Introducing the Sermon on the Mount
Now in Matthew 5-7 we come to the material usually called
“The Sermon on the Mount.” There is a parallel
account in Lk 6:17-23. Pulling some
details from both accounts, it appears that Jesus left Capernaum and ascended a
mountain in the area with some followers where He prayed all night. He then chose twelve of them whom Luke calls
“apostles.” Together they then descended
to a level place still in the mountains nearby where he taught the crowds who
had followed them. The best candidate
for this place seems to be the Horns of Hattim (about 14 miles south from Capernaum
or halfway between Nazareth and Capernaum) which overlooks the Sea of Galilee
and was the later scene of the medieval battle where Saladin defeated the
Crusaders.
The record of His teaching that day concerned the good news
about the kingdom of heaven. (We have
already briefly discussed this theme and its relationship to the special
promises God had given to Israel through His prophets). God had slowly revealed
Himself in the Old Testament. Now in the
New Testament gospels, especially in Matthew, we see Jesus slowly revealing
Himself to the descendants of Jacob, now known collectively as Jews. How can we gain entrance into the
Kingdom? Who is the King? The Jews already knew that they needed to be
righteous to enter in. Oh how blessed
that would be! That’s why the teachings
of the Pharisees were so important to them.
So, Jesus started by talking about what true blessedness looked
like. The blessed kingdom is inhabited
by blessed people. Who are they? Matthew shows us that the answer to that
question was upside down from what they had understood from their teachers, the
Pharisees.
The Beatitudes
The traditional name for the first section of this sermon is
usually “The Beatitudes” which doesn’t really communicate to us. Perhaps a better title might be “True
Blessedness.” Jesus gave eight
descriptions of what the truly blessed person who enters the kingdom of heaven
is like. “Blessed” is sometimes
translated “happy” but remember it is in the context of the joy of being
counted righteous enough to enter the Kingdom of God. As you read these descriptions, they sound
like the kind of people we want to live next door to. But would we even qualify to be their
neighbors in the kingdom of heaven? Here
are the eight descriptions:
1)
“Poor in spirit” or “spiritually
impoverished.” This is quite unexpected that those who are NOT self-sufficient
and rely on Another for spiritual needs are actually spiritually fortunate! Theirs IS the kingdom of heaven! This is where your spiritual journey must
begin! You must recognize your spiritual need!
2)
“Mourn” or experience loss and grieve. You must
recognize your lostness!
3)
“Meek”
(not weak) but patiently rely on God’s strength. Meekness is humble reliance on the strength
of another—God!
4)
“Hunger
and thirst” for righteousness. (Not satisfied with their own
self-righteousness, they seek for true righteousness that comes from God alone.
5)
“Merciful”
because only those who show mercy receive mercy—it is proof that they
acknowledge the depths of loss that they have been delivered from—as in the
parable of the unmerciful debtor (Matthew 18).
6)
“Pure
in heart” remembering David could cry to God to “create in me a clean heart”
(Ps. 51) and recognizing that external actions are born first in the heart.
7)
“Peacemaker”
knowing that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood”—our battle is
spiritual not zealotry (Eph 6) and not against people.
8)
(Some might split this into two items). “Persecuted for the sake of
righteousness and for Jesus’ sake” because the righteousness you exhibit will magnify
their lack of it and they will hate you for it just like they hated Jesus and His
prophets.
These eight characteristics of blessedness were upside down
from the teaching of the Pharisees.
Blessed people, they taught, were wealthy, happy, loud, feasting,
demanding “justice” while majoring on external behavior and ignoring heart issues,
stirring up hatred against “sinners” and “publicans” and “tax collectors,” etc.,
But they persecuted Jesus for revealing them to be lawbreakers in their hearts.
The
Purpose of Blessedness
Jesus uses two analogies to explain how “blessed people’s”
good works affect the people around them.
The good works do not MAKE them blessed but they do good works by
design because they ARE blessed.
They reflect God’s character. They
point to God not to themselves.
Those around them are attracted to God because of the goodness of God
displayed by His “Blessed Ones.”
1)
Analogy 1: “Salt of the earth” because the taste of salt pervades the whole
dish and enhances the flavor. But if it
doesn’t do anything it is of no value and might as well be tossed out into the
street. “Blessed people” enhance the
world around them.
2)
Analogy 2: “Light of the world/city on a
hill/lamp on a table” because your
blessed behavior makes everyone notice you just as everyone can see the city on
the hill—especially when it gets dark.
By the way, “glory” and “glorify” are words Jesus uses often
as He does here in verse 16. Our modern
English usage referring to “making someone look good” is a rather poor
definition. These biblical words always
refer to the true character and nature of God.
To glorify God is to reflect His character – what He is like – in our
words and actions. So, Jesus is telling us that His “blessed ones” don’t try to
hide their godly lifestyle. Neither do they take
credit for what they are but clearly reflect the character of God in their
actions. This is an important
distinction because the Pharisees want everyone to see how “righteous” they
are, as we shall see, and Jesus would have none of it. You let “your light” shine AND “glorify your
Father in heaven.” So, when you “shine
your light,” who is getting the glory?
© 2018 Eric Thimell
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