IMAGINE REDEMPTION
MATTHEW 5:2-12 (Third and Final “Imagine” series)
At the beginning of this series, we talked about how Jesus rooted his identity in being a loved son of God. Because Jesus lived out of the identity God gave him, he was propelled into the purpose God had for him.
All of us, at one time or another, have lived out of an identity other than a child of God.
You may have placed your identity in your job, in your family, in your community, or even in what other people have said about you.
Some of us have even identifed ourselves based on a sin that rules or once ruled our lives.
Let me tell remind all of us again today:
WHEN WE PLACE OUR IDENTITY IN ANYTHING OTHER THAN JESUS, WE ARE IN NEED OF REDEMPTION.
Redemption means to restore something that is lost or lacking.
Ephesians 5:1-2 says,
“FOLLOW GOD’S EXAMPLE, THEREFORE, AS DEARLY LOVED CHILDREN AND WALK IN THE WAY OF LOVE, JUST AS CHRIST LOVED US AND GAVE HIMSELF UP FOR US AS A FRAGRANT OFFERING AND SACRIFICE TO GOD.”
- EPHESIANS 5:1-2
The Apostle Paul shows us here that Jesus, in his humanity, was how God intended mankind to be from the beginning. Jesus is the perfect man.
That’s why the bible calls Jesus the 2nd Adam- the one that exemplifies what humanity was meant to be.
The Bible makes it clear, if you want to be restored to who God made you to be, you need to walk as Jesus walked.
You might ask- how is that possible? How did Jesus, through His life and words, show the world the personality of God?
Let’s turn out your Bibles to Matthew 5:2-12 as I set up this section of scripture.
This section of scripture is called the Beatitudes (or beautiful attitudes).
It’s the beginning of a large part of scripture referred to as the Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus gave this sermon to his followers to teach them what it means to become the person God made them to be, or in other words, to become restored.
This section of Jesus’ teaching is made up of eight statements that reveal how God describes someone who is blessed.
We hear the word “blessed” thrown around every day, but most specifically, our culture identifies a blessing as something that you are given.
If you are given a bonus, you are blessed.
If you are given a child, you are blessed. (well, only some of you would say that)
If you are given a spouse, you are blessed. (again…only some of you would say that)
All of us have a desire to be blessed because this idea means that we will be more than we were previously, or have more than we did before.
While that is true, even of what Jesus is about to describe, it doesn’t look the same way we might imagine in our lives.
Here is what Jesus says when he describes a blessed person:
Jesus said:
“BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT, FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO MOURN, FOR THEY WILL BE COMFORTED.
BLESSED ARE THE MEEK, FOR THEY WILL INHERIT THE EARTH.
BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS,
FOR THEY WILL BE FILLED.
BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL, FOR THEY WILL BE SHOWN MERCY.
BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART, FOR THEY WILL SEE GOD.
BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS, FOR THEY WILL BE CALLED CHILDREN OF GOD.
BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO ARE PERSECUTED BECAUSE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,
FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
BLESSED ARE YOU WHEN PEOPLE INSULT YOU, PERSECUTE YOU AND FALSELY SAY ALL KINDS OF EVIL AGAINST YOU BECAUSE OF ME. REJOICE AND BE GLAD, BECAUSE GREAT IS YOUR REWARD IN HEAVEN, FOR IN THE SAME WAY THEY PERSECUTED THE PROPHETS WHO WERE BEFORE YOU.”
- MATTHEW 5:2-12
Prayer
Matt 5 talks a lot about being blessed. The word “blessed”, makarios (mak-ar’-ee-os) in Greek, literally means someone in an enviable position to receive God’s incredible favor and grace. In other words, those of us who have received the incredible grace of God through salvation are given the enviable position of eternal life, thus we are already blessed.
One of the big ideas we see in this section of God’s word is this-
Jesus wanted his disciples then, and now us, to realize in God’s kingdom:
A BLESSING IS NOT SOMETHING WE ARE GIVEN, IT IS A STATE OF LIVING.
If Jesus is the perfect example of how God intended for man to be, the Beatitudes are Jesus’ definition of who God intended you to be.
And living blessed is simply the result of a life walked with Jesus.
- You could have nothing material in this life, but you have Jesus and because you have Jesus you are blessed.
