THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT - PART ONE

 INTRODUCTION

 

JESUS CHRIST’S SERMON on the Mount is considered by many to be the greatest discourse ever spoken.  It was delivered sometime between the beginning and midpoint of His ministry about 27-28 A.D.  The most complete record of Jesus’ sermon can be found in the 5^th - 7^th chapters of the Gospel of St. Matthew in the Bible.  A less complete account is recorded in St. Luke’s Gospel, chapter 6, starting at verse 20. 

 

There has been some debate among Bible scholars about these two accounts.  Some say that they were essentially the same sermon preached at two different times and at two different locations because Matthew mentions that it took place on a mount while Luke says it took place on a plain.  I personally believe that because there is a paragraph break starting at Luke 6:20, the Sermon itself can be separated from the verses above it that describe Jesus as standing in a plain (Luke 6:17).  In Matthew, the very reason that Jesus went up into a mountain was because of the multitudes in the plain.  “And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain…” (Matthew 5:1).  The transition between chapter 4 and 5 in Matthew, and verses 19 and 20 in Luke 6 are too similar in my opinion to be two separate events.  I believe that Luke simply didn’t think it relevant to state where Jesus preached His Sermon and focused instead on what He preached.  This seems like the simplest and most reasonable explanation to me.

 

The Sermon on the Mount contains some of the most recognizable passages in the Bible.  The Beatitudes, which open Jesus’ message, for example, are well-known and have been quoted by countless authors, politicians, evangelists and teachers.  Other familiar passages include “Ye are the salt of the earth,” “Ye are the light of the world,” “Love your enemies,” “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also,” “Consider the lilies of the field,” “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof,” “Judge not that ye be not judged,” and many more.  The Lord’s Prayer is also contained in the Sermon on the Mount.

 

There are many who consider the Sermon on the Mount to be full of ideals which man can never attain to.  Outside of grace, I would tend to agree with them.  In my own feeble strength and willpower I can never fulfill the righteousness of God.  My spirit is ever willing, but my flesh is weak.  Through the new birth, and faith in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, however, I find that I can do all things through Him Who is my strength and hope.   In his book, The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “Humanly speaking, it is possible to understand the Sermon on the Mount in a thousand different ways.  But Jesus knows only one possibility: simple surrender and obedience - not interpreting or applying it, but doing and obeying it.  That is the only way to hear His words.  He does not mean for us to discuss it as an ideal.  He really means for us to get on with it.”

 

Oswald Chambers wrote these words about the Sermon on the Mount in his devotional, My Utmost For His Highest:

 

“Beware of placing our Lord as a Teacher first.  If Jesus Christ is a Teacher only, then all He can do is to tantalize me by erecting a standard I cannot attain.  What is the use of presenting me with an ideal I cannot possibly come near?  I am happier without knowing it.  What is the good of telling me to be what I never can be — to be pure in heart, to do more than my duty, to be perfectly devoted to God?  I must know Jesus Christ as Saviour before His teaching has any meaning for me other than that of an ideal which leads to despair.  But when I am born again of the Spirit of God, I know that Jesus Christ did not come to teach only: He came to make me what He teaches I should be.  The Redemption means that Jesus Christ can put into any man the disposition that ruled His own life, and all the standards God gives are based on that disposition.

 

“The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount produces despair in the natural man — the very thing Jesus means it to do.  As long as we have a self-righteous, conceited notion that we can carry out Our Lord’s teaching, God will allow us to go on until we break our ignorance over some obstacle, then we are willing to come to Him as paupers and receive from Him.  ‘Blessed are the paupers in spirit,’ that is the first principle in the Kingdom of God.  The bedrock in Jesus Christ’s kingdom is poverty, not possession; not decisions for Jesus Christ, but a sense of absolute futility — ‘I cannot begin to do it.’  Then Jesus says — ‘Blessed are you.’  That is the entrance, and it does take us a long while to believe we are poor!  The knowledge of our own poverty brings us to the moral frontier where Jesus Christ works.”

 

It is our surrender to God’s purpose and will that empowers us.  He requires truthfulness in our inward parts.  Our profession of faith in God means nothing without an understanding that we are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked outside of Christ (Revelation 3:17).  We must learn to yield ourselves to God as those that are alive from the dead, and to submit our bodies as instruments of righteousness to God (Romans 6:13).  Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. said, “Most people are willing to take the Sermon on the Mount as a flag to sail under, but few will use it as a rudder by which to steer.”

 

I especially like C.S. Lewis’ answer to someone who asked him if he cared for the Sermon on the Mount.  He wrote, “As to ‘caring for’ the Sermon on the Mount, if ‘caring for’ here means ‘liking’ or enjoying, I suppose no one ‘cares for’ it.  Who can like being knocked flat on his face by a sledgehammer?  I can hardly imagine a more deadly spiritual condition than that of a man who can read that passage with tranquil pleasure.”

