As we continue looking at Matthew 5-7, commonly called the
“Sermon on the Mount,” we turn now to Jesus explanation of His purpose—His
mission. He is speaking to a large crowd
of people within sight of the Sea of Galilee.
The crowd included His disciples and seekers from all over the provinces
of Syria, Decapolis, Perea, and Judea.
They were mostly Jews but we know that many Gentiles were drawn to Him
as well as people who were eagerly seeking the long-promised kingdom of heaven.
Matthew has uncovered the revelation of Jesus that the blessedness
of those who will enter the kingdom of heaven is that they are qualified to
enter because they reflect God’s righteousness.
Jesus goes on to tell us that God is looking at the heart as well as the
outer qualities. He is interested in
seeing inner spiritual qualities that reflect God’s nature NOT just outward
displays. (Such blessed ones are humble,
grieving over spiritual lack, meek, longing for spiritual reality, merciful,
pure in heart, not troublemakers, and people willing to be persecuted for the
truth.) As we pointed out last time,
this revelation was quite puzzling to most Jews because they assumed that the
qualification was being a member of the chosen people who followed all the
outward rituals required by the law.
So, how does this domain of the blessed ones—the kingdom of heaven—relate
to us? Our participation in God’s
kingdom is directly related to a heart issue – not simply adherence to
externals. This is a realm inhabited by
the “pure in heart.” Not an existential
world of ephemeral feelings and desires but a world of the will and motives
that only God can see although it does affect our external world like David—the “man after
God’s own heart.” They have an inner world that is
fully integrated with the outer world that others can see. This is the idea behind “integrity.” There is no hypocrisy.
So now Jesus brings up a serious question. Why does God bless people anyway? The short answer is so they will reflect the
glory of God throughout the earth. In Psalm 67 David says it is so “thy way may
be known upon the earth.” The blessing
starts when we believe in Him and begin reflecting His righteousness. That’s when we begin reflecting God’s nature
even though there is eventually a greater fulfillment in being with the King in
all His glory whether in the earthly kingdom of heaven or ultimately in the
eternal heavens for all who believe.
There is also the sense that we who believe have NOW been transferred into the
kingdom of His dear Son (Col. 1:13) and so experience some of those same
blessings to glorify God NOW.
Are God’s blessings material or spiritual? The short answer is both. Every resource at our disposal is given by
God to us for the purpose of doing His "will on earth as it is in heaven." These blessings can be used, abused or
misused. But the ultimate blessing is to
be one of God’s “blessed ones” who inhabit His kingdom and reflect His
righteousness. The key to gaining this
righteousness is right in front of them—the One Who will “fulfill the Law.”
In Jesus’ unexpectedly new explanation of God’s Law and
entrance into the kingdom, some of His hearers began to say that Jesus was trying
to abolish the Law of Moses. But He
pointed out that such was not at all the case.
Rather, the Law must be fulfilled by the Messiah in every
way. As we shall see, Jesus alone would
keep it perfectly and would thus be proven worthy to bring in the prophesied
kingdom of heaven. Also, Jesus would be
the substitute for all who believe in Him so they, too, can enter in. What kind of righteousness does God require
for those who enter the Kingdom of God?
It must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. How is this possible if we are all unrighteous? The Messiah has come to bring righteousness--enough to fulfill the Law's righteous requirements for all.
These leaders DID attempt to practice the Law of God in
many externals. But God looks also at
the heart. Jesus gave several examples
of how the Law should be correctly interpreted (unlike the common
interpretation). The practice of righteousness is supposed to begin in the
heart.
For example: (1) The Law prohibited murder. How should that be practiced in the
heart? Anger should not be allowed to
become hatred and wrath. (2) Note the
reference to animal sacrifice (at the altar) in v. 24. How does this apply to us? Sin that has not been confessed or properly
dealt with shows our outward religious activity to be mere hypocrisy. Our heart relationship with God is even more
important than our outward activities.
(3) The Law prohibited adultery.
How should that be practiced in our heart? Temptation should not become lust. Don’t let the things of this world become a
“fatal attraction.”
One final question:
Will the sins of anger or lust put you in danger of hell or even a
greater danger than other sins? The Bible says, “all
have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.”
And the “wages of sin is death.” Any sin earns us death and eternal separation
from God but God’s free gift of eternal life cleanses us from all sin when we
put our faith and trust in Him as the substitute sacrifice for our sin. It is never too late as long as we still have
breath.© 2018 Eric Thimell
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