1 Beatitudes-- Intro

Beatitudes

Matthew 5:1-12

When you think of something being blessed, what comes to mind? We use the term fairly often, our blessed Lord, blessed assurance, the Blessed Virgin, the blessed kingdom, the blessed truth. It seems to bring to mind things that are special—holy.

If that’s true wouldn’t it be incredible to know what things Christ views as blessed?

Beginning today and continuing for the next 4 weeks we will be looking at the first section of the Sermon on the Mount called the Beatitudes. In them we will discover the character traits of disciples that Jesus considers blessed.

IN PREPARATION AND AS INTRODUCTION…

To Whom the Beatitudes Were Given

Jesus had just called the 12 to Himself and named them apostles. The crowds had been following Him for some time wishing to see Him perform miracles and so forth. So, He went up into a hilly area and sat down with His disciples to teach them. What ensues is a dissertation describing the character and conduct He wishes of His disciples. It also shows the radical difference in Jesus’ teachings from what was being given by the Jewish teachers of the day. The first part of this dissertation is what we will be covering, which has been called the Beatitudes.

From verse 1 we know that the beatitudes were given to His disciples. Who this entailed is not disclosed. It probably included the 12 and possibly a broader circle, as well—possibly the 70 of Luke 10 (sent out to prepare the way for His coming). Without a doubt the large crowd that had been following overheard the message, too. For these it was probably more like being allowed to listen in to a special address to a select few. In any event, THE BEATITUDES WERE MEANT FOR CHRIST’S DISCIPLES.

With this in mind, it should likewise be understood that these teachings were meant for Christ’s disciples IN EVERY AGE, which includes us today.

It would be worthwhile looking at what the Beatitudes were not intended to do:

1) They were not a replacing of the Law—as some have called them the Christian 10 commandments.

2) They are not an ethical standard by which the world has been called to follow.

The beatitudes describe the character of the ideal disciple. When I use the term ideal I mean, complete, just as intended. When we look at this group of teachings we see exactly what Jesus wanted His followers to be.

How the Beatitudes are Structured

The term blessed.

In some ways blessedness is happiness.

Happiness—discuss what the Greeks meant by this.
Being blessed could also be a contentment that transcends circumstances. The picture of a woman who has just given birth and though still in pain and in the shock of the physical trauma rejoices with the realization that a new life has arrived.
“Privileged recipient of divine favor.”—stresses the idea that the happiness and contentment one receives comes not from within, but from without, from God.

The Formula “Blessed are…for…”

It is a cause and effect (as opposed to MERIT AND REWARD) relationship, in other words, the blessing is the consequence of the character trait. It is not a reward. Our blessings are due to the grace of God alone and are not the merit of our personal goodness.

The Progression of the Attributes

As we study the beatitudes we might notice that one attribute leads to the next. We do not mourn for our sins until we recognize our poverty of spirit. The mourning leads to dealing with others in a meek manner. When these three attributes are developing in our lives, we will begin to hunger and thirst for righteousness. This desire will lead us to being merciful to others who have the same difficulty with maintaining morality that we do. In knowing the mercy God has shown us, which results in our showing mercy to others we recognize the need for striving to live one life—purity of heart. With all these attributes manifesting in our lives we will see the big picture in the world and strive to set things in order—which is the essence of peacemaking. There is no doubt that with the radical nature of these characteristics that the ideal disciple will shake up the world—a world that is bent on doing just the opposite. The results? Persecution!

There will be 4 main elements to each study:

1) What each character trait is and what it means

We will look at each beatitude to explain, as best we can, what the character trait is and what the corresponding blessing entails. We will also discuss how it is played out in daily lives.

2) How Jesus exemplifies it

As we go through the Beatitudes WE WILL USE JESUS AS THE SUPREME EXAMPLE of each of these traits. The result will be the realization that when we are the ideal disciples, we become Christ-like.

3) How the Jewish leaders contrasted it

We want to see the example of the Jewish leaders BECAUSE WE DO NOT WISH TO BECOME AS THERE WERE, changing God’s program to fit our aims, and you may find that becoming like them is easier than you think.