- You may have lost a loved one in this life, but you have Jesus and because you have Jesus you are blessed.
- You may be persecuted for your faith and overlooked because of your convictions, but you have Jesus and because you have Jesus you are blessed.
Today’s message is going to look a little bit different than the past few weeks. As I walk through these different statements, I want to explore a few more truths now that we understand what it means to be blessed in the eyes of God.
Jesus first starts out by saying,
“BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT, FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.”
This specific opening statement by Jesus sets the tone for his entire Sermon on the Mount, if not His whole ministry and message.
If you do not live with humility before God, you cannot live with mercy towards others. Jesus will further explain this if you continue reading the Sermon on the Mount.
Illustration:
When you receive a bill that is over $200, but you only have $100 in your bank account there are two things that you are aware of: You are aware of what you cannot afford, and you are aware of what you need.
When Jesus gives the invitation for a lifestyle of being poor in spirit, he is saying that every day we must approach God being aware of two things:
1.) We must approach God fully aware that we have nothing to offer.
2.) We must approach God fully aware that He has everything that we need.
When we begin our day with these two truths, we place ourselves in a position for God to continue redeeming our lives. We no longer are trying to restore ourselves, but we relinquish control so that God can do what only He can do.
Next Jesus says,
“BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO MOURN FOR THEY WILL BE COMFORTED.”
It is easy to read this and assume Jesus is simply speaking about mourning in sadness or due to circumstances. However, He is speaking more about an awareness of our condition apart from God- a mourning sinfulness and brokenness, which sadness and circumstances are a result of.
We mourn our own brokenness and the brokenness of our world NOT to remain crippled by guilt, but to recognize the power of God’s grace over our lives and the power He gives us to be freed from our sin.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 says,
“THEREFORE WE DO NOT LOSE HEART. THOUGH OUTWARDLY WE ARE WASTING AWAY, YET INWARDLY WE ARE BEING RENEWED DAY BY DAY. FOR OUR LIGHT AND MOMENTARY TROUBLES ARE ACHIEVING FOR US AN ETERNAL GLORY THAT FAR OUTWEIGHS THEM ALL. SO WE FIX OUR EYES NOT ON WHAT IS SEEN, BUT ON WHAT IS UNSEEN, SINCE WHAT IS SEEN IS TEMPORARY, BUT WHAT IS UNSEEN IS ETERNAL.”
- 2 CORINTHIANS 4:16-18
WHEN we mourn we recognize that God is above it all and if we lift our eyes to Him, we will be comforted.
When I’m working in the ER and treating a sick child-I can offer them a sucker, a sticker, a stuffed animal, or a toy to help them deal with the pain of a procedure or just for general comfort.
However, when you can finally let a parent take them in their arms, that child’s whole world changes and they burrow their face in their parents chest everything seems better.
That’s what Jesus is saying here- you can try the things of this world to bring you comfort, but you need to be like a little child in the exercise of your faith and bury your head in God’s chest and get the real comfort your soul needs during those times of trial.
Jesus continues by saying,
“BLESSED ARE THE MEEK, FOR THEY WILL INHERIT THE EARTH.”
To be poor in spirit is an inward understanding of our humility before God - of our great need for Him.
Whereas meekness is an OUTWARD expression of our humility before God - so that OTHERS can see our great need for Him.
This is completely contrary to the way our world operates.
People throughout history have done whatever it takes, usually to the detriment of others, to build themselves up and improve their appearances to the world.
Jesus showed us a different way.
Jesus, our second Adam, laid down all appearances and allowed himself to be crucified on our behalf. In denying himself of worldly praise and exaltation, Christ’s example of meekness allows you and I to know the truth of the gospel.
I can only imagine what God would do with us if we lived with meekness, so He would be glorified.
SOURCE: A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God
“Jesus calls us to His rest, and meekness is his method. The meek man cares not at all who is greater than he, for he has long ago decided that the esteem of the world is not worth the effort. The rest Christ offers is the rest of meekness, the blessed relief which comes when we accept ourselves for what we are and cease to pretend.
It will take some courage at first, but the needed grace will come as we learn that we are sharing in this new and easy yoke with the strong Son of God Himself.”
Some great thoughts on the meaning of meekness
Jesus continues,
“BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS, FOR THEY WILL BE FILLED.”
