Kingdom Character
Notes
Transcript
Prayer:
“May God give us grace to consider this Sermon on the Mount and to remember that we are not to sit in judgment on it, but that we ourselves are under judgement, and that the building we are erecting in this world and in this life will have to face His final test and the ultimate scrutiny of the eye of the Lamb of God that once was slain.” MLJ
What is the purpose of the sermon on the mount?
Kingdom Focus. I began our Scripture reading this morning with the conclusion of Matthew chapter 4 because it gives us a bit of context concerning the Sermon. Jesus’ fame has spread, he has cured the sick, cast out demons, and great crowds are following. The core of what jesus is teaching at this point is that he is “Proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom”.
At this point, In the Gospel of Matthew, you have Matthew has demonstrated that Jesus is the Son of David. He does this in the opening genealogy andn through the birth and infancy narrative. Matthew also demonstrates that Jesus is the true and better Moses. Matthew 2 directly quotes parts of Moses’ story and applies it also to Jesus. Matthew also shows Jesus being tempted in the wilderness for 40 days. He is faithful where Israel is not. Jesus responds to the temptation by quoting Deuteronomy three times. So when Jesus went up on the mountain in 5:1, it ought to draw our minds back to Moses going up Mt. Sinai to hear from the Lord. And this is significant because because the people of Israel had been waiting for a prophet like Moses since Deuteronomy 18.
Structurally, there are similarities between the Mosaic Law and the Sermon of the Mount. Additionally, in Deuteronomy Moses is preaching a series of three sermons concerning how the people of Israel ought to live in Canaan.
The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus teaching his disciples how citizens of his Kingdom ought to live.
Jesus was teaching the nature and the purpose of the Kingdom. And this is what we see him doing in the Sermon on the Mount.
A few months back while I was beginning to plan this series, I came across some teacher who made the comment that the main purpose of the sermon on the mount is not to teach Christians how to live, but rather to establish that Jesus is the Messiah. This is a false dichotomy. Both of these are true. The Sermon teaches us about who Jesus is, but it also teaches us about who Jesus’ disciples are.
The Sermon on the Mount is the most well known group of teachings from the Lord Jesus. He covers what it really means to be happy, the law, anger, sex, marriage, fasting, giving to the needy, money, anxiety, loving your neighbor, prayer, the Golden Rule, righteous living and other themes. All of these topics that Jesus cover fall under the main theme of “The Character of the Citizens of the Kingdom of God.”
Kingdom Character.
However, it is easy to misread and misunderstand this sermon.
Jesus is not giving a list of what one must to in order to be saved. Jesus is not telling anyone how they can earn salvation. This isn’t what you do to be a follower of Jesus.
This sermon is made of up:
what is already true of you if you are in Christ, and how a Kingdom people ought to act. The character of the people who belong to the Kingdom of God.
It’s not a list of hypotheticals. Nor is it a to do list. The Sermon on the Mount is not do these things to be a Christian, or do these things to inherit the kingdom.
The Sermon on the Mount is not a list of general truisms for how to live the best life. Trying out Jesus’ words will not guarantee blessing in your life.
This is a sermon is not a new law. This isn’t Jesus’ version of the 10 Commandments. This is why near the beginning of the sermon, Jesus teaches his disciples that he has come to fulfill the law (5:17-20).
People often approach the Sermon on the Mount like they do the Proverbs. They pick and choose what they like, they ignore what they don’t - and skeptics ESPECIALLY like to take parts of the sermon out of context to criticize Christians.
Example: Doesn’t Jesus say not to judge? Which for them means “don’t ever judge, anything or anyone for any purpose ever!” Which does not fit the context of Matthew 7 at all.
Definitions
One of the biggest issues that we have as we approach the Sermon on the Mount is the need for accurate definitions.
For Example: Beatitude…
The Beatitudes are the introduction of the sermon. This section sets the stage for the rest of what Jesus is going to preach.
However, before we can even get in to the Beatitudes themselves. We need to address a few definitions. First, beatitude is the Latin word blessing.
A Kingdom people are a blessed people.
But what does it mean to be blessed?
Most of the time that people think of blessing, or that they claim that they are blessed they generally are referring to shallow things.
We see T-Shirts that read “Blessed.” License plate frames that read “too blessed to be stressed.”
Searching blessed as a trending topic on the internet yields… pictures of people celebrating relationships, children,
One woman had a picture of her on a boat, another woman had “blessed” next to a picture where someone sent her money on Venmo.
A lot of people say they are blessed because they have nice things. They have a nice car, big house, good job, great spouse… but all of those things are temporary. Cars breakdown, houses eventually need repair, jobs only last so long, spouses unfortunately died.
If our chief definition for the word blessing is simply what we have - we miss how the Bible generally defines blessing.
Charles Quarles notes that the Beatitudes are not entrance requirements, but rather “they define the character and conduct of those whom God has already claimed as children. They describe the holy life that necessarily results form genuine salvation.”
The definition of the word blessing is happy.
A blessed people are a happy people.
However, there’s an issue there isn’t there? When you look through the Beatitudes, you will look at this and thing how in the world can someone be happy and poor in spirit? How can someone be happy mourn? how can you be happy and hungry? How can you be happy and persecuted? That’s 4/8… Our modern definitions of happiness are inconsistent with Jesus’ definition.
So we have to also define happy.
Because in the modern world today, happiness is how you feel when you get a good parking space, or the bonus fry at the bottom of the McDonalds bag. But that happiness goes away as soon as the smallest inconvenience interrupts. The cultural definition for happiness is circumstantial.
The Biblical Definition of happiness is not that of a temporary feeling, but rather living the life that God created for you to live.
