Unlocking the Beatitudes

Beatitudes

Matthew 5:1–12 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. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit”

Matthew 5:3 ESV

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Highlight:

Poor in spirit

Acknowledgment of spiritual powerlessness Acknowledgment of bankruptcy

Apart from Christ

Explain:

What does it mean to be spiritually powerless?

“Dead in trespasses and sins”

Ephesians 2:1 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins

Sin: Is anything that is against God’s law.

For example, anything that doesn’t give God glory.

Does God receive honor when we lie? Disobey our parents? Talk negatively about someone at school? Use bad language? All these things dishonor God; as a result, it is a sin! What does it mean to be spiritually bankrupt?

Romans 3:23 ESV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Fall short: means that no matter how many good works we do, it will never outweigh our sin. Even if we go our entire lives only breaking one law or failing to give God glory only one time in our whole lives. That one sin would separate us forever from God.

Why?

We have to understand that God is an infinite God who is Holy. He is a pure ruler. When we sin once, we have made ourselves impure. We can’t be the same. No matter what we do, we can’t fix it. We can try and make it work. But we will never be the same.

Illustration:

Items needed: Clay Pottery, Hammer, pottery soil?

Break the pottery; no matter what I do, it won't go back together correctly; it might hold a for a bit, but as soon as you begin to use the pot as it was meant to be used, it won't have together. It is useless.

Gospel spread

It has moved fastest among those who have the fewest possessions to stand in the way of total devotion. Being poor in spirit is necessary to be a genuine follower of Christ.

Application:

To receive salvation, we must recognize our total spiritual bankruptcy before God. We then must submit and acknowledge Christ as our sole source of spiritual power and well-being. Have you come to a point in life where you have seen your desperate need for Jesus to save you?

“Blessed are those who mourn”

Matthew 5:4 ESV

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

What are those who are blessed mourning?

Spiritual loss Emotionally loss Physical loss Social evils and oppression

All are results from Sin

How are they comforted?

Children of God can rest knowing these losses are only temporary.

Jesus has made us alive spiritually We will be made whole entirely when leaving this world. Emotionally we can rest in Christ and lay our burdens on Christ Physical losses are only minor compared to the long-term blessings of being with Jesus for all eternity.

“Blessed are the meek”

Matthew 5:5 ESV

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

What does it mean to be meek?

You live out humility

Recognize how much greater God is than ourselves. Recognize the importance of others around us. You live out gentleness

We don’t shy away from tough conversations with others, but when we have those conversations, we are kind and gentle, thinking of the other person’s well-being while doing so. When we share the gospel, we share the truth in love.

We first center everything on truth We point to God’s love We focus on our need to be made whole because we are broken. (Reference the broken pot) You live out not being aggressive

“those who do not assert themselves over others to further their agendas in their strength”

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”

Matthew 5:6 ESV

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

What is righteousness?

It’s being morally right and justifiable. Who is righteous?

Romans 3:10 ESV

10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;

All of us are this broken Pot; we can’t fix ourselves, we cant mind ourselves. We can try to put ourselves together, but we can’t. Those recognize this truth. They begin to hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness, which results in us finding satisfaction in Christ.

“Blessed are the merciful”

Matthew 5:7 ESV

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

We see here that those who have experienced saving faith in Christ. They are merciful and forgiving of those around them. They forgive friends who hurt them, show kindness towards the angry, they show compassion on those afflicted and oppressed.

Matthew 6:12–15 ESV

12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Those who have experienced the richness of God’s forgiveness forgive others because they know how great a love God has for us and that we belong to him.

“Blessed are the pure in heart”

Matthew 5:8 ESV

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

This is not some ritual or religious works that lead to purity. It means to be pure in heart that we have been made morally upright! The Holy Spirit has come and cleaned our hearts. Our desires shift from selfish pursuits to total devotion to pursuing Jesus because he loved us enough to save us! Ultimately, the Lord has affected our souls with his loving, saving work!

“Blessed are the peacemakers”

Matthew 5:9 ESV

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

There are a few things with being a peacemaker,

1) it is not talking about avoiding conflict at all costs.

2) It is specifically talking about reflecting God’s love and mercy to others.

Think of it as being a spokesperson, representative, or an athlete with an advertisement deal They represent the company; if the company doesn’t like what the athlete does morally or the stance(s) he takes, they remove their endorsement because they are no longer aligned with that player. Being a peacemaker is to help people see their need to be at peace with God. Apart from saving faith in Christ Jesus, we are at war with the living God.

Are you taking the good news of Jesus Christ to those around you? Have you trusted in Jesus as Lord in savior?

“Blessed are those are persecuted”

Matthew 5:10–12 ESV

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

A sad truth in this world is that those who live the real life of a believer will ultimately face ridicule, mocking, loss of jobs, they face threats, and even some will lose their life for the sake of Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us that this is good for the believer because our rewards are not found here on earth but in Heaven with Jesus.

Closing:

All of God’s incredible blessings are served for those who have surrendered all to Jesus Christ. Jesus says we must first recognize that we are destitute and broken because of sin.

Like this pot that is no longer good to use, we are broken.

Illustration

Unbroken Pottery replaces the broken pottery; we are made whole in Christ.

When we recognize our desperate need for Christ to save us from our brokenness, God puts us back together, and we are made holy and are no longer broken before God because Jesus has restored us from our sin!

Lift the whole pot. We are made new. New in Christ Jesus. We were broken shambles apart from him. Yet, When we place our total faith in Christ Jesus, we are made whole for the first time, and it unlocks the journey of being more like Christ every day as he shapes us.

Maybe you haven’t been as bold as you know you should be. Maybe you haven’t been very humble and need to confess that you have been trying to earn favor with God instead of trusting in him alone. Maybe you haven’t been broken over the brokenness of the world. Will you ask God to break your heart for the lost people around you? Will you pray for them? Will you take the word of God to them?

Yet, maybe, you haven’t placed your faith in Jesus. You didn’t know that you were broken and needed to be fixed by the ultimate fixer, Jesus Christ!

Discussion Questions:

Why might it be challenging for some people to recognize they are a broken person apart from Christ. Knowing that the beatitudes are all dependant on recognizing our desperation apart from Christ, how should that encourage us, and how should it give us courage? Why is it so crucial for us to hunger and thirst for righteousness? What does it say about us if we don’t want to pursue Christ and his righteousness? The beatitudes are foundational proofs of a genuine follower of Christ. Do you think others see at least some of the beatitudes in your life? (We aren’t perfect, but do they at least see some of these more times than not?)