HG054.1 Matthew 5:1-12, Luke 6:17-26

Matthew 5:1–12 NKJV

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Introduction

This passage is called the beatitudes. The Beatitudes serve as the prologue to the Sermon on the Mount, which spans chapters 5-7 of Matthew’s Gospel. The Greek word we normally translate as ‘blessed’ is makarios. It is an interesting word for it really contains the sense of the Hebrew word ‘shalom’, an inner peace and contentedness which then manifests itself as happiness and joy.

If lasting happiness could be found in having material things and in being able to indulge ourselves in whatever we wanted, then most of us should be delirious with joy and happy beyond description. We should be producing books and poems that describe our state of unparalleled bliss. Our literature and art should rival that of the ancient Greeks and Romans and Renaissance craftsmen.

Instead we find those who have “things” trying to get more of them, for no apparent reason other than to have more. We find high rates of divorce, suicide, depression, child abuse, and other personal and social problems beyond description.

But, said Jesus, if you are mourning, or meek, or merciful, or pure in heart, then you are blessed now, whether you experience it as such or not. They provide us with a glimpse of what the world would be like if God’s promised future were fully brought into the present. The Beatitudes disclose to us that the universe does not ultimately belong to the super-spiritual, the “thick-skinned”, the supremely confident, the self-serving, the ruthless, and the persecutors. It belongs to the least amongst us because they are the ones about whom God is most concerned.

The Gospels teach us that the kingdom of God is not just a future reality, but a present one as well if we are yielded to God. God’s promised future of a transformed heaven is a reality that can be now. In Christ, eternity has broken through.

We are called to be merciful, be pure, be peacemakers, be light for Christ.

The blessedness belong to those who are not like the rest of the world. Only Christians can be sons of God..so let us look at each of these blessed statements to see what we can glean from them:

Blessed are the poor in spirit.

What is the biblical understanding of the word ‘poor’? It is someone who relies upon another in order to live. Someone, therefore, who is poor in spirit is someone utterly dependent upon God. This is a humble person, a person who knows they cannot make it on their own. They do not portray themselves as a spiritual giant but are very aware that no good thing exists in the flesh. These are not self-made people but desire the image of God to be imprinted on them; to be like Jesus. Being poor in Spirit is to be very wealthy. Paul speaks of this:

2 Corinthians 6:10 NKJV

as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

We are richer than the richest man who does not have Christ. And we have a message that can make people experience the same blessing as us for if we and others come to Christ we can say:

Ephesians 1:3 NKJV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

Blessed are those who mourn.

The word ‘mourn’ here is the strongest sense of the word. It has the sense of someone who is really crying for the loss of a loved one who had died. These are people who see sin for what it is. They know godly sorrow for sin. They are utterly appalled when they see it. They suffer when they see it in the world, the injustices get right to their heart, the perversions of laws set against God leads them to mourn; to lament. They know that a broken and contrite heart is not turned away by God. They draw comfort from knowing that one day justice will be done but also that justice has been done on their behalf through Jesus becoming sin for them that they might be the righteousness of God.

Blessed are the meek.

Tonight’s sermon has been changed to talk more about this subject and, God willing, we will look at this more fully. Meekness and gentleness are synonyms. It is a controlled spirit, it is not anger, it is not complacency but somewhere between. Meekness has often been considered to be weak but actually it is a source of strength. It does not fit with business models but with the model of the Church…it is God’s people, who in the end, will gain the earth when Christ comes to reign rather than those who consider themselves strong. We are weak but He is strong. Our strength to be meek is found in trusting Him.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.

These are those who seek God. They want to be right with God.

Psalm 42:1 NKJV

As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.

They know they have been made right with God but they know that they have not yet made it. They are fully aware that although their position with God is right their lives do not yet match God’s perfect standard. They seek this for themselves and also for others. They want to see the whole Church come to perfection. And one day, it will actually happen. Their desires will be met.

Blessed are the merciful.

We have been accepted and loved and received as we are despite our appalling sinfulness. We have been shown mercy. We were not shown mercy because we already were merciful but, as a result, just as in the parable of the forgiven servant we, too, are to forgive and show mercy to others. We’ve experienced God’s grace and it is incumbent upon us to show grace. We are warned, though, by James that if we do not show mercy we, also, will not be shown mercy. Jesus said if we do not forgive we will not be forgiven. This is what we pray every Sunday: Forgive me as I forgive others. Mercy, though, is more than this. It is suffering with those who suffer, identifying ourselves with others, placing ourselves in their shoes. This, after all, was what Jesus did for us.

Blessed are the pure in heart.

