Sermon Tone Analysis

Upside Down?

Part 2

Matthew 5:1-12   |   Shaun LePage   |   May 7, 2006

 

 

I.

Introduction

A.   When the children of 60’s rebelled against the conservative beliefs and morals of their parents, they called themselves “the counter culture.”

B.    Mark Early, President of Prison Fellowship has written, “The protesters of the sixties and early seventies shared a common countercultural vision: a new society with socialist values, sexual liberation, and the end of conventional ideals like monogamy and the nuclear family.

Today in our permissive culture, however, there is not much left to run counter to.”

C.   New York State Supreme Court Justice Gustin Reichbach who marched in anti-war protests in the late ’60’s has said, “The counterculture of thirty years ago is the mainstream today.

Our success shifted the parameters of what constitutes counterculture.”

D.   The ’60’s and ’70’s were complicated times, and at the risk of oversimplification, I believe the countercultural shift of that time was a natural shift.

Like letting the grass grow without mowing.

It was the inevitable result of a human-focused culture.

That is why the disciples of Jesus Christ are the true counter culture of our time—and of any time.

The natural tendency of man is to be self-focused.

But disciples of Jesus Christ are those who choose to be God-focused.

To live by the standards of purity and honesty and selflessness laid out in the Sermon on the Mount is just as counter to our culture as it was to the culture to whom Jesus originally spoke.

E.    “Blessed” is repeated nine times in the first twelve verses of Matthew 5.

Then, like an exclamation point, Jesus finishes off that list with “Rejoice and be glad!”

1.     Doesn’t that tell you something about this passage?

I believe Jesus spoke these words with great passion and excitement!

I’m afraid we don’t always appreciate that.

2.     Someone has suggested the first listeners—the disciples—didn’t appreciate it either.

One writer described the scene in this way: “Jesus took his disciples up the mountain and gathered them around him.

He taught them saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are the meek.

Blessed are those who mourn.

Blessed are the merciful.

Blessed are those who thirst for righteousness.

Blessed are you when you are persecuted.

Blessed are you when you suffer.

Be glad and rejoice for your reward is great in heaven.”

Then Simon Peter said, “Are we supposed to know this?”

And Andrew said, “Do we have to write this down?”

And James said, “Will we have this on a test?”

And Philip said, “I have no paper.”

And Bartholomew said, “Do we have to turn this in?”

And John said, “The other disciples didn’t have to learn this.”

And Matthew said, “Would you go over this again?

And Judas said, “What does this have to do with real life?”

Then, Jesus wept.”

3.     No!

Matthew tells us the crowds—including the disciples—were amazed at His teaching!

This was no ordinary day in church!

Not some boring Bible study (if that’s even possible)!

Jesus must have spoken these great words with great passion!

Listen to what He is saying!

(Recite Matthew 5:3-12 from memory */with great passion!/*) Soak it in!

Let the words of Christ flip your understanding of what is right and what is important completely upside down!

II.

Review of last week:

A.   Last week we looked at the first four Beatitudes and this week, we’ll look at the remaining four.

1.     Again, each one of them seems upside down, backward.

2.     What we have here is a list of qualities, first of all, that define for us what subjects of the Kingdom should look like (i.e., poor in spirit, mournful, gentle, hunger and thirst for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, righteously persecuted).

3.

Then, we have a list of “blessings” that follow each quality (i.e., the kingdom of heaven, comforted, inherit the earth, satisfied, receive mercy, shall see God, shall be called sons of God, the kingdom of heaven, reward in heaven is great).

4.     These qualities described by Jesus in Matthew 5:3-12, are not automatic.

These are goals we should strive for.

These are qualities to be developed—by the grace of God and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

These are descriptions of maturity.

These are what Jesus—the King Himself—exalts and honors and blesses and rewards.

B.    Last week, we looked at verses 3-6—the first four beatitudes:

1.     “Poor in spirit” means be humble before God.

“*Kingdom of heaven*” in this verse is an inheritance—a reward.

There is a distinction in Scripture between “inheriting” the Kingdom and “entering” Kingdom.

To “inherit” the Kingdom is to be rewarded in a special way.

All Christians get in, but not all will be rewarded in the same way.

As we look at all the passages that talk of inheriting the Kingdom, it becomes clear that only the faithful and obedient “inherit the Kingdom”—not all the saved.

All the saved “enter” the Kingdom, but not everyone will inherit special reward for faithfulness.

2.     To “mourn” means hate your sin.

Those who mourn over their sin will be comforted.

Someday they will be free from the presence of sin in the Kingdom.

No doubt, God can and does comfort us as we confess our sin to Him right now.

But only in the future will we be rewarded with complete and constant comfort.

3.     To be “gentle” means be selfless.

It really means strength under control.

It is others-oriented.

The gentle will inherit the earth.

This goes back to the promises of David and his ‘greater’ Son (the Messiah or Christ).

We can become joint rulers with Christ over the nations in the millennial kingdom according to Revelation 2:26: “*To him who /overcomes and does my will to the end/, I will give authority over the nations—‘He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery*.’”

4.     “Hunger and thirst for righteousness” means passionately pursue Christ.

This is a quality that comes with maturity and must be cultivated.

The reward is satisfaction.

I believe that when we passionately hunger and thirst for the things of God, we will be satisfied to a degree in this life.

We can be.

But again, ultimately our greatest satisfaction will come when we are free from the presence of sin and enjoying the presence of Christ in His Kingdom.

C.   Let’s look at the remaining four beatitudes and ask the Holy Spirit to bear this fruit in our hearts and minds.

D.   Pray!

III.

Body—Matthew 5:7-12

A.   Matthew 5:7: “*Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy*.”

1.     “Merciful” means be compassionate.

It is closely related to the idea of forgiveness and grace—not identical, but closely connected.

a)    Simply put, to be merciful is to be like God.

(i)   Jesus made this connection for us in Luke 6:36: “*Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful*.”

(ii) It was God’s mercy that led Him to provide the way of salvation.

Listen to Titus 3:5: “*He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His /mercy/, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit*.”

(iii)    Hebrews 2:17 tells us that Jesus is our “*faithful and merciful High Priest*.”

To be merciful is to be like Jesus—Christlike.

To be compassionate is to be Christlike.

At least eight times, the Bible tells us, Jesus had compassion for people.