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Matthew 5:1-12 – “The Beatitudes—An Introduction”

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Matthew 5:1-12 – “The Beatitudes—An Introduction” Matthew 5:1-12 – “The Beatitudes—An Introduction” by Pastor Kevin Wattles preached at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church Falls Church, Virginia 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, June 21, 2009 (Father’s Day) I invite you to imagine that you are not sitting in Grace Lutheran Church this morning. Rather, you are sitting on a green, grassy hillside covered with bright yellow and lavender flowers. This hillside is on the other side of the world, just west of the ancient town of Capernaum. Below you is the Sea of Galilee, which, from where you’re seated, looks as beautiful bright blue as the sky above. The air is fresh. There’s a slight breeze blowing. The temperature on this late winter day in this part of the world is just slightly cooler than what the temperature is outside right now. As you look up this hillside, you see Jesus seated on a fairly large rock—a boulder—before you. Jesus begins to speak. You listen. Jesus speaks the following words: 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. 10 Blessed 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. 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. These are the words of what are known as in Christianity as “The Beatitudes”—the Beatitudes of Jesus Christ. The word “beatitude” is the Latin word for “blessing.” It makes sense that this part of Scripture would be called “The Beatitudes” because of the “blessings” that are spoken here. Jesus spoke the Beatitudes as the opening words of what is known in Christianity as Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount.” Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount has been said again and again to be the most well-known sermon ever. No argument has been posed against this. “The Sermon on the Mount” is the most discussed and written about sermon ever. In fact, so many books and articles have been written about the Sermon the Mount that now people are starting to write books commenting on the books and articles that have commented on the Sermon on the Mount! Some years ago I was given a book titled Great Sermons of the World into which the author compiled, from his point of view, the greatest sermons ever preached. In this book are sermons by well-known preachers such as the Apostle Peter, Martin Luther, John Wesley, and other Christian preachers. But the very first sermon printed in the book is this one… “The Sermon on the Mount”…by Jesus Christ. We are going to be spending many of our Sunday mornings this summer exploring the opening words of “The Sermon on the Mount”—the Beatitudes. We’re going to look at a beatitude every Sunday, starting today with this introduction to this part of the Bible, until about mid-August. So…just as if you were sitting on that hillside above the Sea of Galilee long ago when Jesus first spoke these words…I invite you to sit back, relax, ponder and take to heart these words of Jesus before us. As we familiarize ourselves with the Beatitudes of Jesus this morning, we’re going to take the following approach: • We’re going to note for whom the Beatitudes of Jesus are intended • We’re going to note what the Beatitudes are about • And then we’re going to take a look at the overall “flow” of the Beatitudes using the diagram at the bottom of the message notes page for this morning Jesus originally spoke the Beatitudes to his first disciples. That is clear from the opening verse of Matthew 5, “Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them saying…” and then Jesus spoke the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are still meant for Jesus’ disciples today. They are meant for you and me—believers in Jesus; those in whom God the Holy Spirit has worked faith / trust in Jesus as our Savior. The Beatitudes of Jesus are not meant for the unconverted—for unbelievers. I’ll expand on this a little bit as we look at what the Beatitudes of Jesus are about. As we look at what the Beatitudes of Jesus are about, we’re first going to look at what they’re not about. I know that doing this—looking at what the Beatitudes are not about before exploring what the Beatitudes are about—is a way of looking at God’s Word that sometimes brings criticism on the church. Sometimes people, “The church always tells people what it’s against before it tells people what it’s for.” In this particular case, I think there’s good reason to do so. Frankly speaking, many people today—even many Christians—miss the point of the Beatitudes; and therefore, miss the blessings of the Beatitudes. Some of you may be aware that I and my family were out-of-town last weekend attending the wedding of our former vicar, Steve Kuehl, and a former member of our congregation, Charis Witte (now Kuehl). When we flew out on Friday morning, we almost missed our flight. That was the first time we ever had to get all five of us to airport for a 7am flight! We made it…but think what we would have missed if we would have missed the flight—all the good things that the flight brought…getting to our destination quickly…and being able to participate in the good things for which we were making the trip in the first place…all the good things surrounding Steve and Charis’ wedding. If we miss something in life, we often miss the good things that would have flowed from that thing which we missed—like a flight to a wedding…and like the point of the Beatitudes. I’m not going to spend a lot of time on the misunderstandings that are “out there” in our world about the Beatitudes, but here’s some information on this point: • Some people have what, in “church language” is called a “dispensational view” of the Beatitudes. What that means is that some people think Jesus spoke the Beatitudes for the purpose of creating a “heaven on earth” kind of life in this world. • Other people take what’s known as the “social gospel” approach to the Beatitudes in that through the Beatitudes Jesus is teaching us to be good people here on earth so that all the “social ills” of this world might be stamped out. Now, there’s nothing wrong with trying to bring a little bit of “heaven” to this wicked and sinful world. In fact, if one thinks about it, that’s one of the main things the Christian church does in teaching about Jesus—so that people might believe in Jesus and live lives according to his commands. And there’s nothing wrong with wanting to get rid of social ills like poverty, homelessness, hunger, discrimination, and other social problems. But trying to establish “heaven on earth” and rid this world of all social ills (which, by the way, is impossible since this world will continue to be sin-plagued as long as it stands) was not the main reason Jesus Christ came to this earth nor is it to be the main focus of his church today. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world…my kingdom is from another place” (John 18:36) and that the reason he came was to “seek and save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). In terms of the purpose of Jesus’ church, 1 Peter 2:9 speaks to that. There God tells us about us as Christians, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” And there’s what’s called “The Great Commission” that Jesus gave to his church…that gives us, his 2 church, our “marching orders, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” • Another misunderstanding people have regarding the Beatitudes is that they are merely commentary on God’s Law (think of the 10 Commandments); that the Beatitudes are the “list” of things that we must do (the requirements to be fulfilled) if we are going to gain for ourselves the “blessings” referenced in the Beatitudes. My hope is that after hearing this last example of a misunderstanding regarding the Beatitudes that you recognize why I had to spend a little time this morning talking about what the Beatitudes are not about. If one thinks that the Beatitudes are merely commentary on God’s Law for the purpose of gaining for ourselves the blessings spoken of in the Beatitudes…think about what that leaves one with, then, in the Beatitudes! A message that’s all Law! A message that one has to bring about, for oneself, blessings from God! A message that sets up the false hope of being able to achieve the blessings of the Beatitudes for oneself…since, because of our sinfulness, none of us can gain for ourselves these blessings from God or, for that matter, salvation itself! If the Beatitudes are just a message of “works righteousness”…then the Beatitudes are a message that offer no true hope and are entirely devoid of the Gospel—the “good news” of what God has done to save us through Jesus Christ! But that is not what the Beatitudes are about.
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