The Beatitudes

The Beatitudes are eight blessings recounted in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. Each one includes a topic that forms a major biblical theme.

Matthew 5:1-20 (NASB)
¹  When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.
²  He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,
³  "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴  "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
⁵  "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
⁶  "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
⁷  "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
⁸  "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
⁹  "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
¹⁰  "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
¹¹  "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

Disciples and The World
¹³  "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.
 
¹²  "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
¹³  "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.
¹⁴  "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
¹⁵  nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
¹⁶  "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
¹⁷  "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.
¹⁸  "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
¹⁹  "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
²⁰  "For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Four of the blessings also appear in the Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke, followed by four woes which mirror the blessings.

The Sermon on the Plain has parallel passages with the Sermon on the Mount.

The Beatitudes in Luke

  Luke 6:20-45 (NASB)
²⁰  And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
²¹  "Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
²²  "Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.
²³  "Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.
²⁴  "But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.
²⁵  "Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
²⁶  "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.
²⁷  "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
²⁸  bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
²⁹  "Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.
³⁰  "Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.
³¹  "Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.
³²  "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
³³  "If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
³⁴  "If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.
³⁵  "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.
³⁶  "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
³⁷  "Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.
³⁸  "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."
³⁹  And He also spoke a parable to them: "A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?
⁴⁰  "A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.
⁴¹  "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
⁴²  "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.
⁴³  "For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.
⁴⁴  "For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.
⁴⁵  "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.