We take your Bibles this morning open up to Matthew chapter 5 we're gonna do a Short, I guess that's a relative term four-week series miniseries on the Sermon on the Mount and so as I looked at what to do just over Kind of a short period I know it's May I'm not quite ready to start Ephesians, which is where I want to go And I know more weekends coming up, but you'll all be here, right? Sometimes people travel. I understand. And so I thought what would be the best thing I could do, a thing just for me personally, on my own heart. You think of the world we live in as a parent, as a pastor, all the different messages that are out there inviting you to live in a certain way, to prioritize certain things. And I think you can look at no better place than the Sermon on the Mount to look at Jesus's own words, at his contrasting vision to the things we see in the world. So, Matthew chapter 5, and Lord willing I would say it's a little ambitious to go through it over the next four weeks. One thing about it is it's very organized. And so 1 through 16 very much is an introduction. You could even call 17 through 20, which we're going to look at as kind of a theme statement, or the beginning of the body. And that'll run all the way through 7-12 before there is a conclusion. So it's very well organized. You're going to see something as well, this kind of commonality of threes. There's three kind of beatitudes, blessings, three, three, three. They go together. You're going to see a lot of those as we look at next week, the law as well. And so there's a lot here, so let me pray and let's begin to see what the vision that Jesus is casting for life for his followers. Father, we thank you for the time that you've given to us this morning to come before your word. Lord, we pray that we would do so even as the characteristics are described here. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Lord, that we might understand what it is to be lowly and why at first, that seems so contradictory to what we should value most, the things that should, from a cultural point of view, from just a earthly point of view, would make us happy, and yet you continue to remind us here that there are those who are poor in spirit, those who are lowly, those who are even persecuted, And that is a description of those who will have life in its fullness because they are in you. Would help us to see just the structure this morning as we begin of what Christ was calling the crowds, his disciples to, and in turn, what he is calling each one of us to as well. We just ask this in your son's name, amen. Well, you do not have to look very far to find people looking to give you advice. I'm sure many of you this morning, if the first thing you did, if you weren't patient enough, which I'm not, to wait for coffee is you probably grabbed a coffee mug. And I'm sure in a crowd this size, there were people who had coffee mugs with little pithy sayings. Something on that coffee mug that is a little life or wisdom or proverb. When we come to the Sermon on the Mount, and we come to particularly these Beatitudes, as they're known, I want you to think of them in a similar way. That they are advice, they are these little statements, you could say bumper sticker style statements. It's coming out of a idea of wisdom literature, whether you look at the Proverbs, you look at Ecclesiastes, you look at the Book of Job, you look at some even like Psalm 1. And you're gonna see this kind of theme of this wisdom literature that is gonna inform Jesus now, who is the master teacher, giving his wisdom for how we should engage and we should look at life. And so you look at a lot of the common ones in the world today, and you might see something like, quote, follow your heart. If you don't see it on a coffee mug, you probably are gonna see it in a movie, if not quoted, some version of do what you think is best, what will make you happy. Follow your heart. Or maybe the more casual phrase of you do you. And that'll lead to true fulfillment, true happiness. Or live your truth. Don't let other people make you feel a certain way. Just live your truth. Usually they're catchy, and they're short, and of course, like anything that's proverbial, they're a little bit simplistic in their nature, but I want you to think through some of those things that you've heard, like follow your heart, live your truth, and realize that those kind of statements aren't just casual, they're actually telling you something, and you could maybe even call them little tiny sermons, and in the same way, when we read here, verse three, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, you are in that having a mini sermon. He's saying something and pulling it apart with what does blessed mean. I think even how does the function of the four, theirs is the kingdom of heaven, will help us understand what that sermon is teaching. And then if we understand what Jesus is doing as a whole here, it'll help us understand why this contrast becomes so shocking because you're gonna get to blessed are those who have been persecuted. Blessed are you, verse 11, when people insult you and persecute you. I don't know about you, when you first read that, you go, okay, I think I wasn't paying attention. I think I misread this because that doesn't make any sense to the basic human experience. but it's meant to hit you at a different way. And there's a reason Jesus is doing this as he introduces this key sermon. Now, the book of Matthew, which we are not in currently, so I know you have not been in the book of Matthew for those who are about five years ago. When we did Matthew, some of this might kind of jog your memory. But Matthew is kind of, you could think of it as little mountaintop discourses or sermons or you have these five different peaks of where he's going to give a discourse throughout the book of Matthew, and so it's going to give the story or the life of Christ, his experiences, and then it's going to give a teaching, and then it's going to give a little bit of his life and story, and then it's going to give a key teaching, and then it's going to give his life and story, and going to give There are those who have pointed out that as Matthew is presenting Jesus as Messiah, particularly to a Jewish audience, he's doing it in a way where you're seeing him as the ultimate Messiah, the ultimate Rabbi. You're going to see both what he says and how he lives. And it's just a very clear structure