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David Beale

Matthew • Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

Matthew 5:1–12

Matthew 5:13–16

Sermon on the Mount

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The Norms of the Kingdom

The Beatitudes

First, some observations...

the word “beatitude” is a rough transliteration of the Latin beatus, meaning blessed

What About Suffering?

Although some modern translations prefer “happy” to “blessed,” it is a poor exchange. Those who are blessed will generally be profoundly happy; but blessedness cannot be reduced to happiness.

Since this is God’s universe there can be no higher “blessing” than to be approved by God. We must ask ourselves whose blessing we diligently seek. If God’s blessing means more to us than the approval of loved ones no matter how cherished, or of friends no matter how influential, then the beatitudes will speak to us very personally and deeply.

Another observation is that the blessings promised grow naturally (rather, supernaturally) out of the nature of the character trait described

I.e. hungering/thirsty after righteousness = filled with righteousness; merciful = shown mercy

What About Suffering?

Not arbitrary… You literally reap what you sow.

Finally, we need to notice that two of the beatitudes promise the same reward. The first beatitude reads, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (5:3). The last one says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (5:10). To begin and end with the same expression is a stylistic device called an “inclusio.” This means that everything bracketed between the two can really be included under the one theme, in this case, the kingdom of heaven. That is why I have called the beatitudes, collectively, “The Norms of the Kingdom.”

First: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (5:3).

we need to notice that two of the beatitudes promise the same reward. The first beatitude reads, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (5:3). The last one says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (5:10). To begin and end with the same expression is a stylistic device called an “inclusio.” This means that everything bracketed between the two can really be included under the one theme, in this case, the kingdom of heaven. That is why I have called the beatitudes, collectively, “The Norms of the Kingdom.”

What is poverty of spirit?

It is not being poor financially

It is not being poor spiritually-speaking

Blessed are the carnal and willfully sinful? No.

The wages of sin is death

Hebrew words for “poor” can also mean “lowly,” or “humble”

Poverty of spirit is YOU realizing your own spiritual bankruptcy.

It is as simple as a silent, conscious agreement of unworth before God. As such, it is the deepest form of repentance.

“God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”

It is not a confession that your are worthless, insignificant, or personally without value, for such would be untrue;

Poverty of spirit cannot be artificially induced by self-hatred.

This is also a form of pride (the other side of the ditch) because it makes everything all about you.

it is, rather, a confession that you are sinful and rebellious and utterly without moral virtues adequate to be one with God.

Simply, you humbly realize that you fall short of God’s standard.

At the very beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, we learn that we do not have the spiritual resources to put any of the Sermon’s precepts into practice. We cannot fulfill God’s standards ourselves. We must come to him and acknowledge our spiritual bankruptcy, emptying ourselves of our self-righteousness, moral self-esteem, and personal vainglory.

Emptied of these things we are ready for him to fill us. Much of the rest of the Sermon on the Mount is designed to remove these self-delusions from us, and foster within us a genuine poverty of spirit. The genuineness and depth of this repentance is a prime requirement for entering into life.

Second: “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted” (5:4).

This verse follows naturally from the first one we just saw. Mournfulness can be understood as the emotional counterpart to poverty of spirit.

Once you realize and admit your spiritual bankruptcy, what natural emotion would follow? Mourning.

This mourning is your personal grief over your personal sin.

This is the mourning experienced by a man who begins to recognize the filthiness of his sin, the more he is exposed to the purity of God.

But he will be comforted!

There is no comfort or joy that can compare with what God gives to those who mourn.

Third: “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth” (5:5).

Meekness has been called weakness – this is NOT true.

Rather, meekness is strength/power under control

Moses was meek. Jesus was meek.

Nobody would call these men weak men.

Jesus was not weak, but he was meek

How does meekness differ from poverty of spirit? In this way, I think: Poverty of spirit has to do with a person’s assessment of himself, especially with respect to God, while meekness has more to do with his relationship with God and with men.

the first is a personal, inward thing

This is relational, toward others

Meekness is a controlled desire to see the other’s interests advance ahead of one’s own.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The man who is truly meek is the one who is amazed that God and man can think of him as well as they do and treat him as well as they do.…

Meekness has been called weakness – this is NOT true.

Rather, meekness is strength/power under control

Moses was meek. Jesus was meek.

Nobody would call these men weak men.

Moses – Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.

