A Flourishing Life

INTRODUCTION:

Over 2,000 years ago there was a young man named Justin. He wanted what every young man wants - a life of meaning, significance and fulfillment.

He was born in the early second century in Samaria, a world soaked in Greek philosophy and Roman culture.

Justin was hungry for objective truth, not ritual, myth or religion. He had rejected ancient stories about Zeus and Apollo. He became a disciple of Stoic philosophy.

Stoicism was dominant in thinking Roman culture. It has been popularized through men like Cicero, Seneca and Tacitus.

They taught self-control, detachment and rigid discipline. “Endure pain. Rise above your circumstances. Master your carnal passions.”

But Justin began sensing that something was missing, there was something the Stoics had missed. They were keen to talk about ethics and discipline but never true knowledge of God.

So Justin moved on. He tried different teachers who were schooled in different philosophies.

First, was Aristotle and the Peripatetic school. Unfortunately, that teacher cared only for money. Eventually, Justin moved on from that.

From Aristotle he moved to Pythagoras, the great Greek mathematician. But that teacher required Justin to master music, mathematics and astronomy before he would teach him any philosophy.

Justin became discouraged. He just wanted a path to life!

Everybody wants a flourishing life.

Finally, Justin landed on the original G.O.A.T. of Greek Philosophy: the works of Plato and the dialogues of Socrates.

Plato spoke of truth, justice and beauty as objective eternal realities. Eternal forms outside the physical that was more real than the shadows seen today.

Eventually, Justin climbed to the top of that ladder and became known as “Justin the Philosopher.” He thought, “one day, I’ll gaze into the eyes of God.”

Justin’s Conversion

His growth in Platonic wisdom continued until one day that changed everything forever.

He ran into an old man who was schooled in philosophy but was also a follower of Jesus.

Justin shared his journey and quest for the truth. The old man listened intently. The old man left Justin with one question, “Have you read the Old Testament prophets?”

The old man explained how the Old Testament prophets received their revelation straight from God. They didn’t guess about God through empty speculation but were moved along by God’s Spirit.

These prophets foretold about the coming of a Christ who would usher in the Kingdom of God. That Christ had come in the person of Jesus, who was crucified, buried but rose again.

Justin was stunned but intrigued by the story. He had sought after God through human reason.

But this was a God who condescended to man and revealed himself through love and grace.

That one conversation lit a match that birthed a flame. Justin began reading the Jewish prophets. From there he read about the person of Jesus as revealed in the four Christian Gospels.

It was there, in the Gospels, that Justin finally realized in Jesus is something greater than Greek philosophy.

The immaterial God had taken on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ.

Where Plato was guessing the prophets were preaching.

What Plato climbed up Jesus came down.

Plato taught truth and a way to live life.

Jesus WAS truth, the way, and the life.

The formless had taken form. The myth become fact. The ideal become real, the abstract concrete.

Platonic truth, goodness and beauty were fully found in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Wisdom didn’t terminate in the realm of “ideas.” Wisdom was found in the Words of Jesus.

Where Greeks had hints, fragments and shadows - Jesus revealed the fullness of God.

Where Stoics had promised salvation through discipline. Jesus achieved salvation by grace.

Justin became a Christian and he was not shy about it. His philosophical training made him an excellent evangelist.

He began to publically argue that Christianity was really true: not as abstract philosophy but as the path to human flourishing.

There are millions of men like Justin in our culture. Men and women who know there’s got to be something MORE.

Everybody wants a flourishing life.

A Flourishing Life

That longing lives in us because of how we’re made. It’s an echo of a memory that began in the Garden of Eden.

People call it different things: happiness, success, fulfillment.

The ancient Greeks had a word pronounced “Eudaimonia.” It literally means “good demon” and conveyed true alignment with the divine.

The Hebrews had “shalom:” a state of wholeness and completion: nothing is disconnected, deficient or misaligned.

Even skeptics and cynics desire this kind of life. They don’t believe in God but they want the gift of heaven.

