A Flourishing Character: Knowledge. Satisfaction. Action Part 1 (Matthew 5:3-5)

Gandhi’s Unfortunate Experience

Gandhi, a Hindu by faith, became intrigued about Jesus after reading the Gospels. To know more about him, he decided to visit a Christian church in Calcutta one Sunday morning. However, he was denied entry at the door because he did not belong to the high-caste Indians or a white person. The church believed that he did not fit the description of what a Christian should look like. Because of this unfortunate experience, when asked about becoming a Christian he replied,

“If it weren’t for Christians, I’d be a Christian.” Gandhi

To be clear, Gandhi did not reject Jesus because of Christians. He read the Gospels. He rejected Jesus’ call to repent and believe on his own. The church in Calcutta did not help matters.

It seems that what led Gandhi to explore Christianity was his admiration for the way Jesus lived and taught his disciples. Gandhi probably read the Sermon on the Mount and appreciated the value of living out Jesus’ ethics. He must have expected that Jesus’ disciples in Calcutta would seek to do the same. However, there was a clear gap between Jesus's expectations and the Christian character in Calcutta. As a result, the church was not thriving because they had developed a sense of segregation that Jesus did not permit in his kingdom. It is important to keep in mind that a tree is known by its fruit. A good tree produces good fruit, kingdom fruit. The church in Calcutta was not producing kingdom fruit because it did not obviously know how to live in the kingdom now.

The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus’ teaching on how His disciples can live the good life now. He is showing there is one way to flourish in this life, and that is cultivating his virtues and ethics into your life.

Last week we learned that in order to get the most out of the Sermon on the Mount, we need to understand Jesus’ vocabulary. Dr. Johnathan Pennington, a Matthean scholar, provided clear explanations of nine terms that I applied as a framework.

Framework Review: Nine Themes

Blessed: Flourish

What Jesus means when he says “blessed,” is human flourishing. You must cultivate Jesus’ ethics and virtues into your character. You must live by these beatitudes. Disciples of Jesus cultivate God honoring, Spirit-empowered, Christ-exalting mature character because Jesus says it is blessed by God.

Perfect: Wholeness

What does Jesus mean when he says “be perfect?” Jesus means be whole heartedly devoted to the Lord. Have a single-minded heart united loyal love for Jesus that expresses itself in joyful obedience that makes much of holiness and righteousness.

Righteous: Right by God

What does Jesus mean when he says be righteous? He means is you follow Jesus’s righteousness. Righteousness is living rightly before God with a pure heart. Your ethics and morals are in line with what is acceptable in heaven.

Hypocrisy: Divided Heart

What Jesus means by hypocrite is the opposite of perfect or wholeness. Instead of having a single-minded heart united loyal love to Jesus, a hypocrite has a double-minded, heart divided, loyal love to self.

Heart: Inner You

When Jesus speaks of your heart he is speaking to the inner you, your soul, and to what you love, what you think, that moves you to act. A heart that thrives in Jesus’ kingdom is whole, complete.

Gentiles/Pagans: Unfaithful

What Jesus means by gentiles is not about Jew or nonJew. Its about faith, or the faithless. Gentiles refers to those outside the church, those who are not God’s people.

Father in Heaven: We are His children

What Jesus means by “father in heaven” is to make a clear distinction of God’s children. God’s children are not distinguished by ethnicity, such as being Jewish. Those who do the will of God, those who believe upon the Son, have a right to be called children of God. It is not right to say that all of humanity are God’s children. All of us are his creation and image bearers, but Jesus distinguishes God’s children verses fallen image bearers.

Kingdom of Heaven: Kingdom of God

When Jesus refers to the kingdom of heaven, he is referring to the kingdom of God where He rules in wisdom and power. His kingdom is advanced both in the human hearts and in the world. One day both will be united, but for now, we live out the kingdom of God by following Jesus’s ethics in the Sermon on the Mount.

Reward: What you are rightfully due

When Jesus speaks of reward ore recompense, he is speaking of the wages you receive for being faithful to the Lord, living rightly according to his kingdom ethic. Your Father in heaven seeks to reward his children for their virtuous faith.

