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.
What A Teacher!
Oh, the crowds that followed Jesus.
Jesus was always aware of the crowds. Jesus was always compassionate towards
those crowds. Crowds drawn to Him to hear teaching, to witness healing, and to
see miracles.
And Jesus goes up to the mount. Think
about that. It seems to me, whenever I’ve withdrawn to a higher place, maybe a
mountain, maybe just a higher place, especially when I’m on my own; there’s
something special about it. Not only does the air thin out but it seems to me
my space to God thins out. Many times, it’s much quieter than what I would
experience in the valley. And God did meet His people on mountains, think of
Moses. So here as well with Jesus, this mount is like a higher connection with
God.
And it’s on this mount that Jesus sits
to teach. Jewish teachers often sat to teach. This position was an invite for
those listening to pay close attention. There is something very important about
to be taught, so listen.
Now we see that the disciples come to
hear Jesus. Disciples yearn to hear Jesus teach. They are followers of not only
His very being, but also followers of His teachings. As we draw near to the
Word in the Bible, as we draw near to the spoken Word from the pulpit, as we
draw near to Baptism and Communion; we are expressing our deep desire to learn
and understand what God calls us to do and how God wishes for us to act. Draw
near and be eager to listen to Jesus speak.
And when Jesus begins to speak, it’s
the main event. Listen, look at His expressions, and feel his love for all
those who are eager to hear Him.
Just who are the poor in spirit?
If we look to Isaiah 66:2 we see…
Has not my hand made all
these things,
and so they
came into being?”
declares the Lord.
“These are the ones I look on
with favor:
those who
are humble and contrite in spirit,
and who
tremble at my word.
God looks with favor on the humble and
the contrite in spirit. This is a radical teaching. Humility can get all mixed
up with weakness. But the one that is truly humble is one of the most powerful characteristics
of a leader. And it’s these types of people that will come into the Kingdom of
God. Leaders are humble, joyful, servants of God.
Humble servants are acutely aware that
they need the grace of God. They are aware that open and honest, looking into
the mirror of the reality of sin, brings about a change that God begins and
ends. For servant leaders know they depend on God for forgiveness, guidance and
salvation, from themselves, and this evil world.
In this we mourn. We mourn for our own
sins and the sins of this world. We know how evil man can be and we mourn these
evil intentions that are used against one another. So, how does God bring
comfort to all who mourn?
Through the actions and working of the
Holy Spirit in the lives of Jesus’ disciples. Jesus will bring comfort, but the
Holy Spirit will be present always. Comfort to embolden those who live in fear,
and comfort to wipe away every tear, so that mourning can stop, and hope may
begin.
Revelation
21:4 NIV
4 ‘He will wipe every tear
from their eyes. There will be no more death’[a] or mourning or
crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
So, let’s show empathy for
one another. We all struggle with something. Let’s look out for one another to
wipe away the tears of sinfulness and struggle, from the lives of all those God
sets in your life, day after day. We need each other.
Be meek and show humility.
When one is meek, they are really under the control of the Holy Spirit. It’s
hard to be meek by your own effort. This is a quality of Jesus. Look at His
life as an example of meekness. And guess what happened as Jesus displayed
meekness? He inherited everything! Not just the earth but the entire Kingdom of
God.
Revelation
21:1 NIV
Then I
saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”[a] for the first heaven
and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
So, with and through, the
gifts of the Holy Spirit, we are called to meekness and to submit our lives to
God’s call, taking the actions, that God has equipped, and sent us to do, day
after day. When we exhibit meekness towards one another, we put the other
person first and respond in grace and patience and love. This is an eternal
perspective towards God and one another.
I saw a homeless man on the news just
the other day. In the interview, he was cold and hungry and needed a warm place
to stay. Sure, there were shelters around, and perhaps he found one to stay at
for the night. But what struck me, although this man had nothing to live on, or
places to stay, he told the reporter that he prayed a lot each day. He had
faith that God would care for him, as God cares for even the birds. This man
not only hungered for what he needed to sustain his earthly life; he also
hungered for what God could give him to sustain his spiritual life. I’m sure
God has filled this man in more ways than one. How much do I need to be
thankful that God blesses me and those around me who hunger and thirst for
righteousness? I’m sure God fills us to more than we could ever wish or need.
So, yes, to this homeless man on the
news, you teach all of us how God drives us earnestly to seek prayer,
scripture, and worship.
Psalm
107:9 NIV
9 for he (the LORD)
satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with
good things.
So, how can we be merciful
to, and for, one another? Well, first to show compassion. Show compassion for
the plight of those around us and put to action the love of God that God has
shown us in Christ Jesus. This is more than prayer. Prayer is great, but
following prayer we are sent out in love to respond with loving action to our
neighbors. And this loving action extends to ALL people, not just those like
ourselves, or those who may agree with our way of thinking or living. This
means ALL. Jesus didn’t pick and choose, Jesus only did the choosing stuff, and
His choosing was ALL.
When you don’t pick and
choose, you exhibit an honest love for the other. In some sense, you are pure
in heart. Hypocrisy is left behind and you love in a way that God loves His
creation. This incorporates some of the end-time thinking.
Revelation
22:4 NIV
4 They will see his
face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
When we see the face of
God, He marks us as His own. His own who live in His Kingdom, now and forever.
Now, that’s a pure heart!
The pure in heart will
be peacemakers. It’s not about the winning. I’ve had to struggle with this all
my life. I want to always be right. Well, I ain’t! I’m wrong a whole bunch of
the time and hate to admit it. My wife, Sue, likes to keep the peace. I can
learn from her, but I still tend to be stubborn and try to go my own way.
