As we come now to the reading and preaching of God's word, let's come before him in prayer and ask his blessing over it. Oh God, your word is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. It pierces to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow. discerning the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. O Lord, by your word now read and preached, may we receive your truth into our hearts in faith and love. By it, may we be taught and guided, upheld and comforted. that we may no longer be children in understanding, but grow to the stature of perfect men in Christ, and be prepared for every good word and work to the honor of your name, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. If you would turn with me in your copy of God's word to Matthew chapter five, Our sermon text this morning comes from the first 12 verses. Let's give our attention now to the reading of God's holy, inspired, life-giving, and authoritative word. Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain And when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. There have been countless revolutions throughout history. These revolutions often promised to usher in a golden age by overthrowing the current regime. They usually gain traction by uniting the masses around collective ideals, ideals that promised a new world order, an eternal kingdom of justice and peace. But time and time again, history proves these promises are only ever an illusion. Think of the peasants' revolt in the late Middle Ages with its manifesto, a fair society for all. No sooner did the uprisings begin than King Richard II squashed the rebellion. Then there was the French Revolution with its manifesto, liberty, equality, and fraternity. What started as a spark of hope was quickly extinguished by the reign of terror and Napoleon's eventual rise as emperor. Then there was the communist revolution in 19th century Europe with its manifesto. Redistribute wealth and power, forever ending oppression. Monarchs across Europe quickly banded together and successfully resisted this ideological vision with military force. Wherever you look, history proves no revolution has ever been capable of delivering on its promises. No revolution has ever turned the world upside down, ushering in a new world order, an eternal kingdom of justice and peace, except for one, the revolution of the Son of God. 2,000 years ago, the Lord Jesus Christ established His kingdom here on earth. He ushered in what no earthly political regime could ever do. He ushered in a kingdom of eternal peace, of justice and righteousness. And His kingdom, beginning with only a few followers, in Jerusalem and Judea in the first century has expanded to the four corners of the earth. And his kingdom will continue to advance until the end of the age when he will return in power and glory to judge the world. The kingdom of the Son of God will never be thwarted. In our text before us this morning, what we find is the manifesto of this kingdom. It is a manifesto completely foreign, completely alien to the world's way of thinking. The Beatitudes, which stand as the introduction to the Sermon on the Mount, show us that the way up is really down. The manifesto of the kingdom of heaven turns everything we think we know about success on its head. The way of Christ's kingdom is not one of self-assertion or might, but rather of self-deprivation and meekness. What the world considers weakness, God considers strength. This is what we will see in the Beatitudes this morning. Now we commonly refer to this famous passage of scripture as the Beatitudes, and that's because beatitude comes from the Latin word beatus, a translation of the Greek word blessed. And the question often arises, are the Beatitudes law or are they gospel? Is Jesus simply giving ethical commands or is he promising the hope of future glory? Well, the answer I hope you'll see this morning is both. The Beatitudes do commend a particular ethical system. They describe the life of a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is presenting what it looks like to be naturalized into heavenly citizenship. But Jesus is also doing more than that. He is promising the hope of future blessing to all who persevere. The blessings of the Beatitudes are not blessings by worldly standards. Impoverishment, mourning, hunger, persecution, these are the furthest thing from blessing as the world conceives of blessing. But this is precisely the point Jesus has in mind. True blessing according to our Lord is grounded in the life which is to come. What the world considers blessing is temporary and fleeting. Wealth, success, material comfort. These superficial blessings are of no lasting value. If you seek true blessing this morning. Know that you can ultimately only find it in one place, eternal life with God himself. In Matthew chapter five, we read in verses one and two, that Jesus went up on the mountain. He ascends the mountain. He sits down and opens his mouth. Now, it's easy for us to gloss over these details, but consider for a moment the Old Testament murmurings here, familiar to the Jewish mind. Jesus is signaling to the world that he is the true prophet, priest, and king. The true prophet, priest, and king that Israel has been waiting for. Jesus ascends the mountain, as did Moses the priest when he received the law at Sinai. Jesus sat down, which is a kingly function. Think of Psalm 110. The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool. And Jesus opened his mouth. Prophets in the Old Testament were the mouthpiece of God. And Jesus comes not only as the mouthpiece, but as God himself to declare good news to the world. Jesus begins with the first beatitude in verse three. Look with me there in your Bibles. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Now, the first thing to observe here is that Jesus is not purely commending poverty, as some have understood this passage to mean. Jesus does not say here that a life of poverty is of a higher spiritual order. No, we know, as God says in his word, it is not money in and of itself, that is a root of all kinds of evil. It is the love of money, the idolatry, that is a root of all kinds of evil. What Jesus commends here is poverty of spirit. Jesus is saying, in effect, the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who would decrease so that Christ may increase. Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones says of this beatitude. This is something which is not only not admired by the world, it is despised by it. You will never find a greater antithesis to the worldly spirit and outlook than that which you find in this verse. What emphasis the world places on its belief in self-reliance, self-confidence, and self-expression? If we were to put this beatitude in theological terms, what Jesus is commending is that if we are to come to God, we must come with empty hands. We are not justified. We are not pronounced righteous. We are not vindicated by God on account of our own righteousness. We don't meet God halfway. No, we are morally bankrupt, spiritually deprived. And our lives must reflect this posture of heart. There is no room for spiritual hubris, spiritual pride, in the kingdom of heaven. As the Apostle Paul says in Galatians chapter six, verse three, if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. And it's important for us to note that Jesus begins with this beatitude because all subsequent pronouncements of blessing build upon this first one. As the Puritan Thomas Watson, once said, poverty of spirit is the very basis and foundation of all the other graces that follow. When a man sees his own defects and deformities and looks upon himself as undone, then he mourns after Christ. Until a person be poor in spirit, they cannot hunger and thirst after righteousness. They must first be sensible of want before they can hunger. Therefore Christ begins with poverty of spirit because this ushers in all the rest. Jesus continues in verse four. Look with me again in your Bibles. Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. Now here we ought to think of two kinds of grief. Grief over death and grief over sin. Death was never part of God's design for the world. Death is God's enemy. And God himself grieved over death in John chapter 11. and citizens of the kingdom of heaven who likewise mourn will be comforted one day in the place where death shall be no more. In heaven, we're promised, we're told in Revelation chapter 21, there will be no more death, there will be no more mourning, there will be no more suffering for the former things have passed away. Think also of grief over sin. Blessed are those who are truly grieved by their sin. The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter seven contrasts for us godly grief with worldly grief. Godly grief is when we are truly distraught by the stench of our offense against a holy God. When we're overcome by the weight and filth of our sin, our uncleanness before a perfect holy God. Worldly grief is when we just feel sorry for ourselves. Sorry that we've been caught. And the scriptures tell us that only those who exhibit godly grief will be comforted. Those who grieve with worldly grief will weep forever. They will be banished to the place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth forever. Jesus continues in verse 5, blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. Meekness. Jesus here commends the virtue of meekness. What is meekness? It's often a misunderstood virtue today. Sometimes we simply equate meekness with a gentle tone and a soft temperament. But this doesn't quite capture the whole biblical picture of meekness. We're told in Numbers chapter 12, we read this there, that Moses was very meek, more than all the people who were on the face of the earth. And that same Moses, when he descends the mountain and discovers Israel's idolatry, he breaks the tablets of stone, incensed by the idolatry of God's people. Jesus likewise calls himself meek and lowly of heart in Matthew chapter 11. And the same Lord exhibits righteous anger at the money changers who have turned his father's house into a den of robbers. The point is meekness is not simply the equivalent of a gentle tone and a soft temperament. No, as one commentator writes, Though some have misinterpreted meekness to mean that a disciple of Jesus must be a weakling or a doormat, the Hebrew word for meekness, catch this, implies power under control. Power under control. Such a person is not pushy or self-centered, but purposely limits his own power and rights. Jesus says to us here, those who will inherit the earth are those who can exercise this kind of self-control. And often this does look like responding with gentleness when unjustly wronged. And when this happens, like the meek in Psalm 37, We are not called to take vengeance for ourselves. No, we are called to leave justice, vengeance to the Lord on the day of his visitation. Well, Jesus continues in verse six, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied. Kids, do you ever wake up in the morning and your stomach starts to growl at you? My kids wake up almost every morning like this, hungry, angry, combine those two together, hangry. And what do you do when you're feeling hungry? You ask your parents for food and they're always happy to provide the food you need, to feed you. Boys and girls, Jesus is always happy to feed you. Jesus is always happy to feed you with the food that you truly need for life and godliness. As you grow up in the world, there will be lots of shiny things that you might think will make you happy, and the truth is they won't. They will always leave you hungry for more. Jesus promises that if we hunger and thirst for Him, for righteousness, for the things of God, we will never hunger or thirst again. Then we come to verse seven, blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy. Have you ever stopped and considered what mercy truly means? Showing mercy, extending mercy is doing something that is undeserved. Mercy is the suspension of justice. If we think about this in terms of our relationship with God, what do we deserve? Because of our sin, we deserve eternal punishment, but God shows mercy. Though we deserve his wrath, He shows undeserved mercy. And Jesus says, we are to be merciful as God is merciful. Embodying the mercy of God. So often we treat people according to what we think they deserve. But imagine if God treated us that way. If he gave us what we deserved, we would perish. Blessed are the merciful, Jesus says, for they shall receive mercy. Jesus continues the Beatitudes in verse eight. