Matthew
5:1-12 NIV
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.
That Day – This Day
From the present to the future in
eternity. From the community now to the community in the future in eternity. From
the everyday trials of today to the glory of the world to come. The “Beatitudes”
are streaks of Light in the dark of today. The “Beatitudes” Jesus shares outward
today to be fulfilled by Christ today and into eternity. This is the character of
people who inherit the Kingdom of God. A character opposite of this world’s
standards. Here we see that Heaven is way ABOVE earthly life. But it’s present
to future IS for today as well.
I must completely depend on God! You
too!
In these few passages of Scripture, we
witness teaching for the disciples. Teaching about the response to Jesus’ call
out into the world and fulfilled in God’s Kingdom, today and forever. Teaching
on a mountain, kind of like when God gave His Law to Moses. Yes, teaching that
proclaims that the Kingdom of God is at hand, now, and will be complete when
Jesus returns.
In Jesus’ teaching the Spirit is on
Jesus. Remember?
Matthew
3:16 NIV
16 As soon as Jesus was
baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was
opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and
alighting on him.
Jesus’ ministry has begun,
to claim and heal the sorrowful, to bring freedom and to comfort mourners, and
so much more.
The “Beatitudes” are promises
of the Kingdom of God. For whom?
For people who trust in
God. Promises to be ACTED upon and practiced with an attitude of humility,
love, trust, and courage, NOT by the perfect, but by the converted. Here the
unfortunate ARE blessed and heaven will make the earthly wrong right. God loves
you and has not given up on you.
Blessed means to be happy
and well.
Let’s look at that word “blessed”
from the Psalms…
Psalm
1:1 NIV
1 Blessed is the one
who does not walk in
step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company
of mockers,
Psalm
32:1 NIV
1 Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are
forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Psalm
112:1 NIV
1 Praise the Lord.
Blessed are those who
fear the Lord,
who find great
delight in his commands.
Here we need to beware of
when riches become pride. FOR the poor remember their dependance on God AND are
blessed.
Back to the Psalms…
Psalm
10:2 NIV
2 In his arrogance the
wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the
schemes he devises.
Psalm
40:17 NIV
17 But as for me, I am poor
and needy;
may the Lord think of
me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
you are my God, do not
delay.
Here we hear of those put
down by the evil, but keep a loyalty to God’s will.
Pride IS the root of sin.
Now to those who mourn or
those in need of comfort.
Comforted by God. Let’s
look to some more Scripture…
Isaiah
61:1-3 NIV – Speaking to the Year of the LORD’s Favor
61 The Spirit of the
Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good
news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim
freedom for the captives
and release from darkness
for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of
vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who
grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of
despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of
the Lord
for the display of his
splendor.
While in mourning we may
feel the darkness of grief, the darkness of our sin, the darkness of loneliness,
the darkness of the tomb, the darkness of failure, however in this darkness can
be a blessing. For, it’s in the darkness that the LIGHT is revealed. Even here
on earth, in the darkness of night the stars shine the brightest.
In the darkness the
blessed mourn for their sins.
Psalm
51:3 NIV
3 For I know my
transgressions,
and my sin is always
before me.
SO --- God IS always close.
God is closer than you think.
Remember that Joy is not
the opposite of pain. Joy is sorrow accepted in forgiving love. Joy comes from
forgiveness and love, freely given by and through Jesus to ALL.
So, now what about the
meek. Don’t let our meek thinking of today through you off. Meekness is the
goodwill towards our neighbors in obedience to God’s will. You see, God watches
over His children. So, to be meek IS a good Christian characteristic. Jesus was
meek. And the meek will inherit the earth, as a reward, as a gift. Don’t let this world’s people lead you to
think that meekness is weakness. Beware of that type of thinking. Jesus WAS
meek and look what He did! So, be meek.
Now hunger and thirst.
Hunger is an intense desire. In the desert, thirst is even a more intense
desire. So, hunger for righteousness, within yourself, AND within this world.
BUT, always thirst after Christ. AND you will be changed.
2
Corinthians 3:18 NIV
18 And we all, who with
unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed
into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who
is the Spirit.
We are being changed. As
we bear our sins fully in the face of God, He forgives us and changes us into
His righteousness. This isn’t something we do, it’s a gift from God.
AND here we find JOY. We
are no longer focusing on our sins BUT now we focus on Christ AS Jesus draws us
to Himself.
