INTRODUCTION
We have come in our study of Matthew to what is commonly referred to
as, “The Sermon on the Mount” which includes chapters 5, 6 & 7 and
is filled with lots of “goodies.” It is a well known passage of Scripture,
but it is probably one of the most misunderstood.
This is a favorite passage in "liberal" churches. They present the Sermon
on the Mount as the Gospel - sort of a "social gospel." Maybe you’ve been
in churches that focused on social justice, etc. These are noble themes,
but they are not the Gospel.
The truth is - there is no Gospel in the Sermon on the Mount.
There is no reference to the death and resurrection of Jesus. To present
these teachings as the Gospel - as a way to God - is a simplistic interpretation
that the Scripture does not allow.
The first key to a correct understanding the Sermon on the Mount is
to identify the original audience.
Matt. 5:1-12 (NKJV)
1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and
when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2Then He opened
His mouth and taught them, saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness'
sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you,
and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12Rejoice
and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they
persecuted the prophets who were before you.
(AMP)
| (NIV)
| (NLT)
| (KJV)
| (NASB)
I appreciate the Illustrated Bible that we saw on the video screen
earlier, but I have to take issue with how it presents today’s passage
because it shows Jesus standing. But when Jewish rabbis stood, they made
proclamations; and when they taught, they sat. And in today’s passage Jesus
is sitting - He is teaching - His primary audience is His disciples.
Jesus’ purpose here is not to tell someone how to be a Christian. (It
is for His disciples) It is rather His picture of what a Christian should
look like.
The Sermon on the Mount starts with what is called the “Beatitudes”
(verses. 3-12). The Beatitudes describe the inner character of those who
are citizens of the kingdom of heaven. As someone has said, they are the
Be-attitudes
- not the Do-attitudes. True followers of Christ do not try to have
these attitudes, they have them and are in the process of developing them.
All of these character traits are marks and goals of all Christians.
It is not as if we can major on one of these traits to the exclusions of
others, as is the case with spiritual gifts. The Beatitudes are a package
deal.
All of these qualities are in the Christian’s life to some degree. If
you meet one who claims to be a Christian but doesn’t display or even desires
any of these traits, you may rightly wonder about their salvation, because
they do not have the character of the kingdom.
I. THE FOUNDATION: POVERTY OF SPIRIT
The Greek word translated “blessed” is sometimes translated “happy."
Our understanding of “happy” does not properly convey the meaning here.
Jesus is not speaking here about a state of positive inner feelings - not
“warm fuzzies.” The Greek word used carries the meaning of one who is “well-off”
or “fortunate”.
This assessment is based primarily on the fact that the one described
has God’s favor.
"3Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven."
”Poor in spirit” is not a man’s confession that he has no worth
or is without value. God does not view man this way and the Bible does
not teach it. Instead, it is a confession that we are sinful and rebellious
and spiritually bankrupt on our own. Poverty of spirit cannot be artificially
induced by having a doormat mentality. It is brought about by the Holy
Spirit and our response to His working in our hearts: Without Him we could
do nothing.
The road to experiencing God’s approval -the definition of true happiness
- begins with the acknowledgement that we cannot attain this goal. We need
help from someone else.
The opposite of this is the New Age philosophy so prevalent today which
says that “we are all gods within….” Poverty of spirit is an absolute prerequisite
for receiving the kingdom of heaven, because as long as we harbor illusions
about our own spiritual resources, we will never receive from God
what we absolutely need to be saved.
II. THE REACTION TO POVERTY OF SPIRIT: MOURNING
"4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will
be comforted."
The first beatitude emphasized a realization of spiritual poverty. The
second emphasizes a response to that condition.
The scripture tells us that "all have sinned and all short of the glory
of God" (Rom.
3:23, NKJV). That being the case, there is a place for heartfelt mourning
over sin.
The Bible teaches: "Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash
your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve,
mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up" (James
4:8-10, NKJV)
Heartfelt mourning for our sin and is powerfully healing when it leads
us to Christ:
 "Godly sorrow
brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret" (2
Cor. 7:10, NKJV)
That
is why years ago the altar used to be called “the mourner’s bench.”
It
was a place where people mourned for their sins, repented, and asked forgiveness.
As I reflect on this second step to true happiness, I am reminded of
another application as well. Listen to the words of the Apostle John from
Rev.
21:3-4 (NKJV):
"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the
dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His
people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe
every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or
crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
Someday
our God will personally comfort His people who mourn.
Some of you have mourned and experienced His comfort. For the rest of
you - keep this Scripture in mind because, sooner or later, we all will
need it.
III. THE ATTITUDE: MEEKNESS
"5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit
the earth."
The “meek” refers to those who do not throw their weight around. They,
rather, rely on God to give them their due. The Greek word was used to
describe wild horses that had been tamed - power under control.
Meekness is a characteristic of Jesus’ own ministry - powerful but under
control. The idea, even promoted by some hymns, of Jesus "meek and mild"
gives the wrong idea. When being arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane,
He could have called 10,000 angels. (Matt.
26:53, NKJV)
But, instead,
He was meek - submitting to His Father’s will - refusing to use His power
for selfish reasons.
In fact, meekness
is the opposite of selfishness.
Meekness is in no way weakness: it is power under control.
To be “meek,”
one first has to have power - only the strong can be meek.
