I’m working on a sermon for this Sunday. Jumping into the Sermon on the Mount.
So, I’m rereading Dallas Willard’s “Divine Conspiracy”, a great book on the whole sermon. Here is his approach to the beatitudes:
The Beatitudes simply cannot be “good news” if they are understood as a set of “how-tos” for achieving blessedness. They would then amount to a new legalism. They would not serve to throw open the kingdom — anything but. They would impose a new brand of Phariseeism, a new way of closing the door. (p. 106).
You might want to check this out. Teleios has a whole course on Dallas Willard on video.
http://teleios.us