The question has never been “whether” we want to flourish. The question has always been “what’s the way to find it?”

Every ancient philosopher wrestled with that question. Jesus gives an answer in the Gospel of Matthew.

What makes Matthew special is his reading of the Old Testament. Jesus is presented as the true and greater Israel. Not only is Jesus a better Adam and better Moses; he’s also a better David, a better Solomon and everything.

This Gospel was read by Justin “The Philosopher.” Justin saw Jesus as the “true and better Plato.” In Jesus, God gave him the life he always wanted.

What others showed in part, Jesus gives in full.

Justin saw Jesus as the world’s greatest philosopher. This is nowhere better seen than the Sermon on the Mount.

Until we see Jesus in the way the Justin saw him we’ll misread this sermon and the promise that it holds.

Set the Table

The Sermon on the Mount is a picture of human flourishing. It has shaped Western Culture more than any other sermon.

Jesus was sent to give abundant life (John 10:10). The life Jesus promised is found within this sermon.

Augustine called it “The perfect pattern of the Christian life.”

Tolstoy said it was “the epitome of Jesus’ religion.”

Daniel Webster said the sermon cannot be “merely human” but came from the lips of God himself.

Kant said the ethics were unparalleled in their purity and sublimity, surpassing all other religious or ethical codes known to man.

John Donne - “…all the body of divinity is in these three chapters in this one sermon.”

Before we read sermon, you need to know the context. Matthew is built around five major discourses.

Christ’s Righteousness (Matthew 5-7)

Christ’s Mission (Matthew 10)

Christ’s Parables (Matthew 13)

Christ’s Community (Matthew 18)

Christ’s Judgment (Matthew 23-25)

Each major discourse is wrapped within a story and every single one ends with the same phrase. “When Jesus was finished…” (Matthew 7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1)

The Sermon on the Mount is the first of the five but you cannot divorce it from it’s relationship to the whole.

In addition to what follows is what Matthew gives before. The SOM is prefaced by Matthew’s introduction.

From the opening verses Matthew has had one purpose: proving that Jesus is the long-awaited Christ.

Seven times Matthew has shown how Jesus, “Fulfills what was spoken…” (Matthew 1:22-23; 2:5-6, 15, 17-18, 23; 3:3; 4:15-16) (Cf. Isaiah 7:14; Micah 5:2; Hosea 11:1; Jeremiah 31:15; Isaiah 11:1; 40:3; 9:1-2)

Jesus fulfills every promise from God.

The Kingdom of God

The promise mentioned most by Jesus was the promise of God’s kingdom.

This kingdom was first preached by John the Baptist to pave the way. (Matthew 3:2) After John’s arrest, Jesus also started preaching, “Repent, because the Kingdom of Heaven has come near.” (Matthew 4:17)

Last week, we saw in Matthew’s summary statement that the ministry of Jesus was centered on this theme.

Matthew 4:23 CSB

23 Now Jesus began to go all over Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

The Gospel Jesus preached was the Gospel of the Kingdom. It formed the center of his ministry and was the focus of his preaching.

Five of the five discourses that make up the Gospel of Matthew deal with the theme of Kingdom and what’s God’s kingdom is really like.

Is it any surprise that the Kingdom of Heaven is the first thing mentioned in the Sermon on the mount?

Matthew 5:1–3 CSB

1 When he saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to teach them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

He concludes the beatitudes with the very same language.

Matthew 5:10 CSB

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

Jesus repeats this theme over and over again. Matthew 5:19-20

Matthew 5:19–20 CSB

19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus taught us to pray, Matthew 6:10

Matthew 6:10 CSB

10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Instead of worrying about our life Jesus would say,

Matthew 6:33 CSB

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

He ended his sermon with a warning about the Kingdom.

Matthew 7:21 CSB

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

After his sermon, he sends out his disciples and he tells them to preach? The Gospel of the Kingdom. Matthew 10:7

Matthew 10:7 CSB

7 As you go, proclaim, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’

The focus for Jesus was the Kingdom of Heaven.