you'll see throughout if you follow this. There's really no one who debates the clarity of this. There are some books where you don't always see it, but Matthew's not one of those here. And this is the very first one. Some might say the middle one is more important, but you could say here at least it's first and probably least in history gets the most attention, and you know it, which is these Beatitudes, this sermon on the mount that goes all the way chapter 5 through chapter 7. And just a little bit of context here, and maybe just fulfillment language, he picks up a lot of the book of Isaiah. The birth of Christ, that's going to matter because he's going to come not to abolish but to fulfill. But he comes down, go to chapter 4 verse 17, and what it introduces is that from that time after Jesus begins his ministry, he's tempted in the wilderness, the John the Baptist is beginning to fade. He says, Matthew tells us, 17, from that time, Jesus began to preach and say, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And so he introduces here that from here, this point, he's beginning to preach something, teach something, repentance, yes, in light of the kingdom of heaven being at hand. hand. And so when we come to the Sermon on the Mount, it's that context of what does it look like to be part of this kingdom. And we understand there's an already, not yet, there is a level of which a lot of what Jesus is looking forward to, not just unlike Isaiah, isn't fulfilled in its fullness. In other words, we live as, I think probably the best way, kingdom citizens. If you're in Christ, You're a citizen of a kingdom that is not yet fully realized, that will come one day, even in its earthly form, in the millennial kingdom. But he is beginning to preach this message of what it is to be part of that kingdom, which comes through following him. And of course, what he does very first in verse 18 of chapter 4 is he invites the disciples to do that very thing. He says, verse 19, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. And so they're going about and the news spread, verse 24, to all that were ill, those suffering with various diseases, pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics, and he healed them. And the large crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan. And that sounds like a very big summary statement, because it is, because then he's gonna pull back into this first discourse of the sermon and begin here in verse one, that now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and he began to teach them. He is going to teach them what he is calling them to. When he says, follow me, what is the content of what it means to follow after Christ? Will it be? Happy are those who are wealthy. Happy and blessed are those who are powerful. Happy and blessed are those who get everything that they ever wished. It's not gonna be those things. And it's shocking to us, and I guarantee you it is just as shocking to them. I think just a little, I'm trying to think of what's the best way to give a little context to this. One would be, think of just in general, the Jewish people in the first century. They are conquered. They are under Roman rule. Yes, they are hoping for a Messiah who will liberate them, not just spiritually, but they want a physical kingdom and expectation set out in the Old Testament. And so they are looking for that. But How can they be happy and blessed in that state? How can they be happy and blessed if then when Jesus says, follow me, you don't get the kingdom right now. You don't get quote unquote worldly happiness, blessing right now. He's answering this question in John 10. He talks about that he is offering life and life in the full or life abundant. And here he explains exactly what he means by what it means to live life abundantly. And so he goes and it's very picturesque. He lets us know this kind of the background before he begins, that he sees the crowd. There are crowds listening, yes, but also it's personal and that the disciples are pulled near him. And there's a picture here, you think of a Jewish audience, it's multiple people bring it out, that he comes up and he walks up a mountain and he begins to speak. And as you'll see towards the end in seven, what is surprising and shocking to them is that he speaks with authority. He doesn't just recount the, say, Old Testament or the law and the prophets. He actually speaks with authority to say, this is what the law and the prophets means. And so, Just like this picture of Moses going to Mount Sinai, given the law, coming down, there's still this picture here of Jesus going up, who's not just like Moses, they'd expected a prophet, which Matthew's already talked about. The greater prophet, the greater Moses is the Messiah. Jesus goes up on the mountain and he begins to teach his philosophy of what is the true purpose, what is the true meaning of life? What does it look like to repent and follow him into this kingdom that he is promising, of which he is the king of. And so we're going to look at it in this way this morning. Again, it's really just an introduction to some of the basic concepts of the Sermon on the Mount, but it's looking at it from a perspective of, although the kingdom isn't fully here, we are, if you are in Christ, there's a context of Matthew, ultimately this teacher, this Messiah will suffer and die. So that's coming, it's in light of Matthew, but he is looking at it from this perspective of a kingdom, and we, if you follow him, are citizens awaiting, yes, the return of the king and the fulfillment of the fullness of that kingdom. But what marks kingdom people? And the first thing we're going to kind of see in this beatitude, so it's 3-3-3, is that there is a character. There's a character of kingdom citizens. And it's a shocking character. And as I said, this really introduces verses 1 through 16, and we're looking at a character and then a calling, but the characteristics of them isn't necessarily what you want to sign up for. If you were to sell somebody on coming to, you know, your camp or your school, one commentator put it this way, looking at an Ivy League school, say like a Stanford or a Harvard, and they said, you know, come to Stanford and at the end you die. Come to Harvard and you'll be persecuted. It's not a great sales pitch. But if you read it for what Jesus is saying, follow me and you will be, I want to look at this word, blessed, happy, fulfilled, flourishing, if