Another Beatitude (updated from 2006)

But when you make a banquet, call the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; and then you will be blessed, for they have nothing to repay you.  Luke 14:13-14  NASB 1995

Blessed – All of the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5 and Luke 6 begin with the Greek word makarios.  It is the signal for a blessing formula.  Of course, this signal is used in many more places in the apostolic writings.  But Yeshua did not teach in Greek.  He used Hebrew and the Aramaic-Hebrew equivalent of this Greek word is ʾašrê.   We know this for certain because in Matthew 5:5 (“Blessed are the meek”) Yeshua quotes from Psalm 37:11 where the Hebrew is ʾašrê.  Why does this matter?  Because there is another Hebrew word for “blessing” – bārak.  But bārak is the blessing we receive from God, granted by His sovereign decision, independent of anything we do.  ʾašrê is a blessing that comes through our own actions.  In other words, if you want to experience a state of bliss (the real meaning of ʾašrê), then you will have to dosomething.  This state of bliss does not wait for God’s unmotivated favor.  I can bring about this blessedness by simply following the formula.

Do you realize just how important this is?  In many religious circles today, believers expect God to grant them blessings because they have performed certain acts.  They tithe and expect reward.  They pray and expect healing.  They worship and expect favor.  But they are using the wrong verb.   God’s blessing (bārak) does not depend on anything that I do.  It is His choice alone.  If I want to experience a state of bliss (ʾašrê), I don’t need to wait for God to grant me His grace.  He has already done that.  What I need to do is follow God’s perfect plan for blessedness.  And in this verse, Jesus tells us one of the many ways to experience ʾašrê.  Here it is:

Show compassion and favor to those who cannot repay you!

Ah, that’s the problem, isn’t it?  We want God to operate under the following formula:

My good deeds = blessing through God’s repayment.

But God tells us, “ʾašrê, not bārak is the only quid pro quo in the universe.”  The real formula is:

My acts of compassion = blessing when no one repays.

Do you want to be blessed?  Then serve those who cannot repay you.  Give them favor and grace and gifts because they cannot pay you back.  That’s God’s way.  Can you pay Him back for what He has done?  Never.  So be like God.  Find someone who cannot pay you back and shower that person with grace.  God will smile.

Topical Index: bārak, bless, ʾašrê, bless, repayment, Luke 14:13-14