Sunday Sermon Matthew 5:1-5

Lord, thank you for the opportunity to worship you in Spirit and in Truth this morning and thank you for your amazing grace that is inexhaustible! Lord , we have all come with many things on our hearts this morning, some good and some not so good. Would you please speak into to our lives today a Word that is fit for where we are individually as well as corporately. Please Father remove any and all distractions that could stop us from receiving the blessing you have for us today. Fill us with your Spirit and may our time together be a time of refreshing and inspire hope within us all.

In Jesus Name, we love YOU! Amen and Amen!

Review

In looking back to chapter 4 we learned that Jesus called 4 fishermen to become his disciples.

And he did not find them at the local Bible college, but rather he chose men that the religious folks would have never chosen that would turn the world upside down!

When Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, and John they immediately left their nets, their boat, and family to follow Jesus.

Church, it is crucial for us to get this! Following Jesus will cost you something!

What is holding us back from following Jesus? What has our minds and hearts?

Then after he called the boys, they all went into all of Galilee. It is here that Jesus was teaching and preaching in the local synagogues the gospel of the kingdom!

He was healing people from all types of disease and things that paralyzed them.

He set the captives free church and the Lord is the same today, yesterday, and forever!

Today, we will learn what it means to be Blessed!

So we pick up in Matthew 4:25

Matthew 4:25 NKJV

Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.

The last thing Matthew tells us in this chapter 4 is that as a result of Jesus’ teaching and healing, the good news about him spread throughout Syria, Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and the region across the Jordan (vv. 24–25), covering all the major regions of the country, especially those to the north.

These were spiritually dark regions, but the Light had come and the Holy Spirit was drawing people from these diverse dark places to Jesus.

The world is equally dark today.

The light of the gospel has been unveiled by God’s grace, but men and women continue to prefer the darkness to God’s light.

John 3:19 NKJV

And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Matthew 5:1 NKJV

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.

Jesus was always concerned for the multitudes, for whom He had great compassion—whether they were “distressed and downcast” (Matt. 9:36), sick (14:14; cf. 4:23), hungry (15:32), or in any other need.

Whether the people were physically ill or healthy, emotionally stable or demon-possessed, financially poor or rich, politically oppressed or powerful, religiously insignificant or influential, Jesus had compassion on them.

Jesus attracted all people because He loved them all.

Jesus ‘s compassion did not waiver. No matter how Jesus felt, no matter what Jesus was going through he was compassionate to the broken.

How is your compassion meter? Do you have compassion for the hurting, the sick, and the downcast?

Jesus was connected to the Father, therefore, he had compassion for the people who were in darkness.

As Christ’s followers, I believe that our compassion meter works the same way church.

The more passion we have for the Lord, the more compassion we will have for the people.

If we are connected to the Vine, spending time with the Lord in Word, in prayer, in fellowship, that a natural by-product will be compassion and witnessing.

It is crucial that we understand the political and religious climate of the day here.

The Political Context

Most of the Jews were looking for the Messiah to be a military and political leader that would deliver them the yoke that Rome had placed upon them.

And not only would the Messiah deliver them from Rome, but he would also establish a Jewish kingdom that would prosper and rule the world.

The thrust of the Sermon on the Mount is that the message and work of the King are first and most importantly internal and not external, and spiritual and moral rather than physical and political. Here we find no politics or social reform. His concern is for what men are, because what they are determines what they do

The Religious Context

Jesus lived in a highly complex religious society, one that included many professional religionists.

Those professionals were in four primary groups: the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Essenes, and the Zealots.

The Pharisees believed that right religion consisted in divine laws and religious tradition. Their primary concern was for a perfect observance of the Mosaic law and of every minute detail of the traditions handed down by various rabbis over the centuries. They focused on adhering to the laws of the past.

The Sadducees focused on the present. They were the religious liberals who discounted most things supernatural and who modified both Scripture and tradition to fit their own religious philosophy.

The Essenes were ascetics who believed that right religion meant separation from the rest of society. They led isolated lives in remote areas on the northwest edge of the Dead Sea.

The Zealots were fanatical nationalists who thought that right religion was centered in radical political activism. These Jewish revolutionaries looked down on fellow Jews who would not take up arms against Rome.

In essence, the Pharisees said, “Go back”; the Sadducees said, “Go ahead”; the Essenes said, “Go away”; and the Zealots said, “Go against.” The Pharisees were traditionalists; the Sadducees were modernists; the Essenes were separatists; and the Zealots were activists. They represented the same primary types of religious factions that are common today.

But Jesus’ way was not any of those. To the Pharisees He said that true spirituality is internal, not external. To the Sadducees He said that it is God’s way, not man’s way. To the Essenes He said that it is a matter of the heart, not the body. To the Zealots He said that it is a matter of worship, not revolution.

The central thrust of His message to every group and every person, of whatever persuasion or inclination, was that the way of His kingdom is first and above all a matter of the inside—the soul. That is the central focus of the Sermon on the Mount. True religion in God’s kingdom is not a question of ritual, of philosophy, of location, or of military might—but of right attitude toward God and toward other people. The Lord summed it up in the words “I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven” (5:20).

Church, the Sermon on the Mount is the greatest sermon ever preached by the greatest preacher that ever lived.

When Jesus came on the scene religiosity and politics was a way of life for most.

Jesus was counter cultural and he spoke a message that challenged both of the systems.

Matthew 5:1 NKJV

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.

Jesus went up on a mountain as he loved the mountains and hills around Galilee, In fact he loved all of creation!

Scholars are not 100% sure exactly were this sermon took place, but speculations are that it was on a hill in Northern Israel that literally created an amphitheater like effect.

This means that everyone that was there, could hear Jesus preaching and teaching.