Psalm
17:15 NIV
15 As for me, I will be
vindicated and will see your face;
when I awake, I will
be satisfied with seeing your likeness.
We are righteous NOT by
our own power or will, but rather by God’s, power and will.
Jesus’ promise of reward
for disciples who join with God to rescue and calm the suffering of the
unfortunate people on earth is to strive for peace, righteousness and mercy.
To be merciful is a behavior
that is sympathetic, loving, and kind.
When Jesus told the
Parable of the Good Samaritan, He told a story of a man attacked by robbers and
left half dead on the side of the road. Three people came upon this man, one a
priest, one a Levite, and one a Samaritan. Only the Samaritan stopped to help
the man. Jesus posed this question to a man, asking what he must do to inherit
eternal life…
Luke
10:36-37
36 “Which of these three do you
think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The
one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
With mercy, when you
have no words, your tears have and hold grace. The merciful are aware of their
own sins AND have love towards the other sinful of this world.
Now let’s move to
the pure in heart. The pure in heart are those single minded who try to do God’s
will.
Colossians
3:22 NIV
22 Slaves, obey your earthly
masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to
curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.
James
4:8 NIV
8 Come near to God and he
will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your
hearts, you double-minded.
The pure in heart is NOT
some of the phony bologna we sometimes see on Facebook, who just want to appear
something they are not to the world. This IS REAL stuff here.
So why be pure in heart?
Look at this reward!
Revelation
22:1-5 NIV
22 Then the angel showed me
the river of the water of life, as clear as
crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down
the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the
tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every
month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No
longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be
in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They
will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There
will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light
of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for
ever and ever.
Wow! This is a heart
involving your mind and your will, NOT only emotions. Yes, today, we CAN see
God in this world!
We are called to seek
peace as well. Not made-up peace, but real peace.
Psalm
34:14 NIV
14 Turn from evil and do
good;
seek peace and pursue
it.
This is peace both
personal and social. Peace makers will be called children of God, or some may
say Sons of God. The Sons of God aren’t some made up thing in the heavens, they
are real people that God created.
Jesus’ last will has brought
peace!
John
14:27 NIV
27 Peace I leave with you; my
peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your
hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Being restored to God IS Peace.
Yes, Jesus MADE peace.
Ephesians
2:14-16 NIV
14 For he himself is our
peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier,
the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside
in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose
was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making
peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them
to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
What is the work of peace?
To focus on the love of
God. The restoration of mankind with God so ALL turn to Christ in His presence.
Yet, in all of this, as
you work, here and now to bring justice and righteousness to the earthly
unfortunate, EXPECT to join them. You too will be persecuted AND blessed as
well. As God’s servants WE WILL be at risk of our lives. Persecution for God IS
blessing AND sacrifice.
Our reward is in Heaven AND
ON earth. This reward does not come about by bookkeeping methods. Rather the
reward is out of proportion to what we do or have done.
Matthew
19:29 NIV
29 And everyone who has left
houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or
fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit
eternal life.
Matthew
25:23 NIV
23 “His master replied, ‘Well
done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I
will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s
happiness!’
Do you see it? It’s a gift!
Luke
17:10 NIV
10 So you also, when you have
done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we
have only done our duty.’”
Yes, we do as we always should do.
Jesus lets us see God. We
see God in Jesus, in eternity. That’s not something I can see here, but I will
enjoy some day, with all the saints and angels, when I see Jesus in eternity.
Here, Jesus gives us work to do in love towards God and in love towards
neighbor.
And this teaching in the “Beatitudes”
is NOT me, or you, trying to flaunt righteousness over and above someone else.
To seek righteousness is not a work to go after. Rather, the work is the doing
of God’s will. Only God in Jesus can give you righteousness, so DON’T BE HAUGHTY!
This is an eschatological
reverse. An end-time reverse, that turns things on their head at the last
judgment.
The work of the Saints is
not only for heaven but also on this earth as well.
There will be a day when
ALL see Jesus. All will see Jesus AT THE CENTER.
Praise God for that day.
Yes, Lord, I pray, make me, and you, and all disciples, like Jesus… today… tomorrow…
and forever. --- Amen
How could I not but leave
you with this YouTube music video…
“For All the Saints”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ML6WFskgYI&list=RD9ML6WFskgYI&start_radio=1
