The Beatitudes (Part I)
Matthew 5:1-5:
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disci ples came to him.
2And 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.
Introduction:
Who is the blessed man? A person who is familiar with the Scripture will not look at the be atitudes as if they are something foreign. A wisdom book like Psalms opens with a beatitude, “Blessed is the man…” (Ps. 1:1; see also Ps. 32:1-2; Rom. 4:7-8). A beatitude is more than just a common language. It is a covenant language. It focuses on “fellowship with God” as the ultimate blessing and following Him as the fruit of this fellowship or union.
Influence of the “Sermon on the Mount”
♦ St. Augustine – “A perfect standard of the Christian life”
♦ Dietrich Bonhoeffer based his classic “The Cost of Discipleship” upon the exposition of the Ser mon on the Mount.
♦ The greatest sermon ever preached. Why is this?
♦ The Sermon on the Mount teaches us about the lifestyle of the kingdom of God. Your union with Christ (His presence in your life) is your mark of distinction.
I. The Bestower of the Blessed Life (The God-Man on the mountain, 5:1-2) ♦ The tale of “Two Mountains” – Mount Sinai and the mountain where Jesus delivered this Ser mon (Matthew 5:1, Jesus went up “the” mountain parallels Exodus 24:15-16, “Then Moses went up on the mountain.”). We are seeing and hearing the new, better, and greater Moses here. Ex odus 19:20-21: 20 The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
21 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord to look and many of them perish.
♦ The Man on the mountain – Jesus going up on a mountain is more than just a historical infor mation or a practical reality. It provides an aperture for a deeper understanding of the person and work of Christ.
II. The “Beautiful Attitudes” of the Believers
1. What the Beatitudes are not?
⇒ The beatitudes are not mere “on-the-spot inspiration” or flashes of “sudden revela-
tion” (Sinclair Ferguson); They are not mere ethical principles that you
must know and keep if you want to merit the kingdom of God.
2. What the beatitudes are?
⇒ As citizens of the kingdom of God, you ought to be marked by these vir
tues. These are the distinctive characteristics that ought to be develop
ing in your life as believers.
3. What does the word “blessed” mean?
⇒ It does not merely mean “happiness.”
⇒ Kent Hughes, “Happiness is a subjective state, a feeling. But Jesus is not declaring how people feel; rather, he is making an objective statement about what God thinks of them. Blessed is a positive judgment by God on the individual that means ‘to be approved’ or ‘to find approval.”
⇒ God’s approval should mean more to us than anything else.
A. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3) Realize that apart from Christ you are spiritually bankrupt
A1. The word poor in Greek means “to cower and cringe like a beggar; someone who crouches about, wretchedly begging.”
A2. The word “spirit” tells us that this beatitude does not connote “material poverty.” Rather, it means that we are desperately poor in spiritual resources and the only way for these needs to be met is for someone (outside of ourselves) to help us or reach out us in mercy.
A3. Our only hope is in the Lord. Sinclair Ferguson adds, “We are poor men and women in ourselves, with no righteousness of our own to plead before God. We are bankrupt, debtors in his court. Our plea must be for mercy.”
Conclusion and application:
• Poverty of spirit is the “antithesis” of today’s arrogance and apathy toward a Christ-centered spirituality. David Wells explains: Today, “Theology becomes therapy…The biblical interest for righteousness is replaced by a search for happiness…truth by feeling.”
• A.M. Toplady’ Hymn – “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling. Naked, come to Thee for dress; Helpless, look to Thee for grace; Foul, I to the fountain fly; Wash me, Savior, or I die.”
• Poverty of Spirit is the gateway to salvation and the ground for spiritual growth.
• Revelation 3:17-18 (The Laodicean Church): “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.”
• The riches of poverty – “For theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (now and forevermore). A pro found sense of spiritual poverty opens my life for Christ’s riches.
B. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)
Remember that we still in a fallen world and repentance is to be continued
through the whole course of our Christian life
Quote: Martin Luther’s first thesis in his iconic 95 theses states, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent,’ he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”
B1. It’s possible to recognize personal moral unworthiness (5:3) without mourning it (5:4). A genu ine encounter of Christ would naturally lead to mourning over sin. It naturally follows that when we truly realize who we are (our sinful state), “our emotions will be stirred to mourning” (Kent Hughes).
B2. The 2nd beatitude is not about mourning over the difficulties or losses in life. While these are all legitimate reasons for us to grieve, but the kind of mourning here is related to the seriousness of sin and its devastating effect in our lives. We mourn over our personal sins, corporate sins and the sins of the world:
• David – “My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law” (Psalm 119:13).
