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Most of the Beatitudes in Matthew are stated in third person. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." "They shall be comforted," "they shall inherit the earth," "they shall be called the sons of God."
At the end, Jesus changes the person of his address, and begins to speak to the persecuted directly: "Blessed are you." And he continues the second-person address: "You are the salt of the earth," and then immediately, "You are the light of the world" and, implicitly, "You are a city on a hill."
Throughout this section, Jesus addresses the same group, the same "you." The earth is salted by the people whom the earth slanders and hates and persecutes. The world's light comes from the city that the world rejects.
The world's hatred is self-defeating. There is irony here, and it looks like tragic irony. But the deeper, divine irony is that the world is saved in spite of itself.
Jesus came to save the world, and He saved the world by being rejected and crucified. As the church goes out in the power of the Spirit, we become God's agent for bringing the salvation of Jesus to the nations. In fulfilling that mission, we follow the crucified savior. So, rejoice and be glad, for the world has always hated those who heal it.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Sunday, September 02, 2007 at 07:46 AM
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