The Beatitudes – pt. 3 (Matthew 5:1-12)
The Beatitudes – part 3
Matthew 5:1-12
As you know we are presently studying the Sermon on the Mount
And we are still in the beginning phases of that sermon.
Jesus is giving us The Beatitudes.
They are in fact the description of a truly righteous person.
A truly righteous person exemplifies all of these attributes all the time.
This list is not like a list of spiritual gifts in which we may say,
“I am gifted with mercy, but not with teaching”
Or “I am gifted with giving, but not with leadership”.
We cannot look at this list and say, “Blessed are the gentle” that is me,
But those others don’t describe me too well.
They must ALL be yours.
And I realize that this may cause great difficulty for some of us.
For these beatitudes are not the natural inclination of man.
And by studying them it does more convicting than it does reaffirming.
I TOLD YOU THIS IS A PENETRATING SERMON.
D. Martin Lloyd Jones said:
“These Beatitudes crush me to the ground. They show me my utter helplessness. Were it not for the new birth, I am undone. Read and study it, face yourself in the light of it. It will drive you to see your ultimate need of the rebirth and the gracious operation of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing that so leads to the gospel and its grace as the Sermon on the Mount.”
(Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan 1985 pg. 18)
And of course that is what we have said
Each time we approached this sermon.
Jesus exposes the counterfeit righteousness of man
So that he will seek the credited righteousness of the Savior.
He will cut you to the quick and throw you to the ground
He will terrify you with the reality of eternal torment,
Until (with your face in the dirt) you lift your hand
And beg for mercy from the only One who can deliver you.
Is it painful?
Absolutely.
But, “the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
And we are those who think it better to suffer conviction here
That we may be led to the Savior,
Than to miss the savior and suffer condemnation for all eternity.
So this may in reality be a difficult sermon,
But it is without a doubt a tremendously valuable one.
And it begins with these beatitudes.
Over the last two weeks we have studied the first four beatitudes.
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
IT IS EXTREME HUMILITY
A man who sees he has no worth before God.
He is a beggar.
And he is the only man who will inherit heaven.
Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
Jesus then gave the logical next step.
Because he is so poor, he hates the sin that made him that way.
He doesn’t love sin
He doesn’t desire sin
He mourns over it
And our great God is moved to comfort those who mourn.
Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.”
Because he is so poor and hates his sin so much
He will do anything that is asked of him
In order to attain mercy and righteousness.
Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
And finally, this man who hates sin, wants only one thing.
(not more sin, or a license to do so)
HE ONLY WANTS RIGHTEOUSNESS
And God delights in feeding the hungry.
This man is blessed because it is only this type who will trust in Jesus.
This is the only type of man who will forsake all and follow Him.
People never go through the narrow gate or down the narrow path
Unless they come to the conclusion
That the narrow path is their only hope.
And so, as I told you last week, those first four beatitudes seem to explain
How a man becomes righteous before God.
The last four seem to take on a slightly different look.
These seem to indicate more so what a righteous life looks like.
I suppose you can say that these four occurring in your life
Depends upon whether or not the first four ever occurred.
They are fruit related.
• They are the attitudes of a poor man made rich.
• They are the attitudes of a mourner who has been comforted.
• They are the attitudes of a gentle man who has been promoted.
• They are the attitudes of a hungry man who has been fed.
And so lets look at these last four beatitudes this morning.
#5 BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL
Matthew 5:7
Now it is obvious that we have undergone a slight change
In the type of beatitude we are dealing with.
This is not a man who is on SEEKING end of righteousness,
This is a man who is on the SHOWING end of righteousness.
This is a man who is putting Godly righteousness on display.
And according to Jesus that man is “merciful”.
We have often heard of God’s mercy defined as
Man not getting what he deserves.
And I suppose that is a good place to begin
As we talk about being a merciful person.
This life is filled with people who annoy you.
This life is filled with people who inconvenience you.
This life is filled with people who disappoint you.
This life is even filled with people who legitimately wrong you.
And the expectation of one who is righteous is that he will be “merciful”.
And so obviously we talk about the issue of forgiveness here.
And we dare not underestimate it.
Matthew 6:15 “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”
Matthew 18:21-35 “Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. “When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. “But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. “So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ “And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. “But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ “So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ “But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. “So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. “Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ‘Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ “And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”
Mercy involves forgiving those who wrong you.
The Righteous man bears no grudge.
The Righteous man seeks no vengeance.
The Righteous man does not rejoice when bad things happen to his enemy.
HE IS MERCIFUL
BUT IS THAT ALL THAT MERCY ENTAILS?
Obviously not.
Mercy is a mindset.
Mercy is a lens through which we view the world.
Mercy entails how we look at others.
