The Beatitudes: The Character of the Kingdom
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Coming out of last week
Coming out of last week
We know that John has been arrested and Jesus has moved to Cesarea and now he’s called his disciples
We pick up this week in Matthew 4:23-25
23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
It is important to understand that the Sermon on the Mount does not deal with salvation as such, but it lays out for the disciple and the potential disciple how regarding Jesus as King translates into ethics and daily living.
It presents a radically different agenda than what the nation of Israel expected from the Messiah. It does not present the political or material blessings of the Messiah’s reign. Instead, it expresses the spiritual implications of the rule of Jesus in our lives. This great message tells us how we will live when Jesus is our Lord.
To night we will cover only the first 12 verses, which are known as the Beatitudes (the Blessings), or the attitude that a disciple should “be”. These will be character traits that a disciple of Christ will have and are learning to have
Poor in Spirit
Poor in Spirit
First it is important to define a word that will come up in ever verse we will cover tonight. That word is blessed.
Essentially the word means “happy”, but not in the same sense as we understand it in today’s english language.
This same word for blessed — which in some sense means “happy” — is applied to God in 1 Timothy 1:11: according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God. “Makarios then describes that joy which has its secret within itself, that joy which is serene and untouchable, and self-contained, that joy which is completely independent of all the chances and changes of life.” (Barclay)
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
So, you will have a joy that is completely independent of all the chances and changes of life, once you come go grips with the FACT that you are poor in spirit. You are spiritually bankrupt! When it comes to you having anything to bring to your relationship with God on a spiritual level, you have nothing.
Not just “working poor” but “truly poor”.
This is not that you are insignificant or without value. Instead it is a confession that you are sinful and rebellious and utterly without moral virtues adequate to commend yourself to God.
This is the starting point for every believer. It’s what makes us realize our need for a savior. A perfect savior who brings everything to the table spiritually. A perfect sacrifice that covers sin, to justify, placing His righteousness on us. We inherit everything God promises because God made it possible.
“The poor in spirit are lifted from the dunghill, and set, not among hired servants in the field, but among princes in the kingdom…‘Poor in spirit;’ the words sound as if they described the owners of nothing, and yet they describe the inheritors of all things. Happy poverty! Millionaires sink into insignificance, the treasure of the Indies evaporate in smoke, while to the poor in spirit remains a boundless, endless, faultless kingdom, which renders them blessed in the esteem of him who is God over all, blessed for ever.” (Spurgeon)
As long as we harbor illusions about our own spiritual resources, we will never receive from God what we absolutely need to be saved. Those who realize they are poor in spirit are blessed with a reward…the Kingdom of heaven!
Those Who Mourn
Those Who Mourn
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
The indication from the Greek word here points not at a casual sorry for our sin and the consequences of it, but a deep grief before God over our fallen state. This is the strongest word for mourn in the Greek language. It’s used for mourning the dead, for the passionate lament of one who was loved.
This mourning is the godly sorry that produces repentance to salvation.
10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
Without regret! That saying that us realizing our spiritual bankruptcy leads us to mourn over our sin as it grieves us to the point of repentance, not caring about what’s happening to us in this life, because it was worth it. It goes back to the definition of Blessed. joy which is completely independent of all the chances and changes of life.
what is the reward? For those who mourn over their sin and their sinful condition, they are promised comfort. God allows this grief into our lives as a path, not as a destination.
We have fellowship with Jesus in His sufferings.
10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
We have a closeness to the Man of Sorrows.
3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
I thank God that we have a Savior that can relate to us! Bringing Heaven on Earth!
The Meek
The Meek
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
The meek person is not passive or easily pushed around. The main idea behind the word “meek” is strength under control, like a strong stallion that was trained to do the job instead of running wild.
To be meek means to show willingness to submit and work under proper authority. It also shows a willingness to disregard one’s own “rights” and privileges. It is one thing for me to admit my own spiritual bankruptcy, but what if someone else does it for me? Do I react meekly? This blessed one is meek:
They are meek before God, in that they submit to His will and conform to His Word.
They are meek before men, in that they are strong — yet also humble, gentle, patient, and longsuffering.
The promise “they shall inherit the earth” proves that God will not allow His meek ones to end up on the short end of the deal.
There in lies the question of our willingness to submit in meekness. Are we willing to trust God with the end result and in His power, persevere? Or are we going to continue to remain dependent on our own understanding?
One thing to notice:
Through the first three beatitudes we notice that the natural man finds no happiness or blessedness in spiritual poverty, mourning or meekness. These are only a blessing for the spiritual man, those who are new creatures in Jesus.
Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness
Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
This is a longing that endures and is never completely satisfied on this side of eternity.