 

Like it or leave it, the Sermon on the Mount brings us face to face with the Savior.  Rather than making God’s standard of righteousness more attainable for flesh and blood, it actually makes it appear impossible to attain.  It teaches us that we must abandon the notion that we can achieve God’s holiness by our own efforts and outside of Christ.  It is only through Jesus that we can do all things.  It is in Him that we are empowered to do the impossible.  When we read Jesus’ great Sermon, we may be tempted to say with His disciples, “Who then can be saved?”  But Jesus’ answer echoes across the centuries, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” (Luke 18:26, 27).  Our encounter with Jesus’ teaching will either humble us, bring us to repentance, along with a deep heart surrender and faith; or it will leave us full of excuses and a desire to leave it lay and “walk no more with Him.”  Either way, we are going to be changed - for the better or for the worse.

 

SECTION II

THINGS WHICH ARE IMPOSSIBLE

 

"And He [Jesus] said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." (Luke 18:27).

 

"And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible." (Mark 10:27).

 

The laws of God are impossible to keep.  Despite all of the miracles that God showed to Israel, they still failed miserably at keeping them.  Repeatedly, the Lord would deliver them from the bondage that came as a result of their bad choices, and repeatedly they would disobey His instructions again and wind up in a worse state.  In the fullness of time, God sent His own Son, Jesus, to reveal the truth to the world, and lead men to salvation.  His message was not what many expected, however.  His teachings turned that which was already impossible into something even more difficult!

 

Jesus told the folks who had gathered to hear Him speak His Sermon on the Mount that unless their righteousness exceeded that of the scribes and Pharisees (the religious leaders of His time) they would be shut out of the Kingdom of Heaven.  The scribes and Pharisees prided themselves in being meticulous about keeping God's commandments.  The people generally accepted this as true, and looked to them as their examples of godliness.  If these men's place in heaven was suspect, where did that leave everyone else?

 

Jesus used many examples of how righteousness needed to go beyond that which was commonly accepted as "good enough."  In His great Sermon Jesus taught that just keeping the letter of the Law did not go far enough.  It needed to go much deeper: to the thought-life, to the heart, and to the spirit of the Law.  Jesus summed up His instructions by telling the Jews, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48).  This was a tall order to be sure!  There was purpose behind Jesus' teaching, however.  He wanted to be sure that the law was an insurmountable obstacle standing in the way of man's best efforts to be holy through his own will and determination.  He wanted the law to appear outrageously impossible for man to obey so that it would work its intended purpose in man's heart: to be a schoolmaster to convince man of his need for a Savior and bring him to Christ.  Along with establishing the righteousness of God Almighty, the law brings us all to the realization that we are unable and unequipped to meet its holy demands.  

 

As Paul so eloquently explains in his letter to the Romans, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.  Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:19, 20). And to the Galatians Paul wrote, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” (Galatians 3:24).  This is why Jesus said, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot [the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, “י”, the smallest of them all] or one tittle [little lines or projections, that distinguish Hebrew letters from other similar ones] shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." (Matthew 5:17, 18). 

 

The law has a necessary and important role to play in bringing us to salvation.  It is meant to convince us of sin so that in our desperation we might turn to the Savior and quit trusting in ourselves.  Therefore, Jesus wanted to establish the law, not destroy it; but He also came to fulfill it (Romans 3:31).  Only through Christ can the righteousness of the law be fulfilled.  "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8:3, 4).  “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16, 17).  The Gospel of Christ is the only way that mankind can fulfill the righteousness of God, and the Gospel is made effectual to us through faith.

 

Some think that Jesus came to lower the bar by doing away with the law so more people could get into heaven.  Their damnation is just who teach such folly.  In fact, Jesus came to raise the bar to a level where only the pure of heart could enter in; only those who hunger and thirst for righteousness could secure a place; and only the meek and the merciful would ever tread heaven's courts.  Jesus Christ is the only man Who was able to fulfill the law in every point, and it is through His victory that we can gain the victory over sin, the flesh, and the devil.

 

When we allow Jesus Christ to truly be Lord of our hearts and lives, then we will seek the good of our brothers and sisters and not want to do anything that would degrade them or hurt them.  Our hearts will be free from lust, and we will not look on the opposite sex with impure thoughts or intentions.  We will love our spouses, and commit our marriages to God to repair and to maintain.  Our word will always be our bond, and we will be known for our integrity.  We will be willing to do whatever it takes to win souls, even if it requires being struck in the face, going the extra mile, or giving more than is demanded.  We will love even our enemies, and follow the example of our Lord when it comes to those who would persecute us.  All of this will we do, not because it is demanded of us, and we are forced to comply, but because the One Who loved us and gave Himself for us has already fulfilled every jot and tittle of the law and has called us to partake of His holiness.  Peter wrote, “…His [Jesus’] divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." (2 Peter 1:3, 4).  Partakers of the divine nature!?  Oh, what a calling!  Oh, what promises!