you are poor in spirit. And he explains each reason why that's true despite your initial human reaction being that doesn't sound right. I think it's noticeable he does not start with commands. He does not start with, this is what you need to do. And that's as we begin to pull back here in verse 3. One of the reasons looking at this word blessed, I think, is super important. Now, my LSP translates to blessed. Some of you might have a translation for this word makarios as happy. Both are probably a little bit insufficient. We just don't have great words in English for this. Oftentimes with the idea of blessing you have with a coming that someone that say God is Blessing you he's giving you something and you might read in that case for this work that you are blessed if you do these things But that's not the way the Greek word is being used here It's more of this word that has a root, without going too far into it, into wisdom literature of a father, say Proverbs, putting his arm around his son and saying, listen, blessed are you if you go this way. Let me show you the way to live. And so happy is probably a little bit better than blessed, but in English, Happy is kind of a weak word. And so it's lost a lot of its punch and it feels shallow. Joy probably is a little too much of an emotional word. And so Jonathan Pennington, who's written a lot on this, talks about using the word flourishing. It's probably not perfect either, but it's the same idea where he wants to use it and say, flourishing are the poor in spirit. And I'd even say more helpful in his translation is taking the four, and translating it, because, to help us in English see the way these worked together. And so when you look at this and this introduction of this wisdom teacher saying, come, let me show you the way to live life. Let me invite you this way to see the world. Then when you see that, and I'll just translate the way he does, flourishing are the poor in spirit because, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. I think in English that helps us get closer to what Jesus is doing here. Because he's saying those who are poor in spirit, this idea of that they are spiritually impoverished, that they are running to, they don't have spiritual pride maybe being the opposite, rich in spirit, but poor in spirit. If you're living that way, he's saying you will live the right way, why? And then I think he said because, for or because theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And he keeps going back and forth, back and forth. Well, if you are poor in spirit in this life, you say spiritually impoverished, that is you're not looking for answers inside yourself and the implication would be you're looking to them outside of yourself, particularly into God's revelation or his ultimate revelation in his son, then you're living the right way, the kingdom way, blessed are those who are poor in spirit because theirs is the kingdom of heaven. If you have the kingdom of heaven, then it's okay to be humble and low and meek because you have the kingdom of heaven. It's better to have Christ than to have all the riches of this world. What does it, you know, gain a man? What does he gain if he has the whole world but yet he loses his soul? So, happy, flourished are the poor in spirit because theirs is the kingdom of heaven. It's the attitude that they're not trying to fix their own problems, but they are running to the king. Likewise, verse two, again looking at blessed or flourishing are those who mourn because they shall be comforted. He's saying, look at me and follow me, and if you will, and very much like Ecclesiastes, very much like Proverbs, this seems so negative. And if we don't think this is negative, you're gonna see it even more so in the persecution of things, but you don't wanna mourn. But if you realize there's something to mourn about, if you take the advice of the wisest man, Solomon, Ecclesiastes 7, and you go to the funeral, you will learn a greater lesson than you will in the house of feasting. And therefore, you will learn. Therefore, you will be flourishing. Therefore, you will be this idea of you will have life into its fullness because you ultimately will be comforted. Likewise, Happy flourishing are the lowly for they or because they shall inherit the earth. He's saying, why would it be a good thing to live lowly? Because you inherit the earth. This idea of lowly or some translations are meekness. someone who is not domineering, someone who is not looking for power, but rather takes the power they have and places it under his control. Jesus himself is going to illustrate this perfectly. He has all the power, all the authority, yet is humble and meek, gentle and lowly, Matthew 11, verse 29. Well, why would you... Why would you want to be gentle and lowly like Jesus? Why would you want to be humble of heart like Jesus? Well, because that's the person this kind of person who will inherit the earth. And so, like I said, it comes in triplets, three, four, and five. And it's that idea of that person, the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who are meek and lowly, they are all going to live the right way. And he tells you why. Because there's something more because the kingdom is coming, right? He keeps putting this back to verse 17 of chapter four. The kingdom of heaven is at hand because the kingdom of heaven, theirs is the kingdom of heaven because they shall be comforted because they shall inherit the earth. It's quite an introduction if you really look at it and you try to get into their understanding of what Jesus is saying. I mean, he is tweaking their brains on every level to go, but that, what I want is the Messiah to come and to conquer Rome. What I want is my life fixed now. What I want is my external circumstances to change today. And he goes after poor in spirit, mourning, and meek or lowly. Well, none of those things change the external circumstances, and I think we're going to see that's the point. Your life and the fullness of your life, not just now, but obviously into the future, but also now, when he says, I'll give you life and life abundant, he's not just talking about the future, he's even talking about now. He's saying, Because of this, you don't need your circumstances to change. You could say like Philippians, like Paul, we can learn to be content in all things because he has a future hope that he is anchored in knowing that God will reward, God