Yet many modern Christians don’t even have a definition.

For Matthew’s Jewish audience, God’s Kingdom was something specific.

It was not a future promise you’ll go to heaven when you die. Rather, God’s Kingdom would come from heaven down to the earth. (Isaiah 52:7-10; Zech 14:9)

It brought the end of Israel’s exile, the restoration of worship, and the forever dwelling of God with his people. (Isaiah 9:1-7; 11:1-10; Jer 23:5-6; Ezekiel 34:23-24; Micah 5:2-5)

This Kingdom and her King would crush all opposition and establish true peace throughout the entire world. (Daniel 7:13-14, 18, 27; Zech 9:9-10)

This kingdom would restore the physical creation and eventually fill the earth with the knowledge of God. (Isaiah 32:15-18; 35:1-10; Micah 4:1-5; Isa 65:17-25; 66:18-23)

In a word, God’s Kingdom was the return of God himself.

God would bring us back to Eden so we could flourish once again.

The world would fully function as originally designed.

The Gospel of Jesus was the Gospel of the Kingdom but sadly many wonder what relevance does that have.

The Sermon on the Mount gives an answer to that question because it shows a Gospel that deals with ALL OF LIFE.

The promise of the Kingdom is a life of human flourishing.

I think that is the life that Jesus gives us in this sermon. And the reason I believe it is because of how it’s starts.

Read The Text

Let’s read the first twelve verses slowly once again.

These eight statements of blessing are known as the Beatitudes.

Matthew 5:1–12 CSB

1 When he saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to teach them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the humble, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. 11 “You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. 12 Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

A FLOURISHING LIFE

The sermon opens with Jesus seeing a large crowd at the base of a mountain.

These people had come from all over Palestine because of the ministry of Jesus.

Not only was Jesus teaching in the synagogues, he was healing every kind of sickness. As a result, the crowds that gathered where there for different reasons.

Some were there out of curiosity. Others were there to spy. Some were there for selfish reasons. Some were there for the sake of someone else.

Among the crowds were Jesus’ disciples. We’re not really sure how many. In Matthew 4:18-22 we saw Andrew, Peter, James and John. After the sermon, the other 8 are mentioned (Matthew 9:9; 10:2) but Matthew’s focus isn’t on strict chronology.

Whether crowds or disciples - the people at that mountain - weren’t the people you’d expect to get the kingdom. This is all the more shocking when Jesus begins his sermon with God’s blessing on the poor.

The people at that mountain came from many backgrounds, many lower down on the social ladder.

The invitation to hear about the way of flourishing was extended to all kinds of people. (fisherman, diseased, demon-possessed, outcast, alien, sojourner)

But the only people who heard the sermon were those who chose to follow.

Jesus went up the mountain but his disciples chose to follow. The rest of the crowd stayed down the mountain because it wasn’t worth going up there.

It doesn’t matter where you’ve been, it doesn’t matter who you are. The only thing that matters to Jesus is whether you’ll follow him NOW.

Jesus shares God’s Kingdom with those who choose to follow.

A Life of Blessing

Before we look at each Beatitude we need to ask a larger question. What exactly ARE beatitudes and how are disciples “blessed?”

The English word “beatitude” comes from the Latin “beatus” which means “happy or fortunate.”

Most people read the beatitudes and imagine a “spiritual transaction.” (I do this and God will do that. A spiritual quid pro quo)

If I become poor in spirit then God owes me the kingdom. If I mourn enough then God must comfort me. But that is not what Jesus is doing.

Jesus presents something deeper. It’s what makes him a brilliant philosopher. To feel the force of what he is saying, we need to go back into the Old Testament.

Remember, Matthew wrote the New Testament in Greek but Jesus would’ve spoken Aramaic and many of his Jewish listeners would’ve been steeped in the OT.

Barukh

Because when Matthew wrote “Blessed,” his Jewish readers heard something very specific. I’m afraid our English translations don’t fully catch it.