 

God has placed us in Christ so that we might inherit all of the attributes that are in the Savior.  We put them on by faith.  When we lack love, we can denounce our love as being unfit and imperfect, and accept by faith the love that is in Christ alone.  When we lack kindness, we can likewise find an abundant supply in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Just as we were sinners when we were in Adam and inherited the nature of sin, so now we can be righteous in Christ and inherit the nature of the Son of God.  Jesus taught that the branch of a grapevine that receives nourishment from the vine in order to produce grapes only needs to remain attached to the vine at all times to receive that flow of life.  Jesus is the Vine, and we are the branches.  The secret to living the Sermon on the Mount is learning to abide in Jesus the Vine and be a partaker of Christ Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  "But of Him [God] are ye in Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:30, 31).  Now, what was impossible for us to accomplish on our own is made possible through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We find that He is working in us to make us everything that He wants us to be.  All glory and praise to Him! 

 

SECTION III

MULTITUDES OR DISCIPLES?

 

Just who was Jesus’ audience for the Sermon on the Mount?  Matthew chapter 5 opens with these words which I believe give us a clue: “And seeing the multitudes, He [Jesus] went up into a mountain: and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him: and He opened His mouth, and taught them.” (Matthew 5:1, 2).

 

It is the dream of many a Christian evangelist to someday be so popular that they fill arenas and stadiums with people anxious to hear them speak.  Pastors want to see their churches filled to capacity, and Bible teachers want to see their classrooms bursting at the seams.  This has been the established measure of success that the Church has come to accept.  As we examine scripture, though, there is much evidence to believe that Jesus did much to avoid large crowds of people.  He focused, instead, on those who were willing to follow Him and become true disciples.  He recognized that the miracles and the healings that He performed were attracting a great deal of attention from those who were only seeking a thrill, a fantastic show, and an immediate cure.  What Jesus was looking for were those who had a real heart-change and hungered to hear the words of eternal life.  Consider Jesus’ words to the leper that He touched and healed: “And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.” (Matthew 8:4).  Or the two blind men that came to Him to be healed: “And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.” (Matthew 9:30).  And then there is Jairus’ daughter whom Jesus raised from the dead: “And He [Jesus] charged them [the girl’s parents] straitly that no man should know it… (Mark 5:43).  If Jesus were seeking popularity or fame, He would have encouraged these ones to publish their stories to whoever would listen!  But, no, He was looking for disciples: those who were willing to leave their lives and follow Him wherever He would lead them.  Jesus’ words in St. Luke clearly reveal this intention, “And there went great multitudes with Him [Jesus]: and He turned, and said unto them, If any man come to Me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:25).  Jesus wanted everyone who followed Him to be very clear about the cost of discipleship: if they weren’t ready to make a commitment to lay down their lives for the Gospel’s sake, they might as well go back home!

 

In Matthew 5:1, Jesus went into a mountain because He saw the multitudes.  Some say that it was so everyone could hear Him better if He were elevated above them a little.  The scripture says that once He was set down “His disciples came unto Him: and He opened His mouth, and taught them.”  The message that He was about to deliver was for those who were serious about abandoning their old lives along with the old notions about how to attain to the righteousness that God requires.  It was not for the masses, but for the few.  He made that clear when He said, “…strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matthew 7:14).    

 

In Matthew 14, we find a very interesting verse: “And straightway Jesus constrained His disciples to get into a ship, and to go before Him unto the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.” (Matthew 14:22).  We see here two distinct groups of people: the multitude on the one hand, and Jesus’ disciples on the other.  We also see two very different ways in which the Lord is dealing with them.  He is sending His disciples across the sea ahead of Him, but He is sending the multitude away.  The Lord seems very deliberate in accomplishing these two tasks.  We see in His actions a clear separating of these two groups.  The word “constrain” in this verse means “to compel.”  In other words, Jesus was not merely suggesting to the disciples that they get in the ship and go; He was insisting they do so.  The purpose in this was to teach His disciples to trust in Him in the middle of some real-life difficulties.  You see, Jesus knew that there was a storm awaiting His disciples on the sea, and that they would be frightened by it; but He would reveal Himself to them in a new and wonderful way that would bolster their faith and give them valuable experience for the future.  The multitude was not ready for such discipline.  They were not yet clear about their commitment to this man from Nazareth.

 

It must be understood that Jesus loved the multitudes that followed Him and had great compassion on them.  Scripture says “... Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and He healed their sick.” (Matthew 14:14).  He saw them as sheep without a shepherd, and He longed to lead them into the safety of God’s fold.  However, He also understood the superficial nature of their attraction.  Because He multiplied the loaves and fish and fed their hunger, they were ready to make Him their king; but Jesus said to them, “Ye seek Me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.  Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you.” (John 6:27).     

 

It was not the multitudes that Jesus spent most of His time with; it was His disciples.  He opened the mysteries of the Gospel to those whom He had chosen, and explained to them the meaning behind the parables that He told (see Matthew 13:11-17).  Of course, there were those from among the multitude whose ears were opened to the Words of Life and became Jesus’ disciples; but, for the most part, it was not about the crowds to our Lord.  He wanted to see growth and maturity, faith and commitment.  It is very telling that of all the multitudes who followed Jesus’ ministry, there were only 120 counting the Twelve who were gathered on the day of Pentecost when the Spirit descended upon them from the Father.