Jesus came to this
earth to establish peace between mankind and God. How? Well, He forgave us, and
He died for us to defeat sin, death and the devil that we may freely have
peace. Now that, there, is a peacemaker. May we let the heart of Christ’s
peacemaking grow in us to help us to put behind our pride and be people to keep
the peace with and for one another. That’s what we are called to do, you know!
Keeping the peace is
not giving in. Keeping the peace is reconciling differences in love for one
another. It’s a humble act of love. Keeping the peace puts the other person’s
needs above your own.
So, there you have it. The prosperity
Gospel. But not the kind of prosperity that many preachers and people of today
believe in. This prosperity comes in eternity with Jesus as we lay our lives
down to do His will in the way He would have us to it. Jesus is open and honest
here with His disciples. There WILL be suffering for those who walk in the way
of Jesus. Doing what is “right” in the eyes of God rubs wrong with what mankind
believes is “right” in the eyes of man. Doing what is right in the eyes of man
is supposed to bring on power, monetary gain, prestige and accomplishments that
are fruitful for life here on, and in, this world in which we live. But doing
the will of God will most likely rub this world’s leaders the wrong way and
bring on persecution, suffering and maybe even death. But guess what?
The true disciple of Jesus, the
disciple that follows Jesus to do His will, not their own, will be given the
kingdom of heaven. There’s more to life than what we see here and now. We live
in this world for a really brief amount of time, compared to our life with God
in His Kingdom in eternity.
This promise from God is not just a
promise for now, but it’s a promise for those who live under God’s will. Our
riches don’t reside here on earth.
Philippians
3:20 NIV
20 But our
citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there,
the Lord Jesus Christ,
And as Jesus speaks to us
in this teaching, we have already heard our Savior from heaven.
But as we live our life in
this world of opposites as compared to heaven, we can be sure that we will be
insulted and persecuted. People with worldly thinking just can’t get past
themselves and their own will to gain life and riches and power in the here and
now. They can’t grasp a future world beyond the one in which they currently
live, nor do they want to even think of that, because they simply don’t believe
in anything else.
So, expect to be mocked,
and insulted, socially, and slandered behind your back. This is how faith comes
to us as we believe in all that Jesus has done.
What’s the big deal here?
It’s because of Jesus, that the persecution comes. When a disciple follows
Jesus, that connection alone draws out the very suffering that Jesus took upon
Himself to save.
But, guess what? This
association with Jesus’ suffering and death, also comes with the promise and
sure hope of resurrection. This is the ultimate blessing of Jesus for ALL his
disciples.
And here Jesus bids us to
joy. Here Jesus tells us we will be glad. Here Jesus shows us His triumph for
us.
In my foyer, I have a few
pictures that were given to me that I cherish to see each day. Two of those
pictures are of Jesus with children. In one picture Jesus is sitting in a
circle teaching the children. In the other picture, Jesus is dancing in a play
game in a circle with the children. In both of these pictures there is a smile
on Jesus’ face. The third picture in my foyer is a picture of Jesus laughing.
All three of these pictures make me think of the joy and gladness and laughter
Jesus has in store for all of His believing disciples. And guess what? We’re
all children, living in the great reward of heaven. Sometimes you just have to
look beyond the persecution, and endure and be faithful to God, to see that joy
in heaven.
All of these teachings of Jesus are
really hard to follow. But, follow, we must. I need to go back over Jesus’
teachings each and every day. Why? Because I’ll forget, or choose to be lazy
and turn and run from His teachings. I need to face into my sinfulness every
day. Why? Because as I face my sin, God spins me around to show me the face of
Jesus and what He did to call me and claim me as His own. I need to hear the
Gospel of God every day. Why? Because it’s way too easy to forget and look in
to myself and my own selfish needs. I need to hear these “Beatitudes” often.
Why? Because I’ll wander from their rich supply of guidance and not project the
love, compassion, understanding, forgiveness and care to all those people God
places in my life each and every day.
So, at least for now, stop, listen and
respond to the teachings of Jesus offered in these passages of Scripture. Why?
Because you too are called to live out the love of God in your world, here and
now.
There it is folks! God requires His
disciples to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly. As I look at my own
sin, I must admit and confess those times that I wasn’t just to my neighbor, I
wasn’t loving to my neighbor, I didn’t show mercy to my neighbor and I was
proud and haughty in the face of my neighbor. Forgive me Lord! Forgive me my
neighbor! Lord, you have shown me my sinfulness, now I ask that you change me
into what You would have me be.
How about we just take care of one
another. Stand tall against evil, the vile, the oppressor, and those who take
advantage of neighbor. Speak truth from the heart with love and compassion that
defends one another and does no wrong to a neighbor.
What the world thinks brings power,
riches, wisdom and strength to people or places, God declares as foolishness.
God doesn’t see things like we do with our earthly, fleshly, eyes. God sees all
things in His own and ultimate power and strength. So, as we believe one thing,
God sees, just about the opposite thing as being powerful, rich and strong.
Which causes us to believe in the love of God for the poor, the powerless, the
ones who mourn or those who are lost and homeless. Of these people God seeks to
save and forgive and to bring to Him… today… tomorrow… and forever. Thanks be
to God!
Here is a great YouTube Music Video I
found…
“The Beatitudes”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa7KN0Pl3qg&list=RDoa7KN0Pl3qg&start_radio=1
Willis Wheatley's 'Laughing Jesus.'
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