In His longest
recorded sermon, Jesus began by describing the traits He was looking for in His
followers. He called those who lived out
those traits blessed because God had something special in store for them. Each beatitude is an almost direct
contradiction of society's typical way of life.
In the last beatitude, Jesus even points out that a serious effort to
develop these traits is bound to create opposition. The best example of each trait is found in
Jesus Himself. If our goal is to become
like Him, the Beatitudes will challenge the way we live each day.
And seeing the
multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came
to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: (Matthew 5:1-2)
“Blessed are the
poor in spirit,
For theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those
who mourn,
For they shall be
comforted.
Blessed are the
meek,
For they shall
inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
Blessed are the
merciful,
For they shall
obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure
in heart,
For they shall see
God.
Blessed are the
peacemakers,
For they shall be
called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for
righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you
when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you
falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be
exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted
the prophets who were before you. (Matthew
5:3-12)
Matthew chapters 5-7
are called the Sermon on the Mount because Jesus gave it on a hillside near
Capernaum. This "sermon"
probably covered several days of preaching.
In it, Jesus proclaimed His attitude toward the law. Position, authority, and money are not
important in His kingdom - what matters is faithful obedience from the
heart. The Sermon on the Mount
challenged the proud and legalistic religious leaders of the day. It called them back to the messages of the
Old Testament prophets who, like Jesus, taught that heartfelt obedience is more
important than legalistic observance.
Enormous crowds were
following Jesus - He was the talk of the town, and everyone wanted to see
Him. The disciples, who were the closest
associates of this popular man, were certainly tempted to feel important,
proud, and possessive. Being with Jesus
gave them not only prestige, but also opportunity for receiving money and
power.
The crowds were
gathering once again. But before
speaking to them, Jesus pulled His disciples aside and warned them about the
temptations they would face as His associates.
Don't expect fame and fortune, Jesus was saying, but mourning, hunger,
and persecution. Nevertheless, Jesus
assured His disciples, they would be rewarded - but perhaps not in this
life. There may be times when following
Jesus will bring us great popularity. If
we don't live by Jesus' words in this sermon, we will find ourselves using
God's message only to promote our personal interests.
Jesus began His
sermon with words that seem to contradict each other. But God's way of living usually contradicts
the worlds. If you want to live for God
you must be ready to say and do what seems strange to the world. You must be willing to give when others take,
to love when others hate, to help when others abuse. By giving up your own rights in order to
serve others, you will one day receive everything God has in store for you.
There are at least
four ways to understand the Beatitudes.
(1) They are a code of ethics for
the disciples and a standard of conduct for all believers. (2)
They contrast kingdom values (what is eternal) with worldly values (what
is temporary). (3) They contrast the superficial
"faith" of the Pharisees with the real faith Christ wants. (4)
They show how the Old Testament expectations will be fulfilled in the
new kingdom. These beatitudes are not
multiple choices - pick what you like and leave the rest. They must be taken as a whole. They describe what we should be like as
Christ's followers.
The Beatitudes are
comprised of three elements: a pronouncement of blessing, a quality of life,
and a reason why the recipient should be considered blessed. The first element
is found in the word Blessed (Ps. 1:1), which introduces each beatitude. The
second element does not describe different groups of people, but a composite
picture of the kind of person who will inherit Christ’s kingdom. The third element looks ahead to some aspect
of the coming kingdom.
Each beatitude tells
how to be blessed. "Blessed"
means more than happiness. It implies
the fortunate or enviable state of those who are in God's kingdom. The Beatitudes don't promise laughter,
pleasure, or earthly prosperity. To
Jesus, "blessed" means the experience of hope and joy, independent of
outward circumstances. To find hope and
joy, the deepest form of happiness, follow Jesus no matter what the cost.
Word Focus - Blessed: (Gk. makarios) (Matthew 5:3; Luke 6:20–22;
Romans 4:7, 8; James 1:12, 25) G3107: This Greek word is derived from the root
mak, which means “large” or “lengthy,” and means “fortunate” or “happy.” The
Greek word was used in Greek literature, in the Septuagint (the Greek
translation of the Old Testament), and in the New Testament to describe the kind
of happiness that comes from receiving divine favor. The word can be rendered happy. In the New Testament it is usually passive;
God is the One who is blessing or favoring the person.