 

Jesus would often avoid the multitude in order to accomplish His mission.  “Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave commandment to depart unto the other side.” (Matthew 8:18).  I know this seems counterintuitive compared to the strategy used by many Christian leaders today.  In too many cases it is all about the numbers and not the commitment.  Men of God can boast about how many people they had in attendance last Sunday, but how many of those attendees are living lives of victory and are being transformed daily by the renewing of their minds?  Jesus said, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32). 

 

“If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed.” (St. John 8:31).  When Jesus began His earthly ministry, He simply walked by those whom He chose and gave this simple invitation, “Follow Me.”  The result was that they dropped what they were doing and did just that.  Even when Jesus laid down some hard truths for His disciples, they did not flinch, but accepted their Lord’s teaching as the very Word of God.  Peter expressed the resolve of all the disciples when he said to Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  Thou hast the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68).    It is this hunger for the truth and for the words of eternal life that defines the true nature of discipleship.  Even more importantly, however, it is the realization that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  There is no other source for the Words of Life but Him.  We must therefore “continue” in His Word in order to truly be His disciples.  The Bible says that those who could not receive His Words “went back, and walked no more with Him.” (John 6:66).  There are those today who may still name the name of Christ but who walk no more with Him.  If our excitement and enthusiasm for the Word of God has waned from when we were first saved, then we have lost our first love, and have slid backwards: we need to repent and renew our commitment to the Savior. 

 

Sadly, it is not the multitudes that will respond to the call of discipleship.  This is why Jesus must send them away.  Discipleship, by its very name, suggests discipline; but vast numbers of people have no appetite for such a thing.  They would rather claim Christ as Savior while following their own agenda, and not Christ’s.  Serving God on the basis of anything other than the desire to follow Him and to leave our pasts and our sins behind will not be fruitful.  It will make us religious in the same sense that the scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ day were religious, but will not change our heart or our nature!  Our service to God is not about an outward form of godliness, ritual, or religious routine; it is about an intimate, daily relationship with Jesus Christ.  Christianity is about becoming like Christ.  It is about growing, maturing, and being transformed into the image of the Son of God.  Jesus said, “He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:21).  Jesus promise to those who are pure of heart is that they will see God, and He will manifest Himself to them. 

 

David said that God desires truth in our inward parts (Psalm 51:6).  If we first approach God with a willing heart, and trust His ability as a Master Potter to mold us into the vessels that He desires for us to be, He will then transform us more and more into His likeness.  It is faith that we need!  We are told in St. Luke 8 that there was a multitude that thronged Jesus.  They were all touching Him, and pressing upon Him.  One lady in the crowd believed in her heart that if she could just touch the hem of His robe, she would be healed of an affliction that had plagued her for 12 years.  Out of all that crowd touching Jesus, it was her touch on His garment that stopped Him and made Him ask, “Who touched Me?”  Her faith caused virtue to flow from Him to her, and she was healed!  Her faith set her apart from the rest of the multitude who had also touched Him, but not in faith.

 

At one point Jesus said of the multitudes, “In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: for this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.  But blessed are your [His disciples] eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.” (Matthew 13:14-16).  We often don’t realize what a great gift we have been given by God to be able to see and hear spiritual truth!  It is essential, therefore, that we learn to be sensitive to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

 

Jesus defined discipleship in one other way in John 15:8.  He said, “Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples.”  Fruit is very important.  It is how we can tell a healthy tree from an unhealthy one (Matthew 7:17-20).  To be clear about what fruit is and what it is not, the Apostle Paul lists many of the fruits of the Spirit for us in Galatians 5:22, 23.  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance…”  Some things that are not fruit and so are absent from this list are tradition, ritual, position in the church, titles, and knowledge (for knowledge puffs up, but real love nurtures).  “Things” can be copied and mimicked, but true fruit can only be produced by the working of the life of Jesus in the heart of the believer.  Oh, we may falter from time to time, but the idea is that we continue in His Word day by day so that we may “grow up into Him in all things.” (Ephesians 4:15).

 

We once hosted some young brothers from another city at our fellowship meeting.  At one point, one of the brothers got up and said that he wanted to demonstrate what the Christian life was like.  He then proceeded to take a couple of steps across the room, but acted as if he tripped, and fell down on the floor.  Without hesitation, he jumped up and yelled, “I want to be like Jesus!”  After marching another few steps, he fell again, but jumped back up and yelled, “I want to be like Jesus!”  He continued this way all across the room, advancing a little further each time.  Needless to say, we all got the message, and that illustration has stuck in my mind ever since! 