Come and listen…(Matthew 5:1-2)

Jesus takes a seat on the mountain to begin teaching his disciples how to flourish (Matthew 5:1-2). It was common for a rabbi to sit down and teach his disciples a virtuous way of life. In one sense, he is casting a vision for your thriving int he good life now, even in a hostile world ruled by Satan. He is inviting you to orient your life toward a kingdom life, or as Dr. Johnathan Pennington states it,

“Jesus is offering and inviting his hearers into the way of being in the world that will result in their true and full flourishing now and in the age to come.” Pennington, Jonathan T. 2017. The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing: A Theological Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic: A Division of Baker Publishing Group.

Cultivate a Blessed Character (Matthew 5:3-12)

To live the good life in God’s eyes whereby you receive his favor, a disciple of Jesus will cultivate these seven character traits. We will look at the first three.

Beatitudes of Knowledge

There are various ways to categorize the Beatitudes in order to better understand them. Some scholars believe that the Beatitudes mirror the Ten Commandments. The first four Beatitudes pertain to one's relationship with God, while the remaining five focus on one's relationship with their neighbor. Others have grouped them into three sets of three. However, Daniel Doraini's interpretation is particularly helpful. Doraini asserts that the Beatitudes are unified by God's grace. He rightly says,

“ It is God’s design that we should aspire to a character that is ever more like the character of Jesus. God permits us to pursue that goal; more importantly, he gives us grace for the journey, making it a privilege rather than a burden. By grace, God sent his Son. By grace, Jesus came to seek and save the lost. By grace, he atoned for our sins. By grace, the Father raised Jesus from the tomb and sent the Spirit to testify to him. By grace, God completes his work by changing our hearts, so that we love him and believe in him. This is how we become like Christ, from heart to toe.” Doriani, Daniel M. 2006. The Sermon on the Mount: The Character of a Disciple. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.

The first three Beatitudes express a disciple's awareness of their spiritual needs, which include poverty of spirit, mourning over sin, and meekness. The fourth Beatitude promises that God will fulfill those needs, and the fifth through seventh Beatitudes describe the results of the fourth one.

The Beatitudes can be visualized as a door, with the front side showing the Beatitudes of need and the backside showing the fruit of being satisfied by God's righteousness. The hinge of the door is Matthew 5:6, which speaks of desiring righteousness and God satisfying that desire. The Beatitudes on the front are connected to those on the back. For example, the poor in spirit are merciful, the mourners over sin are pure in heart, and the meek are peacemakers.

The first three Beatitudes describe a repentant heart that recognizes their need for God's grace to satisfy their helpless estate. They feel compelled to act on that need. They hunger for what only Jesus can give them (John 6:35) and are driven to live by their new appetite for righteousness. The appetite begins with a recognition of spiritual poverty.

Those who flourish recognize their spiritual poverty (Matthew 5:3)

Matthew 5:3 ESV

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

Our culture tends to harmonize with Ralph Waldo Emmerson’s quip,

Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. —Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, “Self-Reliance”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

As a country, we have always been taught to be self-reliant and self-confident. We admire people who have achieved success through their hard work and determination, whether it's in business or in their personal lives. We tend to value children who are independent and determined to do things on their own, even if it takes them several attempts to accomplish it. However, this mindset can make it difficult for us to understand Jesus' words when he says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." We often believe that God only helps those who help themselves, but this is far from the truth.

The poor in spirit refers to those who have acknowledged their spiritual poverty or helplessness. These individuals have a contrite spirit and recognize their complete dependence on God for both physical and spiritual needs. Unlike those who are self-reliant and self-confident, the poor in spirit are repentant, needy, and willing to submit to God's rule over their life.

Poor in spirit does not refer to personality as much as character. Some may be tempted to think that the poor in spirit are quiet, shy, cowardly, or reserved people. Those are personality traits. Poor in Spirit, as Daniel Doraini notes, self-acknowledged weakness. He explains,

“Disciples can be virile and tough, yet “poor in spirit.” However strong or forceful their personality may be, disciples know their spiritual needs, their sin, their inability to reform themselves. Whatever our strengths, we know that we need God’s grace and mercy. “(Doriani, Daniel M. 2006. The Sermon on the Mount: The Character of a Disciple. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.)

Think about the contrast between the Pharisee and the tax collect in Jesus’ parable in Luke 18.

Luke 18:10–13 ESV

10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

Which of these two men understood their spiritual poverty? The tax collector did. He realized that he could not stand on his own in the presence of God. This reminds me of the prophet Isaiah who, upon beholding the Lord on His throne, said,

Isaiah 6:5 CSB

5 Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Armies.

David Martin Lloyd-Jones said,

The way to become poor in spirit is to look at God.

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Isaiah and the Tax Collector were both humbled in the presence of God. They couldn't even lift their eyes to heaven as they realized how they had exchanged God's glory for worthless things. They acknowledged that they were unclean and pleaded for God's mercy. According to Calvin, we must be reduced to nothing before we can rely on the mercy of God. To see your poverty of spirit, you must look upon Jesus, just as Isaiah saw himself in light of the Lord on His throne. Only then can you mourn over your sin.

What does God promise to those who are poor in Spirit?

If you observe closely, the poverty of the soul resembles repentance and confession and prepares your heart to receive God's forgiving grace. Thomas Watson rightly says,

Till we are poor in spirit we are not capable of receiving grace.

Thomas Watson

Only the forgiven are allowed into the kingdom of God. For your spiritual poverty, God gives you an inheritance. Only those who are poor in Spirit will enter into heaven.

How do you see your soul, friend? Do you have eyes to see your soul in light of Jesus? Has He revealed your poverty? Have you been gifted his forgiveness?

Those who flourish are those who mourn for their sin (Matthew 5:4)

Mourning refers to feeling sorrowful or weeping over something sad or depressing. It is not necessarily related to a person's death but rather to the presence of wickedness or oppression. According to Jesus, those who thrive in God's kingdom are those who mourn over their spiritual weakness. They understand that sin leads to moral corruption that affects their thoughts, feelings, and actions. This problem is not limited to specific individuals but rather affects all of humanity and causes suffering and death.

How often do you lament over sin? I grieve over sin when I stand in the hole of the grave of a young child taken too soon from disease. I mourn over sin when wicked men are free to inflict on the helpless. I mourn over sin when I see tent camps filled with entire families littered along the highway. I grieve over every addiction, every broken home, and every child who goes to bed at night, believing they will never be smart enough to live a good life.

I also lament every evil thought that crosses my mind. I mourn over every wicked affection that lures my heart to loving something more than Jesus. I hate that I hear my mocking voice in the crowd agreeing with everyone to crucify him and that I give that voice a chance to be heard every time I am tempted to sin.

We mourn sin personally and corporately. We mourn that the world suffers at the hands of sin and death and that we are responsible for it. Maybe the worst of it all is we mourn when we feel or see indifference to sin.

I read a story of Steve Garvey, a former baseball star for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, who is also running for office in California.

When Garvey was a player, he was vocal about his Christian faith. To the public, he was known as Mr. Clean. His teammates had another opinion of him. When Garvey was a Los Angeles Dodger, he divorced his wife, with whom he had two children. Just before he was going to marry the woman whom he had impregnated when he had an affair with her, he married another woman. Then, a fourth woman came forward and said she had a child with Garvey. When Garvey was asked about the claims of the women, he did not deny them. He said, “If the children are mine, I’ll live up to my moral obligations, which I feel strongly about because I am a Christian.” When pressed about the affairs on a television interview, Garvey said that God has a purpose in everything that happens to us. (1 Wayne Joosse, “With Friends like This …,” Reformed Journal, April 1989, 9. Doriani, Daniel M. 2006. The Sermon on the Mount: The Character of a Disciple. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.)

Steve Garvey indifference to sin is how the world views sin. It is how our culture views sin, and it lacked the character of a true disciple. Its as if he shrugged it off as a bad play, or an error. There appeared to be no mourning for the shame he brought on Christ. A disciple of Jesus should sound more like David’s mourning,

Psalm 119:136 ESV

136 My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.

Or like James,

James 4:8–10 (ESV)

8 …Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

How does God comfort those who mourn over their sin?

He forgives your sin, he cleanses your sin, and fully sanctifies you until the Day of Christ Jesus. When you mourn over your sin you see your sin the way God sees it and you acknowledge your need for mercy, that is you repent. He graciously gives you His mercy. If you confess your sin he is faithful and just to forgive your sin and cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9-10). Furthermore, through the power of his Spirit he helps you slay sin.