With Jesus'
announcement that the kingdom was near (Matthew 4:17), people were naturally
asking, "How do I qualify to be in God's kingdom?" Jesus said that God's kingdom is organized
differently from worldly kingdoms. In
the kingdom of heaven, wealth and power and authority are unimportant. Kingdom people seek different blessings and
benefits, and they have different attitudes.
Are your attitudes a carbon copy of the world's selfishness, pride, and
lust for power, or do they reflect the humility and self-sacrifice of Jesus,
your King?
Jesus said to rejoice
when we're persecuted. Persecution can
be good because (1) it takes our eyes off earthly rewards, (2) it strips away
superficial belief, (3) it strengthens the faith of those who endure, and (4)
our attitude through it serves as an example to others who follow. We can be comforted to know that God's
greatest prophets were persecuted (Elijah, Jeremiah, Daniel). The fact that we are being persecuted proves
that we have been faithful; faithless people would be unnoticed. In the future God will reward the faithful by
receiving them into His eternal kingdom where there is no more persecution.
These disciples were
probably confused as to the true nature of righteousness and God’s kingdom. In this address, Jesus clarified both the
heart of the law and the nature of true religion in God’s kingdom (Mic. 6:8). In a sense, Jesus turned the law, which was
mainly negative, inside out to show its positive core (Matthew 5: 17).
Father God, it is my
prayer this morning that I humble myself before You and rely upon You to help
me make it through this ungodly and wicked world. Lord, I will continue to try my best to keep
your commandments and live my life in a way that will bring glory to You. Thank you Lord for dying for me on the cross
and being there when I need you most. I
pray this all in Jesus’ name. Amen.
References: NKJV
Holy Bible, Life Application Bible (NIV), the Nelson Study Bible.
12 comments:
Nice.
Parabéns pelo blog...
Que Deus continue abençoando voce e sua familia poderosamente...
Abraços...
As you pointed out the beatitudes are exactly opposite to the spirit or attitude of the world around us. The key to fulfilling them is allowing the Holy spirit to produce the attitudes described as fruit of the spirit in our spirit.
Thanks, Lloyd.
I want to print this out and keep it around for me to read always. You preached the word, and then explained it...thank you so much for being a light for the Lord!
May the Lord continue to use you, Lloyd. The truth is unpopular, which is why persecution is inevitable. The truth produces the character God desires, so those who adhere to the truth are led by God to become the kind of children He wishes us to be.
Since Christ our Lord is the truth it is imperative that we abide in Him always and permit Him to transform us from inside-out. Gillian and I will hold you up in prayer, brother. Keep fighting that good fight! Yours in Christ, Ian.
I love the beatitudes. They show how no matter how weak we are, Jesus makes it strength. The things the world views as strong, are weak. Upside down and backwards, there's hope for us all!
Thanks Lloyd!
Truth to return to in meditation from time to time. Such a very important post.
Really good post Lloyd. I quote you to make my point here: "Position, authority, and money are not important in His kingdom - what matters is faithful obedience from the heart." In life today, certainly in the UK, all that seems to matter is position, authority amd money! Even in organised Christianity these things seem to matter far more than just following Jesus with a whole heart as best we can each day. We take the simple and the profound and make it complicated and unfathomable, and turn the gospel into something it's not.
It seems that there are millions of individuals around the world who hold to the Beatitudes regardless of the worldliness around them, and that is a good thing.
Thanks for posting such a well-written and considered piece.
Thank you for writing this post. I was especially glad for these words, though this is not the theme of the post: "It called them back to the messages of the Old Testament prophets who, like Jesus, taught that heartfelt obedience is more important than legalistic observance."
Reminded me of Hos 6:6 - For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
God is and always has been most interested in our faith showing in our character (modeled after His own).
And then she realized her previous comment was not drawn to a close. My apologies. My previous comment housed the train of thought that revolves around this post's theme. This was the conclusion of my thought, which is more tangential. Once again, you made a good point about Jesus preaching the same thing the prophets preached. That reminded me of the other verse I posted as well as the following:
Heb. 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
which then led to...
Heb. 1:10-12 - You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain; And they will grow old like a garment; Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail.
godbless more!
short, simple and full of wisdom. Hope you are doing well. I sent you a mail.
Take care and God bless you.
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