By the time Jesus began His ministry, the Jewish leaders had almost completely changed Judaism from what God had established when He made His Covenant with Israel and gave them the Law. By AD 27 the covenant people of God were a mere shadow of what God intended.

They had the law, but it had been changed so as to lose its power
They had the 10 commandments but they lost the spirit of them
They were given the righteousness of God and ended up with the righteousness of the Pharisees
They had courts but no justice
They had marriage—but divorce was frequent
They made vows but had no integrity
They loved their neighbors but hated their enemies
They had the temple, but the presence of God had departed and it declined to becoming a den of thieves
They had the priesthood, bloated with power, but with little devotion
Sacrifice and no forgiveness
They were hypocritical in prayer, giving, fasting and judging.
They sought earthly power and riches when they should have been storing up treasure in heaven.
They took what was holy and cast it aside like pearls to the swine
They had widened the path that leads to destruction so greatly that everyone could fit
They were wolves in sheep’s clothing
Little did they know that the sandy soil upon which their built their filthy religion would 40 years later slide them into the sea of Roman destruction.
It is no wonder that after Christ taught people would be struck by the difference.

[The difference between the message of Christ verses the message of the Jewish leaders could not be state better than in looking at the woes Christ pronounced on them in Matthew 23:13 ff]

The Beatitudes are the quintessential teachings that set Jesus and His true disciples apart from the rest. They were so radical that they shocked, angered, offended and bewildered. In the end the difference between what the Jewish people had been taught and what Jesus was teaching was so great that nearly all His followers had left Him and He ended His ministry alone.

A clearer example is found in John 6:52-71.

HOW MIGHT A JEWISH LEADER OF THE DAY WRITE THE BEATITUDES

Blessed are the wealthy in spirit, because of their superiority they will inherit the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who trust in their own righteousness derived from obedience to the law, they shall be comfort themselves.

Blessed are the authoritarians, for they shall establish more power in Israel.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for the letter of the law, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the pitiless, for the righteous need no pity.

Blessed are the pure in appearance, for they shall seem godly.

Blessed are the truce-makers, for they shall maintain power.

Blessed are the persecutors, for theirs is the kingdom of Israel

AS WE STUDY THE BEATITUDES WE WILL CONTRAST CHRIST’S TEACHING WITH THAT OF THE JEWISH LEADERS.

4) How we become it

The Objectives are 3 in number:

Knowledgeable and convinced—knowledgeable as to what these traits are, and convinced that by God’s power working in unison with your effort, we can be this way. IT IS NOT PIE IN THE SKY, BY AND BY. Trust in the Lord to work in you. Count on His grace and pray for His provision. But at the same time strive with all your might to succeed in this effort.

Repentance—There are two types of repentance, personal and group

· Personal repentance

· Group repentance, 2 Chronicles 34

Renewal—a desire to be the ideal disciple, come what may:

No matter what the cost
No matter who we offend
No matter how foolish we look
No matter how much it hurts

Conclusion:

[MUSIC TEAM]

CHILDREN OF THE COUNTERCULTURE

Many describe today that there is a cultural shift going on in the western world, one that is converting our way of life from being governed by Judeo-Christian morality to one which is naturalistic and enlightened. This is true, however, the transformation is almost complete. The beatitudes call us to provide an alternative—a counterculture, what John Stott calls a “Christian counter-culture.”

Listen to what he says, “Probably the greatest tragedy of the church throughout its long and chequered history has been its constant tendency to conform to the prevailing culture instead of developing a Christian counter-culture.”

In light of these 4 objectives, I am asking you to do the following:

1) Search your heart to see where you stand in light of these character traits.

2) Pray that the Spirit might open your mind, heart and will to these concepts.

3) Ask yourself if you are willing to make the commitment to ideal discipleship—maybe that is too big a step—ask God to make you willing to be willing.

4) Pray for each other that we as a church might be found faithful to these principles.

[Present Gospel here]

--Like the crowds on the outside looking in

--you feel your heart being tugged

--repentance and faith—turning from sin to devotion to Jesus Christ.

--Through this Christ takes your place in judgment and His spilled His blood is the proof

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name. Jn 1:12

If you make that choice now, you are His disciple—tell someone. And then come back and learn how to be the disciple Jesus envisioned.