Matthew 5:1-12

¹ Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. ²And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, 
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, 
for they shall be comforted.
⁵ “Blessed are the meek, 
for they shall inherit the earth.
⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 
for they shall be satisfied.
⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, 
for they shall receive mercy.
⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, 
for they shall see God.
⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, 
for they shall be called sons of God.
¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
¹¹ “Blessed are you 
when others revile you and persecute you 
and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
¹² “Rejoice and be glad, 
for your reward is great in heaven, 
for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Just to let you know, this sermon is on the Beatitudes. It might not seem like it at first, though, because we’re going to take a round-about way of getting into it.

Dear saints and holy ones. That’s you, Christian. You are a saint; you are a holy one. That’s what the word ‘saint’ means – it simply means ‘holy one.’ You are not holy because you have lived a holy life, done enough good works, and performed at least two verifiable miracles. No. You are holy because God has made you holy through Jesus who died and rose again for you. He shed His holy and precious blood on the cross, and you have washed your robes white in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:14). If Jesus is holy (and He is), then you are holy because you have been Baptized into Christ and have put on Christ (Gal. 3:27).

This also means that you are God’s holy, beloved children now (1 Jn. 3:2). “Behold what manner of love the Father has given to [you], that [you] should be called children of God; and so [you] are” (1 Jn. 3:1). That Epistle lesson today (1 Jn. 3:1-3) invites us to behold, to see, this great love of God the Father. 

So, picture a great, mighty, wealthy, powerful king. This king is unimaginably strong. His family is large. His servants are devoted. His castle is breathtaking. His kingdom is magnificent and awesome. This king has huge armies with formidable soldiers who defeat every enemy they face, and he is brilliant when it comes to war strategy.

This king is fighting against his enemy, and into his camp is brought a lowly, pitiful servant of the enemy. This servant had been fighting against and trying to usurp the king. This pathetic servant is bloodied, clothed in rags, and injured so badly that he looks like he’s about to die. This servant has been captured and is thrown on the ground before the king. The king should just put him to death. Maybe, if the king wanted to be nice, he could throw the servant into a dungeon to live out the rest of his miserable days. But the king doesn’t do that.

Instead, the king walks over to this poor wretch, kneels next to him, and gently lifts his head to look at his face. Finally, the king speaks. He pardons and forgives the servant for his rebellion. Then, the king takes the man’s hand and helps him stand up. He tends to his wounds, puts him in the best tent, and feeds him the finest food. The king gives him an office in his kingdom and even adopts this servant as his own child. That man was an enemy and good as dead. But now, he is the royal heir of the king.

Behold, what manner of love the Father has given you, that you should be called a child of God. Dear saints and holy ones, that is your story. But that isn’t the end of your story. Yes, you are God’s children now, but what you will be has not yet appeared, but it has been described and promised. Now, this brings us to the Beatitudes.

Our translation of each of the Beatitudes, begins with the word ‘blessed.’ It’s a good translation, but it might leave us with a superficial and limited understanding because people speak about being ‘blessed’ in very shallow ways. Today, when people talk about being blessed, they typically mean good things are happening to them, and those good things are obvious to everyone. But the status of those whom Jesus declares to be ‘blessed’ are not things that we usually consider to be blessings. The first four are needs and lacks; things that we think of as deficiencies – poor, mourning, meek/humble, and being hungry and thirsty. And the next four are virtues – merciful, pure, peacemaker, and enduring persecution.

The word Jesus uses that gets translated as ‘blessed’ refers a state of being that is happy (in fact the word Jesus uses here is how the Greek translation of the Old Testament translates the Hebrew word for ‘happy’). But even the word ‘happy’ falls short because the word also means joyful, at peace with God and the world, and content. This blessedness ultimately refers to being what you are meant to be because you are reconciled to God.

