19.11.24 - Matthew 4:23-5:6 - Finding God's Blessing

So far, in the book of Matthew, we have seen both John the Baptist and Jesus come on to the scene, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." What is the kingdom of heaven? Do we have a good grasp of what that phrase means to a Jew in the first century? Now it is time for us to start understanding these phrases as Matthew reveals what they mean to us.

Jesus Proclaims the Gospel

Matthew 4:23--25 (ESV) --- 23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Jesus is in the region of Galilee. This is a mixing pot of Jews and Gentiles. But he goes into all of the synagogues to proclaim the good news of the kingdom to all of the Jews. That is what gospel means, good news. As I said in an earlier lesson, the coming of the kingdom is a mixture of good news and bad news. For everyone who listens and repents, there is good news. Along with this good news, the Jews are watching Jesus healing every disease. He is taking away the results of the curse and demonstrating that the promised blessings are true. Let me explain what I mean by that.

To a Jew in the first century, the "kingdom of God" or "heaven" would refer to the kingdom promises of the Old Testament. God made many promises to Israel in the prophets. For the last 500 years, the Jews have been looking for these promises to come true, but they never have. He promised to defeat all of their enemies and raise Israel up to be over all nations on the earth. In this kingdom, all of the destruction caused by man's sin would be restored. The curse from Eden would be over. Even the desert would become fruitful (Isa, Eze 36:8-12). People will live in complete peace with one another and with God (Isa 11:6-9). There is the promise of forgiveness and abundant wealth as God will be their God, and they will be his people, living in righteousness (Isa 53, Zeph 3). There are so many promised blessings repeated over and over again in the Old Testament prophets. These blessings all fall under a new covenant that is not like the Mosaic covenant that the people failed to keep. But they are all very mysterious. No one quite knows how God will give these blessings or what they look like. However, all of these promises seem to be attached to a Messiah coming.

God has promised these blessings, and Matthew has revealed that Jesus is the Messiah who has come to bring those blessings. He is the one who will save his people from their sins, the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and gather the wheat into the barn, and the light that has come into the darkness, bringing hope where there was only despair. Now he is miraculously healing those who suffer to prove that the promises are true (Isa 35:5-10). In response to this, people are coming from everywhere, and many people are choosing to follow Jesus.

The Sermon of the King

How is he going to bring these blessings? He doesn't reveal that yet. Instead, he decides to start with a fundamental understanding of what these people need. Today we will begin our series on the Sermon on the Mount. This is the single greatest sermon ever recorded. It serves as a description of repentance and discipleship for those who are wanting to enter the kingdom. I don't believe there is a better place to go in all the Bible to understand the foundation of the Christian life. The first time I studied this sermon in-depth changed my life. If I am teaching someone who is a babe in Christ, I will take them to this sermon every time.

Before we begin to look at the first part of the Sermon this morning, let's see the structure from a 10k foot level. First, Jesus describes who will be blessed in this kingdom (5:3-12). Second, he describes what they will do (5:13-16). In the third section, he explains how they will do it (5:17-7:12). This is the most extensive section and can be broken up into many sub-sections. Then, the final section gives us a warning against missing the kingdom by being deceived or by making a foolish choice (7:13-29). This sermon essentially explains what God wants from all mankind. The blessings from God will be made available for all who agree to the terms laid out in this sermon. In the first section, we see eight characteristics that someone must have to receive the blessings. This morning we will look at the way these people think about their self and their life. This is found in the first four characteristics. The last four we will look at next week and see the way these people think about the world around them.

Who Will Find Blessings?

Matthew 5:1--6 (ESV) --- 1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Who would we expect God to give the blessings of the kingdom to? We would choose something that we admire about ourselves and say, "You must be this way to get in." Wouldn't we expect him to give these blessings to those who are morally upright? If we were choosing, then only those who live a holy life can get it. Sometimes we might look at those who are out in the world this way. We might think, "You can't get in because you are not holy enough. You are not close enough to being righteous." Then, we pursue the one who seems to have their life put together. Is this who Jesus calls blessed?

