Matthew 5:1-12

The Savior’s Sermon— Trust in God’s Strength!

¹Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ²and he began to teach them, saying:

³“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
⁵Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
⁷Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
⁸Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
⁹Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
¹⁰Blessed 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. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (NIV1984)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Do you know what a paradox is?  According to Webster’s dictionary a paradox is:  “a statement that runs contradictory, unbelievable or absurd but that may actually be true in fact.”  Very literally the word paradox describes something that is “contrary to expectation,” or “contrary to what you would think.”

Today we are beginning a sermon series entitled The Savior’s Sermon.  This sermon series will focus our attention on various portions of Scripture where we find “sermons” that our dear Lord and Savior preaches— to us!  As we begin this sermon series we will focus on the portion of Scripture that includes what is commonly known as the Beatitudes.  This portion of Scripture is also known as Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  As we study Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount we will see that it contains a number of powerful paradoxes— statements that are contrary to our expectations, statements that are contrary to what we might think.  As we “walk through” Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount I’d like to divide it into three parts.

The first part of our Savior’s sermon describes those who depend on Him for their eternal salvation.  Look at verse 3-6.  Jesus begins His sermon by saying to us, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.  Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

One of the first things we need to understand is that the Greek word which is translated here as “blessed” can also be translated as “happy.”  This word enables us to see the paradoxes in each of Jesus’ statements as our Lord very literally says to us, “Blessed/happy are the poor in spirit…Blessed/happy are those who mourn…Blessed/happy are the meek…Blessed/happy are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”  From the perspective of this world these four statements do not sound very positive at all!  In fact, from the perspective of this world these four statements all sound like something we would want to avoid!  The paradox in each of these four statements is found in what God does for us when these four statements are an accurate description of us!

“Blessed/happy are the poor in spirit.”  Jesus is here describing the person who is acutely aware of their own “unworthiness,” their own spiritual “poverty.”  In their own mind and in their own heart they realize that on a spiritual level they are a humble beggar.  A good example of someone who is “poor in spirit” would be the tax collector in the Temple.  (See Luke 18:9-14)  He wouldn’t even lift up his eyes to heaven.  He humbly acknowledged his total and complete helplessness and prayed, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Look into your own heart, my friends.  Would God describe you as someone who is “poor in spirit”?  Or do you struggle with your pride and ego?  Are you like the tax collector in the Temple, or, do you have a tendency to say— at least to yourself— “God, I thank you that I am not like” so-and-so and then compare yourself to others?

How can someone who is “poor in spirit” be “blessed/happy”?  Jesus tells us, “…theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  Here is the paradox.  Our recognition of our own spiritual poverty guarantees us a gloriously rich “inheritance”— the “kingdom of heaven”!  While we know that the “kingdom of heaven” will be ours when the good Lord calls us Home, let’s not forget that we are “blessed” with the certainty of knowing that we are members of God’s heavenly Kingdom and all of its glorious riches right now!  That glorious reality makes us “happy” each and every day!

The Savior’s sermon continues, “Blessed/happy are those who are mourning, those who are grieving, those who are experiencing sorrow.”  Worldly troubles do indeed cause us grief— especially as Christians.  We grieve over the sins that we commit.  We experience sorrow every time we realize how far and how often we fall short of God’s expectations of us.  We mourn whenever we see the damaging effects of sin both in our own lives as well as in the lives of others— including illness and death.

How can someone who is “mourning,” how can someone who is experiencing sorrow and grief be “blessed/happy”?  Jesus tells us, “…for they will be comforted”!  Here is the paradox.  Here in this life “mourning” over our sin leads us to repent of our sin.  Repenting of our sin leads us to receive the comfort and the consolation of the forgiveness Jesus secured for us— on the cross of Calvary’s hill!  (Pointing to the across)  The cross of Jesus Christ also guarantees us that when we get Home to heaven— where there is no sin!— there will be no more “mourning or crying or pain” because God Himself will “wipe every tear from our eyes”!  (Revelation 21:4)  That glorious reality makes us “happy” even during our darkest days here on this earth!

The good Lord continues, “Blessed/happy are the meek, the gentle, the humble.”  Every single day we see example after example of how the sin that is living inside each and every human being naturally lives by the motto:  Survival of the fittest!  The biggest, the baddest, the strongest are “supposed” to both survive and succeed while the meek, the gentle and the weak don’t stand much of a chance.  A bigger more powerful nation will invade a smaller supposedly weaker nation simply because they want more land.  Kids with guns will shoot little children simply because— well, I can’t even fathom why anyone would do that!  Ambition at work or competition at school can lead a person to push someone else down just so that they can get a head.

As people who trust in Christ and the salvation He has secured for us, we strive to follow the example of our Savior.  His “meekness,” His “gentleness,” His “humbleness” meant that He never even thought about retaliating against anyone.  He never even thought about seeking revenge.  Even as His enemies were nailing Him to the cross He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:39).

How does our Christ-like “meekness” and “gentleness” and “humility” bring “blessings” into our life?  As this “meekness” is exhibited in our lives we have the “happiness” of knowing that we don’t have to “succeed at any cost” because we know that our God will fulfill His promise to graciously provide for all of our earthly needs.  Even more importantly, we have the “happiness” of knowing that on Judgment Day we will inherit the “new earth” as our “home of righteousness.”  (2 Peter 3:13)  That glorious guarantee gives us a “happiness” that the people of this world cannot comprehend.