• When you see a malnourished child… (obviously)
• When you see your enemy suffer…
• When you see a muslim…
• When you see a drunk or a drug addict or a prostitute…
DO YOU FEEL PITY OR SCORN?
Do you want to see him suffer,
Or do you want to save him from his suffering?
That was the type of mercy God showed in sending His Son to this earth.
And that is the type of mercy that our Lord showed.
Luke 23:34 “But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.”
Mercy is to see those in this world
As those ensnared to sin and headed to hell.
And Jesus says that a person who shows that type of mercy is “Blessed”.
WHY?
“for they shall receive mercy.”
Now certainly we have to be careful with such a statement.
WE DO NOT EARN MERCY BY BEING MERCIFUL
If that were the actual standard
Then no one would ever be forgiven enough to enter heaven.
None of us will ever offer as much mercy as we need to use.
The statement reveals that it is the man who has received God’s mercy who will in fact be the most merciful.
This man does not see himself above other wicked men.
(His pride was shot back in the first beatitude)
Therefore he is no position
To determine who is worthy of mercy and who is not.
Instead his attitude is that “If a sinner like me could find mercy,
Then certainly no one is beyond its reach.”
HE IS MERCIFUL BECAUSE HE HAS RECEIVED MERCY
And it is the “merciful” who are truly blessed.
#6 BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART
Matthew 5:8
And here is a difficult beatitude to swallow.
Jesus calls them the “pure in heart”.
First of all, what does it mean to be “pure”?
It is a Greek word that means
“To be pure by cleansing from dirt or filth.”
It was a word Greeks used of putting metal through the fire
In order to purify it or remove all impurities.
The same word is used in Revelation
Revelation 21:18 “The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.”
NOT the word “pure” there,
But the word “clear” is the same word Jesus uses here.
Jesus is saying “blessed are the clear in heart”
Remember Jesus parable of the soils,
And the problem we find with the weedy soil?
Matthew 13:22 “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”
We have often called that man “half-hearted”
Because only part of his heart was given to God.
The other part was given to the world.
His heart wasn’t clear.
His heart wasn’t pure.
This is why David prayed:
Psalms 86:11 “Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.”
This is a person who is totally pure in motive,
Without a single other desire.
What is the “heart”?
In our day, the heart represents the seat of our emotions.
Conversely we see the mind as the seat of reason.
But in Jesus day the term “heart” represented all of the above.
It was more than just the emotions, it represented all of the person.
Hence the greatest commandment.
Matthew 22:37 “And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’”
Jesus is referring to the person who is unmixed
And unified in their entire being to seek God.
And they are the only ones who “shall see God.”
Didn’t Jeremiah say:
Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
Only the pure in heart will see God.
Psalms 15 “O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the LORD; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.”
Psalms 24:1-6 “The earth is the LORD’S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it. For He has founded it upon the seas And established it upon the rivers. Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the LORD And righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face — even Jacob.”
This is what Jesus is saying.
The person who will see God is the person who only wants God.
The truly righteous person doesn’t want anything else.
• He is through with the sin that made him wretched in God’s sight.
• He is through with the world that stained him in sin.
• His only hunger is for righteousness, and he is pure in that hunger.
They are not the hypocrites who clean only the outside of the dish,
They are “pure in heart”
And they alone are “blessed” for they alone “shall see God.”
#7 BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS
Matthew 5:9
For some reason people tend to read this one,
“Blessed are the peacekeepers”
And they think it means
“Blessed are the wishy-washy” “Blessed are the spineless”
“Blessed are the compromisers” “Blessed are the tolerant”
And some spineless claiming Christian
Will overlook, condone, and accept all manners of heresy
And then determine to look the other way in order to keep the peace.
Furthermore they pat themselves on the back for such a stance
Supposing that by keeping the peace they are somehow like God.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
We are talking about those who MAKE peace, not those KEEP peace.
And we must understand the type of peace we are dealing with here.
IT IS PEACE BETWEEN MAN AND GOD.
Natural man is not at peace with God.
Isaiah 48:22 “There is no peace for the wicked,” says the LORD.”
Isaiah 57:21 “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
That doesn’t mean their lives are filled with anxiety and worry.
(For indeed the wicked often live care free lives)
It means that despite what they may feel they are not at peace with God.
And this is where every sinner once dwelled.
Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”
Every many was an object of God’s wrath.
But it was the righteous man who recognized his great offence to God
And who hated the sin that made him that way.
He begged for mercy and hungered for righteousness.
AND HE FOUND PEACE WITH GOD
And after he received it,
His desire was then to help others find that same peace.
He is not one who could condone sin.
He is not one who could sweep iniquity under the rug.
He confronts sinners…
He calls for repentance…
He instructs in righteousness…
Because this is the pathway to God’s peace
And he wants other men to have it.
