The Paradox of God's Kingdom
Sermon on the Mount • Sermon • Submitted
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· 65 viewsThose who Jesus calls blessed are not those who you might expect.
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1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2 And 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.
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2 And 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.
Sermon on the Mount
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
What famous figure in the OT goes up to a mountain to meet with God?
Moses
The Law Giver
And now Jesus is going up to a mountain to teach…
as a new law giver… but not with a new law
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
This is going to be our new memory verse during the sermon on the mount.
So that we can be constantly reminded in every sermon that will come out of Jesus’ sermon on the mount, that his teaching isn’t a new law, but he is teaching as one who is going to fulfill all of the OT
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2 And 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.
Tonights sermon is called The Paradox of God’s Kingdom
When you try out for the varsity team, and you don’t get in.
Or when you want to get asked to prom, and then your friend gets asked and you don’t.
Maybe during a time where you are looking for a job and struggling to find one, and then someone else gets the job.
Or possibly it’s for no other reason other than someone else’s life just appears to be better than yours.
There are a number of reasons that we would wish to switch places with another person.
But at the end of the day, it’s likely has to do with feeling like they are more fortunate than we are.
Tonights sermon is called The Paradox of God’s Kingdom
And in order to try help us understand this text, I think it’s helpful to understand what a paradox is.
A paradox is a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true
or to put it another way:
a situation, person, or thing that combines contradictory features or qualities
Give me a few examples of paradoxes
Jumbo Shrimp
When there is a sale at a store: Save money 50% off
Here are the rules: Ignore all rules.
Here are the rules: Ignore all rules.
Paradoxes appear many times throughout Scripture
Paradoxes appear many times throughout Scripture
God is three and one
Jesus is fully man and fully God
The Bible has human authors and is breathed out by God.
How many of us wish that we could change places with someone else?
When you try out for the varsity team, and you don’t get in.
Or when you want to get asked to prom, and then your friend gets asked and you don’t.
Maybe during a time where you are looking for a job and struggling to find one, and then someone else gets the job.
Our passage (known as the beatitudes) is full of paradoxes… or sayings that seem like contradictions but when they are tested are found to be true.
Or possibly it’s for no other reason other than someone else’s life just appears to be better than yours.
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
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.
What does this word blessed mean?
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2 And 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.
Repeated nine times in our passage
There are a number of reasons that we would wish to switch places with another person.
Happy… or fortunate
The word blessing has to do with having found favor with God.
So the paradox is this: you are fortunate if you are poor in spirit
and so on and so forth
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.
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.
Matt 5.
Those who are considered blessed,
Now… here is where these could be called paradoxes.
But at the end of the day, it’s likely has to do with feeling like they are more fortunate than we are.
When a person feel poor in any sense, would we consider them lucky/fortunate/blessed?
If a person doesn’t have enough buy dinner… that is not something to be happy about.
Jesus in the first beatitude describes someone who isn’t poor in money, but instead is poor in spirit.
Meaning this: their spiritual state is so low that they offer nothing in and of themself to find favor with God.
To better understand this, let’s understand the opposite of poor in spirit. That would be the phrase Rich in spirit.
Who in the New Testament would we consider rich in Spirit?
The Phaisees… those who kept the laws/demands/rules of the OT who believed in doing so they contributed to their right standing with God (Justification)
1 Those who we might consider most unfortunate are those who Jesus calls blessed.
1 Those who we might consider most unfortunate are those who Jesus calls blessed.
How many of us wish that we could change places with someone else?
When you try out for the varsity team, and you don’t get in.
Or when you want to get asked to prom, and then your friend gets asked and you don’t.
Maybe during a time where you are looking for a job and struggling to find one, and then someone else gets the job.
Or possibly it’s for no other reason other than someone else’s life just appears to be better than yours.
There are a number of reasons that we would wish to switch places with another person.
But at the end of the day, it’s likely has to do with feeling like someone else is more fortunate than we are.
But there is a danger in such wishing…
The danger is this: we might realize that it is through our hardships and our suffering that we are going to find the greatest happiness, joy, and blessing.
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
James 1:2-4
It is far better to be poor in spirit that to have the false sense of confidence that we are rich in spirit
… because the first beatitude is fountain from which all the rest of the beatitudes derive from
Why?
Check it out
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
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.
Being poor in spirit means you recognize just how depraved and broken you are…
Matt 5:3-11
You realize that by yourself you lack everything you need to be right with God
The NLT is helpful translation when it comes to understand what is being said.
New Living Translation Chapter 5
“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,
being poor in sprit leads to
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Does a person who has poor in spirt have anything to brag about?
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
No!
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Meek - quiet, gentle, not easily frustrated, nor quick to offense.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Meekness comes from being poor in spirit
Let’s continue:
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Matt 5:
Hunger and thirst - that is to say they have a strong longing and desire for righteousness.
Their desire is for that which is good and right
Comes from a realization that they are poor in spirit
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
They extend mercy why? Because they have recieved mercy because they were poor in spirit.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Matt
Pure in heart
the motive behind all works of righteousness is always done with purity
Unlike what we will see in a few weeks from now
1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
Then Jesus goes on to talk about those who Give, Pray, and Fast in order to be seen by others
matt 6::1
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
This would not be practicing righteousness from a pure heart
matt 6:
16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
Pure in heart means that the righteous acts are being done not being practices so that they can appear to be rich in spirit, but it becomes an overflow of a new motive that can only be a result of one who has recieved mercy
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Why are they peacemakers?