Poor In Spirit

Who does Jesus say will possess the kingdom in verse 3? The poor in spirit. What does it mean to be poor in spirit? To be poor is to have nothing of value. In this case, it's not money or stuff that this person is lacking. The one who will possess the kingdom has nothing spiritually to bring to God. They don't believe that they have anything to offer God. Don't we struggle with this idea? How many of us have tried to become good enough? We buy self-help books and attempt to improve ourselves to make ourselves better and better with a goal in mind. We think that if we can do a great job with our family, with our jobs, with our religious practices, we will be good enough.

The poor in spirit looks at himself and thinks, "God is so amazingly righteous compared to me. There is nothing I could ever bring to him. My best works are nothing but filthy rags in comparison." Isn't this amazing? The one who will possess the kingdom must admit that he/she has nothing to offer in payment for it. God doesn't want someone who considers themselves good enough. He doesn't want someone who comes to him and says, "I have all of this to offer you. Look at what I have been able to accomplish in my life." He wants someone who says, "I know I don't have much. I know that what I have is worthless in comparison to you and these blessings. There is nothing about me that is worthy of your blessing. But I believe that you are gracious, and I want the blessing of the kingdom, please give it to me." From the world's perspective, that should never work. The world might even call God a sucker for blessing someone like that. But this is only the beginning of our description.

Mourn

In verse 4, he takes this to another level. They not only feel empty and unable to pay anything to God, but they also mourn over the extreme debt that they owe to God. This is not grieving over the death of a loved one, but mourning over the spiritual death of ourselves and all mankind. Do we feel indebted to God? Typically, we harden our hearts toward our sins and ignore our foolishness. We sweep them under the rug when no one is looking. Does this help us? I find no lasting comfort or peace when I have done this because deep down, we know that the debt of sin is still there, and one day we will be held accountable. Hiding or ignoring our sins may allow for temporary comfort, but it never lasts.

To enter the kingdom and receive the blessing of comfort, we must recognize that the sin in our lives creates a debt that we cannot pay. We look at our life honestly and see, as Paul said in Romans 7, "The things I want to do, I don't do. The things I don't want to do, I do. Wretched man that I am! Who will save me from this body of sin?" We come to our senses like the prodigal son, and like the exiles who come out of Babylonian captivity. Those who understand their foolishness must mourn and weep over the shame of their sins. We are not mourning as a way to deal with our sin. This is the other extreme, to feel so weighed down by my sins that I throw a pity party. I become self-absorbed and refuse to be comforted. We are mourning because we can't deal with our sin.

Notice what Jesus says, "They shall be comforted." He deals with our sin for us. We mourn over our sins as David mourns over his son, who was sick. Once his son dies, he gets up, cleans himself, eats, and goes to the house of the Lord to worship. Once our sins are forgiven, we consider ourselves blessed, and our mourning is turned to joy. When Jesus comes and deals with it, we rejoice! Again, from the world's point of view, this is ridiculous. We don't have anything to offer God, and we are actually in debt to God. So we mourn over our debt, and God comforts us. God must be extremely weak and unable to find good friends if he is paying attention to such losers!

Meek

It gets even worse in verse 5. He says that the meek will inherit the earth. What is meekness? Meekness is the opposite of the person who is proud and persists in their way. This person has nothing, is in debt, and they won't take what's theirs! From the world's perspective, they are totally weak! The meek person suffers rather than sins. This is the person who resembles a domesticated wild animal. They have come to the point of maturity and submission. They don't feel as though they need to be prominent or dominate anyone. How many people do you know who are self-seeking? Don't they typically get what they want? The meek, on the other hand, aren't pursuing their way, so they don't usually get their way. Jesus tells the meek that they will "inherit the earth." The blessings promised by God in the Old Testament commonly referred to inheriting the land of Israel, but Jesus says they will inherit the earth!

We live in a society where everyone is fighting for what is theirs. It is our right to have a job, lots of money, respect, and recognition. People are willing to do anything to get all of that. Our leaders and our televisions tell us that our rights are what life's all about. If we want it, we need to take it for ourselves. But Jesus promises his blessing to people who are nobodies from nowhere. He promises them all of the things that they never imagined they would find. They don't take it for themselves. They wait for God to provide.

