Beatitudes - Matthew 5:2-12

INTRO

Today we get into the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.

We are looking at the Beatitudes.

I imagine if you have grown up in the church or been around the church these are awfully familiar.

For me I almost gloss over them when I’m reading because I have heard them so much.

I think I have heard these misconstrued and misapplied so many times.

Really I imagine a lot of folks are confused by the beatitudes.

This is why I love expositional preaching because I feel like in the evangelical church we fumble to handoff at the endzone (my one superbowl reference)

Like for example as a kid I remember precious moments.

I don’t want to shame anyone here if you love these.

But for me I think it always made things a little more fluffy. (Moses with ten commandments lol)

They did a set for the beatitudes.

PICTURE OF DOLL

Ok so here is what I want to do today…I want to cut through the noise.

My hope this morning is to take us to the feet of Jesus.

To really hear what he is saying through the beatitudes.

Big Idea: Blessed are those who live in the way of the kingdom.

That is what the beatitudes are, the kingdom way.

Michael shared one of the most helpful things he had heard was that the beatitude is not a menu we pick and choose from.

The beatitudes is not a list that we need to check off.

The beatitudes are what the character of a disciple IS.

It is who we are and what we do.

What does it look like to be a child of God?

We are going to break the beatitudes into three categories and walk through them.

As we do, my hope is you see the character of a disciple unfold in front of you.

Let’s start by looking first at the beatitudes of need.

1. Beatitudes of Need

POOR IN SPIRIT

Matthew 5:3 (ESV)

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Remember the context.

Here is Jesus growing in fame and notoriety and he is sitting down with his disciples.

You can imagine they are thinking, “Yes! The Messiah is going to free us from our Roman overlords, we are going to conquer the world.”

Jesus opens his mouth to teach and says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”

Wait…what?

Shouldn’t it be blessed are those who have plenty?!

Jesus is introducing a kingdom principle that starkly stands against our worldly ideals.

This teaching isn't about glorifying self-reliance or celebrating our individual power to overcome obstacles.

No Jesus shows us something profound.

That we must acknowledge our deep spiritual neediness and total reliance on God.

To be "poor in spirit" means recognizing our spiritual emptiness and our need for God's grace.

It's an awareness of our sins and our limitations.

This is the first step towards receiving God's grace and kingdom.

Think about a time you have seen immense poverty.

I remember showing up to Brazil and heading with our team into crack land.

We walk through a literal hole in the wall and see a huge camp by rail road tracks.

Pigs running through trash.

This is our spiritual state before God.

We don’t show up with all of our merits. All our doing.

All of righteousness.

We are spiritual pour.

We are broken sinners in need of grace.

Jesus says knowing this is the first step of being blessed as a disciple.

But boy do we fight this.

It’s all about self-reliance.

I got this. I can do it.

In reality…we don’t and we can’t.

We are spiritually poor.

Psalm 40:16–17 (ESV)

But may all who seek you

rejoice and be glad in you;

may those who love your salvation

say continually, “Great is the Lord!”

As for me, I am poor and needy,

but the Lord takes thought for me.

You are my help and my deliverer;

do not delay, O my God!

FROG FULLY RELY ON GOD…But what was modeled for me was fully rely on your own ability and strength.

Jesus says true blessing comes from being awake and aware of your spiritual poverty.

From this place of spiritual poverty, we are called to mourn.

THOSE WHO MOURN

Matthew 5:4 (ESV)

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

This mourning is distinct from the sorrow the world knows.

I have heard this read at funerals.

The Bible has so many verses about the Lord’s nearness to our suffering in grief and mourning.

That isn’t what Jesus is saying here.

It's not about grieving material loss or the loss of a loved one.

This mourning is rooted in a recognition of sin—our own, that of those around us, and the systemic sins that pervade our society.

It's a godly sorrow that God promises to comfort, transforming our mourning into a catalyst for seeking Him and His righteousness.

In these teachings, Jesus presents a paradox: there is a blessedness in mourning our sinfulness because it draws us nearer to God and His way of right living.

As disciples, embracing our spiritual poverty and mourning our sins opens us to God's comfort and grace, guiding us on a path of righteousness.

This is the heart of discipleship—recognizing our need for God and allowing our sorrow for sin to lead us into His embrace and transformation.

