Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Matthew 5: 3-7, KJV
Or in Greek: “μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῶ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται. μακάριοι οἱ πραεῖς, ὅτι αὐτοὶ κληρονομήσουσιν τὴν γῆν. μακάριοι οἱ πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην, ὅτι αὐτοὶ χορτασθήσονται.μακάριοι οἱ ἐλεήμονες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἐλεηθήσονται.”
This passage speaks to the people, and this is something very interesting actually, because traditionally, those who were educated, who understood how to act righteous according to the scripture – in other words: those who had the time to dedicate to intensive study in details – were thought to be advantaged in pleasing God, because they have more knowledge to understand God’s plan. But this passage, as said before, does not address the elite, the wealthy and educated, it speaks to the common people. The kingdom of heaven is for the poor and common people, not the mighty and wealthy. It is addressed to those who live righteous and behave merciful, whether they are highly educated or not. The idea that education shapes a good character is universal. All civilizations in the world emphasized on educating their people:
The need for education was no less true for the Israelites than for any of the peoples of the ancient world. In fact, the Old Testament record indicates repeatedly that the success of the Hebrew community and the continuity of its culture were conditioned by the knowledge of and obedience to God’s revealed law ( Joshua 1:6-8 ). Thus, to ensure their prosperity, growth, and longevity as the people of Yahweh, Israel’s mandate was one of education — diligently teaching their children to love God, and to know and obey his statues and ordinances ( Deut 6:1-9 ).
Andrew Hill: Education in Bible Times. In: Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Grand Rapids (MI): 1996.
So in contrast, the beginning of the sermon of the mount emphasizes on the opposite. It is mentioned that those who are spiritually and materially poor are favored. Is this a contradiction to the Israelite maxims. In fact, it is not! Two things have to be mentioned in this context. First, the New Testament does no less propagate education: “Likewise, the New Testament record links the success of the church of Jesus Christ, as a worshiping community of ‘salt and light’ reaching out to a dark world, to the teaching of sound doctrine (John 13:34-35 ; Eph 4:14 ; 1 Tim 1:10 ; Titus 2:1 ).” [Hill, 1996] In fact, the whole Christian missionary work is meant to be education: teaching people the gospel. Second, Jesus mentions in the sermon of the Mount as well that he did not come to turn over the Law of the Old Testament, but to fulfill it. So his mission should not be seen contrary to Judaism, but as an effort to promote Jewish ideals to the common non-elitarian people of his country. He was not the first one who was promoting a Jewish way of life built on sincerity and humble living. There were kind a few penitential preachers, like John the Baptist, living as ascetics and offering baptism as a way to clean one’s body from sin, such rituals were practiced for instance by the Essenes.
Whether one is granted to enter heaven or not is not dependent on how well one is able to recite the Scripture, but whether one lived a good life or changed one’s life at some point into a morally good life, regretting one’s mistakes. Those who were merciful to others will also receive God’s mercy!
Therefore, it is nonsense to say that a religious authority automatically has a closer connection to God, just because the person is a religious authority, and thus more knowledgeable in Scripture. Of course, religious authorities can have very deep insights and they can become a good example to everyone. For instance, there are some rabbis whose talks I really love to listen, because they teach a lot of wisdom. There are also some very wise Buddhist monks whose Dharma talks I listen, same as some Christian priests. But we also cannot say that the heaven is not for them, claiming them to be too educated for heaven. What was meant to say is that societal rank does not matter to follow God’s plan. He did not reveal Himself to a few chosen one’s but to the whole people of Israel. And from of Israel, the testimony was transported to all peoples! Therefore, the heaven is for everyone who has mercy and compassion, no matter which religion one follows. God loves all his children and every human-being is a child of God!
Timo Schmitz, 29 September 2022.
Timo Schmitz 