 

The question we must ask ourselves is: will we be a disciple, or just one of a multitude who confess His name, but do not follow Him?  Will we let the Lord constrain us, instruct us, guide us, and show His glory in us; or will He be forced to send us away?  Let us be among those who, with confidence and conviction say, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.  And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.”  It is He, and He alone, Who has the Words of Eternal Life.   

 

“Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him.  He that loveth Me not keepeth not My sayings: and the word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father’s which sent Me.” (St. John 14:23, 24).

SECTION IV

THE BEATITUDES

 

ü  “Blessed are the poor in spirit [lowly; humble or insignificant]: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

ü  Blessed are they that mourn [bewail or lament; suffer loss; the sorrowful who grieve for the world state]: for they shall be comforted.

ü  Blessed are the meek [those who claim nothing for themselves as their right or privilege]: for they shall inherit the earth.

ü  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

ü  Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

ü  Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

ü  Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

ü  Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

ü  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

ü  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” (Matthew 5:3-12).

 

The word “beatitude” doesn’t actually appear anywhere within the Bible text.  The word refers to the eight “blessed are” statements that the Sermon on the Mount opens with.  It is synonymous with “supreme blessedness” or “a state of great joy.” It comes from the Latin noun “beātitūdō” which was coined by Cicero to describe a state of blessedness [Savage, Henry Edwin (1910).  The Gospel of the Kingdom].  It was later used within the chapter headings written for Matthew 5 in various printed versions of the Latin Vulgate Bible.  Since about 1540, other versions and translations have adopted the use of the word for a heading for Matthew 5 and Luke 6. 

 

English translators used both “blessed” and “happy” to translate the Greek word “makarios” used in the Beatitudes and elsewhere in scripture.  One good example of where they chose to use “happy” is John 13:17 where Jesus said, “If ye know these things, happy [blessed] are ye if ye do them.”  Comparing with other N.T. verses that use the word “makarios,” we get the sense that our blessed or happy state in this life hinges on our striving to be all those things that the Lord expects us to be.

 

The Beatitudes form a sort of preamble to the rest of Jesus’ Sermon.  He mentions many of the things that we humans seek for from God, and describes the state of mind and character that is required to obtain them.  To those who seek the kingdom of heaven, comfort from God, to inherit the earth, to be filled with righteousness, to obtain mercy, to see God, to be called God’s children, and to be rewarded in heaven, Jesus defines exactly what kind of people they must be.  They must be poor in spirit, ones who mourn and lament the state of a world without God, meek, ones who hunger and thirst after righteousness, merciful, peacemakers, and ones willing to endure persecution for Jesus’ sake.

 

By Jesus’ time, the Jews had everything turned upside down.  It was the proud in spirit, the arrogant, the ones with no appetite for true righteousness, the unjust stewards, the troublemakers, and those willing to persecute those who were good who controlled the religion of the time.  Paul described them perfectly in his letter to the Romans when he wrote, “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” (Romans 10:3).  And the Prophet Malachi had this to say about them, “And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.” (Malachi 3:15). 

 

Jesus’ words in the Beatitudes were a direct assault on the status quo of the time.  Every “blessed” was a salvo against the prevailing attitudes and beliefs of the Jewish priests and ruling class.  They had changed the truths of God’s Word into lies, and Jesus had come to set the record straight!  Jesus was beginning to fulfill the prophetic words of John the Baptist who said of Christ, “Whose fan is in His hand, and He will throughly [thoroughly] purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3:12).  Jesus had come to thresh, and the process would just naturally blow away the worthless chaff but retain the precious grain.

 

Jesus’ words in the Beatitudes would also have been a great comfort to those who truly were meek, merciful, etc.  Isaiah spoke of the ministry of Christ when he said, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me; because the LORD hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound…To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness…” (Isaiah 61:1, 3).  Jesus had come to gather the lost sheep of the House of Israel, and to scatter the wolves that had for so long been devouring the flock.

 

The Beatitudes, therefore, represent the basic attributes of the child of God.  Without them, the rest of the Sermon will be impossible to fulfill; but with them, even a camel can pass through the eye of a needle!  That which seems impossible for men will become possible with God. 

 

THE POOR IN SPIRIT

 

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3).

 

Those who are poor in spirit are not those who are wanting in spirituality or lack an ample measure of the Spirit of God, but those who are lowly, humble and considered insignificant to the world.  Jesus described Himself as lowly in heart in Matthew 11:29.  The world is quick to dismiss such ones because they don’t fit the profile of those whom they deem successful.  Jesus perfectly illustrated one who is poor in spirit in one of His parables.  Scripture records, “And He [Jesus] spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.   I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14).  The publican was aware of his spiritual state, but ready to acknowledge it to God.  Because he was “poor in spirit” but rich in faith, God was able to minister grace to him.  He was, therefore, justified.  The Pharisee, on the other hand, was so full of self-righteousness that he was blind to his own shortcomings and despised those who were not like himself.  Sadly, God could not get through to him.  His lukewarm condition would cause the Lord to spew him out like a sip of tepid tea (Revelation 3:16).