Jesus – Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

The meek inherit the earth!

So deferring to and preferring the needs others above your own?

This is so counter-cultural.

In our culture, little sharks get eaten by bigger sharks. Ever seen Shark Tank?

Only the ruthless go-getters advance, right? Not in God’s kingdom.

Fourth: “Blessed are those which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (5:6)

The pursuit of righteousness is not popular even among professing Christians.

Many today are prepared to seek other things: spiritual maturity, real happiness, the Spirit’s power, effective witnessing skills.

Other people chase from preacher to preacher and conference to conference seeking some vague “blessing” from on high. They hunger for some sort of spiritual experience.

But how many hunger and thirst for righteousness?

What is this righteousness which we should pursue?

“righteousness” here (and also in verses 10 and 20) means a pattern of life in conformity to God’s will.

The person who hungers and thirsts for righteousness, then, hungers and thirsts for conformity to God’s will.

This man who thirsts for righteousness wants to be righteous, not simply because he fears God, but because righteousness has become for him the most desirable thing in the world.

The norms of the kingdom require that men and women be hungry and thirsty for righteousness. This is so basic to Christian living that Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says: I do not know of a better test that anyone can apply to himself or herself in this whole matter of the Christian profession than a verse like this. If this verse is to you one of the most blessed statements of the whole of Scripture, you can be quite certain you are a Christian; if it is not, then you had better examine the foundations again.

Being filled with righteousness does not mean not wanting any more... Filled to the brim… sick to my stomach of too much righteousness. No.

The righteousness with which he is filled is so wonderful that he hungers and thirsts for more of it.

So it goes kind of like this…

After realizing your spiritual emptiness, you mourn.

But you’re comforted.

And since you know the real, sin-sick YOU, you’re utterly amazed that God and others would think of you as well as they do and treat you as well as they do

Humbly, you look to Christ and cry out for His righteousness to be yours because yours is so filthy

You pursue a life patter of conformity to God’s will

The more you pursue conformity to God’s will, the more attractive God’s will becomes, and the cycle continues – you keep advancing and growing in grace.

Fifth: “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain (will be shown) mercy” (5:7).

Some try to interpret this verse legalistically, as if to say that the only way to obtain mercy from God is by showing mercy to others: God’s mercy thus becomes essentially contingent to our own.

IF YOU CAN DESERVE IT OR EARN IT, IT IS NOT MERCY.

Grace is getting what you don’t deserve

Mercy is not getting what you do deserve.

Grace answers to the undeserving

Mercy answers to the miserable.

This is also a part of the cycle we saw…

The true believer merciful toward others because he first recognized himself to be wretched; in being merciful he is also shown mercy.

The Christian forgives, not because someone asks for forgiveness, but because He has been forgiven.

In the same way, because God has been merciful to us, we are merciful to others. This is a mark of a Kingdom citizen.

It is sometimes said that an alcoholic who won’t admit he’s an alcoholic hates all other alcoholics. Similarly, it is generally true that the sinner who won’t face up to his sin hates all other sinners. But the person who has recognized his own helplessness and wretchedness is grateful for whatever mercy is shown him; and he learns to be merciful toward others.

Sixth: “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (5:8).

In this beatitude, God gives this special blessing – not to the smartest or most “spiritual”, but to the pure in heart

In biblical imagery, the heart is the center of the entire personality.

So this is the center of thought for the pure in heart: Knowing himself to have one foot in the kingdom already, he is concerned with purity because he recognizes that the King is pure, and the kingdom in its perfected form will admit only purity.

This is not legalistic moralism, but rather...

Because it is the heart which must be pure, this beatitude interrogates us with awkward questions like these:

What do you think about when your mind slips into neutral?

How much sympathy do you have for deception, no matter how skillful?

For shady humor, no matter how funny?

To what do you pay consistent allegiance?

What do you want more than anything else?

What and whom do you love?

To what extent are your actions and words accurate reflections of what is in your heart?

To what extent do your actions and words constitute a cover-up for what is in your heart?

Our hearts must be pure, clean, unstained.

The pure in heart are blessed because they know – they think about it often – they will see God. This alone is an amazing incentive to purity.

Of course, inward purity results in outward purity.

Seventh: “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (5:9).

This beatitude does not hold out a blessing to the peaceful, nor to those who yearn for peace, but to the peacemakers.

