Editing Beatitudes (section)

== Analysis and interpretation ==
{{Gospel Jesus}}
[[File:Church of beatitudes israel.jpg|thumb|left|[[Church of the Beatitudes]], the traditional location for the [[Sermon on the Mount]]]]
Each Beatitude consists of two phrases: the condition and the result. In almost all cases the phrases used are familiar from an [[Old Testament]] context, but in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus elevates them to new levels and teachings. Together, the Beatitudes present a new set of ideals that focus on love and humility rather than force and exaction. They echo the highest ideals of Jesus' teachings on spirituality and compassion.<ref name= "Hastings" />

The term ''the meek'' would be familiar in the Old Testament, e.g., as in {{Bibleverse |Psalm|37:11}}.<ref name="hill">{{cite book |last=Hill |first=David | series = New Century Bible Commentary | title = Gospel of Matthew |url=https://archive.org/details/gospelofmatthewb00hill |url-access=registration | location= Grand Rapids | publisher= Eerdmans |date= June 1981 | isbn= 0-8028-1886-2}}</ref> Although the Beatitude concerning the meek has been much praised even by some non-Christians such as [[Mahatma Gandhi]], some view the admonition to meekness skeptically. [[Friedrich Nietzsche]] in ''[[On the Genealogy of Morals]]'' considered the verse to be embodying what he perceived as a [[Master–slave morality|slave morality]].<ref>{{cite book | last= Nietzsche | first= Friedrich | author-link=Friedrich Nietzsche |url= http://www.inp.uw.edu.pl/mdsie/Political_Thought/GeneologyofMorals.pdf |title= On the Genealogy of Morals | trans-title = Zur Genealogie der Moral | orig-year = 1887| year= 1999 |publisher= Oxford University Press | place = US |isbn= 978-0-19283617-5}}</ref>

In Christian teachings, the [[works of mercy]] (good acts that are considered meritorious) have resonated with the theme of the Beatitude for mercy.<ref name= "Peace">{{cite book |last1= Jegen |first1= Carol Frances |title= Jesus the Peacemaker |year= 1986 |isbn= 0-934134-36-7 |location= Kansas City, MO |publisher= Sheed & Ward |pages= [https://archive.org/details/jesuspeacemaker0000jege/page/68 68–71] |url= https://archive.org/details/jesuspeacemaker0000jege/page/68 }}</ref> These teachings emphasize that these acts of mercy provide both temporal and spiritual benefits.<ref name= "Synop" /><ref name="Cathenc" />

The term ''peacemakers'' has traditionally been interpreted to mean not only those who live in peace with others, but also those who do their best to promote friendship among humanity and between God and man. St. [[Gregory of Nyssa]] interpreted it as "Godly work", which was [[Imitation of Christ|an imitation of God's love]] of man.<ref name="Cathenc" /><ref name= "Peace" /> [[John Wesley]] said the peacemakers "endeavour to calm the stormy spirits of men, to quiet their turbulent passions, to soften the minds of contending parties, and, if possible, reconcile them to each other. They use all innocent arts, and employ all their strength, all the talents which God has given them, as well to preserve peace where it is, as to restore it where it is not."<ref>Wesley, J., [http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/the-sermons-of-john-wesley-1872-edition/sermon-23-upon-our-lords-sermon-on-the-mount-discourse-three 'Upon Our Lord's Sermon On The Mount: Discourse Three'], Sermon 23, accessed 11 October 2015</ref>

The phrase "poor in spirit" ({{Lang|grc|πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι}}) in [[Matthew 5:3]] has been subject to a variety of interpretations. [[A.W. Tozer]] describes poverty of spirit as "an inward state paralleling the outward circumstances of the common beggar in the streets." It is not a call to material poverty, but spiritual need. The idea being that when one realizes how much they need God, he will satisfy their need by giving them himself. Conversely, if someone does not really believe they need God, he will not reveal himself to them.

{{Blockquote | These blessed poor are no longer slaves to the tyranny of things. They have broken the yoke of the oppressor; and this they have done not by fighting but by surrendering. Though free from all sense of possessing, they yet possess all things. "Theirs is the kingdom of heaven."|author=A. W. Tozer|title=The Pursuit of God|source=The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing, [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/25141/25141-h/25141-h.htm#Page_23 page 23]}}

[[William Burnet Wright]], seeking to avoid a common misunderstanding of the meaning of poverty of spirit, distinguishes those who are "poor in spirit" from those he calls "poor spirited," who "consider crawling the Christian's proper gait."
{{Blockquote | There are men who fear to call their souls their own, and if they did, they would deceive—themselves. At times such men baptize their cowardice in holy water, name it humility, and tremble. ...They are not blessed. Their life is a creeping paralysis. Afraid to stand for their convictions, they end by having no convictions to stand to.<ref>[[William Burnet Wright]], [https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Burnet_Wright ''Master and Men'' (1894)], pp. 39–40</ref>}}