And Jesus says people like that are “blessed”
“for they shall be called sons of God.”
Was it not the Son of God who did this very thing?
Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”
Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
Colossians 1:19-20 “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”
He made peace by appeasing the wrath of God on sinful man.
And we are called “sons of God”
When we lead others into that same peace.
Quote the Great Commission all you like,
But evangelism and missions starts here.
The Missionary heart is that of a righteous man who makes peace.
He confronts with a heart of mercy
Begging others to find the same peace he found.
He is blessed.
#8 BLESSED ARE THE PERSECUTED
Matthew 5:10-12
The longest beatitude
(It was shocking, so Jesus explains it)
He begins by saying “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
• You see the first 4 beatitudes spoke of achieving righteousness.
• The next 3 spoke of manifesting that righteousness.
This last one is the unavoidable consequence
Of doing the first 7 correctly.
People who have never been persecuted for being righteous
Have reason to question if they have ever truly demonstrated it.
2 Timothy 3:12 “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
Satan is the god of this world, and the world is in his power.
Satan hates God, Satan hates Jesus, Satan hates righteousness,
And he never overlooks any of them.
If you have never suffered his wrath,
It is apparent you have never irritated him.
That is why Jesus uses persecution
As the final evidence of the righteous life.
And that is why He says “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
They alone go to heaven because they alone are truly righteous.
And in case we don’t understand what He means, He clarifies it.
(11-12) “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Let me simply show you the main point.
When we open the Bible
It is obvious to us how the world treats righteous people.
Show me one righteous person in Scripture who wasn’t persecuted for it.
• Noah was mocked by the crowds
• Abraham was unwelcome to many of his neighbors
• Jacob was harassed by Laban
• Joseph was sold into slavery
• Moses was spoken against by everyone from Pharaoh to the Israelites, even by his own brother and sister.
• David was persecuted by Saul
• Stephen was stoned
• All of the disciples were martyred except John who was in prison
• Paul was beheaded, as was John the Baptist
• Timothy was imprisoned
Opposition is a fool proof sign of righteousness.
And Jesus says if it happens to you then rejoice, be happy,
Because it puts you in the elite class of those who are righteous.
PERSECUTION IS THE RESULT OF LIVING ALL THE BEATITUDES
You see we when we read these beatitudes
We are not breaking them down into individual characteristics
For you to pick which one best describes you.
IT IS AN ALL OR NONE DEAL.
If you fail to demonstrate any one of the beatitudes
Then your righteousness is in serious question.
WHY?
Because those are not simply the attitudes of a righteous person;
THOSE ARE THE ATTRIBUTES OF JESUS
• He was humble (“The Son can do nothing of His own initiative”)
• He hated sin (“Go and sin no more”)
• He was meek and submissive (“Not My will, but Yours be done”)
• He hungered for the will of God (“My food is to…”)
• He was merciful (“Moved with compassion”)
• He was pure in heart (“Tempted in all things, yet without sin”)
• He was the ultimate peacemaker (“He Himself is our peace”)
• He was persecuted (“crucified by the hands of wicked men”)
He was righteousness exemplified.
And if you are not as righteous as He,
Then you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
And I hope this morning as we complete that study
You were honest with yourself and realized that on your own,
YOU ARE NONE OF THOSE THINGS.
• Are you really humble all the time?
• Do you really hate sin all the time?
• Are you really submissive to God all the time?
• Are you truly merciful to all people all the time?
• Is your heart truly pure and you want no other thing?
• Is your sole passion to make peace between man and God?
• Are you daily persecuted for your efforts?
Forget about doing them all,
When we get honest we don’t do any of them.
And that means
• You can’t go to heaven
• You can’t be comforted
• You can’t inherit the earth
• You can’t be satisfied with righteousness
• You can’t receive mercy
• You can’t see God
• You won’t be called sons of God
• You’ll get no reward in heaven
Because we are not righteous.
And now you understand what Paul meant when he said:
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
But in case you didn’t know it, Paul did not stop there.
Romans 3:23-24 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”
You see no one on this earth can ever claim
To be righteous in the site of God.
But because Jesus poured out His life on the cross
As an offering to God for sin.
We can claim to be justified in the sight of God.
If you are trying to live this life apart from faith in Jesus,
Let me take you to the beatitudes
And show you that you are failing miserably.
And let me ask you to lift your hand to Jesus
And ask for His righteousness to be credited to your account,
And instantly you will be made right in the sight of God.
And when Christ gets inside of you,
You will begin to take on His characteristics,
And while you will not immediately be perfect,
It will eventually occur.
One day in glory you will stand before God having become just like Jesus.
These beatitudes are meant to drive you to Jesus,
So trust your life to Him.
Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”
