A reading from Matthew 5:1-16

Matthew 5:1–16 ESV

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

The word of our Lord,

Thanks be to God.

Going Deep; Growing Strong

New Testament Scholar Robert Guelich in his book, Sermon on the Mount, translated the passage we just heard. He searched and searched for a word to bring the word “Blessed” into our current vernacular and with the intention of the author. The word he settled on was, “Congratulations!”

Imagine reading it that way:

Congratulations you the poor in spirit...

Congratulations you who mourn...

Congratulation you who are meek...

Congratulations you who hunger and thirst for righteousness...

Congratulations you who are merciful...

Congratulations you pure in heart...

Congratulations you peacemakers...

Congratulations you who are persecuted...

Congratulations for when other revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you on my account...

It’s a different way of considering this passage. I’ve read through the Beatitudes so many times. One question has stood out to me when I read these words from this passage:

Does each beatitude refer to separate people, or do they each refer to the same person?

After much consideration, it would seem that this is all meant to embody the same person. The Blessed person is poor in spirit, mourns, is meek, hungers and thirst for righteousness, is merciful, keeps their heart pure, is a peacemaker, and is persecuted and hated because of it.

We read our Bibles and we read great statements of faith:

Paul writes:

Galatians 2:20 ESV

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

and he followed that up with Gal 2:21

Galatians 2:21 ESV

I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

The reality is our faith is not a works based faith. He reminds us of that in Ephesians 2:8-9

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

We are called to be disciples of Jesus, not just when we are children, but throughout our life. That means going deeper than the Sunday school lessons we learned as children, but continuing to go deeper, continuing to be intentional about our spiritual growth.

Church, I can only implore you to continue seek after Christ, not because you can earn your way to heaven, but because of God’s love for you.

Jesus himself beckons us on. In the calling of his disciples he said, Matt 4:19

Matthew 4:19 ESV

And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

In the Sermon on the Mount he says, Mt 6:33

Matthew 6:33 ESV

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Discipleship is the process of devoting oneself to a teacher to learn from and become more like them. For the Christian, this refers to the process of learning the teachings of Jesus and following after his example in obedience through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Lexham Theological Wordbook Theological Overview

Discipleship fundamentally involves all of one’s being, not just the mind or intellect. All of the biblical terms used to convey the concept of discipleship involve more than just academic engagement. Moses made clear that the teaching of the law was meant to result in obedience to what it said rather than just intellectual acceptance (Deut 4:5)

In the Old Testament, the concept of discipleship was fundamentally about learning what is required from the Torah and submitting to it in obedience. In the New Testament the concept of discipleship most often involves being a disciple of a particular person.

You may see disciples of Pharisees, John the baptist, but most of the NT is focused on the disciples of one person, and that is Jesus, and they give up everything to follow him.

In our Lenten journey, this week we are considering discipleship as a lifelong journey. You should have received a copy of our Bible study in an email from me this past Thursday. I will be sending out another each Thursday as we journey through Lent. If you have not received one of these Bible studies, let me know. Once I have your email address I will be happy to send you a study.

As you and I strive to:

Be Poor in spirit - living in humility

Mourn - repentant and genuinely grieving our sins

Meek - seeking not to be forceful

Hunger and thirst for righteousness - seeking God first

Merciful - showing mercy to all

Pure in heart - Keeping our lives pure

Peacemakers - being people of peace

During the season of Lent, my hope is that each one of us is going deep, and growing strong in our faith. As we go to communion this morning, let’s rededicate ourselves to the discipline of seeking God first and glorifying only Him.

To God be the glory,

AMEN.