Hungry and Thirsty For Righteousness

It is becoming evident in these first three beatitudes that there is the type of person God blesses is humble and lowly. They are not proud or self-seeking. God is not interested in a heart that is self-focused or self-righteous. What are those in the kingdom seeking after? They are hungering and thirsting for righteousness with an honest heart. Righteousness is a sense of rightness. It's not that they are hoping to be right all the time in a proud sense. They want to experience a truly righteous life. Did you know we can be poor in spirit, mourn over our sins, and accept suffering with meekness while seeking the wrong thing? There are many who hunger and thirst for recognition as a humble person. In our culture, people put on a fake humility to be exalted and to find recognition. Doing the right things (Poor in spirit, mourning, meekness) for the wrong reasons is still wrong, and the blessing is not for those who are pursuing the kingdom's blessings in this way. Jesus does not say, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for the blessings of the kingdom." This is what the Pharisees wish it would say. They were hungering and thirsting for the kingdom for their own selfish gain.

We wish it would say that as well. How many of us have looked at righteousness and obedience as a chore that we hate to do? We want the kingdom and all of its blessings for ourselves, but we hope that God will give us righteousness without us having to work for it. I am tempted to focus on the kingdom and the blessings more than being sinless. Why? It is hard to stop sinning. Do we want the kingdom because we want to be with God, or do we want to be blessed by God?

We have an opportunity to be with God for eternity. Why would we want that? He is perfectly good and righteous. We have to train ourselves to think about entering the presence of God and living righteously alongside him. The blessed men and women want to find righteousness because they imagine a society and a world without sin. They long for the day that men and women around them act and live as Jesus lives. We long for a day when we would be like Jesus. We can find fulfillment by being who God created us to be, and we can find real, lasting joy.

Imagine yourself going to a dream job interview without the credentials, out on a first date with someone way out of your league, trying out for a professional sports team, or trying to make a new friend with someone amazing. You are hungry and thirsty for acceptance with this person or this group. Rejection is inevitable, but it's your worst nightmare. You know you aren't good enough. You get the job, the second date, a prominent place on the team, or the new friend. How do you feel? What are you going to do now? Those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness are wanting to be good enough to find the acceptance with God that they have already obtained. Jesus says that the one who is hungering and thirsting for righteousness will find satisfaction. When we pursue righteousness out of a love for God and a desire to be accepted by him who created us in his image, we see what we are looking for. How amazing is it to hear, "They shall be satisfied?" What a tremendous reassurance! This is part of God's promise in Isaiah 55.

Isaiah 55:1--3 (ESV) --- 1 "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. 3 Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

Summary

The Old Testament has been all about the promised blessing of God to reverse the curse and bring us back to a right relationship with him. Jesus reveals to us who will find this blessing. It is not a blessing that covers all mankind. It will not be seen by those who trust in themselves that they are righteous or good enough. It is not for those who harden their hearts and ignore their sin. No one who promotes himself will find the inheritance. They might receive several temporary blessings from those around them. But those who look at their life differently will discover more. God is looking to bless those who know that they have nothing to offer, mourn over their sins, and refuse to take what they could get by sinning.

God is looking for humble hearts with a desire to turn away from sin entirely and want to be righteous like he is righteous. This is what it means to repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. It means to hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God more than we hunger and thirst for our gain. This mentality in life can find the blessings God has always promised. Next time, we will continue to look at who will receive the blessings of the kingdom by seeing how they look at the world around them.

Conclusion

These four elements describe what it means to repent and prepare yourself for the blessings of God's kingdom. Have you opened up your heart to the fact that every one of us is unworthy of these blessings? Are you willing to stop hardening your heart and ignoring your sins? If you are mourning for your sins with a desire for Jesus to take those sins away, please realize that he will. All you must do is submit to his rule and reign in your life. You can leave this place completely satisfied with righteousness from God. Don't fool yourself into thinking you can overcome this on your own. Be meek and submit. Lay your weapons down and receive the grace that we are entirely unworthy to receive.