 

Those who are poor in spirit will actually possess great power in the Holy Spirit.  We’re told that Jesus taught with great authority and not as the scribes.  The people were amazed that God had given such power as Christ manifested to what they thought was a mere mortal (Mark 1:22 and Matthew 9:8).  Every child of God will learn to walk the fine balance between humility of spirit and power in the Lord.  That balance lies somewhere in between “I can of mine own self do nothing” and “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”  

 

The children of this world are only aware of those things that reside in the visible world.  They are consumed with temporal things and with temporal kingdoms.  This is why the Jews were fixated on making Jesus their earthly king and establishing the Kingdom of Israel once again.  They were focused on the wrong things and couldn’t hear or comprehend what Jesus was preaching.  His message was the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, they were hopelessly bound to the kingdoms of this world.

 

The children of God are able to see that invisible Kingdom.  They are focused on things that cannot be seen with human eyes, and have turned their gaze away from things that are temporal and will not last.  Though God’s Kingdom is invisible, it will one day rule over all the other nations of the world.  This is the kingdom that Jesus preached when He said, “…The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the Kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20, 21).  This is Daniel’s stone that was cut without hands and scattered all other nations (Daniel 2:34, 35).  And this is why God has said of the poor in spirit that “…theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

 

In The Pursuit of God, The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing, A. W. Tozer wrote, “These blessed poor are no longer slaves to the tyranny of things. They have broken the yoke of the oppressor; and this they have done not by fighting but by surrendering. Though free from all sense of possessing, they yet possess all things. "Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

THEY THAT MOURN

 

“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4).

 

The phrase “they that mourn” does not apply strictly to those who are grieving over the loss of a loved one.  It also applies to those who grieve for the woeful state of a world without Christ.  The Greek word “caphad” used in this verse means to mourn, to bewail and lament, and to suffer loss.  Just as our Master is touched by the feeling of our infirmities, we, too, feel the burdens and heartaches of those who are struggling against sin, and those who are overcome by sin. God Himself will wipe away the tears from the eyes of those who lament for the things that are closest to His own heart.  Whatever sadness, whatever burden, whatever grief that touches us, touches God’s heart also.  Jesus will indeed apply beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.

 

Christ has gifted certain individuals in His Body with a spirit of intercession.  They feel the burdens and struggles of their brothers and sisters in the Lord and often wage spiritual warfare on their behalf through prayer.  What they do is not in the open.  They do not broadcast their labors for the Lord.  Instead, they fight the good fight in secret, knowing that the Lord, Who sees in secret, will reward them openly.  Sometimes, the Lord will put a heavy burden on them, and they may not know who it is that they pray for; but they know they must pray.  Though they don’t even know what to pray at such times, the Lord is faithful, and His Holy Spirit will intercede through that precious prayer warrior.  It may be through groaning for things which cannot be expressed or put into words, or it may be in the Spirit through the words of a heavenly language.  However God chooses to use that dear one to intercede at such times, you can be sure that when they pray through, He will be there to comfort and bless them.

 

Jeremiah the Prophet was one who God used to intercede for His people.  The Book of Lamentations records the burden that Jeremiah carried for the Children of Israel.  Surely they are blessed who can discern the condition of the Church and mourn and lament for her.

 

THE MEEK

 

“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5).

 

According to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, meekness refers to “a mildness of disposition, gentleness of spirit, meekness.” Though there are those who seem to naturally exhibit a mild and gentle spirit, Jesus was not referring to them at all.  Such people, when pressed to their limit, can become anything but mild and gentle.  Theirs is just a tendency of the flesh, and not a work of the Spirit.  The Lord doesn’t want wax fruit - only the real article produced by abiding in the Vine.  No, the meekness that the Lord is referring to is a result of Jesus’ life flowing into us, and transforming us, and not a natural predisposition.  In the notes for this verse, Strong’s adds this: “Gentleness or meekness is the opposite to self-assertiveness and self-interest. It stems from trust in God’s goodness and control over the situation. The gentle person is not occupied with self at all. This is a work of the Holy Spirit, not of the human will (Galatians 5:23).”

 

The simplest definition of meekness is that it is a total dependence on God and a surrendering to His will.  They do not demand a place in this world, or fight others for dominance.  Like Abraham, the father of faith, they are content to sojourn in the world as strangers in a strange land until they step into their inheritance: the City of Zion, the New Jerusalem.  And like Abraham, they look “…for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” (Hebrews 11:10).  While the nations squabble and fight for their share of the Holy Land, we Christians can calmly wait until God presents it to us!  Then the Lord will fulfill this word, “…the meek shall inherit the earth.”

 

They who are meek are not docile, overly compliant, spiritless, yielding, or deficient in courage.  Let me say unequivocally that meekness is not weakness.  Numbers 12:3 tells us that “Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.”  Clearly, he was a man of great courage and resolve regarding the things of the Lord.  David, the mighty King of Israel, said “...thy gentleness hath made me great.” (2 Samuel 22:36; Psalms 18:35).  He did not back down from a fight when he knew God was in it, though.  He fought a bear and a lion single-handedly, and brought down the giant Goliath.  Yet, when he had the opportunities to take revenge on his enemy Saul, he humbled himself and would not touch God’s anointed.  Jesus was certainly meek and lowly, but He still took a whip and drove the money changers from God’s temple.  In all these examples we see a divine balance between not defending oneself but defending the truth and the honor of the Lord.

