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BIBLE STUDY for January 12, 2020- “Cost of Discipleship” Series Beatitudes by Charles Carpenter

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BIBLE STUDY for January 12, 2020- “Cost of Discipleship” Series Beatitudes by Charles Carpenter BIBLE STUDY for January 12, 2020- “Cost of Discipleship” Series Beatitudes By Charles Carpenter What does it mean to be blessed? Scripture- Matthew 5:1-12 Observation INTRODUCTION “They have their treasure in secret, they find it on the cross. And they have the promise that they will one day visibly enjoy the glory of the kingdom, which in principle is already realized in the utter poverty of the cross” (Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, 120). The book of Matthew presents Christ as the universal Messiah, not for the Jews only, but the One who offers salvation to all who will call upon His Name. From beginning to end, Matthew illustrates all the unlikely people who have been saved from grave situations. Even Christ’s genealogy in Matthew’s Gospel exemplifies all the unlikely heroes in God’s plan for the nations. Consider, Judah and Tamar, Boaz, and Ruth (a Moabite), David and Bathsheba; these four women are the most unlikely candidates for God to fulfill His mission for the salvation of the world. The book of Matthew is filled with sermons, stories, illustrations, and parables, creating the kinds of cognitive dissonance which demand further attention and further explanation. This is especially the case with Christ’s famous “Sermon on the Mount” in Matthew 5. In this lengthy sermon, covering two chapters (5-7), Jesus reshapes the disciples’ frames of reference about the Kingdom of God and the pleasures of this world. This sermon is also revisited and illustrated throughout the whole of Matthew’s Gospel (Cf. 11, 13, 19, and 26). CONTEXT After the Spirit led Christ into the wilderness to undergo a series of tests, and after Christ called His first disciples, and performed his first series of miracles, He (Christ) called his disciples aside to explain to them the unlikely call to which they were to commit themselves. They were not to commit themselves to a political revolution or a religious revival, but to a radical call of dependence and reconciliation. They were called to depend on Christ for all things, and seek reconciliation of the world back to God. Craig Keener explains that Christ’s “…followers must be meek, must not retaliate, must go beyond the letter’s of law to its spirit, must do what is right when only God is looking, must depend on God for their needs and pursue his interests rather than their own, and must leave spiritual measurements of others’ hearts to God. In short, true people of the kingdom live for God, not for themselves.” 1 This unlikely sermon, calling his disciples to a radical new life, demands His disciples to rethink everything, examining their lives in light of what it means to be “blessed” (NIV, NASB, ESV), “fortunate” (CSV), or “happy” (YLT). Happiness, then, in Christ’s famous sermon demands one to think beyond his/her present circumstance and onto a future where Christ comforts all, satisfies all, provides all, includes all, rewards all, and defends all. This sermon, therefore, fulfills at least two goals. The first goal is to understand Christ as the one who offers Himself sacrificially for all to find their satisfaction in Him. The second goal is for each of us as believers to offer ourselves for the benefit of others, in order for others to have a glimpse, a foretaste, or an aroma of Christ and what He has to offer others. UNDERSTANDING THE PASSAGE 5:1-2- Christ consistently drew his disciples away in order to give them a greater understanding of the Kingdom of God; and here in Matthew 5, Christ calls those who he invited to become fishers of men (4:19) his “disciples.” 5:3-4, and 6- In this sermon (outlined from 5:3-12), Christ explains how up-side-down the world is. He further explains how happiness comes only as: one fully depends (“poor in spirit”) on the “Kingdom of Heaven,” “morns” as a traveler in this world, not as a permanent resident, and “hungers and thirsts after His righteousness.” These three ways to gain “happiness” allows the believer to see the world right-side-up and received the enduring comfort He provides. The comfort Christ offers then is contingent on our dependence on Him. The more we depend on His strength the more we cease from the cares of this world. Our morning will ultimately cease when we see Christ face-to-face (Cf. Rev. 21:3-4). This dependence only comes as we lose our appetites of this world and crave for the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Thus, happiness is finding our reliance on Him, morning (or desiring) for our permanent residence with Christ, and transforming our temporal appetites of this world for the perpetual craving of His righteousness. 5:5, 7-9- Christ does not look at happiness as a reality in the next life only, but a disposition in this life also. Meekness, mercy, purity of heart, and makers of peace mark those who position themselves to hear the cries of the other. As one depends on the perpetual cravings for His righteousness, they seek the benefit of their neighbor, their friend, and even their enemy. They hold their personal prowess back (meekness); they bear with others in a compassionate way (merciful); they have practically purified 1 Craig S. Keener, Matthew, vol. 1, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997), Mt 5:1. themselves not seeking personal gain (pure in heart); and they seek to bring men and women harmony (peace-maker (εἰρηνοποιοί)) in every circumstance. Jesus provides an ethical code that every believer should strive to achieve. 5:10-12- This ethical code cannot be contingent on our circumstances, for Christ expects persecution “for righteousness’ sake.” This persecution should not deter us from craving after his righteousness; this kind righteousness seeks to benefit our neighbor, friend and enemy. This kind of evil and persecution should make us crave Christ’s righteousness even more. Furthermore, Christ even anticipates people reviling, “persecuting”, and “uttering all kinds of evil” against us, even “falsely,” but this cannot change our ethic code of conduct. In other words, our ethical rules or codes should not change when someone else has a different code from ours’. Christ demands the Christian to envision a life where every decision and disposition offer the unbelievers unlikely frame of reference, a frame of reference which offers a glimpse, a foretaste, and an aroma of Christ and what He has to offer. Application The Scriptures consistently admonish us that we need to learn to trust in the things of the Lord and not on earthly things. The Psalmist says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God (20:7). And Jeremiah says, let the “one who boasts… boast in this: that he understands and knows me--that I am the LORD, showing faithful love, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for I delight in these things. This is the LORD's declaration” (9:24). John Piper rightly noted that “It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world” (Hunger for God, 14). Practically we should ask ourselves: Are we depending on our own frame of reference without prayer, Scripture, and godly counsel? Are we changing our ethical requirements based on the circumstances that we find ourselves? In what ways are we offering a glimpse, a foretaste and the aroma of Christ as we confront the evils of this world? Prayer Lord, let us learn to crave the righteousness of Christ, seeing from your perspective, and offering a foretaste of your truth to all. Let us learn how to be the aroma of Christ “among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing”. Lord, let us further learn “that we are not like many, peddling the word of God…we speak in Christ in the sight of God” as we live our lives. Let us live our lives faithfully for the sake of others. .
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