Dr. Jonathan Pennington, makes the argument that while blessed and happy are accurate translations the blessedness of the sermon on the mount is best defined by human flourishing.
By that he means that the one who flourishes, the one who has fullness of life is the one who is poor in spirit, who mourns, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, the persecuted… that is what human flourishing looks like.
And when we look at the Beatitudes as whole - and consider them as the description of human flourishing - we see that this flies in the face of the modern health, wealth and prosperity gospel.
To live your best life now is not about acquiring the biggest and best toys - but about living your life for the purpose you were created.
We were created to glorify God and enjoy him forever. (Ecclesiastes 12:13, 1 Cor 10:31, Psalm 73:24-26, John 17:22), and the Sermon on the Mount demonstrates what this looks like.
The Biblical definition of happiness is not about what you have, but who you are in Christ.
I need to create an extra distinction when it comes to blessing in the Bible. There are two different kinds of blessing that are shown in the Bible.
There is one kind of blessing that is found in texts like Deuteronomy 28 and Psalm 103 that describes the conferral of gifts from one party to another. In Dt 28, The Lord promises gifts to an obedient people. The Lord gifts them with safety, with pr In Psalm 103, David brings praise to the Lord. The blessing in Numbers 21… The Lord Bless you and keep you is this kind of blessing. The opposite of these blessings is curses. This is not the kind of blessing that is spoken of here in Matthew 5:1-12. But it is likely the first thought that comes to mind.
However, the other kind of blessing is a blessing that speaks of a state of true happiness. This is rooted in one’s relationship with God, rather than on external circumstances.
Do not confuse this happiness with a temporary feeling.
The opposite of these blessings are woes. (As seen in Matthew 11 and 23). This second kind of blessing is what we see in the Beatitudes. We also read of this in Deuteronomy 33. Where Moses, at the end of his life sings a blessing over the assembly of Israel.
29 Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of your help, and the sword of your triumph! Your enemies shall come fawning to you, and you shall tread upon their backs.”
Their greatest source of blessing is the salvation of the Lord. This remains true, but even in a greater sense. The greatest source of blessing, is not merely God’s salvation from Egyptian slavery - but that those who have been saved from their sins and have the righteousness of Christ placed upon them, have the greatest blessing.
And this is also what we see in the Psalms. And the Psalms help us in understanding the blessedness that Jesus speaks of in the Beatitudes, so before we actually get into the Beatitudes next week
I want to note that this is where Jesus gets his formula for the beatitudes.
And this formula demonstrates that true happiness comes from a right relationship with God.
Psalm 1 speaks of the blessed man.
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
The blessed man in Psalm 1, points us forward to Jesus. He is the one whose delight is in law of the Lord, and meditates on it day and night. He is our example of how we ought to live in this. Psalms 1 and 2 are closely linked - so where Psalm 1 begins with the one who is blessed, Christ Jesus, Psalm 2 ends with the blessed being all those who take refuge in God.
12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
And this format repeats in several other psalms.
1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! 2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,
Psalm 112, 128 and Proverbs 28 all says “Blessed is the one who fears the Lord.”
5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God,
So these pronunciations of blessedness concerning the right relationship with God.
The one whose sins are forgiven, the one who fears the Lord, who obeys the Lord, the one whose God is the Lord.
The word for blessed in the New Testament that corresponds with the blessedness of the Psalms is used in the Beatitudes but Jesus also uses it in other places.
In Matthew 11:6 Jesus states
6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
Happy is the one who is not offended by me. But going even further than this Jesus, when Peter makes his incredible confession:
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
So caught up in this idea of happy is the man, blessed is the man, flourishing is the man… we have that true human flourishing comes in the confession that Jesus
For human being dead in their trespasses and sins, unable to please God, the truest source of our blessing is to be found in the Son of God who took on human flesh, to endure the divine wrath of the Father, that we deserve for our sins so all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
Man is most blessed, most happy, when we place our faith in Christ Jesus.
When we turn from our sinfulness, and look to Christ Jesus as our only hope in life and in death we are blessed.
While I titled this sermon - Kingdom Character - the Subtitle would be “Are You Happy?”
Though the sermon on the mount as whole deals with the character of the citizen of the Kingdom of God - the first aspect of that character is blessedness. So as we work through the beatitudes in the coming weeks, if you are in Christ, do not ask “Am I blessed?” But instead joyously delight in the blessedness that comes from Christ.
However, there is an additional note concerning this Thomas Watson, my favorite Puritan, writes: “There is a blessedness in reversion.” by this he means the fullness of the blessedness lies in the future. If you are in Christ, you are blessed now, but the fullness of blessing is yet to come.
Last night, I realized that I should have scheduled the hymn “Alas and Did My Savior Bleed” for us to sing today. As it does appropriately capture true biblical happiness in that refrain.
I’ve often struggled with the refrain of that song because of how we understand happy. But if true Biblical happiness is found not in circumstance but with a right relationship with God then when we can sing “At the Cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light and the burden of my heart rolled away it was there by faith I received my sight and now I am happy all the day,” without concept of circumstance but blessing today, tomorrow and into eternity.
My desire for you is to rethink what it means to be happy, and to reorient your mind to consider how Jesus’ words are the root to true happiness and human flourishing. And to carry that into the Sermon on the Mount and we walk through this wonderful sermon of our Lord over the coming months.
Christian, YOU ARE BLESSED, because blessing is not in circumstance but in a right relationship with God.
What does it mean to be blessed?
What is your happiness rooted in?
So my bit of homework for you today is to follow that up by reading Matthew 5:1-12 this week and ask yourself - how does this definition of blessing enlighten how I understand the word of Jesus.