• Jeremiah (The weeping prophet) – “But if you will not listen, my soul will weep in secret for your pride, my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive” (Jeremiah 13L17).
• Jesus weeps over Jerusalem – “And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace. But now they are hidden from your eyes”’ (Luke 19:41-42; See also Matthew 23:37-39).
• Genuine believers mourned and continue to mourn over sin (not just its effects and conse quences but sin itself).
Conclusion and application:
• In your heart, what do you mourn for? What breaks your heart? What do you cry over?
• Mourning over sin is countercultural. We live in a world where sin is not only tolerated, but also celebrated. Our society has grown indifferent toward sin and thinks that God will not exercise his justice upon it. Why? Because we don’t view sin the way God views sin. We don’t take sin seriously. Sin is rebellion, a transgression of God’s law (it is not trivial, it is treason). Sin is ultimately a sin against God! David lamented, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment” (Psalm 51:4). Have you mourned for your sin? Do you ache with the guilt of your sin before God?
• Cry over your sin and be comforted now. “Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.” Interestingly, the word “comfort” has the root which is also used for the Holy Spirit (the one who comes alongside, not only to convict but also to comfort us).
• Corrie Ten Boom, “There is no pit so deep that the love of God is not deeper still.”
C. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5)
Rely on God and Relinquish everything to Him
There is a logical sequence or progression of thought in the beatitudes.
From (1) Realization to (2) Remorse and Repentance and then (3) Reliance upon God. The connection should be clear. Those who are poor in spirit and those who mourn over their sins will be meek.
Trust in God is the key to gentleness, meekness, and humility. Jesus alludes to Psalm 37:11, “But the meek shall inherit the land.” One of the major themes of Psalm 37 is the need for us to “Trust in the LORD” (37:3). The theme of “land” also jumps out and its prominence is evident throughout Scriptures. Only the meek shall inherit the land (not the wicked and arrogant tyrants).
C1. Biblical paradoxes taught by the Master of the paradox. Jesus used this tool to draw us deeper and closer to him. What are some of the paradoxical teachings of Christ (e.g., losing is finding, last is first, poor is rich, weakness is strength, first is last). Jesus used this literary device in his teachings to reveal spiritual truths and manifest his character and promises to his people.
C2. What is meekness?
⇒ Meekness is not weakness nor passivity.
⇒ Meekness is strength under control. Consider Jesus’ meekness, He said, “I am gentle and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:29). Jesus displayed this by extending his love rather than re taliation against those who wronged and betrayed him. Peter recounts, “He was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued en trusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23)
C3. No one perfectly manifests meekness. We don’t always respond with love. Jesus warns us against (Kent Hughes):
⇒ Harshness – Are you mean in your treatment of others?
⇒ Self-centeredness – Do you always aim to get yours first?
⇒ Being vengeful – When someone did evil to you, do you always think of getting even? ⇒ Being uncontrolled – Do you always lose your temper?
C4. The meek “shall inherit the earth.” - It would be wise for us to consider John’s eschatological vi sion of the New Heavens and the New Earth in Revelation 21:1–3.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.’”
Conclusion:
• We enjoy some of the privileges of our union with Christ now, but we wait for the fullness and its consummation.
• Do not separate the Sermon from the “Speaker”; the Beatitudes from the “Bestower.”
• Where do get the power to live the blessed life? Remember the context of the passage, “Jesus was on top of the mountain.” Two more times in the Gospels you would find him on the mountain. One is when he went on the mountain of transfigura tion. After this, at the tail-end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, Jesus went up on Mount Golgotha
• Let me end with a story about Paul Tillich (German-American Philosopher) and his encounter with an old preacher.
One year they invited Dr. Paul Tillich, who spoke for two and one-half hours "proving" that the res urrection of Jesus was false. He argued that Jesus never rose from the dead in any literal sense. After his lecture, he asked if there any questions. After about 30 seconds, a preacher with white hair stood up in the back of the auditorium. “Doctor Tillich, I got one question,” he said as all eyes turned toward him. He reached into his lunch box and pulled out an apple and began eating it. While munching, he said “Doctor Tillich, I never read the books that you read... I don’t know noth ing’ about Niebuhr and Heidegger...” Crunch, Munch... He finished the apple. “All I want to know is: This apple I just ate - was it bitter or sweet?” Dr. Tillich paused for a moment and answered in exemplary scholarly fashion: “I cannot possibly answer that question, for I haven’t tasted your ap ple.” The preacher dropped the core of his apple into his crumpled paper bag, looked up at Dr. Til lich and said calmly, “Neither have you tasted my Jesus.”
Have you tasted Jesus? HE IS THE FOUNT OF EVERY BLESSING. SDG!