The tenth and last beatitude has an altogether different form.
Instead of continuing the initial "Blessed are ... " in vss 3-11, it
begins by issuing a double call for joy: "Rejoice and be glad" (χαιετε
και αγαλλισαθε)
This double call appeals to the hearers or readers for what amounts to a
liturgical response, much like "hallelujah" or similar exclamations. As the second part makes clear (vs 12b-c),
gladness and jubilation are called for at the present time, not only in the
eschatological future (as in SP /Luke 6:23). The two imperatives are more than simple
duplication; they describe a sequence, first the reaction of joy and then its expression
by exclamation.
Formally, the double call in vs 12 raises the question about the
relationship of vs 12 to vs 11 and beyond to the other beatitudes. Some
scholars have taken vss 11 and 12 together as one beatitude, but this is unconvincing.
Parallels of other beatitudes show that vs 12a introduces a new element. Another
question is whether vs 12 can be treated as another beatitude, or whether the
series of beatitudes in vss 3-11 ends with a different form-critical statement.
The change introduced by vs 12a is that it calls for a response by
the hearers or readers to the messages they have received in vss 3-11, the
final one addressing them directly (vs 11). It is, therefore, quite fitting
that the series of blessings in vss 3-11 ends with the hearers' response of
jubilation. The question also arises whether this response reflects actual
liturgical practice or whether it is merely a literary device.
Though never repeated in the SM, the appeal is basic to it.
Eschatological joy provides much of the motivation for the ethics of the SM (
cf. the attitude of good will in 5:26, or the cheerful face in 6: 17). 502 Although
the SM never uses the term "gospel" (ευαγγελιον), the
combination of blessings and the call for joy in vss 3-12 provides almost a
description of it.
Verse 12b-c contains dogmatic statements justifying not only the
call for joy but also the beatitudes in vss 3-11. These dogmatic statements
simply furnish information, presumably not unknown to the recipients but needed
at this point in order to understand that the response called for is theologically
legitimate.
The οτι-clause
of vs 12b provides an immediate reason for vs 12a: "for your reward is
great in the heavens" (οτι ο μισθος υμων πολυς εν τοις ουρανοις).
This οτι-clause is parallel to the similar clauses in vss 3b-10b and sums up what
they have presented in more detail. Although vs 12b has no verb, it is
self-evident that the reward exists in the present. SM/Matt 6:20 leads one to
assume that the "reward" (μισθος) is stored with God ("in the
heavens" [plural]), waiting for those who are entitled to it. Since that
reward is "theirs" already now, jubilation is in order.
This doctrine of
reward requires further explanation.
Generally speaking, it
is a Jewish doctrine, here attributed to the theology of Jesus. In the SM,
reward is not a "gift" given by God through grace. Rather, reward is
to be claimed by those who are entitled to it as a matter of justice. Thus,
this entitlement is conditional.
For the SM, the
conditions are set by the teachings of Jesus in the SM: If the disciples are
faithful to these teachings, they are entitled to this "treasure in
heaven." Their faithfulness does include access to God's mercy and
forgiveness, if they have petitioned God in the appropriate manner (see below
on 6:12, 14-15). The faithful disciples can justifiedly be joyful even now,
because they can be
sure that their reward is awaiting them in heaven and that God himself as the
guarantor of justice is guarding the treasure. Also part of this doctrine is
the idea that the reward can be claimed only once. Therefore, its actual
claiming must be postponed until the eschatological kingdom of God. Only the
joy can be anticipated in the present. (Hans Dieter Betz, The Sermon on the Mount [Hermeneia—A
Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible; Minneapolis, Minn.: Fortress
Press, 1995], 151-52, emphasis in bold added)