So, think back to the picture of the mighty, powerful king who adopts that servant. Imagine that adopted servant kept going out with the king to fight in battles. He might question some of the king’s strategies. He probably thinks the king is taking risks that are too great or retreating and giving up territory that should be defended. Sometimes, the newly adopted servant might think that the king is out of his mind and that the kingdom is crumbling or even already fallen. But the king keeps putting everything into perspective. He reveals his plan and assures the servant that what he is doing is intentional and that the victory is soon to come.

The Beatitudes are just that. They are Jesus putting everything into perspective and telling you that the evil and sorrowful things you see and experience in this world are not a danger to the kingdom because the war has already been won and the kingdom is fully secured by Jesus’ death and resurrection. Satan is defeated. The devilish head of the serpent has been crushed. The light of Christ will always drive away the darkness.

Just take one of the Beatitudes as an example. Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Typically, our experience tells us the opposite. We normally think that it is the strong, proud, type-A personalities who are blessed because they always seem to get ahead and have the most influence over what takes place in the world. But consider Jesus, the meekest human ever. Though He was God in the flesh and Creator of the universe, He was meek and submitted to His earthly parents, Joseph and Mary (Lk. 2:51). King Jesus entered Jerusalem meek and mounted on a donkey (Mt. 21:5). Christ could have called twelve legions of angels to deliver Him from being arrested, beaten, and crucified (Mt. 26:53), but He didn’t. In every aspect of His life Jesus was meek and humble. Now, He is risen and seated at God’s right hand on the throne of the universe with all authority in heaven and on earth (Mt. 28:18).

So, when Jesus says, “The meek will inherit the earth,” you can trust Him. Psalm 37 expands on what Jesus says in this Beatitude. In summary, Psalm 37 says to not worry about people who do evil, they will soon fade like the grass. Be still before the Lord, wait patiently for Him, and don’t worry about it when evil people seem to be prospering because they will be cut off. In just a little while, the wicked will be no more. The meek shall inherit the land and delight in the abundant peace that God will give to them. I would encourage you to read Psalm 37 before you read or watch any news. Then, read it again afterward. Let God’s Word and promises put everything into perspective.

As Jesus speaks the Beatitudes to you, you are like Abraham. You stand in the Promised Land without an army, weak, and surrounded by enemies, but Christ promises, “This is all yours.” And, like Abraham, you believe and trust God’s promise and that faith is counted to you as righteousness (Gen. 15:5-7).

Again, when Jesus repeatedly tells you that you are blessed here, He is saying that you are exactly what you are meant to be. In a world that is still tainted with sin, it is right and good for you to be poor in spirit, to mourn, to be meek, and to hunger and thirst for righteousness. It shows that you recognize that things are not now as they were created to be. It is also proper for you as a child of the king to have those virtues – merciful, pure, peacemaker, and enduring persecution. Jesus uses the Beatitudes to encourage and remind you that the brokenness surrounding you has already been fixed by His death and resurrection.

Here Jesus comforts you by telling you that all your suffering is temporary, and in that suffering, you are following in the same footsteps that He walked. If the world treats you badly, know that you are not alone. That is how the world treated the saints who came before you, and if Jesus continues to delay, it is how it will treat the saints who come after you. If the kingdom of heaven is anything, it is a kingdom of hope. And you can have this hope because you have these blessings now and in the future.

Dear saints, the kingdom of heaven is yours. Your pain, your loneliness, and even your suffering is not random or accidental. Your mourning will cease, and you will be comforted. Some of your loved ones have gone to heaven and have already come to their reward. They are now before the throne of God and sheltered in His presence. Jesus, the Lamb, has shepherded them and wiped away every tear from their eyes (Rev. 7:15-18).

And even though you are separated from them now, that separation is temporary and a lot less distant than it seems to be. Those saints in glory join us here because we have come to Mt. Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem. We are surrounded by innumerable angels in festal gathering and surrounded by the assembly of all the saints who are enrolled in heaven (Heb. 12:22-23). This is true because we have come to Jesus. This is the hope that surpasses all understanding (Php. 4:7). When the fight is fierce and warfare long, listen and hear the distant triumph song. Then your hearts are brave again, and arms are strong.

Dear saints, you are blessed by Jesus, now and forever. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.