Sunday, July 27, 2014

Blessed...?

The Passage
Matthew 5:1-12; Luke 6:20-26[1]

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.  Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, ​​for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
​​Blessed are those who mourn, ​​for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, ​​for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, ​​for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, ​​for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, ​​for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, ​​for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, ​​for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
 But woe to you who are rich, ​​for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full, ​​for you shall hunger. ​​Woe to you who laugh now, ​​for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, ​​for so did their fathers to the false prophets."

A Little Background
This part of Jesus’ sermon on the mount is known as The Beatitudes.  The word beatitude comes from a Latin word meaning blessed or happy. Jesus preached this message to a crowd that had gathered around Him as He spoke specifically to His disciples.

On Holy Land tours, the commonly accepted location of this event is on Mount Eremos on the northern shore of Lake Galilee, near Capernaum. The setting around the sea provides natural amplification and a broad area on which the people would have sat.[2]

Some Explanation
Jesus made eight blessing statements in Matthew 5:1-10. The last portion from verses 11 and 12 is considered to be an explanation and extension of verse 10.  The word blessed in the Greek here means to be happy or in an enviable state.

Jesus had been introducing the coming of the Kingdom of God. This good news was eagerly anticipated. These Roman-oppressed Jews had been waiting for the Anointed One to reclaim Israel for God’ glory.  However, when Jesus appeared before Pilate He declared that His kingdom was not of this world. The kingdom that Jesus preached was to be a spiritual reality for His followers now, and a governmental reality at some future time. As Jesus preached, He was saying that these truths were the way His followers would live in His kingdom. Salvation would be the entrance.

Observations and Insights
Our modern Western culture defines blessing as having peace, prosperity, and ease. We are blessed to have a nice home, cars that run, a good income, and good health. But notice that none of these items are part of the Beatitudes. Instead, Jesus opens with a statement that contradicts our very idea of blessing, “Blessed are the poor in spirit...”

John Piper notes that the very first blessing statement and the last both declare a present reality. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3) “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:10) Each of the six statements in between declare a future reality, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4)[3]

I found an excellent study on being poor in spirit by Mike Cleveland of Setting Captives free:
* This spiritual poverty is, in reality, the foundation of all graces.  God gives grace to the humble, not to the proud.  The humble—those who recognize their own impoverished condition—are given grace.
*  Emptiness precedes fullness.  We cannot receive anything from God until we have empty hands.  He who recognizes he has nothing to offer God will receive everything from God.
*  Self must be denied in order for Christ to be wanted.  If our goal is to honor ourselves, Christ will be far from us.  But he who honors God will himself be honored.
*  A starving heart will give all to have the Bread of Life.  It is only the hungry person—not the full—who senses his need of Jesus.

We cannot enter God’s kingdom unless we are truly poor in spirit for we are enemies of God by our wicked works with no possible way to reconcile ourselves to Him (Colossians 1:19-22). We must humble ourselves before Him confessing our sin and fallen state and then receive Christ’s death as payment for punishment that we deserved.

The last of the Beatitudes states blessing for those who are persecuted; theirs, too, is the kingdom of heaven. We should expect that as a child of God we will at some time face opposition for our faith. Jesus said that if the world hated Him, they would hate us also, for the servant is not greater than His master. