The Beatitudes // Matthew 5:1-12
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
Table Question: What is the best introduction to a movie or book that you have ever seen or read, and why was it so good?
Table Question: What is the best introduction to a movie or book that you have ever seen or read, and why was it so good?
*I ask this question because tonight we are going to take a look at how Jesus introduces the Sermon on the Mount. So without further ado, let’s read Matthew 5:1-12.
Last week we looked at Matthew 1-4 and how the author led us to the main passage where we will be studying for the next several weeks: the Sermon on the Mount.
Like we said last week, the Sermon on the Mount is arguably the most important sermon ever delivered, in part because of its content (so what is actually said), but primarily because of who is doing the teaching: Jesus Christ, the God-Man and our Savior.
If you remember, the thought that I want us to keep in mind through all of our study this fall is: The Christian Faith, and all Christian teaching, is Centered on the Person and Work of Jesus Christ.
Like all good preachers, Jesus begins this sermon with an introduction. In His introduction, Jesus describes who it is that God blesses.
Now I don’t know about you, but I wish all sermons were this straightforward… “You want God’s blessing on your life? You want to go to heaven? Listen up.”
Now before we look at each point that Jesus makes here, there are 2 things I want to draw your attention to:
The word blessed, and what it means
It’s important to understand Jesus’ audience. He is preaching to Jews (his disciples primarily and also those who gathered to listen).
For an Israelite, the highest state of happiness, the supreme experience of blessedness, was associated with coming as close as possible to the Creator, standing in His immediate presence, and basking in His unveiled glory.
Sproul, R. C. 2016. How Can I Be Blessed?. First edition. Vol. 24. The Crucial Questions Series. Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust: A Division of Ligonier Ministries.
To be “blessed” then, as Jesus is teaching this crowd, is to be intimately close to the Father through a deep relationship with Him.
2. The “kingdom of heaven” mentioned in vv. 3 and 10
Matthew 4:17 describes the beginning of Jesus’ ministry like this:
From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
b. So, the Kingdom is here, Jesus is the One who is bringing it to earth… so who actually fills the Kingdom? The Sermon on the Mount, and the Beatitudes specifically tell us, it’s these blessed people. They are the Kingdom citizens.
c. The Sermon on the Mount does not outline how to become a citizen of heaven. Instead it describes what those who are already in the Kingdom are like.
Main Idea: The Beatitudes describe the characteristics of Kingdom citizens.
Main Idea: The Beatitudes describe the characteristics of Kingdom citizens.
These 8 Beatitudes are not describing 8 different people, but 1 kind of person: someone who has entered into the Kingdom of God.
*So, we are going to do 2 things tonight. The first is that we are going to look at these characteristics influence the 2 primary relationships that Kingdom Citizens maintain, and we are going to see the 1 way to become a Kingdom Citizen.
2 Kinds of Relationships Maintained by Kingdom Citizens
2 Kinds of Relationships Maintained by Kingdom Citizens
1. Kingdom citizens maintain a relationship with God.
1. Kingdom citizens maintain a relationship with God.
Poor in spirit (v. 3)
What does it mean to be poor financially? With that in mind, what does it mean to be poor spiritually?
Recognition of your unworthy standing before a holy God.
Everyone is truly unworthy to inherit the kingdom of God, but those who recognize and confess it to the Lord are the one’s who He welcomes to become citizens in His kingdom.
Mourning (v. 4)
Sorrow, brokenhearted-ness, grieving
Question for reflection: Have you ever felt any of these emotions over your own sin? Over the brokenness of the world?
This flows pretty naturally from being poor in spirit. If we recognize that we are not what we are not as we are supposed to be, and the world is not as it’s supposed to be, then we may rightfully mourn.
But notice also the promise that is associated with this characteristic: comfort.
18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
he saves those crushed in spirit.
Humility (v. 5)
Can anyone define what it means to be humble?
Humility is willingly submitting yourself to the will of another instead of seeking your own interest.
Pursuing Righteousness (v. 6)
Hunger and thirst are urges that we feel in order to survive. To long for righteousness in this way has been described this way:
[to have] an insatiable appetite, an intense longing, to be conformed to the image of Jesus… such a person “longs to live a godly life as much as a starving man longs for his next piece of bread or a parched tongue yearns for a drop of water” (Quarles, Sermon, 59).
Danny Akin, Christ-Centered Exposition: Sermon on the Mount, 9.
A few of the Psalms capture this well too:
1 As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so I long for you, God.
2 I thirst for God, the living God.
When can I come and appear before God?
1 God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you.
I thirst for you;
my body faints for you
in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.
A recognition of brokenness before God and the mourning over that imperfect condition lead us to seek God and His righteousness.
The promise to those who seek after God’s righteousness is this at the end of verse 6: they will be filled (or as the ESV puts it, they will be satisfied).
Our deepest longings to be right before God will be met as we seek to draw near to His presence.
Purity in heart (v. 8)
Who can describe why pure gold is so valuable?
It has no traces of any other material in it. Every atom is gold, and it’s not diluted with anything else.
Purity of heart then is a heart that has its sole focus on loving and seeking the Lord, and everything that we do flows from this untainted passion.
*Now, as we are in a right relationship with God, we also will find that we begin to work out how to be in right relationship with others.
2. Kingdom citizens maintain relationships with others.
2. Kingdom citizens maintain relationships with others.
Merciful (v. 7)
Mercy: “Not receiving a deserved punishment.”
We display mercy to others because of the mercy God has shown to us in Christ Jesus. Once we understand and accept the magnitude of how much we have been forgiven, we can then truly forgive others. What does this look like? Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:
31 Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. 32 And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.
Peacemaking (v. 9)
Naturally flowing from showing mercy to others is the desire to seek peace with others.
Evangelism: We seek to bring peace between others and God by sharing the gospel.
Not creating divisions: Jesus died so that we may be united through Him and seek the good of one another.
28 There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Persecuted for righteousness (v. 10-12)
A life committed to righteousness is an invitation to be persecuted by the rest of the world. And we shouldn’t be surprised by it. Those who have been faithful to the Lord throughout all of history have been a target for those who desire to serve anything other than God.
Persecution looks different. We are fortunately in a culture where our lives are not at stake if we seek to live faithfully for the Lord, but socially, we’re becoming more and more outcast and looked down on. We should expect to encounter hardships for our faith. Tim Keller says this (pretty bluntly):
“To be a peacemaker means that you will be persecuted in some way. If you’re always being persecuted, you’re probably obnoxious. If you’re never being persecuted, you’re probably a coward.”
And if you’re offended in hearing that like I was, ask yourself “why?”
1 Way to Become a Kingdom Citizen
1 Way to Become a Kingdom Citizen
Like we’ve said, Jesus is at the center of our faith and all we believe. We believe in the Person of Jesus.
As we read each of these characteristics, I hope we all recognize that we fail to truly meet each of these criteria, much less all of them. So who then is really blessed? Who is actually a Kingdom citizen?
It’s Jesus! The One telling us what’s required. It’s Him! How do we know? He displayed all of these characteristics for us!
This blessing is not something that we work towards and hope to earn one day. It’s given to us by the One who already has it.
And the testimony of the rest of the Bible tells us that Jesus is the One who meets these perfect standards on our behalf, because we are unable. Through faith, His righteousness, His blessing, is given to us! It is credited to our account when we believe in Him.
Now as we close, we have a few discussion questions for you at your table. So we’ll take the last few minutes to discuss as many of these as we can, and then we will be dismissed. Let’s pray as we prepare to talk in our groups.