will bless, God will give life to those that follow his son. So he continues again, that second triplet, starting in verse 6, this idea of blessed are those, or flourishing are those, or the way of true life and life abundant are those who are hunger, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness because they shall be satisfied. The idea of hunger and thirst is exactly what you expect, which is, I'm hungry because I don't have it. I'm thirsty for righteousness because I don't see it. I look at the world, I turn on the TV, I read the news, and I do not get fed a diet of justice and righteousness. And I am hungry and I am thirsty for the world to be made right. And he's saying, if you look at the world, if you're the kind of person who looks at the world and says, it's not right, something's wrong, and you have a internal hunger and burden for things to be made right, Guess what? Blessed, happy, flourishing is that kind of person. In other words, don't look at the world and go, it's perfect. If you look at the world and say, nothing needs to change, you're not a kingdom minded person. You don't have the characteristic of a kingdom person. You have to look out and see sin marred Genesis three and say, something is wrong, definitely wrong. And he's saying, if you see that, if you look out and you hunger and thirst that everything would be made right, It's a good thing because they shall be satisfied. So it's a good thing. If you find the world imperfect, if you find sin, evil, and wicked, and death horrendous, that's good. You've recognized the curse of Genesis 3, the curse of sin, the need for a savior, and therefore you will be the kind of person who ultimately will be satisfied. It goes on to say, then those who are merciful, they're going to be blessed in that way. They're going to have the right view of life. They're going to be happy. They're going to be fulfilled because they are merciful, because they shall receive mercy. Mercy doesn't on one end look like very good math. Mercy would be not grace, given something you don't deserve. Mercy would be something you do deserve. That person deserves justice, but they don't receive it. You show mercy. Someone owes you, whether that's financial or whether that's emotional or physical, whatever that is, they've done something that has wronged you and you are merciful. He's saying the kingdom, Citizen is merciful. Why show mercy if you get nothing out of it? Saying because you'll receive mercy. Goes back to Colossians. We look at why do we forgive? Because Christ first forgave us as the example. And he's saying, but forgiveness, you don't get anything. saying, no, you will, you will receive mercy. And so that person is the right kind of person. Likewise, verse eight, blessed, flourishing, happy are the pure in heart because they shall see God. This is this idea of purity. One who is, of course, pure in heart, holy, they're going to see God. Now, I should have introduced this on the front end, But as you look at the sermon as a whole, there are different views in church history. Bringing up one here would be, one role, and I actually think this is partly a good answer, particularly in Lutheran tradition with Martin Luther, he would call the sermon an impossible ideal, and they view it really with not much significance today. But it would be looking at, say, blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. It is an impossible idea. You can never be pure in heart. It's the law. You find your shortcomings and therefore repent of your sin. You're a sinner who needs a savior. They kind of view it that way, similar to the role of the law. The sermon functions in that way to show you a standard you can never reach. Which I do think that's part of the role of the sermon, which is any sermon, if the shoe fits, wear it. If you come to the end in chapter seven, and Jesus, in a wonderful way, I mean, everything kind of wisdom comes down to the way of wisdom and the way of the world, the way of Christ, the way, you know, the way of God, the way of man, he's gonna say there's two ways, right? There's two roads, you can build your house on sand, you can build your house on the rock. I mean, he's gonna pull them down into decision time. How are you gonna live your life? And that's where the sermon is all headed in the conclusion here. And so yes, if you fall short, wear the shoe. It fits. You're right. You can't be perfect. You can't see God apart from Christ being a mediator, apart from you recognizing your sin, repenting from it, right? And turning and trusting that Christ's sacrifice is perfect and sufficient to pay for your sin. That's true. But I would say it falls a little short on understanding the role for the sermon today for the Christian or for the church. Others, especially you could say in more liberal denominations, mainlines, that would see this as simply a method of social justice in every term and form that we have to do these things. Another one would be Anabaptist tradition. Some with you I know have Mennonite backgrounds would be a very literal reading of this and this is applied very strictly in every case and so when we see we got to turn the other cheek that becomes a very strict view of pacifism. I don't think Jesus has in mind that those cases either. This is wisdom literature. This is Jesus giving you a way of living of which again, there's some simplistic ways in which Proverbs, even these Beatitudes are being used, but they have a meaning that is meant to be a little more broad. And we're gonna see that when we come to, what does it mean to turn the other cheek? Can you be a police officer and be a Christian? Can you arrest somebody and be a Christian? Can you serve in the military and be a Christian? aren't you supposed to always turn to their cheek? Well that's pretty tough when there's enemies. How do you love your enemies? Those are all questions the sermon I'm about starts to get into later in this sermon, but although I think it can serve as a way to say, well that is not me. I don't love being sad, mourning, I don't maybe even characterize as someone who's poor in spirit. I'm not one who always hungers and thirsts for righteousness. In fact, maybe you're very satisfied in your first world life. And that'd be a good point to evaluate your heart in your life and say, where are you at? But I think probably the best way to see this is that this is wisdom literature. This is Jesus giving his vision of