When we are hungry and thirsty, whether physically or spiritually, we are reminded of our need for something outside of ourselves.
The best tests of a Christian’s spiritual health is this- What are you hungry for? Now some of you are taking this literally and you already answered: For you to finish this sermon so that we can go to lunch! We need to beat the Baptists to the Sunflower!
But in all seriousness, what are you hungry for? Jesus says blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, or as we mentioned last week, obedience to God, for they will be filled.
Do you crave a life that pleases God more than anything? Is your whole focus on doing what God’s will is, even if it doesn’t match what your hopes and dreams are for your life?
In the next line, Jesus states:
“BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL FOR THEY WILL BE SHOWN MERCY.”
I want to stop for a moment and note that there is a distinction between grace and mercy:
Grace is not getting what we do deserve,
but Mercy is getting what we do not deserve.
Let me repeat that again,
Grace is not getting what we do deserve,
but Mercy is getting what we do not deserve.
It is by grace that we are saved since Jesus has paid the price for what we deserved – death followed by an eternity of separation from God in a place called hell.
It is by mercy that He gives us another gift - the privilege of having a personal relationship with a holy God.
Therefore, We must be people who share the grace of Jesus,
AND
invite other people into the mercy of a relationship with God.
Jesus then says,
“BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART- FOR THEY WILL SEE GOD.”
This is a simple, but profound statement. Jesus is essentially asking his audience to examine their motives in life. If we were to drill down to the absolute question this statement is asking us it would be this-
Whose kingdom are you building?
Whose life are you living?
Whose plans are you working to fulfill?
Whose dreams are you striving to make a reality?
Whose will are you follow? Are you saying to God, “My will be done, or Your will be done?
If you can’t answer a simple yes- God it’s your will, your kingdom, your plans and your dreams I want to see happen without your answer dying the death of a 1000 equivocations, then I challenge you to reorder your thinking away from yourself and back onto God.
The answers to that will show your true heart focus- it is God’s will for you, or your will for you?
The next 3 verses I am going to condense together and read:
“BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS, THE PERSECUTED, AND THE SLANDERED.”
I can’t read these verses without seeing a picture of the cross. To the Romans, the cross was the symbol of a failed revolution; to the Jews, hanging on a tree meant you were cursed, the opposite of being blessed.
So as Jesus was hanging on the cross, everyone looking upon him would’ve seen him as a cursed person and a complete failure.
On top of that, Jesus had not sparked the revolution against the Romans as the Jew had expected their Messiah to do.
When we think of a movement bringing redemption to a country and its people, we don’t often think of one in which turning the other cheek is preached.
But that’s what Jesus did when he spoke of his Kingdom.
When Jesus went to the cross, He knew that he was embodying the cultural symbol of a failed movement.
He was persecuted because of the message he taught and lived out.
They even had insults hurled at him on Him as he died for the very people speaking those insults.
Yet Jesus still chose to be obedient to the journey placed before him by God, and trust that this was what it meant to live blessed.
BIG IDEA: YOU SEE, ALL OF THESE BEATITUDES ARE OUR TRAIL MARKERS ON A JOURNEY OF REDEMPTION.
If living like Jesus is what it looks like to be redeemed, then these 8 statements are our indicators of where we are on our journey.
So I would ask you this morning-
Are you-
Humble,
Repentive,
Meek,
Pure,
Peacemaking,
Merciful, and
Obedient
These are the kind of people that God can change the world with, and the kind that live under his blessing and his favor.
You might think that is completely the opposite of how the world would have you to live and how you interact with those around you.
You might think that is foolish and not realistic, but
1 Corinthians 1:27 says,
“BUT GOD CHOSE THE FOOLISH THINGS OF THE WORLD TO SHAME THE WISE; GOD CHOSE THE WEAK THINGS OF THE WORLD TO SHAME THE STRONG.”
Only God could turn the cross, a cultural symbol of failure, into a symbol of victory!
This is what God does, and this is what God wants to do in you and in the people around you. He wants you to be redeemed. He wants to take the broken pieces of your life, the ones that are failures in the eyes of the world, and make them something beautiful for His Glory.
The Beatitudes are our trail markers on a journey of redemption. They are the mile markers on the interstate of life. We can use these markers to confirm we are headed in the right direction toward our final destination.
Let’s pray.