Moving on in His sermon Jesus says to us, “Blessed/happy are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”  Here we need to understand that the Lord is not speaking about the “righteousness” that He secured for us (Pointing to the cross), the “righteousness” that He gives to us purely by grace through faith in Him.  No, my friends.  The Lord is talking about the “righteousness” of our life as we strive to live our life in love and thankfulness to Him.  Just as our physical body daily “hungers and thirsts” for the food and water that keeps it alive and healthy, so also our soul “hungers and thirsts” for the nutritious spiritual food that it needs to remain alive and healthy, the spiritual food that God gives to us in His holy Word and Sacrament.

As we “hunger and thirst” for a “righteous,” sanctified, Christ-like life we will be “filled.”  We will be “satisfied.”  The paradox here is that we understand that we will never be perfectly “filled,” we will never be perfectly “satisfied” until we get home to heaven.  For as long as we are here on this earth, however, we strive to grow in our ability to live our life in a way that is pleasing to Him!  (Pointing to the cross)  That glorious goal brings us more and more “happiness” as we get closer and closer to the perfection of our heavenly Home!

Turning to the second portion of Jesus’ sermon we see the Lord describe how the faith in our heart reveals itself in our life.  He says,“Blessed/happy are the merciful, the compassionate.”  This beatitude is clear and simple, isn’t it.  To the worldly-minded person giving to the poor, visiting and comforting the sick, showing mercy and compassion to someone who is in need is often times considered to be a waste of time and money.  Not to us.  As the children of God we literally and eternally depend on the mercy and the compassion that our God showers on us each and every day!  Showing that same mercy and compassion to others, striving to be a Good Samaritan is essential in our lives.  Why is it essential?  It is certainly not essential in-so-far-as this is how we hope to earn God’s “mercy” and God’s “compassion.”  But it is essential in-so-far-as it enables us to relish God’s promise, “They will be shown mercy.”  That wonderful promise brings us “happiness” each and every day.

“Blessed/happy are the pure in heart.”  This beatitude is also very easy to understand.  From the love of money to the love of the things of this world, from the lust of our eyes to the desire to always want “more,” there are numerous things that can make our heart “impure” in the eyes of our holy, just and perfect God.  How can we be “pure in heart”?  On our own we can’t.  That’s why as we gather together here in God’s house we pray, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”  Not only is God the One who creates a “pure heart” within us, but He is also the One who gives us the desire to fill our heart with “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, what is admirable…excellent, praiseworthy.”

How does striving to be “pure in heart” bring “happiness” into our life?  Jesus answers that question very clearly when He tells us that the “pure in heart…will see God”!  When our hearts have been “purified” or “cleansed” through the power of God the Holy Spirit as He comes to us in Word and Sacrament we will be able to “see” God, to “observe” God, to “recognize” God in a variety of wonderful ways!  Now you may recall that God said to Moses, “You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live” (Exodus 33:20).  And yet, when we look at the beauty of God’s creation— the magnificent sunrises and sunsets, the majestic mountains and oceans, the vastness of the universe, the simplicity and the complexity of the human body— we “recognize” the handiwork of our Creator.  When we read the Bible with the eyes of faith we “see” the one and only Living God.  Jesus Himself has told us, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).  Ultimately we will “see God” in a way that goes far beyond our comprehension when we are living in His presence in His heavenly Home— forever!

How does “seeing, observing, recognizing” God bring us “happiness”?  Look at it this way:  as we travel through this dark and lonely world the fact that God has “purified” and “cleansed” our heart means that we have been given the ability to “see” God each and every day!  We can “observe” that He is with us “always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).  We “recognize” how He makes sure that everything works together for our eternal good.  (Romans 8:28)  The blessings that come from being able to “see God” bring tremendous “happiness” into our lives!

The next beatitude is one that this world especially needs.  Jesus says, “Blessed/happy are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”  These past few weeks have once again revealed to us in a very traumatic way just how much this world needs  “peacemakers.”  As people who are at “peace” with God, as people who are filled with His “peace” — the “peace which transcends all human understanding” (Philippians 4:7), we have the only means whereby we can bring “peace” to this world— the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  As we live the message of the Gospel we can share the message of the Gospel with others.  Only the Gospel has the power to overcome division, quarrels and hatred.  Only the Gospel has the power to bring people together in a “bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).

As we both live and share the message of the Gospel those with whom we share this message of “peace” will be able to recognize who we are— “sons/children of God.”  The “blessings” that come from being “peacemakers” in a world that so desperately needs peace brings unparalleled “happiness”— both to us and to others.

The final portion of our Savior’s sermon prepares us for the reality that no matter how deeply we depend on Jesus for salvation, no matter how faithfully we strive to imitate Jesus in our day-to-day lives, we need to be ready and willing to suffer— for Him! (Pointing to the cross)  Jesus says, “Blessed/happy are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed/happy are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Like the apostles who “rejoiced because they were counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name” of Jesus Christ (Acts 5:41), we willingly endure whatever the unbelieving world heaps upon us as we openly live and boldly proclaim the Truth— God’s Truth.  Our motivation for enduring the scorn of this world is the “reward,” the “recompence” that our Savior has waiting for us in heaven.  Because our “reward” is guaranteed to us by God Himself, because our “recompense” can never “perish, spoil or fade” (1 Pether 1:4) the “happiness” that we enjoy dwarfs whatever pain this world can possibly inflict upon us.

There is one final paradox I need to highlight this morning.  It is a paradox that is not explicitly proclaimed here in our text.  On our own we cannot be or do what Jesus describes for us here in His sermon.  The paradox is that we don’t have to depend on our own strength to be and to do what Jesus says here in our text.  He is the One who gives us the strength to depend on Him for our eternal salvation.  He is the One who gives us the strength to let our life imitate Him.  He is the One who gives us the strength to endure the persecution we experience because of Him!  (Pointing to the cross)

My prayer then this morning is very simply this:  Trust in God’s Strength!

To God be the glory!

Amen