 

THEY WHO HUNGER AND THIRST AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS

 

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6).

 

The second section of Psalm 119 opens with a very important question: “Wherewithal shall a young man [or lady] cleanse his [or her] way?”  The psalmist then quickly answers his own question by saying, “…by taking heed thereto according to Thy word…Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” (Psalms 119:9, 11).  Those who love the Lord desire to please Him.  We want to please the ones we love.  God is a God of holiness and righteousness, and He is upright in all His ways.  Therefore, we who love Him desire to be righteous and holy as well.  It is a hunger that we feel to be like our Father in heaven; it is a thirst to be transformed into His likeness.  How do we accomplish this, and how do we cleanse our way?  It is by taking heed to the Word of God: hiding it in our hearts, and applying it to our lives.  Jesus said, “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15), and, “He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me.” (John 14:21).  If we don’t have an appetite for becoming like Christ, we must question our commitment to the Savior.  If we do have an appetite for Christ, that appetite will always lead us to His Word.  “Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you.” (John 15:3). 

 

After I was first converted, I spent a lot of time in the Word of God, and still do today.  I couldn’t get enough of it!  For the first time in my life, it was alive to me.  It spoke to me in very personal ways.  I was working at a factory then and operating a large piece of assembly equipment with another man.  Every time I got a break, I would grab a drink and something to eat and sit down and read from the pocket New Testament that I carried with me.  After having done this for a while, the guy I was working with one day called me over to where he was working and said, “I’ve been watching you and I’ve noticed that you’re always reading that little book every chance you get.  Well, I’ve got a question for you.”  I said, “Sure, what’s your question.”  He looked at me and said, “Haven’t you finished it yet?!”  The answer that I gave this man must have been straight from the heart of God.  I told him, “I’ve been watching you as well.  I’ve noticed that you go to the cafeteria every day and buy food.  Don’t you ever get full?  You see, this Book is food for my soul just like the food you eat feeds your body.  This Book nourishes me and strengthens me spiritually in the same way that food nourishes us.  That’s why I will never be done with this Book, just as you will never be done with food.” 

 

Jesus’ promise to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness?  They shall be filled.  They shall be changed.  They shall be made free!

 

THE MERCIFUL

 

“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5:7).   

 

This is a basic principle of godliness.  If we want God to forgive our sins and shortcomings, then we must forgive others for theirs.  Jesus talks about this in a lot of different ways in His Sermon.  He mentions it in the prayer that He teaches His disciples saying, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12).  He then strengthens this principle with this: “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14, 15).  In chapter 7, Jesus says, “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” (Matthew 7:2).  Finally, we have these words toward the end of His Sermon, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 7:12).  If we would always live by this Golden Rule – treating others in the way that we, ourselves, would want to be treated – then we would find that we are very close to the Kingdom of God.

 

Mercy toward others can only be born out of a deep understanding of just how much mercy has been extended toward us from God.

 

Jesus told the story of a king who wanted to settle the accounts that his servants had with him.  One servant was brought before him who owed his sovereign the equivalent of what some estimate would be $3,840,000,000 dollars in today’s money.  Yes, that’s THREE TRILLION EIGHT HUNDRED FORTY MILLION DOLLARS!  The servant, of course, was unable to pay such a debt, so the king commanded that he, his wife, and all his children be sold as slaves to pay the debt.  “The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.  Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.” (Matthew 18:26, 27).  What a picture of the depth and breadth of the mercy of God on each of us!  Our debt truly is that horrendous, but our loving heavenly Father has forgiven us in Christ when we humbled ourselves before Him. 

 

“But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.  And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.  And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.” (Matthew 18:28-30).  The debt that this second servant owed his fellowservant was $237.00 in today’s U.S. currency.  It’s apparent that mercy was the furthest thing from the mind of the first servant.  He was not thinking at all of the vast debt that he had been forgiven and how that one act of mercy should influence his own actions toward others.  He just wanted his money, and he didn’t care about the pain he would inflict on another in order to get it!  No wonder his lord’s reaction was so severe when he heard what was done.  “So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.  Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?  And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.  So likewise shall My heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.” (Matthew 18:31-35). 

 

THE PURE IN HEART

 

“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8).

 

God is searching out a people who are pure and clean within, so that He can then manifest His glory and beauty to the world.  “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him,” (II Chronicles 16:9).  The psalmist David understood this when he said, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me,” (Psalm 51:6, 10).

