The 8 Beatitudes, or blessings, or the be-attitudes, are the core of the core teachings Jesus came here to share, but what do they really mean?

5:7 #5 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

There is more to this beatitude than the obvious. The Hebrew word for mercy is one of several untranslatable words where our English is insufficient. It means to see others as God sees them. When we do that, like God, not only do we not judge them, but also we respond with compassion and understanding. Even more, it is seeing ourselves in others, like a reflection. It is being that which we choose to receive. We can only see as God sees through surrender.

So the translation of the fifth beatitude might read:

O the god-like joy when we get right inside other people until we can see with their eyes, think with their thoughts, feel with their feelings, see them as God sees them, for when we do, our hearts open with love and compassion. To be able to see as God sees is only possible through surrender. In doing so, we, too, receive mercy. That is joy!

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Research Sources

• William Barclay’s Commentary on The Gospel of Matthew
• The Hidden Gospel, Neil Douglas-Klotz

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