The Puritans mourned over sin in such a way that they called for Christians to mortify sin. John Owen explains that the mortification of indwelling sin is to mercilessly kill sin, that is, to give it no power to bring forth the works or deeds of the flesh. This is the constant duty of believers. (John Owen “Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers 1656) To mourn over your sin is to hate it to such a degree you want to kill it. John Owen famously said,

“Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.” John Owen

Those who flourish are those who are meek like the Lord (Matthew 5:5)

The path to righteousness is clear. If you are humble and remorseful for your sins, you will exhibit meekness. Meekness is not about being a timid people-pleaser, but it's a character trait of someone who is gentle, humble, and yet passionate about doing what is right.

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Jesus exhibited both meekness and confrontational behavior. On one hand, he was gentle and humble, and he invited all who were tired to find rest in him. On the other hand, he was also willing to take action against those who exploited his Father's house by making it a den of thieves. Jesus' life teaches us that meekness is not a sign of weakness; rather, it is the ability to maintain control and show strength even in the midst of difficult circumstances. Or, as the old saying goes, “Meekness is no weakness. It’s power under control.”

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On one hand, I must confess that I am a wretched sinner before God. Moreover, I understand that before I judge others, I must first take the plank out of my own eye before I see the speck in my brother’s eye. On the other hand, I am redeemed. I have faith in my redeemer, and I know that he lives. This faith empowers me to strive for righteousness, without seeking personal privileges or clinging to my rights. I choose to humble myself under the authority and rule of God, fully trusting that he will provide and protect me until the Day of our Lord. This does not mean I cower in the corner with the message of the gospel. It means I stand firm, hold fast, and shout to the ends of the earth, “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel!”

Jesus promises the meek will inherit the earth, a future blessing. The first beatitude ensures entry to the kingdom, while the third guarantees the meek's inheritance of the earth.

Jesus will return one day to restore all of creation. He will remove the wicked from the earth, destroy death, and send Satan into the lake of fire. All of heaven and earth will be ruled by his power and righteousness. It is his good pleasure to give the renewed earth to us. We currently live in the "already/not yet" period, where we can experience a degree of flourishing by living according to kingdom values. However, there is a coming day when our faith will become sight, and we will flourish in his kingdom forever, free from sin. Amen.

Jesus alludes to this when he comforts Peter in Matthew 19:27-28

Matthew 19:27–28 ESV

27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

John speaks of the new heavens and earth in Rev 21:1-5

Revelation 21:1–5 ESV

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

And the resurrected Jesus says this of his people a chapter later,

Revelation 22:4–5 ESV

4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Do you have eyes to see and ears to hear?

The first three beatitudes focus on knowledge. Do you know that there is a significant deficit in your soul? Are you aware that sin has caused you to lose God's favor, and that you are in desperate need of his mercy and grace? Do you grieve over the consequences of your sin, or are you complacent or indifferent about it? Can you relate to the tax collector who humbly sought mercy, or are you like the indifferent baseball player who shrugged off his wrongdoing in the face of Jesus' mockery? Would those around you describe you as meek?

Jesus taught that those who are truly remorseful over their sins will receive salvation and become citizens of the kingdom of God. This means that they will receive abundant grace and possess both the privilege and power that come with being a citizen of the kingdom. Jesus promises comfort and forgiveness to those who mourn over their sin, and that they will be made right with God, vindicated by the blood of Jesus, and given the reward of their faith. For the meek, Jesus says they will inherit the earth. That is, they will rule with Christ when he returns (Matthew 19:28; Rev 22:5).

What would Gandhi (your neighbor) see if he came to our church?

If Gandhi were to walk into our church, would he see Christians know the poverty of their soul, who mourn over their sin, and who are meek in spirit? Would he see a group of people who desperately desire to live the good life, the life Jesus offers those who repent and put their trust in Him? Would he see Christians?

If you get down to it, Gandhi is representative to your neighbors. Many of them might even sympathize with Gandhi’s experience. When your neighbor looks at you, does he she see a Christian with an impoverished soul, mourning over sin, and full of meekness?