This grief is met with God’s comfort,.

You see it is in mourning our sins that we are drawn closer to God and His righteousness, moving from a place of sin to one of grace.

I think of Neh 8.

When the people of God find the law and hear it read they weep.

We haven’t kept it.

Have you mourned your sin?

Have you felt your spiritual poverty, looked at your sin and been broken by it?

“Thousands acknowledge they are sinners, who have never mourned over the fact.”― Arthur W. Pink

Scared my son with anger…my heart was deeply grieved.

You see we often want God to comfort us, but we don’t want to acknowledge and mourn our sin.

James 4:10 (ESV)

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

We cannot come to the words of the sermon and think, “man my friend, spouse, mother-in-law needs to hear this.”

When we hear the instructions of scripture that hit a little to close to home as great information for someone else, perhaps we are not operating out of the character of the kingdom citizen. _Jen Wilkin

In Jesus' words there's a powerful truth for those who truly feel sorrow for their mistakes and the world's pain:

they're promised not just God's comfort but also a transformation through His grace.

This isn't a simple fix.

It's a deep healing that forgives us, cleanses our mistakes, and gives us hope for a world made right again.

This promise covers everything: it means we're forgiven completely, cleaned up from our wrongs, and looking forward to a future where everything is restored.

When we admit how much we need God and mourn over our sin, it naturally makes us humble and produces in us meekness

This journey of realization and sorrow brings us to a place where we're open to God's shaping, leading us to a quiet strength grounded in His promise of renewal.

Look at v. 5

THE MEEK

Matthew 5:5 (ESV)

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Meekness?

It's got nothing to do with being a pushover or shying away from standing up to what's wrong.

Being meek isn't about being too timid to call out injustice.

It's actually a power move in the disciple playbook, chosen not because of some personality trait but as a conscious decision to shape who we are.

The Bible throws the spotlight on meekness as the real deal, setting it up as the opposite to all those not-so-great tendencies we might have.

This isn't about missing a backbone or dodging tough conversations.

It's about choosing a different route—one that's not about being loud, pushy, or self-serving.

The New Testament lays it out pretty clear, pitting meekness against the likes of being over confident, being argumentative, and the ugly duo of jealousy and selfish ambition.

Meekness is all about control, but not in a "holding back" kind of way.

It's about channeling your strength and voice not to spotlight yourself but to lift up Christ's cause and look out for the well being of others

And Jesus? He's the blueprint of meekness.

Bold, sure of Himself, and not afraid to shake things up.

His style of meekness comes from getting real about our need for God and being genuinely bummed about our spiritual shortcomings.

It's like choosing not to climb the social ladder but instead using whatever clout or influence we have for something bigger than us—God's plans and the good of those around us.

Meekness is about seeing our own spiritual zero balance, feeling the weight of that, and then deciding to live a life that mirrors Jesus' own humility and love for serving others.

What's the payoff?

A kind of joy that's content with what we've got because we know, on this side of eternity, it's all a bonus. we realize anything this side of hell is grace!

The meek get the real prize—not just eventually, but right here, right now, because we get the true beauty of this world.

The meek inherit the earth because we inhabit and understand it for the beauty it is.

Meekness? It's finding Godly contentment today and looking forward to the honor that comes later.

Meekness is contentment now and exaltation later.

So we start with these three

But now we get to the lynch pin the center.

2. The Center: Righteousness

Matthew 5:6 (ESV)

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

When Jesus blesses those with a "hunger and thirst for righteousness,"

He's mapping it out showing us that it starts with acknowledging our spiritual emptiness, grieving this state, and moving into a stance of meekness.

What comes out of this is an intense craving for righteousness.

It's about recognizing our deficit and yearning for a life that reflects God's standards.

This isn't a casual want.

It's a deep-seated desire, a plea to God to infuse righteousness into every corner of our existence.

The metaphor of hungering and thirsting isn't just poetic; it captures a deep, essential drive, akin to our need for food and drink, signaling our profound need for God's presence and provision in our moments of deep need.

The invitation to "Come, all you who are thirsty," to drink from what God freely provides, taps into this deep-seated longing for God, echoing the Psalmist's intense desire for God, as intense as a deer's for water.

This longing goes beyond just personal piety; it's a desire for God's teachings, His reign, and His righteousness to fill and transform every aspect of our personal lives and our wider world.

