Skip to content
QuotesFromBible.com

In pop culture

about 2 min read

Monty Python's Life of Brian — "Blessed are the cheesemakers"

Accurate Film 1979

The Beatitude itself is correctly rendered. The mishearing is the comedy; the underlying text is accurate.

Context — what the work shows

At a distance, the crowd struggles to hear Jesus's Sermon on the Mount. "Blessed are the peacemakers" is misheard as "Blessed are the cheesemakers" — a joke that depends on the audience knowing the real Beatitude.

Claimed reference

Matthew 5:9 — "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God."

Actual reference

Matthew 5:9 (BSB): "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." Part of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3–12).

What the text actually says

Matthew 5:9 (BSB): "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." The Greek *eirēnopoioi* — peacemakers — is a relatively rare compound; it appears only here in the NT. The Beatitude is one of nine "blessed are" statements that open the Sermon on the Mount.

Verdict

The joke works precisely because the film gets the real Beatitude right. The crowd at the back of the audience mishears the line, then debates what cheesemakers might be — but the line being misheard is the actual text of Matthew 5:9. The Beatitudes themselves (Matthew 5:3–12) are quoted accurately throughout the scene.

The joke and how it works

The scene shows the crowd at the back of the Sermon on the Mount audience straining to hear. Jesus, in the far distance, has just said “Blessed are the peacemakers.” The crowd hears:

“Blessed are the cheesemakers.”

A bystander immediately objects: “What’s so special about the cheesemakers?” The clarification: “Well, obviously it’s not meant to be taken literally. It refers to any manufacturers of dairy products.”

The joke depends entirely on the audience knowing what Jesus actually said. If the Beatitude were misquoted by the filmmakers, the joke would not land. The film therefore quotes Matthew 5:9 accurately — the comedy is in the in-film mishearing, not in any film-level mistake.

The Beatitudes

The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3–12) are the opening section of the Sermon on the Mount. They are a series of nine “blessed are” statements:

  • Blessed are the poor in spirit
  • Blessed are those who mourn
  • Blessed are the meek
  • Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
  • Blessed are the merciful
  • Blessed are the pure in heart
  • Blessed are the peacemakers
  • Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake
  • Blessed are you when others revile you on account of Jesus

The Greek word translated “blessed” is makarios — “blessed, happy, fortunate.” The Beatitudes have generated enormous scholarly debate about whether they describe present states, future promises, or eschatological reversals. See /meaning/blessed-are-the-meek/ for treatment of one of them.

What the film is doing

Life of Brian is comedy, not theological commentary. The film makes very few biblical claims directly. Its biblical content — the Sermon on the Mount audience, the “blessed are” framework, the structure of a Galilean ministry crowd — is handled with surprising care. The cheesemakers joke is one of the cleanest examples of pop culture biblical accuracy: the text is right, the comedy is human.