 

After Saul had been rejected as king over Israel, God sent the prophet Samuel to anoint a new king from among the 8 sons of Jesse.  When Samuel had come down to Jesse’s house, Jesse had his oldest son, Eliab, come before Samuel.  When Samuel saw Eliab, he said to himself, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before me.”   The Lord spoke to Samuel, however, and said, “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart,” (I Samuel 16:7).  It isn’t seniority, or stature, or good looks, or wealth, or education, or anything external that impresses God.  It is the condition of the heart.

 

After all of the seven oldest sons of Jesse had passed before Samuel, and God had refused them all, Samuel asked if Jesse had any other sons.  Jesse mentioned that David, his youngest, was out keeping the sheep.  No one had thought it important to invite David to this event because outwardly, he was so insignificant.  Surely he would not be considered for anything special by so notable a prophet as Samuel.  Yet, when David came forward, the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him: for this is he.”  Inside their hearts, the older sons of Jesse were all concerned with other temporal things, but David was a man after God’s own heart.

 

Solomon, that wisest of all men, said, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life,” (Proverbs 4:23).  How we deal with each situation that life presents us with is determined by the purity – or impurity – of our hearts. 

 

Jesus, in His great wisdom, could see into the hearts of not only those who loved Him, but also into the hearts of those who didn’t.  Often during His ministry He would perceive the thoughts of men and rebuke them openly for what was in their heart.  Often, too, He would address not merely the questions that they asked of Him, but also the motives behind their questions.

 

It was, and is, God’s primary purpose to reveal the intentions that are deep within the human heart, and to cause man to consider the inward motivations for his actions. “What reason ye in your hearts?”   He is always directing us to take a painfully close look at exactly what is influencing the things that we say and do.  His Word is like a sharp scalpel that dissects the fine line between our thoughts and our intentions (Hebrews 4:12).  It is like a mirror of the soul that reveals our true nature in all its brutal honesty (James 1:25). 

 

It is those whose hearts are pure who shall see God.  And it is only the Lord Jesus Christ Who can purify us.   As the Prophet Malachi spoke, “And He [Jesus] shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.” (Malachi 3:3). 

 

THE PEACEMAKERS

 

“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” (Matthew 5:9).  

 

God loves those who love peace.  The Psalmist tells us: “What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?  Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.  Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.” (Psalms 34:12-14).  There is, in this verse, a correlation between keeping our tongue from speaking evil, and being one who seeks peace. 

 

In his letter to the Jews, James devotes a large section to the subject of the tongue.  He says that no man can tame the tongue and that it is “an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” (James 3:8).  He likens it to the small bit in a horse’s mouth that can turn that large animal in any direction, or the small rudder on a large ship that can steer the entire boat.  Such a small member of our body, but the tongue can spark a very large inferno! (See James 3:3-5).

 

A peacemaker is one who bridles his/her tongue and orders his conversation in such a way as to promote a unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile.” (1 Peter 3:10).  But as James says, “…if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.  This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.  For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.” (James 3:14-16). 

 

Some would say, “If people are offended by what I say, it’s their own problem!” Those who hold this opinion are missing the larger picture.  There are two types of wisdom at play here.  The one James describes as “earthly, sensual, devilish,” and does not come from above.  The other is “pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”  It comes from above.  Our goal, as peacemakers, is not to offend at all.  This is a process.  The tongue is very unruly!  We learn and grow by beholding the example of Jesus and trusting in His grace to transform us.  We must also be aware that there is a difference between people being offended at what we say, and people being offended at the truth when it is spoken in love.  “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.  And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.” (James 3:17, 18).  The peacemakers, Jesus says, are those who will be called the children of God.

 

THE PERSECUTED

 

“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12).

 

We cannot avoid persecution as followers of Christ.  In this world we will know tribulation of various sorts; but be of good cheer, Jesus has overcome the world! 

 

Two phrases that stick out in these verses are “for righteousness’ sake” and “for My sake.”  Also, it is important to note that Jesus mentions that men will say “all manner of evil against you FALSELY.”  There are times when we Christians suffer persecution for un-righteousness’ sake and for our own sake.  When we are ridiculed for our own faults, impatience, and lack of compassion, then that is on us.  We will receive no reward in heaven for the persecution that results from our own poor example.  Instead, we may need to suffer some chastisement at the hand of our loving heavenly Father.  

 

We must be mindful that as they persecuted all those who proclaimed the truth who have come before us, so they will persecute us.  Jesus said, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you.” (John 15:18). 

 

We must keep our eye on the prize.  There is a reward in heaven that is waiting for us.  It can never rust, corrupt, or be destroyed in any way.  In heaven, every injustice, all heartaches, and every cruelty will be turned into joy.  Every wrong will be righted, and every right will be rewarded.  It will be a righteous place for a righteous people.  This is the point of the Beatitudes.  The Lord wants to change us into all of the blessed attributes that He has named here.  Those who are willing and obedient He will transform.  Those who refuse and rebel will have no reward, nor place in heaven.  He doesn’t leave us to our own devices, however.  We’re reminded that “…it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13).  Because Christ has overcome all things, then we, too, can as we place our faith and trust in Him.