Within the total biblical framework, the greatest peacemaker is Jesus Christ—the Prince of Peace.

Thus the good news of Jesus Christ is the greatest peacemaking message, and the Christian who shares his faith is, fundamentally, a peacemaker.

The Christian’s role as peacemaker extends not only to spreading the gospel, but to relational issues with other people...

lessening tensions,

seeking solutions,

ensuring that communication is understood.

The term, also translated “sons of God” is more of a reflection of the child than the parent...

In Jewish thought, “son” often bears the meaning “partaker of the character of,” or the like. If someone calls you the “son of a dog,” this is not an attack on your parents, but on you: you partake of the character of a dog. Thus, “son of God” may have a different connotation than “child of God.” Both expressions can refer to some sort of filial relationship; but the former has more emphasis on character than position.

Peacemakers will be reflections of the heavenly Father’s wonderful peacemaking character.

But such conduct ought to be considered normal among disciples of Jesus Christ, for Jesus Christ himself has made it normal. It is part and parcel of being a son of God.

Eighth: “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (5:10).

This final beatitude does not say, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because they are objectionable, or because they are jerks on social media, or because they pursue some political cause that puts them at odds with other political causes.”

If you’re persecuted at school or at home or at church because you like/don’t like the President, I’m sorry… ‘

This has NOTHING to do with that.

If you’re made fun of at school because of the clothes you wear...

This has NOTHING to do with that.

The blessing is restricted to those who suffer persecution because of righteousness (cf. .; 4:12–16). The believers described in this passage are those determined to live as Jesus lived.

The reward for being persecuted because of righteousness is the kingdom of heaven.

In other words, this beatitude serves as a test for all the beatitudes. Just as a person must be poor in spirit to enter the kingdom (5:3), so will he be persecuted because of righteousness if he is to enter the kingdom.

This final beatitude becomes one of the most searching of all of them, and binds up the rest; for if the disciple of Jesus never experiences any persecution at all, it may fairly be asked where righteousness is being displayed in his life.

If there is no righteousness, no conformity to God’s will, how shall he enter the kingdom?

Lloyd-Jones said it well: “The glory of the gospel is that when the Church is absolutely different from the world, she invariably attracts it. It is then that the world is made to listen to her message, though it may hate it at first.”

How do we win the world to Christ? We win the world by being different from it—by rejoicing in suffering because we live not for this world but for the one to come

What About Suffering? (vs 11-12)

The 8th beatitude is expanded to include 3 additional, important insights:

First, persecution is explicitly broadened to include insults and spoken malice.

Second, notice the two times “sake is mentioned in vs 10 & 11

the phrase “for righteousness’ sake” (5:10) Jesus now parallels with “for my sake” (5:11).

This confirms that the righteousness life spoken about all throughout this passage is in imitation of Jesus.

Those who are filled with righteousness

Simultaneously, it so identifies the disciple of Jesus with the practice of Jesus’ righteousness that there is no place for professed allegiance to Jesus that is not full of righteousness

righteousness of life that is in view is in imitation of Jesus. Simultaneously, it so identifies the disciple of Jesus with the practice of Jesus’ righteousness that there is no place for professed allegiance to Jesus that is not full of righteousness

Also, this coupled with vs 6 helps us understand that this is not a righteousness we simply apply to outward actions, but rather, it fills us. This is Christ’s righteousness and is not something we do on our own power.

Third, we are commanded to rejoice and be exceeding glad when suffering under persecution of this type.

Why?

The NT speaks of many different reasons we should rejoice in suffering/persecution, but this text gives us only one reason

Because your reward in heaven is great

Jesus’ disciples, then, must determine their values from the perspective of eternity

Far from being a depressing idea, your suffering under persecution, which has been prompted by Christ’s righteousness in you and through you, becomes a triumphant sign that the kingdom is yours.

The Beatitude verses tie directly into the next 4 verses

The previous verses tell us WHO a kingdom citizen is

The next verses tell us HOW our lives impact this world

These kingdom norms, diligently practiced in a sinful world, constitute a major aspect of Christian witness; and this witness gives rise to persecution.

So since we have seen how to world pushes against you, here we will see how, in a sense, Christ working through you pushes back against the world

In verses 13–16, Jesus develops two telling metaphors to picture how his disciples must by their lives leave their stamp on the world which is so opposed to the norms of the kingdom.