We replace craftiness with this virtue
We manipulate to get our way
Because there is not peace with God for those who realize that they are poor in spirit
In he has made peace with us
and finally
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.
All this to say.... that sounds like nonsense. Doesn’t it?
That we would rejoice and be glad in suffering and persecution?
The world would say that we who are lowly and broken, from beginning all the way to the end are not to be happy, rather we are the most to be pitied. But that’s not what Jesus says is it?
1 Those who we might consider most unfortunate are those who Jesus calls blessed.
1 Those who we might consider most unfortunate are those who Jesus calls blessed.
Illustration: if I was playing Catan (Or if you would prefer monopoly)
If I had the most sheep, the most bricks, the longest road, the best ports… would I be a person that you would call blessed?
It’s just a game and at the end of the game, you have to go back to reality.
Do you see why Jesus is calling those who are poor in spirit blessed?
2 True blessing has more to do with our future reward than our present realities.
2 True blessing has more to do with our future reward than our present realities.
If you are suffering… I am not about to tell you that you should just put on a smile.
That would be so wrong on so many levels
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
Listen, the point of this message isn’t how to be inauthentic
how to put on a smile even though it feels like your world caving in all around you
I’m not suggesting that you fake it till you make it, with some false sense of optimism that though you feel poor in spirit, just be positive in your thinking and attitude
Some unhelpful advice that goes something like ‘keep your chin up’
This is not what we are saying.
I’m not saying that you should look at the current hardship of suffering, mourning, hunger and thirst as if “oh it’s no big deal, you’re blessed”
Why, because the suffering that we experience every day is real suffering.
But what I am suggesting is this
True blessing has more to do with our future reward than our present realities
Let’s look at the structure of all these: blessed are the _________ for ____________
Look specifically at v 4-9
Notice is the blessing a current reality, of a future promise?
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.
Illustration: Playing Catan (or if you would prefer it can be monopoly)
If you had the most sheep cards,
the best settlements
The best ports
If
the longest road
-we would consider that to be fortunate right?
2 True blessing has more to do with our future reward than our present realities.
2 True blessing has more to do with our future reward than our present realities.
Let’s go back to our illustration of playing a board game
Let’s say today I got fired from my job
My house burned down
And I was
And my dog died
If in the game I was winning am I really the most blessed person in the room
If in the game I was winning am I really the most blessed person
No, because when the game ends, what matters most is the reality that I will be going to.
The same is true of this life: True blessing has more to do with future reward than our present realities
English Standard Version Chapter 4
What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.
James 5:1-0
T
That would be so wrong on so many levels
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
Listen, the point of this message isn’t how to be inauthentic
how to put on a smile even though it feels like your world caving in all around you
I’m not suggesting that you fake it till you make it, with some false sense of optimism that though you feel poor in spirit, just be positive in your thinking and attitude
Some unhelpful advice that goes something like ‘keep your chin up’
This is not what we are saying.
I’m not saying that you should look at the current hardship of suffering, mourning, hunger and thirst as if “oh it’s no big deal, you’re blessed”
Why, because the suffering that we experience every day is real suffering.
But what I am suggesting is this
True blessing has more to do with future reward than our present realities.
the way we will see in a few weeks again
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
If my life was put together a
The present reality is the treasures on earth that make us think that someone is more blessed and fortunate that we are…
Remember what we saw back in
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
The blessing that is to be recieved is
2 True blessing has more to do with our future reward than our present realities.
2 True blessing has more to do with our future reward than our present realities.
3 The blessing that God gives is breaking into the present.
3 The blessing that God gives is breaking into the present.
Look at v 3 and 10
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
What the reward of the kingdom something that will happen?
how do we see the kingdom now?
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
Mk 10:29-30
4 God blesses his people before he requires anything from them.
4 God blesses his people before he requires anything from them.
The beattitudes are not something that you go and try to do.
Remember it starts from being poor in spirit…
You don’t have to try to become poor in spirit
Here this: you are poor in spirit
And what God does is he blesses his people before they have done anything to deserve blessing
Remember: Who else when up to a mountain and recieved the Law from the Lord?
Did God give the law before or after the would deliver them from slavery?
Notice there is only one command in the beatitudes, who knows what it is?
blessed are those who mourn is not a command
Blessed are the merciful, is not a command to be merciful
There is no command to be meek
What is the command?
There is no command to be merciful
12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
God blesses his people before he requires anything from them
and how does he do this?
How is it that God redeemed his people?
Throug
through Jesus
Who because poor in spirit so that we might inherit the kingdom of heaven
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Jesus who would mourn
In weeping over the unrepentant city of Jerusalem
and would mourn the death of Lazarus
Jesus would be meek so that we would be comforted
phil 2:6-
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
Jesus who from the cross would experience hunger and thirst so that we might be dressed in his righteousness, and be satisfied in him, the bread of life
Jesus would give us mercy, not because we deserved it, but because we asked for it,
not because it “depend on human desire or effort,
but because of him who is rich in mercy”
And so we have recieved his mercy
Jesus, the only person who was pure in heart, who always submitted not to his will, but to the will of the Father did so so that we would see God
Jesus was the peacemaker who
16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
Christ is our peacemaker who has made it possible for us to be called sons of God
And Jesus, the only person who never deserved to die, the only person who perfect in every way, would be persecuted for righteousness sake, so that we would inherit the KoH
And so we who follow in his footsteps have every reason to Rejoice and be Glad. Amen?