It was like there was a Bose sound system and I believe Jesus was gentle, but had a bold and authoritative voice that rattled all who would listen.

Note: that although there were multitudes, the message was for his disciples.

Jesus sat down and his disciples came to him.

A rabbi commonly sat down when he taught. If he spoke while standing or walking, what he said was considered to be informal and unofficial. But when he sat down, what he said was authoritative and official.

Even today we speak of professors holding a “chair” in a university, signifying the honored position from which they teach.

When Jesus sat down and delivered the Sermon on the Mount, He spoke from His divine chair with absolute authority as the sovereign King.

While everyone else stood up. Why???

So they could not fall asleep:)

What do you think? Do you want to try it?

Disciple- mathētēs - (ma-thay-tes') a student who adheres to (and travels with) a teacher in a pedagogical relationship; especially used of students of spiritual leaders. A pupil, a learner, or an apprentice.

Matthew 5:2–3 NKJV

Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Remember the religious climate was all about the external observances or things that I could do to make myself look spiritual.

Trying to keep the letter of the law led the Pharisees to legalism church and legalism turns people away from the grace of God and places a yoke upon the necks of those that would conform.

Jeremiah 31:33 NKJV

But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Ezekiel 36:26–27 NKJV

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

So Jesus moves from the external to the internal, he moves from stone to flesh, he moves from the head, to the heart, to the hands...

I have always felt that Matthew 5:20 is the key to this important sermon:

Matthew 5:20 NKJV

For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

The main theme is true righteousness.

The religious leaders had an artificial, external righteousness based on Law.

But the righteousness Jesus described is a true and vital righteousness that begins internally, in the heart.

The Pharisees were concerned about the minute details of conduct, but they neglected the major matter of character.

Conduct flows out of character and that is what Jesus is addressing here.

He is addressing how to be in God’s Kingdom

The Kingdom of God is within you church and the Lord desire us to work out, whaat he has worked in...

So we come to the Beatitudes or what true righteousness is church.

Be- attitudes

With the 10 commandments it was all about what not to do, here it is all about what to be.

These are to be the attitudes of our hearts church, these should make our heart beat for God and this for others.

This is not a discussion of what lost people must do to go to heaven because there is no mention of the cross of Christ; there is no mention of His shed blood and there is no mention of justification or redemption.

However, Jesus is teaching his disciples church what it means to be a follower of Him.

Matthew 5:3 NKJV

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

Some scholars say there is 8 beatitudes while others say there is nine.

When we count the number of blessed’s there are nine, so I tend to think there are nine because that is what we have in the Word.

What is intriguing to me is that there is a church called the, “Church of the Beatitudes” was built near the mount the sermon was given.

It is a Roman Catholic Church and The modern church was built between 1936 and 1938 near the site of the fourth-century Byzantine ruins.

The floor plan is octagonal, the eight sides representing the eight Beatitudes.

Although I see 9 blessed’s church, we must remain open minded because we might discover that there is only 8 in our study.

Jesus starts out with encouragement and affirmation.

He uses the word blessed, blessed, blessed....

But as we move through the sermon on the mount we will discover that he will exhort, rebuke, and correct.

So we must be ready for the conviction and remember conviction is by the Holy Spirit while condemnation is by the devil.

If you walk away from this series with little conviction church, I will let you know up front that something is wrong with your conviction button!!!

Blessed-Makarios-(mak-ar'-ee-os) means happy, fortunate, blissful, supremely blessed.

The fullest meaning of the term, therefore, has to do with an inward contentedness that is not affected by circumstances.

That is the kind of happiness God desires for His children, a state of joy and well-being that does not depend on physical, temporary circumstances:

Our happiness is not dependent on people, not on prosperity, not on materialism, or college degrees, or careers, it is fully dependent on our relationship with the God who created us church.

Philippians 4:11–13 NASB95

Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Content- independent of external circumstances.

The word blessed, then, has the idea of an inward bliss, an inward happiness which is neither the result of circumstance nor subject to change on the basis of circumstance.

It means an inner peace, an inner bliss, an inner happiness, an inward joy that is not produced by circumstance nor is it affected by circumstance.

It is a state of happiness, a state of wellbeing in which God desires his children to live.

The story is told about a pilot who always looked down intently on a certain valley in the Appalachians when the plane passed overhead. One day his co-pilot asked, “What’s so interesting about that spot?” The pilot replied, “See that stream? Well, when I was a kid I used to sit down there on a log and fish. Every time an airplane flew over, I would look up and wish I were flying... Now I look down and wish I were fishing.”

It is always tempting to think that others have it better than we do, and that if we just had “a little more” everything would be fine. But contentment cannot be achieved by increasing possessions. Nothing will ever be enough.

Get ready church to hear the greatest sermon ever preached, get ready for God to do a work in all of our hearts.

Our contentment or or happiness is not based on happening, it is based on having a relationship with a God who loves us.

Are you blessed? Are you really content and in the blissful state the Lord desires for his children?

Prayer

Lord, as we leave the sanctuary today we ask that you would reveal the areas in our lives of discontentment. Help us God to repent of those things that we use to attempt to make us happy for we desire to live in the constant state of blessedness that you have called us to. Lord as we journey over the next few months in the greatest sermon ever preached we ask that you would radically transform our lives, our families, our places of employment, and our church. And that when we finish those around us would say you have changed and I too would like that change!

In Jesus Name, We Love You! Amen and Amen!!

We will pick up in verse 3 next week and work our way through the Beatitudes:)

Benediction

Hebrews 13:5 NKJV

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

1 Timothy 6:6–7 NKJV

Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

THE LORD BLESS YOU!

YOUR MISSION STARTS NOW!

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