Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount–Jesus turns human social order on its head by stating that it is humility, gentleness, and purity that God truly values, rather than power or wealth.
Jesus’ message in the so-called Sermon on the Mount challenges us to rethink our values and priorities. He promises rich blessings to the poor, the downtrodden, and the humble–people we wouldn’t ordinarily think of as especially blessed.
We must know the Teacher before His teaching can make sense to us or be real in our lives! He teaches with the Spirit in mind to empower us, and His grace sustains us. In so doing, He does not teach us a set of “dos and don’ts,” but reveals to us a picture of life, as it should be.
Christ is the Teacher, but He is not only a Teacher! If we see Him only as a teacher, we will become flustered by being totally unable to do as He instructs. He has set a standard that we could never meet on our own. We can only do this in God’s power .
Matthew 5:1-12 (New International Version, ©2011)
Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount
1 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.
The Beatitudes
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Poor In Spirit:
Jesus says that the poor in spirit are blessed in the kingdom of heaven. In his kingdom, the weak are strong and the lowly are uplifted.
This may to bring to mind ideas of physical and social poverty, but it actually means total dependence on God, realizing our sinfulness (Psalm. 40:17; 86:1; 109:22; Jer. 22:15-16)!
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Morn:
Jesus preaches that the weary and broken-down are the ones who will truly experience God’s blessings. Here, he singles out those who are mourning and grieving as people who will receive comfort from God. Most people assume it means those of us who have lost a loved one, but it actually means that we realize that we are sinful and fallen before God and need a Savior! Thus, we mourn, grieve, and lament for our sin and evil and our lost state!
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Meek:
Jesus turned upside down the social mores of the day, by declaring that it is the weak and humble–the meek–who are truly blessed of God, not the strong and powerful. Meek is not weakness, or a lack of strength, but our humbleness because of the first two beatitudes. Thus, we are gentle toward God and others (Psalm 37:11).
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Hunger:
Jesus overturns many commonly accepted social mores and teachings that those who lack are more blessed than those who “have it all.” In this verse, he teaches that those who hunger after spiritual truth will find their needs satisfied. Hunger and thirst for righteousness is seeking the depths of God’s love and righteousness, and in so doing, be committed to continuing to allow yourselves to grow in maturity, being transformed and renewed (Rom. 12:1-3).
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Merciful: Is the love, respect, honor and action to help those in need. It is placing ourselves in someone else’s shoes because we see our own need for mercy
(Matt. 18:21-35).
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Pure in Heart:
Pure in Heart is not innocence, but rather it is to have a disposition that has no room for selfishness, or hidden motives, so our path is in harmony with Christ. We do this with a concern to please God because our will has been yielded to His.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Peacemakers:
Jesus tells us that the peacemakers are blessed in the Kingdom of God. He says that they will be called Sons of God. This is not the peace of the hippie movement, or between nations, but the peace we have with God because His wrath is appeased by Christ’s atonement on our behalf. We are willing to make peace with others because we have found peace with God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Persecuted for righteousness sake is having endured undeserving, harsh environments, torn relationships, loss, and abuse because of taking a stand for knowing and proclaiming Christ.
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.
Many of the Old Testament prophet’s suffering, refers to the cost of obedience (Psalm 44:22; 69:7; Jer. 12:10-13). They did not speak what the people wanted to hear, so they underwent persecution (Jer. 6: 13-15; 8:8-12; 23:16-22; 28:8-9).
When you take a stand in teaching truth, you will get opposition–not just from the sinners of the world, but also from the leaders of the Church! The Old Testament prophets and Jesus did, as did the reformers, and others who stand for Christ in an organization that caters to self and agenda of the leaders. People do not like to be faced with their wrongdoings, or wrong actions. They especially do not like to be challenged for their presumptions and assumptions!
When you teach, the burden of proof is on you to give accurate information. When you listen to instruction, your responsibility is to listen. That means you have to yield what you want to hear to what you need to hear and what God wants you to hear!
The Jews at the time did not believe that prophets still existed or were there with them (John the Baptist). Thus, they were astonished at Jesus’ and John’s teachings. The boldness of John, and the miracles of Jesus backing up His teaching, was the proof that these were not ordinary men, but God-sent men on an extraordinary mission. Further proof was expounded when the disciples died for the Masters teaching. No man died for another’s words in that culture!
References:
Christ the Teacher “The Beatitudes” Part 2 – By Dr. Richard J. Krejcir