To be pure is to be single-hearted, without mix. We cannot serve two masters; we cannot be self-seeking and God-seeking at the same time; we cannot be wanting possessions and gathering treasure for heaven; we cannot be worldly and heavenly; nor can we, said Jesus, be serving money and God. Be pure in heart is to be a person of integrity. The word integrity comes from integral which means whole. Whole hearted, whole minded, wholly dedicated. Such should all those who claim to be Christians be and all such will see God.

Psalm 24:3–4 NKJV

Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.

All these blessed statements get to the root of our motives. The ‘why’ we do the things we do. Appearances can be deceptive but our hearts cannot be hid from God. How we seem to others can be a mask especially for Christians. It is said

The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 24: Matthew The Disciples’ Joy: The Beatitudes

there are three temptations: the first, the temptation to shine; the second, the temptation to whine; and the third, the temptation to recline.

But, again, we can only be pure because God makes us pure:

John 15:3a NKJV

You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

Now we can ascend the hill of the Lord and stand in the Holy Place not of our wonderful goodness but because of the blood of Jesus making us righteous in His sight.

Blessed are the peacemakers.

We are to make peace. The emphasis is on ‘make’. Jesus showed us how this was to be done:

Ephesians 2:14–17 NKJV

14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near.

Our feet are shod with the Gospel of peace. The sons of God, therefore, are those who bring this message of peace to others. Peace in the heart is of first importance. Long-lasting peace of other kinds is not attainable without individual lives being changed. We have remembered today the loss of life especially of WWI yet this war did not maintain peace for we had yet another World War and many wars and conflicts since. For us to make peace we need to be seeking the peace of others, to be seeking their highest good. It is about bringing peace to two parties which are in conflict; first between man and God or rather God and man, and secondly, between two people or peoples. It is to look for avenues of peace when war seems to be the only option. But sacrifice may be the only way to achieve it as Jesus proved.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.

I’ve said before how good works can be misconstrued. This should be a surprise. Jesus, who was absolutely good, was persecuted and crucified.

2 Timothy 3:12 NKJV

Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

I worry about all the accusations going around. I’ve said before that such things should be investigated but let us err on the side of innocence until proven otherwise. I say this, because according to Scripture, this will happen to us if we want to do what is right, if we want peace, if we are single-hearted, if we are merciful, if we are incensed by injustice, if we are gentle. All these things seem to invite ridicule and violence. However, we are of another kingdom. We are citizens of Heaven. It is always shocking when people accuse you falsely for it seems to come from unexpected sources. It was King David’s experience that it was his very friends that turned on him in an unjust way. We should expect no different treatment. Do not expect that you will be justified in this life but, in God’s time, and maybe only at the final reckoning, will all injustices be put right.

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you for My sake.

This is different than the one before. That was persecution for doing good. This one is persecution for knowing Christ. We take a stand with Christ to say:

John 14:6 NKJV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

The exclusiveness of Jesus is such that we go against the grain of society that say you can worship or not worship whatever god you desire. This is no different from the time of Paul. Then believers were called atheists because they did not believe in many gods! Recently I said, quoting from John 15: “If people hated Jesus they will hate you too.” Let’s not take it to heart.

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Four: The King’s Principles: True Righteousness (Matthew 5)

Our society is not a friend to God nor to God’s people

And we should not be friends with the world. Today persecution is on the rise and many more are suffering for the name of Jesus. We should always keep in mind the persecuted Church and pray for such. The places most making the news today are China, India and Nepal.

Conclusion

The Sermon on the Mount is, perhaps, the most challenging of challenges in Scripture and it comes direct from the mouth of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ. But, let us be clear, not one of us can attain it by our own strength. It is because we are children of God that we are blessed.

The point of the Sermon on the Mount as well as the sermon on the plain in Luke’s Gospel is that we cannot achieve this without the cross of Jesus, His resurrection and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Some think that this Sermon on the Mount is the Gospel; it is not. It is here to show just how impossible it is to live according to the standards of God. Many think they can live according to it; they cannot. The law given to Moses could not be kept and the Sermon on the Mount is 10 times plus, harder to keep. These are not do attitudes but be attitudes. A world of difference. We are these as children of God. The world tries to do them to become children of God but will always fail, for we can only please God by faith in Jesus Christ. Then He causes us to become like Him through the power of the Holy Spirit in us.

These be-attitudes become more evident in our lives as we are more and more willing to let God do His work in our lives. Submission is the key rather than striving. Abiding in Christ rather than attaining.

So, praise God for the blessedness we have not because we were able to do anything but because of all that Jesus has done for us. We have been blessed with every Spiritual blessing in Christ.

Benediction

Jesus taught us, “Blessed are the peacemakers.”

May God grant us the vision, strength, and courage

to proclaim God’s message of peace

whether welcome or unwelcome,

for the sake of God’s beloved children.

May almighty God bless us,

in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.