the way he is calling people to follow after him. And hence the language of kingdom he uses over and over again in the sermon that wishes what kingdom citizens will look like. Describes who they are, the way they understand the law, which we're going to introduce this morning and then expand on next week. And so kingdom citizen, which is to say it's not fully realized. Obviously the king is not here. The king is not ruling on David's throne in Jerusalem. But it doesn't mean that we aren't citizens of that kingdom right now. We are simply sojourners in a foreign land as believers, but these things should still describe us. This isn't gonna be works-based. I do think the sermon is gospel or grace-based. He's gonna invite them into that. That's this kind of language. He's gonna invite them in to look at your life, and this is what I am calling to you, and this is what he is teaching them. He's teaching them a different way of viewing the world. And if anywhere along the way, someone's hearing that invitation and says, blessed are the pure in heart. And they go, not me. Well, then you won't see God. But again, that's what he wants you to hear and to reevaluate your own heart, your own life, and have you dealt with your sin at the cross by turning to Jesus for forgiveness. Likewise, he goes on. Verse 9, 10, and 11, and this last triplet, dealing with persecution, peacemaking, and all that comes with it. And maybe you could get down with being lowly, and I hunger and thirst that justice would be done, righteousness. But it's the heart of the last three, with blessed are, flourishing are, happy are the peacemakers, because they shall be called sons of God. Very much like mercy. Do you get anything about making peace between two parties that are in animosity? Maybe in some cases. But most of the time, conflict, and you riding in, causing conflict, and then getting what you want, is going to be the most advantageous way to live life. And very much like a proverb, he's saying, I know that seems the way, there's a way that's right, to man that seems right, but it's not. Be a peacemaker. The idea of peacemaker would be the assumption that there is not peace. It's not just the peacekeeper. It's peacemaker. That is, you have to go in and you make peace. And he's saying, if you live your life in a way where your desire is to see peace being made, you're a, you could say, a vessel of peacemaking. That's good because you are reflecting your father by you shall be called sons of God. That's the right way to live your life when you get nothing out of it, but you are the one who seeks peace in every way. He's saying that's the right kind of person. That's the kind of kingdom person that he is talking about that sees the law, again, that's more next week, in a certain way and understanding that it is internal, not just external. A lot of these things are going to be here to understand the characteristics of the kingdom in a way that makes it not just external. You could say and argue that as the whole sermon gets going that he's going to eventually move to this idea of wholeness or we need to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect. And it's hard not to somewhat introduce that idea here early because you go, this is the reason for this type of introduction. He wants them to be perfect. And again, tough translation because it's an idea of wholeness, idea of consistency, which you get played out when he starts to look at all the different laws. It's not just, have you been a murderer? It's, have you hated in your heart? It's not, are you just an adulterer? It's, have you lusted in your heart? he wants there to be a wholeness, a consistency, that's what he is calling the believer to hear. He's calling this audience, and I think likewise, those who follow Christ, us in the church age now, again, being consistent, James picks up on this language, let our yes be yes or no be no, we are consistent, we are not double-minded, tossed to and fro, we are a whole, we are consistent. consistent. And you might even look and say, this whole pursuit, and again, if we take a general, I know it's a weak term, happiness, and we look at the world today, and everyone's looking for happiness, and this idea of how do I get happiness, and how do I find fulfillment, and how do I get peace, and how do I get joy? And you go, well, a lot of the issues there are, there are those who simply have a hard time living, and I think because of sin, when they are split, and they're not whole. And maybe it's even worse for the one who is following Christ because you cannot split, you cannot serve two masters, which he talks about here in the sermon as well. He's calling to a consistency to a whole, a perfection. One illustration way of saying that it's not just like be perfect in the sense of we think perfection is that there's no sin or perfection is there's nothing bad. But he simply means something whole, something that would be consistent, which of course would be in that sense whole in the right way. You think was 2000... Oh, maybe it was 13 or 15 football fans would know better than me. When the Browns went 0-16. You could say in that sense the Cleveland Browns had a perfect record. They're 0-16. That's how the word perfect or whole is functioning in there later in the verse that we'll look at in a couple weeks. It's the idea of they were consistent. They never were split by winning some. No, they lost them all. And so it's not necessarily perfected in contrast to sin, it's the idea of wholeness, particularly that the internal, the motivations and desires of our heart match the actions that are outward in the words that we speak. that kind of consistent person is therefore then one who is blessed or flourishing or is getting the right way, the right kind of person who then will be blessed or because they are certain things, like in verse nine, peacemakers because they'll be sons of God. And then verse 10, again, blessed, happy, flourishing are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. He qualifies with two different, you could say, for's or because's. So you are going to be the right person if you have been persecuted because of righteousness. So qualifier, it's not just any persecution. It's kind of very similar to the way Peter does it in 1 Peter. You don't want to be persecuted for things that don't matter or things that, you know, for being evil or being an actual criminal or something like that. That's