"Bankrupt Before God"
Matthew 5:1-3
Introduction :
1.Jesus instructed them in view of "entrance" into the coming kingdom (4:17).
a) Natural questions on the heart of every Jew would have been, "Am I eligible to enter Messiah’s kingdom?"
"Am I righteous enough to qualify for entrance?"
2.The only standard of righteousness the people knew was that of the scribes/Pharisees.
a)"Would one who followed that standard be acceptable in Messiah’s kingdom?" It is not a salvation sermon, but a sermon on "Holiness."
b) The sermon was to instruct the saved on how they are to live to please Christ. The Beatitudes are the "Standards" for living the Christian life.
3. In Matthew 5:1-16, Jesus shows us that true righteousness is inward.
a) The word beatitude is not found in your Bible. It is Latin for "Blessed."
b) "Blessed" in the Greek is pronounced "makarios," meaning "fortunate, happy."
e) There is an inner "Happiness" to those that apply these principles.
[I] Notice the importance of the Beatitudes. (Matthew 5:1-2)
1.Jesus is about to give the NT Commandments.
a) Matthew is paralleling the NT beatitudes with the OT Ten Commandments. Notice the phrase "He went up on a mountainside and sat down…"
The comparison is threefold:
1.The Ten Commandments were given from a mountain.
2.It was God that gave them to man.
3.They were both given to a kingdom of people.
Our Lord was emphasizing the importance of His Kingdom rules.
2.The beatitudes are coming from someone of great wisdom.
a) "And sat down…" That is how all great teachers taught in those days. The sitting down represented great wisdom and important teaching.
3.The Beatitudes are indeed an important document.
a) Notice the phrase, "And opening His mouth He began to teach them saying." In the Greek the phrase has a double significance:
1.It was used when a "solemn, grave, dignified utterance was given.
2.It is used of a utterance when a person is really pouring out his heart.
a) Notice the word "Taught." In the Greek "taught" is a verb and in the aorist, imperfect form. It means that Jesus taught theses beatitudes repeatedly, and habitually.
b) William Barclay (DSB):
"The Sermon on the Mount is greater even than we think. Matthew in his introduction wishes us to see that it, is the official teaching of Jesus; that it is the opening of Jesus’ whole mind (and heart) to His disciples; that it is the summery of the teaching which Jesus habitually gave…The Sermon on the Mount is nothing less than the concentrated memory of many hours of heart to heart communion between the disciples and their Master."
[II] Notice the one who has that inner happiness (v.3a)
1."Blessed are the poor in spirit…"
a) "Poor" = in the Greek has two meanings:
b) One that makes a living and barely makes ends meet from week to week.
c) One who is utterly broke. "Poor" comes from a Greek root word that means "to be taken to one’s knees."
It means Happy is the man that is absolutely destitute.
d) "In spirit…" Notice the little "s" in spirit.
Remember John 4, and the woman at the well, "must worship in spirit and in truth." Spirit speaks of one’s attitude. "A high spirited horse," The breaking of a child’s spirit."
2.Combinding poor and spirit together:
a) (NCV) = "Those people who know they have great spiritual needs are happy."
b)(TLB) = "Humble men are very fortunate…"
c) William Barclay = "Blessed in the man who has realized his own utter helplessness
And who has put his whole trust in God.
d) One preacher said it best, "Happy is the one who is bankrupt before God!"
3.How can we know when we have become humble?
a) When we wean our self from the "I" syndrome, and let God be # 1.
b) We will strive to be more like Christ and not liked by the world.
c) We will learn to be content in what ever situation God places us in.
4. We will strive to forgive others knowing we are no better than they are.
5. We will accept Christ on His terms and not ours.
[III] Notice the result of the one who is bankrupt before God? "The Kingdom is his."