In the biblical narrative, this yearning for righteousness encompasses several dimensions.

It starts with a personal righteousness, a desire to root out sin and become more like Jesus, an ongoing process of sanctification.

Yet, recognizing our efforts will always fall short, we also yearn for the righteousness of Christ—justification—that grants us a right standing before God, erasing our sins and guilt.

If we look through a piece of red glass, everything is red.

If we look through a piece of blue glass, everything is blue.

If we look through a piece of yellow glass, everything is yellow, and so on.

When we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, God looks at us through the Lord Jesus Christ.

He sees us in all the pure holiness of his Son.

Our sins are imputed to the account of Christ and his righteousness to our account.

Why wouldn't we thirst for that righteousness?

Furthermore, this hunger extends to social righteousness, a desire for God's justice to cleanse and renew society.

As disciples of Jesus, we're called not to retreat from the world but to engage actively in promoting God's kingdom values in every sphere of life.

And beyond the now, our hunger for righteousness carries an eschatological hope, longing for the day when God will fully restore all creation.

In our world filled with plenty, where a meal is just a delivery away, the powerful imagery of hungering and thirsting for righteousness might not hit home as it should.

We rarely face the kind of hunger that makes us desperate, the kind that comes from a day spent without food, pushing us to do whatever it takes to find something to eat.

This lack of physical hunger is a picture of the spiritual hunger we should have for righteousness—a hunger that should push us to act, to seek holiness, to face our own flaws head-on, and to stand up against the wrongs in our society.

If we really get it—if we truly grasp the depth of our spiritual need and mourn how far we are from where we should be—then our desire for righteousness won't be something we're casual about.

It should be a driving force, leading us to live out our faith boldly, to not just nibble on acts of goodness but to dive deep into a life that's radically changed by our pursuit of God's righteousness.

Being a follower of Jesus means more than just feeling bad about our sins.

It means craving God's way of rightness so much that it changes everything about how we live and interact with the world.

This is what discipleship is all about: not settling, not being okay with just getting by, but being on a constant, vigorous chase after the kind of righteousness that shines a light on the kingdom of God.

Luke 15 - Beatitudes played out in parable of the prodigal

Communion - We are reminded of our gift righteousness through physically eating and drinking.

3. Beatitudes of Action

The beatitudes that call us to action are deeply rooted in the beatitudes that highlight our spiritual needs, and they all channel through our profound hunger for righteousness.

THE MERCIFUL

This sequence beautifully unfolds as disciples, recognizing their own spiritual poverty and sinfulness, naturally become merciful (v. 7).

Matthew 5:7 (ESV)

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Understanding our own spiritual shortcomings helps us to be patient and empathetic towards the flaws of others.

Mercy shows up in specific actions and in broader gestures.

Grace is getting what we do not deserve.

Justice is getting what we do deserve.

Mercy is not getting what we do deserve

Mercy isn't just a feeling; it's an active force that drives us to show kindness and forgiveness, expecting nothing in return.

The depth of mercy we grasp and receive is directly linked to how generously we offer mercy to others.

This principle of mercy, highlighted by Jesus, reflects and demands God's merciful nature in us.

The extent to which we understand the mercy we have recieved is the extent to which we will operate from a position of mercy towards others.

Long ago, a poor woman from the slums of London was invited to go with a group of people for a holiday at the ocean.

She had never seen the ocean before, and when she saw it, she burst into tears.

Those around her thought it was strange that she should cry when such a lovely holiday had been given her. “What’s wrong why are you crying?” they asked.

Pointing to the ocean she answered, “This is the only thing I have ever seen that there was enough of.”

God has oceans of mercy.

There is enough of it—and God delights to show his mercy and compassion

Micah 7:19

Micah 7:19 (ESV)

He will again have compassion on us;

he will tread our iniquities underfoot.

You will cast all our sins

into the depths of the sea.

Mercy is both a mandate from God and a gift He bestows, perfectly captured in Augustine's plea, "Demand what you will and give what you demand."

The true essence of being a disciple comes full circle when we extend mercy to others, reflecting the mercy we've experienced ourselves.

This progression from recognizing our need for God's mercy to actively practicing mercy highlights the transformative path of discipleship.