not the kind of persecution here. It's persecution for the sake of righteousness. Why would you be excited about being the kind of person? Why would you be blessed? Why would you be happy? Why would you be this the right kind of person if you were being persecuted for righteousness? He's saying, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And that goes back to the same way he ended verse three. Which makes sense, because he's coming to the conclusion of his introduction, he's bringing it together, and then he continues to say, blessed, happy, flourishing are you when people insult you, persecute you. And you can imagine if you heard this for the first time, and just not an explanation, just teaching these things, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. you might not catch, you might be thinking still about, you know, the lowly because they inherit the earth or blessed are those who are hunger and thirst for righteousness because they, you're still thinking about that one. And all of a sudden he hits you with verse 11, blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Well, now he starts to bring it in and you're going, wait a minute. It's personal on both levels. Now it's personal that you're saying, people are going against me very personally. They're persecuting me. Now they're lying falsely about me, all kinds of evil against me. And it's not because of righteousness, it's because of Jesus. So you're starting to say, on the mountain, back around the Sea of Galilee. You got the background of the Sea of Galilee. And there you have Jesus teaching these things where he is calling them to this to say, yes, following me is going to affect your life, but not in the way that you think. In fact, it's gonna be hardship. But all of this is gonna prepare them for the whole lesson, which is moving in message of context of Matthew, right? Which is that there is going to be suffering before there is glory, that death is going to lead to life. Both of which are difficult for us to put in peace together. But when you see and you understand the death of Christ and the resurrection of Christ, the necessity of it, the purpose of it, you start to understand that does make sense. Because you need one to atone for sin that we might have life. And therefore, blessed You are the right person. You should be fulfilled and have life in abundance when people insult you and persecute you. If and when it's because of Christ. A lot of this is gonna be said in different ways to the disciples later on. And therefore, verse 12, he moves it and says, uses a different word here, not blessed. It's not that kind of way which he uses the triplets of beatitude, but he moves to simply clarifying verse 12, rejoice and be glad for your reward in heaven is great. Or again, if you want to say because, because you could translate it that way, I think it's helpful. Now that one makes sense, right? Rejoice and be glad because you have a reward in heaven. because in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. That's the first time you go, okay, now we're pulling this all together. He gives me an illustration. If you're gonna follow me the way the people of God have always followed in the Old Testament, they followed Yahweh, they were persecuted, they were reviled, they were killed, they were chased, but there is a reward set in heaven. starts to make sense. The way to life and life abundance, the way to true happiness is actually going to be through following Christ, and following Christ is going to mean that your life is going to be marked out by similar things as the life of Christ, which were suffering and persecution and people who are going to revile you. But, because at the end of that there is Christ, there is the kingdom, because there is a reward in heaven, you're going, I will happily do that. It's a different kind of math. But once you see the end, it makes everything else along the way make sense. Why'd you choose Why'd you make the decisions you made in life? Because you believe this about the kingdom and where the world is headed. Again, he's got contrasting views. You can just simply say that there's a maybe, in our culture today, not everything has a philosophical term. Sometimes I think as much as I understand, particularly conservatives move towards the trades, not to get on a hobby course here, but towards trades and doing things and welding and all these things. The only challenge is the kids were never taught any level of philosophy or they never were in a class where they actually asked thoughtful questions about life in high school because they don't have it there. They don't go to college now and they never sit down and they ask philosophical questions about what is the meaning of life. And so I think a lot of people get to where they're making good money and they're in their mid-20s and they go, well I still haven't answered why am I doing this? And that is a question that in its nature you could say is philosophical, yes, but theologically there is a biblical answer and this is Jesus' answer that you value him and you value his kingdom more than you value the things of this world. He's answering that key question. Again, we don't use philosophical terms. You could say day in and day out. But the idea of, say, nihilism, that like nothing has meaning. Some people might just simply come to this, well, nothing has meaning. You could say, kind of Ecclesiastes, this idea that maybe you just could come to the place, well, we're just gonna make as much of today as we can because tomorrow we die. And saying, well, that isn't gonna make for a fulfilled life and life abundance. There are people who are gonna say, well, because we're here now, let's make as much as we can, have as much fun as we can. But again, it won't find fulfillment and ultimate happiness. It's gonna ultimately be simply empty. And I think that's what Jesus is saying here. It's gonna be counterintuitive. It's actually gonna be sacrifice and self-denial that is going to lead you to true fulfillment, true blessing, or true happiness in life. That's key, I think, to understand here as we see Secondly, we're gonna see the calling of the kingdom, witnesses, and then we'll probably briefly just touch on 17 through 20 and then pick it up next week in that section. But this idea of then, okay, so if they're gonna persecute you the same way the prophets have persecuted you, he picks it up and he says, the