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. And here Jesus is essentially saying what we find elsewhere in scripture when the author of Hebrews writes, strive for peace with everyone and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. You see, without purity of heart and mind and soul, there will be no beholding God one day in glory. And I want you to make sure you understand this. I'm not advocating, I'm not saying that holiness is what guarantees our salvation. No, it is through faith, by grace, that we are saved. But true faith is always accompanied by good fruit, by holiness, by purity of heart. This is the duplex gratia, the double grace that the reformer John Calvin speaks of. The inseparable graces of justification and sanctification. If you are united to Christ, you are justified, but you are also sanctified, you are holy. and your holiness is both definitive and progressive. You are declared holy by God and God promises to grow you in grace day by day. I ask you this morning, are you pure in heart? Ask the Lord to search your heart. Can you identify with righteous Lot who set forth for us as an example in Scripture in 2 Peter 2? Lot was pure in heart. The Scriptures say this. Lot was greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked. For as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard. This well describes the day and age in which we live. A day and age where we are constantly bombarded with impurity. It's difficult in this environment to fix our minds on the things of God. But to such a life does God call us. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Jesus continues, verse nine, look with me there in your Bibles. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Now there's an important Old Testament concept we need to grasp in order to understand this verse. The term in the text, peacemaker, was used in Roman and Hellenistic discourse to describe a particular image, a conquering ruler. But this is not the connotation that Jesus has in view here. Rather, Jesus has in view the Jewish concern for shalom, for peace. which encompasses more than just a stopping of wars, but a wholeness and restoration. Jesus is not so much saying blessed are those who broker peace between nations, but rather blessed are those who bring wholeness to interpersonal relationships, who are agents of wholeness and restoration in the world. We're sinful people. Peaceful relationships are not always easy, we know this. But God calls us not to live a life of perpetual conflict, but he calls us to be reconciled to one another, to live a life of peace. Remember that the next time you're tempted to respond angrily to a family member or a friend who offends you. The Beatitudes come to a conclusion in verses 10 through 12. Look with me there. Jesus says, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Maybe some of you have heard the story of Pastor Joseph's son, Pastor Joseph's son ministered in Romania when it was under communist rule behind the Iron Curtain. This was a time of persecution for Christians, especially those committed to the true gospel. But that did not keep Pastor Joseph's son from boldly preaching the good news of Jesus Christ. And in 1977, he was singled out by the communist government for doing just that. Initially, they applied pressure softly. They tried to bribe him. They offered him a job with a comfortable salary as long as he stopped preaching the gospel. As long as he stopped preaching the gospel, Pastor Joseph could enjoy a happy and long life. He could enjoy a nice retirement with his family, undisturbed. He could have his freedom, he could have his peace, so long as the words repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, never so much as cross his lips again. A secret police officer demanded a meeting with Pastor Son. They met in a dark hotel room and Pastor Son was given the ultimatum. Stop preaching Christ or face imprisonment and possibly execution. But Pastor Son was not phased. With boldness, He told the officer, I am ready to die. As long as I am free, I will preach the gospel. Pastor Son continued, he said, you don't understand that when you kill me, you send me to glory. You cannot threaten me with glory. The more suffering, the more troubles, the greater the glory. The more trouble down here, the greater the glory up there. During one particular grueling interrogation at a different time, Pastor Sun told his captors that their persecution of Christians would only serve to advance the gospel. He said, you should know your supreme weapon is killing. My supreme weapon is dying. My preaching will speak 10 times louder after you kill me. Only the power of Christ can give a man this kind of spiritual fortitude under persecution. Only the power of the risen Lord can cause a man to be this resolute in the face of death. And Jesus is saying in Matthew chapter five, this is the path of blessing. When you suffer for righteousness sake, when you're reviled, when you're persecuted, blessed are you. Sometimes we think of persecution as only something that happens to Christians in times past. But the Bible actually teaches in 2 Timothy 3 verse 12 that all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. So