In our culture
today we are quick to assert our power - “I know my rights…”
Christian, don’t get caught up in the spirit of our age - leave your
exaltation to God. God has quite a plan of promotion for the Christian,
far beyond our understanding: "The meek shall inherit the earth!"
IV. THE DESIRE: TO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS
"6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they will be filled."
What is "righteousness"?
It is best to take this righteousness as simultaneously referring
to personal righteousness and to justice in the broadest sense. It is a
strong desire to both be made right with God personally and a longing for
the time when all things will be made right.
In the present the Christian should have a desire to grow in his relationship
with God. There should be a hunger and thirsting to better know the Word
of God.
So many people
say, “But where do I begin?”
I’m
glad you asked! New Life Sunday School, Worship, Sunday Evening!
There should be a desire to be come together and worship God with other
Christians.
Note the promise: “You will be filled!”
There is also a future component to this promise - a longing for a time
of perfect justice. This will not be fulfilled until Jesus sets up His
Millennial Kingdom on this earth that we talked about in our Revelation
study a few weeks ago. What a comfort to know that He is the judge and
that there is coming a time when all things will be made right!
V. THE RESPONSE TO OTHERS: MERCY
"7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be
shown mercy."
The word "mercy" used here describes the feeling of getting inside another
person's skin and feeling what that one is feeling.
Illustration:
A pastor tells of planning an activity that involved several
of his daughter's school friends. One of the friends had quietly said to
his daughter, "Could you please pick me up first? I don't want anyone else
to see where I live." When he arrived at her home, the pastor quickly
understood the reason for her request. He said that he remembered being
moved to compassion for this young lady. But what moved him most was his
own daughter's spirit of mercy that had made her friend feel that her secret
was safe with her.
If you haven’t noticed as yet there is a progression in these Beatitudes
- each builds on what has come before.
It is the meek
who are merciful.
Those
who mourn for their sin are the meek.
Only
those who are poor in spirit will mourn for their sin.
The world tries to bring separate mercy from this context. They believe
that the answer is in social programs and human kindness.
They fail to recognize that a prerequisite for true mercy is to be poor
in spirit - to acknowledge that we can be conduits but not the source
of mercy. They do not acknowledge dependence upon God so, try as they
may, their efforts bring no true change to the human condition.
Christians, on the other hand, can be instruments of true mercy because
we know that we are conduits of God’s mercy. Having received God’s mercy
we should extend mercy to others.
VI. THE FOCUS: PURE IN HEART
"8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will
see God."
”Pure” implies one ingredient - not a mixture - and the emphasis here is
on single-mindedness.
Single-mindedness is not simple-mindedness or narrow-mindedness. Rather,
it is the result of focusing on God. It amounts to being free from the
tyrrany of a divided self, which is a terrible way to live.
Illustration:
A Haitian pastor told the following story:
A man wanted to sell his house for $2,000. Another man wanted
to buy it, but because he was poor, he couldn't afford the whole price.
After a great deal of bargaining, the owner agreed to sell the house for
half the original price with one stipulation: he would retain ownership
of one small nail protruding over the door. After several years, the original
owner wanted the house back, but the new owner was unwilling to sell. So
the first owner went out, found the carcass of a dead dog, and hung it
from the single nail he still owned. Soon the house became unlivable, and
the family was forced to sell the house to the owner of the nail.
The Haitian pastor's conclusion: "If we leave the devil with even one
small peg in our life, he will return to hand his rotting garbage on it,
making it unfit for Christ's habitation."
”A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” (James
1:8, NKJV)
VII. THE RESTRAINT: BEING A PEACEMAKER
"9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will
be called sons of God."
This does not describe those who live in peace, but those who actually
bring about peace.
Throughout scripture we are urged to be people of peace whenever possible.
-
David, in Psalm
34:14 (NKJV), says that one of the requirements of loving life and
seeing many good days is to "seek peace and pursue it."
-
Peter in 1
Peter 3: 9 (NIV) writes: "Do not repay evil with evil or insult with
insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you
may inherit a blessing."
Being a peacemaker involves:
-
Being willing to take the first step to resolve a conflict.
-
Showing restraint - Not retaliating, even when we may be justified in doing
so.
-
Refusing to be a conduit for gossip, etc.
Illustration:
A little girl snuggled up to her mother one night before bedtime.
"Mommy, I was a peacemaker today."
Her mother asked, "How was that?" "I heard something, and I didn't
tell it."
She
was a peacemaker.
VIII. THE WORLD’S RECEPTION: PERSECUTION
10Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness'
sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you,
and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12Rejoice
and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they
persecuted the prophets who were before you.
In verse 10 the persecution is “because of righteousness.” In verses 11-12
the persecution is “because of me (Jesus).”
Notice the compassion of Jesus as He switches from the third person
(they, those) in v. 10 to the second person (you) in vs. 11-12.
The reward of these persecuted people (Matt. 5:10-12) is the same as
the reward of the “poor in spirit” (Matt. 5:3):
”For
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
It’s like bookends that wrap up this package.
Notice that it is persecution for righteousness and Jesus. Not for our
foolish or incorrect ideas. This is another reason that it is important
that we study God’s Word so that when we take stands, etc. and are insulted
or ridiculed, it is for righteousness or Jesus’ sake and not our own lack
of judgment or wisdom.
These verses neither encourage seeking persecution nor permit retreating
from it. Christians are to rejoice under persecution because their heavenly
reward will be great when Jesus returns and sets up His Kingdom. |