PURE IN HEART

Matthew 5:8 (ESV)

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

The scribes and pharisees don’t care about purity of heart they care about purity of hands.

The disciple who deeply grieves over their sinfulness will naturally cultivate a pure heart (5:8).

When we chat about being "pure in heart," it's easy to jump straight to thinking about keeping our minds clean, especially around all things sensual.

And sure, that's part of the picture, but let's not put it in a box—it's way bigger than that.

Being pure in heart isn't just about what we're steering clear of; it's about what we're steering toward.

It's about having a heart that doesn't show up to God with a suitcase full of mixed motives and split loyalties.

Imagine a heart that's all in—100% focused, no looking left and right, just straight-up devotion to God. That's the goal here.

James hits the nail on the head James 4:8

James 4:8 (ESV)

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

What he's really saying is, "Drop the act. Ditch the two-faced routine. Let's get real and get single-minded about our devotion." In other words, he's talking about having an "undivided heart."

So, it's about more than just avoiding the bad; it's about passionately pursuing the good, the pure, the utterly devoted kind of life.

This is what we aim for.

PEACEMAKERS

Matthew 5:9 (ESV)

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

In the heart of Jesus' sermon, He calls peacemakers "sons of God" (Matthew 5:9), spotlighting a profound truth: embodying peace is essentially God-like.

This idea doesn't just pop up out of nowhere; it's deeply rooted in the humility and meekness Jesus speaks about in the third beatitude.

It's a beautiful cycle: the meek, aware of their own shortcomings, let go of self-assertion and ego-driven pursuits.

It's in this space, where self-promotion is set aside, that peace naturally begins to flourish.

But here's the kicker: those who've stepped away from the rat race of self-promotion aren't just bystanders in peacemaking.

They're active participants, adept at navigating disputes with a fairness that seeks no personal gain, embodying the impartiality that true peace requires.

Scripture is rich with calls to peacemaking.

From the historical narratives of 2 Samuel to the wisdom literature of Psalms and Proverbs, and through the letters of the New Testament, there's a consistent push towards peace.

It's about negotiating peace, pursuing it with intention, and cultivating it within our lives and communities.

And this isn't merely a human endeavor; it's a divine command.

God invites us to make peace with Him, laying out a path to reconciliation through Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

This reconciliation isn't just about a ceasefire; it's about a complete restoration of relationship between humanity and the Divine.

The narrative of peace weaves through Scripture, highlighting a dual focus: peace with God and peace among people.

Passages throughout the Scriptures not only encourage but insist on this pursuit.

The message is clear: peace is not optional.

It's a calling that reflects the very nature of God, inviting us into a life that mirrors His intentions for wholeness and harmony.

In this light, being a peacemaker is not a passive role.

It's an active, vibrant calling to live out the kingdom values Jesus preached, transforming our relationships, our communities, and our engagement with the Divine.

It's about embodying the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, and extending it outward in every interaction and decision.

All of this leads us to the final result of blessedness

Matthew 5:10–12 (ESV)

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Jesus teaches that moving from peacemaking to facing persecution is a natural but tough part of the journey. He points out a hard truth:

People often hold onto their anger and unfair opinions, and they might treat peacemakers badly because of it.

Just like Jesus and the prophets before Him faced tough times, His followers can expect the same.

Jesus says clearly, "If the world hates you, remember it hated me first."

The reason? "Because you are not of the world... that is why the world hates you... If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also". ‌ ‌

Followers of Jesus can expect to face insults, persecution, and false accusations.

But, there's a special kind of blessing in going through these hard times for doing what's right, different from troubles we bring on ourselves by making bad choices.

The promise stands: great is the reward for those who endure hardship out of fidelity to Christ (Matt. 5:12).

Three ways God uses persecution

Teach us to be dependent

Stifle our friendship with the world

We glorify God when we handle persecution with Grace

As we identify with Christ in suffering others identify Christ in us.

1. How do I live out the Beatitudes in my day-to-day life, recognizing my need for Christ’s kingdom and righteousness?

2. What steps can I take to cultivate a heart of meekness and mercy, reflecting God's love in my actions?

3. In pursuing purity of heart and a hunger for righteousness, how can I be more intentional as a disciple?

4. As a peacemaker, how can I contribute to harmony and understanding in my community, especially when faced with opposition for my faith?