In the Old Testament there were two Hebrew words - with very different meanings - but both are often translated “Blessed.”

The first word is barukh.

You see it in Genesis 1:27-28. After God creates humanity, it says: “God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and multiply.’” That word “blessed” is barukh.

Barukh is something God does. It is an intentional act of showing favor.

When we think of “blessing,” many of us think barukh. It’s a gift of God’s provision and protection.

God barukh-ed Adam and Eve with fruitfulness.

He barukh-ed Abraham with offspring.

He barukh-ed Israel with provision.

God’s “baruk” comes from above. You don’t earn it. It can’t be manufactured. It’s a gift you receive. (Material increases. Answered prayers. A healthy child. A good job.)

Ashre

“Baruk” is not the word that Jesus used when giving the Sermon on the Mount. There’s a different Hebrew word: ASHRE

Ashre conveys the idea of good fortune, flouring, happiness or state of thriving.

It’s used all over the Old Testament, especially in the Wisdom Literature and Jewish apocryphal writings circulating in the 1st Century.

It was Hebrew equivalent for what Aristotle and other Greek philosophers called “Eudaimonia.” Or “the good life.”

The imagery of Psalm 1 is actually really helpful at illustrating the word. Psalm 1

Psalm 1:1–3 CSB

1 How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners or sit in the company of mockers! 2 Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

The CSB translates “ashre” as “happy.” But it’s deeper and longer lasting than what most people think of when they think of happiness.

This happiness isn’t something God gives as a one and done. Nor is this happiness a specific blessing from the Lord.

Ashre is a state of fortune, flourishing or happiness.

It’s the Bible’s way of saying, “This is the way that life works best. This is the highest end towards which everything should point.” This is the path of flourishing.

It’s not a gift. It’s a declaration. Imagine you’re looking at someone who has it made and saying, “they’ve got it good.” That’s “ashre.”

Another example of this word is at the end of Psalm 2. “Pay homage to the Son or he will be angry and you will perish in your rebellion, for his anger may ignite at any moment. All who take refuge in him are happy.” (Psalm 2:12)

Ashre is flourishing. It’s security. It’s wholeness. It’s everything functioning according to it’s design. Nothing broken. Nothing lacking. Everything is in alignment.

If I were to ask you the question, “What’s the good life?” How would you answer?

For me, I’d be drinking coffee next to Audra around a fire in the mountains with our kids playing nicely and a side-by-side to fit us all. That’s ashre.

Here’s why this matters.

When the Heberw old Old Testament was translated into Greek, the Hebrew word ashre was translated with makarios. That’s the word Jesus uses in Matthew 5.

Not barukh. Ashre. Makarios. It’s not willing act from God to show his favor. It’s the description of a life that’s flourishing in every way.

Like the philosophers who came before him, Jesus is declaring, “This is what it takes enter in to the way of flourishing. This is the doorway into the life that we all want.

Upside Down

As I mentioned earlier, we’ve always asked this question. Different “gurus” throughout history have offered up different blueprints.

In 1st Century Rome there were cultural assumptions. Those with “ashre” were wealthy people, powerful and politically connected. That was the “good life.”

Jesus takes that list and turns it upside down. It would’ve been shocking to everyone in the crowd. Almost everything Jesus lists is negative in our eyes:

Poverty of spirit

Mourning

Being meek (meaning you don’t always get the credit or honor you deserve)

Hungering and thirsting for righteousness (which sounds positive at first, but it’s a deep longing because the world is broken—you feel its wrongness in your bones, like physical hunger and thirst)

Being merciful and peacemaking (which often means you’re not getting the justice you deserve—you choose to give up your rights, to be wronged, to forgive, and to make peace even when others don’t deserve it)

He concludes by saying “flourishing” can exist when you’re maligned, misrepresented, mistreated, and slandered for his sake.

Finding Life

Nobody in that crowd would have initially agreed. But Jesus flipped the scoreboard and brought them into something higher.