statement, you are the salt of the earth, but the salt has become tasteless. How will it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out, to be trampled underfoot by men. And I think this is important, this is helpful. He's using a level of parallelism here. You are the salt of the earth, and then of course, parallel to that, you are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor does anyone light a lamp. Put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. And you could say, kind of, if you want to use a bracket, I have a line there, and that's where they conclude, or that's the end of your introduction before he begins into the main section. Now, it's helpful because we know he's been introducing, begins to teach, and he uses these sayings. In fact, actually a lot of people in the literature will just call them Makkari-isms because they feel so like the beatitudes or blessings don't do a good job of describing exactly what Jesus is after here. But when he summarizes those things, he looks out, gets very personal, doesn't say we, he says a very personal you, and he says you, disciples, crowd, I think generally, right, followers of Jesus, are salt of the earth, and then again, you are light of the world, And at least for me, probably the only way to make sense of this, because salt can mean various things, is probably to look at them in that parallel construction in that you have light, world, salt, earth. So in what way are these similar is probably where I would go to go your best understanding. There's a way in which yes, salt seasons. Would it be true that we're meant to be seasoning in the world? Sure. Is it true that salt is a preservative? Are we to be preservatives? Are we to be the pillar of truth in the world? 1 Timothy 3, absolutely. That's what the church is meant to be. The pillar and the buttress of truth. But here, I'm probably more convinced that he has this idea of combining these two ideas and using more of salt in the Old Testament sense. And it would make a little more sense. He's talking to a Jewish audience. Matthew's explaining this, or Matthew's recording this for us, for this original readership, mostly of Jews. And salt in the Old Testament is also used within covenant. And when it's used in the covenant, it is used to make the covenant. And so he goes about here using this image to explain to them that they are going to be salt, and they are going to be light, they're going to be representatives, they're going to be consecrated. That idea, I think, of where saltmore is, it's used to set apart, to consecrate, someone to be an ambassador or to be this idea of a priest. Which of course is going to prepare us in Matthew because he's going to eventually say you need to go into all the world. You're going to make disciples. And so you're not just, you could say, priests of Israel or salt of Israel, you are salt of the earth. You're not just a light in Jerusalem, or Israel's a light, a city set on a hill, which is the description in the Old Testament, the idea everyone's going to Israel to learn the truth. The queen of Sheba comes to see the wealth of Solomon. And now Jesus is saying, no, you are Set aside, you are consecrated as salt of the earth. You're unique in that way. You're set aside because you're following me. You need to continue to be unique. If you lose your taste, become tasteless, saying what use are you? Except for to be trampled underfoot. And you are to be a light now to the world. And he's saying a city set in hell cannot be hidden. He's saying your light now needs to shine to all men. Maybe even there's a sense in which he's saying there's some level of continuity here. One of the issues will come up as we look at the law as well is that Jesus isn't saying something new. He's saying this is what it's always meant, but of course he is now new in that he is the Messiah and the true arbiter of the law. But as far as it, I think, applies to us as following Christ, he's saying, you are to be his ambassadors to the world. You are to be his witnesses in the world. You're to be as salt, set apart, distinctive. You are to be a light, sitting on a lampstand that gives light to all who are in the house. And so that's why in 16, he says, then let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify Father who is in heaven." Which I would say, from a study standpoint, you go, 16 is where I, alright, that makes the most sense of anything I've read so far. Because he's saying, this light you have that you'll take into the world is meant for others to see. It's not just your actions, but it's gonna be your words as well. You're gonna speak and you're gonna act in a way that others see. and glorify your father who is in heaven. And he's gonna get glory from your actions, yes. And then ultimately, Matthew 28, he's gonna get glory from you sharing that good news, that message to the world. And they're gonna see the good works. Everyone to some degree, maybe the more introverted, the more shy you are. You don't like being distinctive. You don't like being set apart. You don't like in that sense being salty. Perhaps you don't like to have the spotlight. I understand that. But if you're gonna follow Christ, there is a way in which you need to be the light to the world. We're all tempted to hide our faith. We're all tempted to kind of put a lamp or a basket over the lamp and hide it. Jesus is saying, don't do that, let it shine. I made you, I set you aside. I made you a light so that you might impact others. That's why you are here. And God is calling you to shine. And you might even ask that question this week. In what ways could you shine, be unique? Which way are you salt? Which way should you be light to the world around you? And in that, he concludes the introduction. And then just briefly go to 17. And we'll see not only the character, the calling, but then in 17, he introduces the beginning of this body of work, which sets kind of the table. Some would call this a thematic statement for the whole sermon. But he establishes this after saying, let your light shine, all my seed that could work, glorify your God, your Father who is in heaven. But then in 17, he says, do not think that I came to abolish the law of the prophets. I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. We'll probably have to come back next week and talk about this more. But just know, one of the things, if you can remember Matthew well, or when we've been