Untitled Sermon (9)

Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are more the verses we memorized as children in our Sunday School program, or verses taking out of context by politicians to support their view point. These Beatitudes reflect the radical character of this sermon Jesus preached 2000 years ago. There are three ways in which these beatitudes are radical. First, the Beatitudes are radical because the focus is not one what we do but who we are. We cannot do the works of a disciple without first, being a disciple of Jesus Christ. This means, our faithfulness to God’s house and giving, daily reading the Bible and praying, and telling others about Jesus as often as we can do not determine whether or not we are a disciple of Jesus. If we re to be a disciple of Jesus Christ then we must first be poor in spirit, mourn over sin, meek, and hunger and thirst after righteousness before we can do the work of a disciple. This concept would have been difficult for the religious leaders of Jesus day to comprehend. They spent so much time focusing on the outward appearance that their inward appearance was left bare. The religious leaders were careful to dot all “I’s” and cross every “T;” meanwhile, leaving the most important aspect undone. Later in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus would pronounce a woe to the religious leaders of His day doing this.

Matthew 23:25–26 KJV 1900

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

Second, even though it is impossible to be a disciple of Jesus by doing just outward acts, we cannot be a disciple fo Jesus without doing these outward acts. Jesus takes a balance approach in the Beatitudes. Who you are determines what you do. So, if you are poor in spirit, mourn, meek and hunger and thirst after righteousness then you will be merciful, pure in heart, a peacemaker and prepared to suffer for righteousness and Jesus sake. This truth fly’s in the face of the contemporary Christian’s claim that it is not important what they do because of who they are.

Matthew 23:25–26 KJV 1900

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

Third, the Beatitudes are radical because the pursuit of being a disciple is not for personal gain. If we listen to the Word of faith preachers of today, they insist the goal of the disciple of Jesus is self-gain; to be wealthy and healthy. Yet, Jesus denounces this by saying the purpose of the Beatitudes is to be the salt of the earth and light of the world. We should be giving people a taste for Jesus and reflecting the light of Jesus.

Before we begin this sermon, there are two observational points to be made. First, Jesus did not scramble these Beatitudes out. There is a divine order and flow to these Beatitudes. Each Beatitude opens up the possibility for the following Beatitude. Therefore, we cannot mourn over sin, until we become poor in spirit; we cannot hunger and thirst after righteousness without being poor in spirit, mourn over sin and meek. Every now and again, I will here a Christian bluster about the eagerness to be persecuted for Jesus Sake. Though they may experience persecution in their lifetime, their persecution wont be for righteousness or Jesus sake because they are not living out the first 7 Beatitudes.

The second observation is each of the Beatitudes begins with the word “Blessed.” There are two words from the Greek translated “Blessed.” The first word is where we get our English word “eulogy.” This word means to speak well of someone. This was not the word Matthew used toe describe the preaching of Jesus Christ. Instead, the word Matthew used describes a state of condition that exist within a person. The idea is a person is blessed based upon their pursuits.

Let’s begin this sermon with the first Beatitude.

Matthew 5:3 KJV 1900

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

This is the first Beatitude, which gives precedence and importance. It is so important that we know this Beatitude in unlocking the understanding of the other Beatitudes. The person who is “poor in spirit” receives the “Kingdom of Heaven.” The Kingdom of Heaven is a big blessing. So, what does it mean to be “poor in spirit?”

In Greek, there are two words for poor. The first word describes a man who has to work for his living, the man for whom life and living is a struggle, the man who is the reverse of the man who lives in affluence. The word describes the working man, the man who has nothing superfluous, the man who is not rich, but who is not destitute either. An example of this poverty is illustrated in . A widow went to the Temple and cast two mites into the treasury. Even though that was all she had, she did have those two mites. She was poor but not a beggar.

This word is used of the widow Jesus saw giving an offering in the Temple. She had very little, but she did have “two small copper coins” (). She was poor but not a beggar.

This is not the word Jesus used. He used the other word that describes absolute and abject poverty. Someone who is incapable of providing for themselves even a daily wage. Usually this person would be sick, paralyzed or diseased. In order for them to receive anything they would have to passionately beg for daily sustenance. The first word describes the man who has nothing superfluous; the second word describes the man who has nothing at all. An illustration of this man is the rich man and Lazarus - Lazarus was destitute. He could do nothing to improve his situation. He was completely dependent upon someone else for food and help. This is the person who is blessed by God.

Illustration: the rich man and Lazarus - Lazarus was destitute. He could do nothing to improve his situation. He was completely dependent upon someone else for food and help.

C H Spurgeon commenting on "poor in spirit" advises…

“Learn this lesson—not to trust Christ because you repent, but trust Christ to make you repent; not to come to Christ because you have a broken heart, but to come to him that he may give you a broken heart; not to come to him because you are fit to come, but to come to him because you are unfit to come. Your fitness is your unfitness. Your qualification is your lack of qualification.

When was the last time we Begged God for His presence in worship or for opening our eyes as we read His word or for power to tell others about Jesus Christ? Better yet, when was the last time we experienced our extreme poverty so that we would beg God. Brothers and sisters, we have not arrived in our Christian walk. We should be more developed in our faith. No longer on the milk but meat of God’s word. Yet, our poverty should ever be before us. A missing element in today’s Christian environment is being poor in spirit. We generically tell them about sin and offering Jesus to them as a solution without ever ensuring they understand their great poverty of spirit. The reason we do not mourn over sin is because we do not see ourselves as poor. May God help us with this prideful stance of ours. Wesley wrote a hymn:

“Just and holy is thy name

I am all unrigheouesness

Vile and full of sin I am

Thou are full of grace and truth.”

The second Beatitude, Jesus said

Matthew 5:4 KJV 1900

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.