Matthew 5:1-12
Bless You!
Today is a sermon on a sermon, perhaps the most famous sermon of all: the Beatitudes, part of Jesus’ longer Sermon on the Mount. The word “beatitude” means “blessed” in Latin. The Beatitudes are all about finding blessings in unexpected places. Who would expect to be blessed in persecution, or in mourning?
I’ve always approached the Beatitudes as a standard to reach for: we should have more mercy, we should be peacemakers, we should hunger and thirst for righteousness. But an article by Gary Carver [https://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/4638/sermon-options-february-2-2020] encouraged me to look again. If you actually look at the text, Jesus is not setting up some kind of gold standard for his followers. What he IS saying is, “This is what will naturally happen as you follow me. You WILL be blessed. This is part of the life I am calling you to.” Let’s consider what it means to be blessed, how it may affect our life, and what we are to do with it. First, we can...
1. Choose blessing by following Christ
Verses 1 and 2 set up the setting for Jesus’ famous sermon:
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. (vv. 1-2)
Rabbis traditionally sat down before they began to teach. All of his gathered disciples would recognize by his actions that he was about to share some profound thoughts for following God. So these scriptures are for the person who is already a follower of Christ, already a believer. Sure, others can aspire to becoming a peacemaker, or to one who grieves with hope. But for the believer, these are a given.
Carver imagines Jesus saying something like, “You who have responded to my call with your faith are blessed. Because you are mine, you have the ability to choose a certain kind of life.” And Carver summarizes, “When you make this choice, wonderful results can happen.” In my own words, as you choose daily to put Jesus first, everything changes! In Jesus’ own words,
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” – Jesus (Matthew 16:24-25)
So, right off the bat, recognize the beatitudes as a summary of blessings that are there for the believer to choose. As we follow Christ daily, putting him first in our lives, these things WILL happen: we will be “poor in spirit” (v. 3) as we become acutely aware of our poverty apart from God and our desperate need for God; we will be “meek” (v. 5), operating with all our power under control of the Holy Spirit (meek Christ-centered husbands will never “lord it” over their wives or children; they will never abuse their strength); and we will hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness and be satisfied by it (v. 6). These things will happen automatically as we follow Jesus and become filled with his Holy Spirit.
And then, #2, we need to remember...
2. When hard times come, focus on the blessing
This life is hard. Elsewhere (Matthew 24:9), Jesus promised persecution for those who would follow him. It’s not easy to be a believer at times. Yet, here in the Beatitudes, Jesus over and over urges us to focus on blessing over trial. Consider verses 11 and 12 as an example:
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Jesus says, “You receive a little persecution? Don’t worry about it. You’re in good company. And I’ve got you. The Father in Heaven will take care of you. You’re going to be ok. In fact, you’re going to be more than ok; you’re going to be blessed!”
When bad things come our way—maybe the death of someone we love, or someone maligns our reputation—Jesus says, “Focus on what you’re gaining, not what you’re losing. Focus on surviving and thriving, not on just being a victim.”
For instance, you find yourself lacking spiritually (v. 3)? Know that as you hunger more for God, you’re going to gain the Kingdom of Heaven. You find yourself in mourning over loss (v. 4)? Know that God will comfort you. As you are able to focus solely and primarily on God’s will and God’s plan (v. 8), your purity of heart will enable you to see God on the move.
This week our nation and world has been mourning the loss of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, along with his family and friends. When a celebrity dies, everyone mourns, because everyone is suddenly reminded of the fragile nature of life. Anyone can die at any moment, including those we love. Yet, we as Christians are also reminded that death has no final hold over us, nor over the Christian believers we love. God has the final word and God has overcome death. Even in mourning, we are blessed, as we look ahead to the life that awaits us in Christ.
The blessings are there for the taking; we just need to focus on them. Stop focusing on the negative, and start seeing the positive; see what God is trying to show you. And when you experience a blessing, #3,
3. Pass on a blessing to others
To those who have been given much, much will be expected (Luke 12:48). As we realize how much God has blessed us, we’re supposed to give the blessings away to others, so they will get to know this God who is so full of blessing, and follow him as well.
A good example of this is in the area of forgiveness. V. 7 says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” What a great promise! You show mercy to others, and God will show mercy to you. Don’t we all need mercy sometime? In fact, this subject of forgiveness is the only time Jesus adds interpretation to his Model Prayer we say every Sunday. At the end of the Lord’s Prayer, the Lord adds these words, found in Matthew 6:14-15, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” There is a direct link between your choice to treat others better than they deserve and God’s choice to treat you better than you deserve. Therefore, Christians should excel above all others in forgiveness, because we know—we know!—how much we have been forgiven!
And then there’s the idea of a peacemaker, in verse 9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Instead of fueling the conflict around us, we’re supposed to look for solutions, to bring warring parties together, to extend peace rather than conflict. We are sharing the blessing because God in Christ reconciled with us.
This idea of sharing the blessing reminds me of that old movie, “Pay it Forward.” Remember that? It was about a boy who was dying who decided to pass on little blessings to others, asking for nothing in return except for them to “pay forward” the blessing to others in need. And he started a revolution in his town.
I’m also reminded of 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, where the Apostle Paul writes, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” When you receive comfort from God, pass it on to others! When you recognize your blessing from Jesus, pass it on! Some of you have lost a spouse since you’ve lived here. You were blessed through unspeakable tragedy by the love and friendship of those around you. People reached out. People checked on you. People let you know you weren’t alone, you weren’t forgotten. Through their love, you sensed God’s love. And now, many of you have been able to pass it on, to share that love with others who are now walking where you once walked.
Anybody here live out these blessings perfectly all the time? Of course not. We all fail. But Jesus’ teaching reminds us they are available to us whenever we need them. The blessings are real, and are there for the taking.
In his book The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer asks concerning these Beatitudes, “Is there any place on earth for such a community? Clearly there is one place, and only one, and that is where the poorest, meekest and most sorely tried of all men is to be found—on the cross at Golgotha. The fellowship of the beatitudes is the fellowship of the crucified.”
As we prepare today to take the Lord’s Supper, we remember the One who lived out perfectly each of the blessings: Jesus is focused clearly and fully on the will of the Father, Jesus receives comfort even as he mourns at Golgotha, Jesus is the very definition of meekness: power under control. Jesus hungers for righteousness. Jesus is merciful to all he meets. Jesus has the purest of hearts. Jesus made the peace between a rightfully angry God and his rebellious creation. And Jesus was persecuted, all the way to a criminal’s death. But he prevailed, because he knew his reward in heaven would be great. And because he loved you and me so much, and wanted these blessings for us as well. Let’s pray about it:
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for showing us blessing over curse. Help us to choose blessing, to choose life, to choose you every day, as we decline the pity parties of victimhood and instead seek to thrive through what you have for us. We are thankful, Father, for your love. Holy Spirit, thank you for enabling us to obey. We pray all this in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen!
[Communion]
Matthew 5:1-12
5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