in Matthew in the past, fulfill, fulfill, fulfill. Very important. Jesus came to fulfill. He's fulfilling the scriptures. He's the fulfillment of the scriptures. And over and over again, you see that in his narrative of his birth story, and he's saying, I've come now not to destroy. So when Jesus is saying, this is my way of living, this is what I'm inviting you into, it is not going to be in a contrast of jettisoning the Old Testament. One preacher became kind of famous for his phrase, you know, unhitch the Old Testament. No, Jesus is saying you don't unhitch the Old Testament, right? You understand the Old Testament and what it was pointing to, he's coming not to abolish the law or the prophets, and this would simply be a way that they would refer to the scriptures or God's revelation, the law being the books of Moses, Genesis through Deuteronomy, the prophets, sometimes you might see the law, the prophets in the writings, law and prophets is, sometimes you'll see the law, honestly, but it's just saying the law or the prophets, he's talking about the scripture, I didn't come to take it away, to make something new in that sense, I didn't come to abolish it, but I am here as a fulfillment to it. And he explains why, because truly I say to you, if you look at Scripture, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from it until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same shall be called the least in the kingdom. So he's saying, in his kingdom, what's the role of Scripture? The same as it's always been. It is binding. It will be fulfilled every jot and tittle, every fulfillment, every promise, every prophecy of the first coming and of the second coming will come to pass, so you better not jettison it. If you do, you're the least in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever does and teaches them shall be called the great in the kingdom of heaven. And he goes on to say, for I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. which becomes the whole body of where the sermon's headed. This idea that there is a greater righteousness than you need than simply showing up and doing the externals. You're fulfilling, say, Old Testament law, coming to Jerusalem, offering sacrifice, and Jesus is going to say, that isn't bad for us. attending church this morning, it's not bad, don't stop coming to church. But he's saying if you come, and you come with the wrong motive, with the wrong desire, if your heart is wrong, he's saying that's not the kind of righteousness that he is calling you to. It's a whole righteousness, a whole, like this perfect way, the Heavenly Father is perfect, it's that idea of wholeness, that kind of righteousness, that's the kind of righteousness that exceeds, where the outward is matched with the inward. And Jesus is going to get into this idea of continuity, discontinuity, but there's a lot of continuity here because it's going to look, and we'll look at it next week, but the Old Testament over and over again, what does God desire? And he says multiple times, he doesn't desire sacrifice, right? Now, does he call him to sacrifice? Yes. But he's saying it's not the blood of boats, bulls and goats, but it's going to be ultimately he wants their heart. And that's what he desires when you look at David. What does he want out of David? He says, David is a man after my own heart. It's the same idea. There's a righteousness that surpasses the Pharisees and scribes. that you, he's saying, you need. It's this wholeness that he's calling to you. And of course, just like we said earlier, you can't have that apart from Christ, apart from the Spirit empowering you to live that way. You aren't a kingdom citizen apart from the Spirit, and you can't live out these characteristics and this calling without the Spirit. Otherwise, you're gonna find yourself just as discouraged as those around because you're going to look at these Beatitudes and you're going to say, that doesn't sound good. Well, it doesn't unless you understand the role of Christ and unless you understand the reward in heaven and the promise for you and then Verse 12, you I think truly can rejoice, one, so you have joy, but also then you can now live in a way that says, okay, well then I'm a soldier in a foreign land, put on spiritual armor, you say Ephesians chapter six, and live in a way where you are salt and light to the earth. And then next week again, we'll look at here and we'll look at what it is to have this greater righteousness that we are called to And again, he's not saying have this, therefore you're saved. That's not the point. He's saying this simply is who kingdom citizens are called to be true followers of Christ. But again, all of it's in light of a suffering Messiah who dies on a cross that he might redeem a people for his name's sake. Let's pray. Father, we do thank you. Or just as we begin and introduce and begin to see the issues at play, would help us to understand, may your spirit just illumine our hearts that we see in the context here of Matthew, that this is the first of five discourses, there's more to come, that it's told to an audience that has no idea exactly of where, maybe no concept of a suffering Messiah, and yet, He begins to show them, he begins to teach them what he is calling them to. When he says, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, what he's calling them to is repent, to turn from their sin, and what is he calling them to turn to? And it's this way of living that we have begun to see here. Difficult at times, but Lord help us to remember when we are discouraged, when we are those who are mourning that you have promised to comfort, that you have promised to encourage. Lord, when we look at the world and we are so distraught and discouraged at the wickedness and the evil that we know you have promised to satisfy those of us who long and hunger and thirst for righteousness. Lord, thank you for your Son, thank you for Christ. Lord, knowing that because of Christ, because he has bore our sin, Lord, it can be true of us in that sense to be pure in heart. Because he has bore our sin, that we have been justified in Christ, Lord, that you have declared us righteous because of what Christ has done, and therefore are promised to be reconciled to You, that we might see You. Lord, may we live in light of that as we still await the full, final fulfillment of these kingdom promises when Christ returns. We ask this in Your Son's name, amen.