locations reinforce theological messages
- Matthew’s Gospel Structure - How the Sermon on the Mount serves as umbrella for the entire Gospel
- Remez as Interpretive Tool - How Jewish audiences understood textual hints and quotations
Comprehension Questions
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How does understanding Jesus as potentially a mamzer change your perspective on his calling of disciples who had “dropped out” of the traditional educational system? What does this reveal about the nature of God’s kingdom?
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Explain the chiastic structure of the Beatitudes and why the central pairing of “hunger and thirst for righteousness” with “mercy” is significant. How does this redefine righteousness?
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Matthew emphasizes the diverse crowd gathered around Jesus (Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, Syria, region across Jordan). Why is this diversity important to Matthew’s agenda, and how does it set up Jesus’s teaching in the Beatitudes?
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What is the difference between reading the Beatitudes as aspirational virtues versus pronouncements of blessing? How does this shift change the message from “work harder” to “God is with you”?
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Why did Jesus withdraw to Galilee after John the Baptist’s arrest, and how does this demonstrate chutzpah rather than cowardice? What does this reveal about Jesus’s approach to confronting earthly power?
Summary
Episode 93 transforms our understanding of the Beatitudes from a list of virtues to achieve into a radical pronouncement of God’s favor on those the world considers unblessed. When Jesus saw the uncomfortable diversity of the crowd gathering around him - religious Jews, pagans, Sadducees, Herodians, and zealots all in one place - he pulled his disciples aside to redefine who receives God’s blessing.
The episode establishes important context: Jesus likely trained under John the Baptist as an informal rabbi, making John’s arrest deeply personal. As someone possibly viewed as mamzer (illegitimate), Jesus understood exclusion firsthand. He called disciples who had already “failed out” of the traditional system, offering them a second chance at significance.
The Beatitudes aren’t about aspiring to be poor in spirit or mourning or meek - these aren’t desirable conditions. Rather, Jesus pronounces that God’s favor already rests on people in these conditions. The first half addresses experiencing brokenness internally, the second half addresses engaging brokenness externally. The chiastic structure places mercy and hunger for righteousness at the center, teaching that true righteousness (tzedakah) isn’t about rule-following but about generous, merciful action toward others.
This opening teaching sets the agenda for Jesus’s entire ministry as recorded in Matthew: God’s kingdom includes the outcasts, the mamzers, the broken, and the struggling. The same grace that included tax collectors like Matthew extends to everyone the religious establishment has written off. The Sermon on the Mount begins with the revolutionary announcement that God’s favor doesn’t rest on those who have it all together - it rests on those who know they don’t.
Original Notes
- Matthew 4:12-5:12
- Jesus withdrew from Herod… or did he setup ship right underneath Herod nose?
- John as Jesus’ rabbi?
- Remez to Isaiah 9. What is a remez?
- What is Isaiah 9 about?
- Follow me. The Jewish educational process.
- What can we know about their ages from the story?
- Did Jesus know the disciples already? Were the cousins?
- Jesus healed who? What is Matthew’s agenda and how would his disciples have felt about who was being healed?
- People from Syria, the Galilee, the Decapod, Jerusalem, Judea, beyond the Jordan.
- Why did Judea abba Galilee despise each other?
- The beatitudes
- Blessed means? God’s favor?
- Dallas Willard argues that the beatitudes are pronouncements of God’s blessings on all of the persons that the world believes us missing out.
- First half is about the broken.
- The second half of about those who minister to the broken.
- Chiastic?