To be clear, Jesus IS NOT glorifying misery. He’s demonstrating the posture that position you for God’s Kingdom.

He’s not saying, “If you’ll burn all your cash and become poor and depressed then everyone will think you’re life is awesome.”

He is saying, “The people who know they are empty are postured for God’s kingdom. You’ll never have a life of flourishing if you’re full of pride and self reliance.”

Stoicism claimed the opposite. Self-reliance is tranquility. Through discipline and self-sufficiency we can overcome this world.”

Jesus says the flourishing are depend instead on God.

This same logic works all the way down the beatitudes. There are two lines for each one.

Line 1 is a description of human flourishing. Line 2 is the reason why their life is good.

Line 1 is Ashre, a declaration of flourishing. “This kind of person has it really good!”

Line 2 is Barukh, the gift that God will give them. “God will give them X because of how they’re postured.”

This is not some kind of formula to twist God’s arm for blessings. Jesus is just describing the kind of persons who gets the kingdom.

Those who follow Jesus by living in this way will also be the people who find abundant life.

Those who follow Jesus will find abundant life.

CONCLUSION:

We started this message with the story of Justin the Philosopher. A young man from Samaria who found true life in Jesus.

Formerly he looked for life on the ladder of Greek philosophy: Stoicism, Aristotle, Pyrhagoras and finally Plato.

Every rung left him hungry, some less than the others. Pursuing God through human reason could only get him so far.

Finally, he met a man who gave a different pathway. It wasn’t empty speculation but the incarnation of God.

Justin found in Jesus what Plato could never offer: truth beyond the abstract realm that actually entered into History.

Goodness and beauty that moved beyond mere virtue. Goodness and mercy that can save us from our sin.

He found within the Gospels, the greatest human philosophy. He found within Jesus the ultimate philosopher king.

Jesus was offering the path to human flourishing. Justin embraced it fully, becoming a bold defender of the faith.

He argued and debated in the marketplace of ideas. He helped thousands of people find new life in Jesus. Jesus can offer the life that we all want.

Eventually, that commitment began to cost him dearly. It was 165AD. Marcus Aurelius was the Emperor of Rome. He was fully commited to the philosophy of the stoics.

Justin and other Christians were brought before the prefect (Junius Rusticus). They ordered them to worship Roman gods in obedience to the Roman Emperor.

Justin refused. When threatened with merciless torture and death, he responded with calm resolve:

"We hope to suffer torment for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so be saved. For this will bring us salvation and confidence as we stand before the more terrible and universal judgment-seat of our Lord and Savior…Do what you will…we are Christians…we will not worship idols.”

He was scourged and beheaded—martyred for his faith in Jesus. He refused to bow to idols because the could not bring life.

Worship belongs to Christ alone because, even in death, Christ alone can bring you life that triumphs over this world.

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

Justin lived this kingdom logic and inherited God’s Kingdom. He abandoned self-reliance and repented of his sin.

He mourned the world's brokenness yet hungered for God's righteousness.

He showed true mercy and pushed for peace even toward his opponents.

When the persecution came he looked forward to heaven’s reward.

Whether life or death, Justin lived by faith. Not faith as “intellectual belief” but allegiance to Jesus Christ.

Every flourishing life requires a heart of faith.

True faith isn’t abstract, it’s practical and concrete. True faith isn’t “one thing” you do - it’s the ground for EVERYTHING.

When you put your faith in Jesus it’s more than adding a belief. Jesus offers abundant life for those who follow him.

He’s not interested in “life improvements.” He’s interested in taking over. He is the fulfillment of what God promised to the prophets.

Contrary to the Stoics, we’re not saved through our detachment. Jesus promised true shalom through the very opposite. Attach yourself to Jesus and you will find true life.

Where have you been looking to find a flourishing life? Self-mastery? Success? Heath or Hedonism?

There has only ever been ONE WAY to find a flourishing life. True life is found in Jesus and that life comes through humble faith.

Say yes to faith in Jesus, even if it costs you. Whatever you may lose will be outweighed by what you gain.