We see Christians hungering for many things: power, authority, success, comfort, happiness — but how many hunger and thirst for righteousness?
Modern man has little to no concept of what it means to hunger and thirst.
Spurgeon said this of the one who hungers and thirsts for righteousness
“‘Alas!’ says he, ‘it is not enough for me to know that my sin is forgiven. I have a fountain of sin within my heart, and bitter waters continually flow from it. Oh, that my nature could be changed, so that I, the lover of sin, could be made a lover of that which is good; that I, now full of evil, could become full of holiness!’” (Spurgeon)
A man who hungers and thirsts for righteousness is more concerned about THAT then any other thing. More than any job! More than any hobby! More than any political agenda! More than ANY OTHER ISSUE! It’s not that you aren’t concerned about those other things, but they aren’t the things you hunger for the most!
What is Jesus’ promise for those that hunger and thirst? That our hunger would be satisfied! We would be filled but in a way that keeps us longing for more.
The misconception here is that we need more of God. He wants more of us!
The Merciful
The Merciful
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
When this beatitude addresses those who will show mercy, it speaks to those who have already received mercy. It is mercy to be emptied of your pride and brought to poverty of spirit. It is mercy to be brought to mourning over your spiritual condition. It is mercy to receive the grace of meekness and to become gentle. It is mercy to be made hungry and thirsty after righteousness. Therefore, this one who is expected to show mercy is one who has already received it.
The merciful one will show it to those who are weaker and poorer.
The merciful one will always look for those who weep and mourn.
The merciful one will be forgiving to others, and always looking to restore broken relationships.
The merciful one will be merciful to the character of other people, and choose to think the best of them whenever possible.
The merciful one will not expect too much from others.
The merciful one will be compassionate to those who are outwardly sinful.
The merciful one will have a care for the souls of all men.
One reason for God’s abundant mercy for King David, was because of David’s notable mercy for King Saul.
If you want mercy from others — especially God — then you should take care to be merciful to others.
The Pure in Heart
The Pure in Heart
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
the phrase pure of heart has the idea of straightness, honesty, and clarity.
Not image of purity or ceremonial purity, but of inner moral purity.
The other idea is of a single, undivided heart — those who are utterly sincere and not divided in their devotion and commitment to God.
“Christ was dealing with men’s spirits, with their inner and spiritual nature. He did this more or less in all the Beatitudes, and this one strikes the very center of the target as he says, not ‘Blessed are the pure in language, or the pure in action,’ much less ‘Blessed are the pure in ceremonies, or in raiment, or in food;’ but ‘Blessed are the pure in heart.’” (Spurgeon)
Ultimately, this intimate relationship with God must become our greatest motivation for purity, greater than a fear of getting caught or a fear of consequences.
Your reward for being pure in heart is that you will see God! scripture says that we will see him face to face one day, we who are truly His!
The Peacemakers
The Peacemakers
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
This does not describe those who live in peace, but those who actually bring about peace, overcoming evil with good. One way we accomplish this is through spreading the gospel, because God has entrusted to us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). In evangelism we make peace between man and the God whom they have rejected and offended.
As the frame work continues to grow we have become aware of where our heart is inwardly, we will begin to pour outwardly, first starting with mercy, which leads to being pure in heart. And we couldn’t be a peacemaker or live peaceably without having a pure heart. A carnal heart would taint our motives towards others to accomplish what we want and not want God would want for our relationships.
The reward of a peacemaker is that they are recognized as true children of God! They share his passion for peace and reconciliation, breaking down the walls between people!
How the world will treat these people!
How the world will treat these people!
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The character traits described in the Beatitudes are not valued by our modern culture. We don’t recognize or give awards to the “Most Pure in Heart” or “Most Poor in Spirit.”
persecuted for righteousness sake and for the sake of Jesus! What a way to honor him! By living a righteous life, standing out in the world as being identified with Jesus, belonging to Jesus, living like Jesus, living for Jesus, telling others about Jesus, so they too will know him and be HIS!
What is our response when we are persecuted? REJOICE and be EXCEEDINGLY GLAD!
Literally, we could translate this phrase to say that the persecuted should “leap for joy.” Why? Because the persecuted will have great reward in heaven, and because the persecuted are in good company: the prophets before them were also persecuted.
Yet the world persecutes these good people because the values and character expressed in these Beatitudes are so opposite to the world’s manner of thinking.
Our persecution may not be much compared to others, but if no one speaks evil of you, are these Beatitudes traits of your life?
Do you stand out in a crowd, or do you blend right in with the rest of the world?
Have you truly repented and placed your faith in Him?
I’m reminded of the passage in Hebrews 3:13
13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
While it is called today! We are never promised tomorrow! What B your attitude?
Lets pray!