Text:
3 “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
4 God blesses those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 God blesses those who are humble,
for they will inherit the whole earth.
6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,
for they will be satisfied.
7 God blesses those who are merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure,
for they will see God.
9 God blesses those who work for peace,
for they will be called the children of God.
10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
11 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.
The Foundation of the Kingdom of God is an unshakable joy that grows from the bottom up. 👉
Overall Commentary: 🌎
This text could easily be broken down into individual sections for each verse. There is so much going on. One way to see this text is a table of contents to all Jesus is about to say from chapter 5- 7. He is going to tell us what the Kingdom of God looks like when lived out, then tell us how to practically do this. In 2021, Real Life Church did an exhaustive walk through this passage so we will link the relevant links below.
Verses 1-2
Jesus has just finished a trip around the countryside doing miracles and healing all who were sick. This is not the end of His healing ministry, but it reads as though He takes a moment to work on the inside of the people as well.
Sitting down- Rabbis would often sit while explaining the Scripture. When Jesus sat in the midst of His disciples, they would have assumed a lesson was coming.
NOTICE- Notice who Jesus is speaking to... He is teaching His disciples in the presence of the crowd. This is how we could view our Sunday worship experiences. It could be seen as a chance to learn from Jesus (studying His Word) in the presence of the world. The world is invited to join in. Nothing is hidden... but nothing is changed either.
Verses 3-10
Jesus employs a literary device where He is able to repeat a system to help the hearer understand. Don't forget. This was first heard and later written down. He gives an "If-Then" conditional statement for each blessing He wants to give. The Kingdom of God is full of goodness and blessing, but we have a part to play in growing to maturity. This gives us dignity and value.
Verse 3
If (Condition)- Poor in Spirit. This is an attitude. It has nothing to do with your bank account. Jesus is saying we are blessed we truly see how bankrupt we are, spiritually speaking. This flies in the face of the philosphers of Jesus' time and the "self-help' gurus of today. Jesus is saying the only way to start building a solid foundation is to admit you can't do it on your own. You need Him. That is a great place to start.
Promise- Kingdom of Heaven. The result is our entry into the Kingdom of Heaven. We start at the bottom but grow. Jesus is not saying we should stay in a state of utter depravity. We begin by admitting our helplessness and He builds us from there. His goal is to make us into who He says we are. Holy. Righteous. Glorious. Children of God.
Link to our previous sermon on this topic:
Verse 4
If (Condition)- Mourn. The idea behind this is to realize our need for His healing in our lives. To realize we need it. The attitude of admitting not only our place helplessness, but the broken place we discover oursevles. Once again, this is not to create insecurity. It is acknowledging where we need healing so He can heal us. It would be like someone walking up to you with a broken arm. You try to help but they refuse. They keep telling you their arm isn't broken even though it clearly is. The obvious first step is they have to be willing to admit their arm is broken so the process of healing can begin.
Promise- Comforted. (Healing) Jesus promises to heal us wherever we are broken.
Link to our previous sermon on this topic:
Verse 5
If (Condition)- Become Humble. Jesus called Himself humble. Therefore, we must be careful not to assume humility means weak, timid, or incapbale of doing. Humility simply means strength under control. It means we are no longer pushing our agenda. Humble people do not think less of themselves. They simply think of themselves less. There is an amazing step toward freedom when we quit trying to push our way through life. We simply do our best with what we have and trust that the Lord is doing the parts we cannot see.
Promise- Inherit the Earth. This would have been a big deal to those listening. This was the fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham a long time ago. Jesus is saying He will fulfill His promises to you. The things that seem so out of reach to you are not out of reach for Him.
Link to our previous sermon on this topic:
Verse 6
If (Condition)- Hunger and thirst to do rightly. (Seek Holy Justice.) When we seek to do the right thing because it is what God has commanded, there a is great blessing there. This means we do not have to find our own justice or system of fairness. We are able to rely on what He says and considers just and righteous.
Promise- Satisfaction. The result is able to be satisfied with the results. We realize that God is much more interested in justice than we are.
Link to our previous sermon on this topic:
Verse 7
If (Condition)- Merciful. Merciful is another way of saying willing to forgive. Forgiveness is a tricky topic because it can be so hard to get confused. Forgiveness is not saying what they did was not painful. It is not saying they are good. It is not saying it is okay. Forgiveness is saying you trust the Lord to bring justice at the right time and you will no longer be defined by what they did. Our past should inform our future but not determine our future.
Promise- Receive Mercy. When are able to give mercy we usually find we need it too.
Link to our previous sermon on this topic:
Verse 8
If (Condition)- Have a pure heart. This means we act out of pure motives. This can be difficult to do because the Bible says our heart, if left up to itself, can be decietfully wicked. Therefore, there is a constant battle on the inside to work toward pure motivation.
Promise- See God Move. When we do this, we are able to see God move in our lives and do great things.
Link to our previous sermon on this topic:
Verse 9
If (Condition)- Fight for unity. We generally do not drift toward unity. We drift toward division. Therefore, we must fight to keep ourselves unified and not give up on one another.
Promise- Become part of a spiritual family. The reason people grow apart usually has little to do with anything bad. It usually just means there was no consistent effort to keep each other close.
Link to our previous sermon on this topic:
Verse 10
If (Condition)- Endure persecution. Those who are living in darkness do not understand those who live in the light. This works in reverse, too. Therefore, there will be misunderstandings and difficulties. This is part of living your faith out loud and being an example of what freedom can look like.
Promise- The Kingdom of Heaven is our Home. We realize the Kingdom of God is grown in our hearts and we can see that Christ is truly making His home in our hearts.
Link to our previous sermon on this topic:
Verses 11-12
True, unshakable joy comes from a life founded in Christ and it grows from the bottom up.
Jesus prepares us for every storm and walks with us during every darkness.
The people Jesus would have been talking to would have been like me and you. They had worries, fears, anxieties, and more. Actually, with the advent of social media and worldwide travel, we are more connected than we were. We may have even more. Because of this, Jesus' words should penetrate even deeper into our hearts. We should aim to build our lives on Him so we can have unshakable joy.
How?
- Determine to give our lives completely over to Him.
- Live by His objective standards and not those of the world.
- Remember our identity is found in who Jesus says we are.
- Do life with other Christ-followers who are on a similar journey.
Resources:
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Amy G. Oden
Scott Hoezee
Matthew Henry