the question of persecution for you and I this morning is not if, but when. We will be persecuted if we follow Jesus Christ. Now this does not mean that we should actively seek out martyrdom, but it does mean that we must be prepared to suffer. And the persecution we face in this generation may look different from that of previous generations. We may not face the lions in the Colosseum, but whatever we face, we must be prepared to count the cost of following Jesus Christ. We may be socially ostracized, ridiculed by friends or coworkers, Some may mock us. They might say, do you really believe all those things in the Bible? Surely not, surely in this enlightened age, you can't believe all of those myths. The pressure will come, the scorn will come, the contempt will come. Are you ready as a follower of Jesus Christ to stand firm in that day? As we come to a close this morning, I want to remind you that the promise of blessing that Jesus offers is not something we can earn. The promise of blessing is not even something we can purchase. There's no buying a stairway to heaven like the lady in the Led Zeppelin song. The only stairway to heaven, the only stairway to blessing is through the blessed one, Jesus Christ himself. Jesus Christ is the new Israel. As we know from Matthew chapter two, verse 15, Jesus' life and ministry fulfills the covenant God made with Israel. Christ relives Israel's history, but does so with perfect obedience. Where Israel fails, Christ succeeds. His life of obedience is lived on behalf of His people, securing their eternal salvation. Our text this morning confirms this pattern. In the Old Testament, God brings his chosen people, Israel, out of Egypt. They pass through the waters of the Red Sea. They face trials in the wilderness. And at the edge of the promised land, God proclaims the blessings of the covenant in Deuteronomy chapter 28. But as we know, Israel's history is one of serial failure. But thanks be to God, Christ Jesus relives Israel's history on her behalf in order to save his people from their sins. Jesus is called out of Egypt. Jesus passes through the waters of baptism. Jesus faces temptation in the wilderness and here at the beginning of Matthew chapter five, Jesus proclaims the new covenant blessings and the eternal promised land of heaven. If you're here this morning and you know you're a sinner, You know you need to be right with God and escape the wrath to come. Turn to Jesus Christ. These Beatitudes we've examined this morning, they are ultimately a picture of Jesus, the one who can save you from your sins. Jesus Christ was poor in spirit, verse three. He impoverished himself so that we might be rich. He humbled himself to the point of death, even death on a cross. In his humiliation, he secures our redemption. Jesus Christ mourned, verse four. He wept over the sting of death. John chapter 11, and his grief led to action. Christ raised Lazarus from the dead, signaling his defeat of death forever for you and me. Jesus was meek. Verse five, Jesus had all power and authority under heaven and on earth. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 26 that he had the power to summon 12 legions of angels as he was arrested on false charges. What did Jesus do? Rather than deploy angelic forces, the Lamb of God went willingly and silently to the slaughter. for us and our salvation. Jesus hungered and thirsted for righteousness. Verse 6. Jesus faced physical hunger pains during his temptation in the wilderness. The devil tempted him to turn a stone into bread and satisfy his cravings, but in Matthew chapter four, Jesus rebukes the devil. He says, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Jesus hungered after righteousness, fulfilling the law for you and me. Jesus was merciful, verse seven. Jesus showed mercy to the thief on the cross. This criminal deserved the just punishment of death. His sins merited a life of eternal misery in hell. But in Luke chapter 23, Jesus Christ has mercy. He does what no one else has the power to do, forgive sins. The thief on the cross places his faith in the Son of God and the Son of God shows mercy. And Jesus stands ready today to show this same mercy to all who will come to him with faith and repentance. Jesus was pure in heart, verse eight. Jesus walked in all purity and holiness. He was the Lamb of God without blemish. He was not tainted by sin or impurity of any form. Jesus Christ knew no sin, 2 Corinthians chapter five, and yet he was made to be sin that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Jesus was a peacemaker. Verse nine. Jesus, the prince of peace, came to bring peace on earth. And his death on the cross for you and me was the ultimate act of peacemaking. By trusting in his finished work on the cross, we now have peace with God, Romans chapter five. His death was the ultimate act of reconciliation. Jesus was persecuted and reviled, verses 10 through 12. Jesus was subjected to a rigged trial. He was slandered. He was mocked. He was sentenced to death at the demands of an angry mob. But as we read in 1 Peter 2, when he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. Jesus was persecuted and reviled without cause, and yet he endured. Why? Because of his love for sinners like you and me. Jesus suffered unimaginable persecution so that he might grant everlasting life to all who believe upon him. Is He your Savior this morning? Come to Him. Confess your sins and find life forevermore. Let's pray. Almighty God and Father, we thank you that in your love you sent your only begotten Son to live the life of obedience we could never live and to die the death we deserved. Lord, we ask that by the power of your Spirit, our lives, in response to this great act of mercy and love, would be nothing more than a thank offering in response to this rich salvation. How great and undeserved is your love towards us in Christ Jesus. We pray all of this in his precious name and for his sake. Amen.