These beatitudes, then are not telling us what to do as Christians… they aren’t even telling us what we are to be as Christians… they describe for us what we are as Christians

So it’s not that you are making an effort to do this… We find that we LOVE different things, we LOVE different people, we LOVE the church.

At the end of the day, who is this describing really? Jesus

The Beatitude verses tie directly into the next 4 verses

The previous verses tell us WHO a kingdom citizen is

The next verses tell us HOW our lives impact this world

These kingdom norms, diligently practiced in a sinful world, constitute a major aspect of Christian witness; and this witness gives rise to persecution.

So since we have seen how to world pushes against you, here we will see how, in a sense, Christ working through you pushes back against the world

In verses 13–16, Jesus develops two telling metaphors to picture how his disciples must by their lives leave their stamp on the world which is so opposed to the norms of the kingdom.

The Witness of the Kingdom

Salt (5:13)

In the ancient world, salt was used primarily as a preservative. Since they did not own deep-freeze refrigerators, the people used salt to preserve many foods.

Incidentally, of course, salt also helps the flavor.

Jesus likens His true disciples to salt.

Apart from His disciples being here, this world grows even more rotten

Christians have the effect of delaying moral and spiritual decay.

If their lives conform to the norms of verses 3–12, they cannot help but be an influence for good in society.

What if the salt loses its saltiness?

What then? It loses its entire purpose of existence, and may just as well be thrown out onto the street—the garbage dump of the ancient east—to be trampled by men.

Salt cannot entirely stop being salt, but it can be diluted/adulterated

D. A. Carson says, “If sufficiently adulterated by, say, sand, then salt can no longer be used as a preservative. It loses its effectiveness in [preventing] corruption, and so must be discarded as a useless commodity. The purpose of salt is to fight deterioration, and therefore it must not itself deteriorate.”

The worse the world becomes and the more its corruption proceeds apace, the more it stands in need of Jesus’ disciples – ambassadors of a different world entirely – to help preserve the light.

John Phillips said, Salt is a miracle. It is chemically composed of sodium and chloride. Pour a little hydrochloric acid on your hand and it will be burned away in half a minute. Drink hydrochloric acid and you will die in agony in a few minutes. Add sodium to hydrochloride and you will have salt, one of the most common, most useful substances on earth, a substance essential to life itself. Similarly, when God pours His grace into the hydrochloride of our lives, the result is a miracle: a regenerated person placed in the world for the blessing of all mankind.

Light (5:14-16)

Christians are the light of the world—a world which, by implication, is shrouded in thick darkness.

Jesus talks about 2 light sources

City set on a hill (vs 14)

Have you ever been outside in total, complete darkness?

One man talked about how dark it was while on a camping trip in Canada... It is possible to go camping hundreds of miles away from any city or town. If it is a cloudy night, and there is no phosphorus in the area, the blackness is total. A hand held three inches from your face cannot be seen. But if there is a city nearby, perhaps a hundred miles away, the darkness is relieved. The light from the city is reflected off the clouds, and the night, once perfectly black, is no longer quite so desolate

Likewise Christians who let their light shine before men cannot be hidden; and the good light they shed around reduces the total blackness to something not as absolute.... to a point where they can at least know the way to the Kingdom if they want to make their way Home.

We live in a world with hundreds of watts of electric power at our instant disposal. We don’t really understand the terror of utter darkness

Darkness can be a source of extreme fear and a symbol of all that is evil.

So the light shining forth from the New Jerusalem in our lives through Christ makes the darkness a little more bearable for those out in it.

Lamp set on a lampstand (vs 15)

Light is such an important tool to us that we cannot imagine someone wanting to break every light bulb in the house to ensure total darkness.

That’s what putting it under a bushel really means – it’s not just blowing out the candle before going to bed. It’s making sure that lamp STAYS under the bushel.

In the same way that a city lights up a dark sky or that a lamp is set on stand for good use, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

What is this light by which we, as Jesus’ disciples, are to lighten the dark world around us?

In this context, you won’t find a personal confrontation with someone at their front door or of preaching from a pulpit being the way we shine the light..

Rather, the light here is clearly “good works” performed by Jesus’ followers.

performed in such a way that at least some men recognize these followers of Jesus as sons of God, and come to praise this Father whose sons they are (5:16).

The norms of the kingdom, worked out in the lives of the heirs of the kingdom, constitute the witness of the kingdom.

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