The Be Attitudes

Today you are going to hear the greatest sermon from the greatest preacher in all the world. I know what you are thinking. When is he going to get here? We are jumping back into the footsteps of Jesus today and we will spend quite some time looking at the sermon on the mount.

As we have walked through the life of Jesus, we have seen how his ministry began, the calling of his disciples, and the performing of certain miracles. We saw the turning f water to wine, the healing of numerous people, the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus from where the most popular Bible verse comes from. Jesus has gained a following. He had twelve primary disciples, but he had crowds that followed him. Not all of them were sold out on who he was, but there were thousands who were interested.

Jesus had spent most of his time in Galilee, the northern region of Israel. His home base was the city of Capernaum, which was off the coast of the Sea of Galilee. He had been busy traveling from town to town preaching, until the day came for him to have his first tent revival (tent optional). Many biblical scholars believe the mountain on which Jesus preached this sermon was not too far from Capernaum.

At this point, Jesus is no stranger to preaching, but this is the first time he is preaching to such a large crowd. As we get into the sermon on the mount, I want to make a few notes. First, when verse one speaks of his disciples, we need to understand that he is not speaking only to his twelve closest followers. Disciples includes all his followers, regardless of their level of commitment. The crowd is probably made up of followers, fans, and the curious. But we should understand that disciples here means more than the twelve. Second, sitting on the slope of the mountain was the posture Rabbis would take when they taught. They did not teach standing up. The slope of the mountain helped amplify his voice so the crowd could hear him.

Let’s dive in to the beginning of the sermon on the mount.

Matthew 5:1–12 NASB95

When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The crowds have been hearing Jesus proclaim the message that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel. Jesus is announcing that the kingdom of God has come and the sermon on the mount speaks to how one lives in God’s kingdom. The opening verses begin to address who belongs in the kingdom of God.

The first thing we need to notice about what we call the beatitudes are that they are in fact be attitudes. There are eight beatitudes listed here. You see the repeated statement, “Blessed are.” Of the things that follow, six are adjectives. The other two are verbs. So we need to understand this:

Belonging to the kingdom of God begins with being, rather than doing.

These verses describe the kind of person who lives in the kingdom of God, rather than provides a list of things to do to get in. What we see in Jesus’ opening statements is a description of the kind of person that is in God’s kingdom. So citizenship in the kingdom of God begins with being that will lead into doing.

What does it mean to be poor in spirit? This is one who acknowledges their dependence on God. This person recognizes that there is nothing they can do to please God. They are dependent not on themselves, but on God. Those who mourn refers to a state of brokenness over one’s sin. Does our sin bother us? Do we see it as God sees it? Are we bothered by our sin, or are we excusing it? The inheritors of the earth are the humble, not prideful. Citizens of the kingdom of God have a desire for righteousness. They extend mercy as they have received mercy. Pure in heart speaks to an inward cleanliness. Citizens of God’s kingdom are peacemakers, that is they strive to live peacefully and not sow division. These are all attitudes that begin on the inside of a person. It is more about who you are than what you do.

This character does not come from within oneself, but from God.

This concept of righteousness that Jesus is putting forth flies in the face of the righteousness the religious leaders of the day were putting forth. The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was all about religious to-do’s. They had the 613 laws of the Old Testament plus traditions that they developed, and the average person had that as their window into what it looked like to be a godly person.

The prevailing thought in 1st century Israel was that the people blessed by God were outwardly pious and wealthy. They were very proud about that, and were under the impression that they achieved a level of sinlessness. Pharisees were not broken by their sinfulness, because they did not think they had sinned. If that was the model for the average person, what hope was there for them?

Then Jesus comes in and turns the whole concept upside down. The kingdom of God does not belong the the proud, wealthy, and self-righteous people in society. It belongs to the poor, the broken, the mourners, the humble. What Jesus is saying is there is hope for even the poorest person who had been told they were not favored by God. They were, but that favor came not from what they had done, but was rather rooted in his own love for them.

We cannot produce this sort of character on our own. We need transformation from the inside out that only comes from the Holy Spirit of God, whom we can only receive by trusting in Christ or salvation and turning our lives over to him to do the work in us. Our dependency on God comes from recognizing we cannot do anything to please God. Our humility comes from recognizing he is God and we are not. The hunger and thirst for righteousness comes from experiencing the goodness of God, realizing that a life according to his design is pleasing to him, and giving him that control. Our status as pure in heart comes not from our own conformity to God’s standards, but from an inward cleanliness from receiving a new heart. This is not something we can accomplish on our own. We need Christ. To be in the kingdom of God is to be in Christ.

Belonging to the kingdom of God will attract negative attention.

The final beatitude is the longest, comprising of three verses. Persecution is inevitable for the serious disciple of Christ. If you truly belong to the kingdom of God and you live out his commands, people will not like it. They hated Christ first, so don’t be surprised when they hate you. It is an odd thing to say that the person who is the target of persecution is blessed or happy. It certainly is not fun, so how can Jesus say that those who endure ill treatment from others are blessed?

What we endure from those hostile to the gospel gives us a glimpse into what Christ endured on our behalf. To share in the sufferings of Christ begins to give us a rich understanding of the depths he went to secure our freedom and bring us in to the family of God. We live with the hope that one day all of this will be over. The day is coming when he will reveal himself. Until that day comes, we push against the darkness. We endure knowing Christ endured far more for us.

Negative attention will come because the world cannot understand what we are all about. If we are going to expose sin for what it is and call people to repentance, we must expect persecution to follow. The more post-Christian our culture becomes, the more we should expect persecution. What makes it endurable is the hope that one day we will rejoice in his glory.

1 Peter 4:12–13 NASB95

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.

Rejoice. Jesus is coming. Rejoice for he has invited you in. The kingdom of God is not only accessible to the wealthy and outwardly pious, but to the broken in spirit, the humble, the pure in heart. Are you a member of the kingdom of God?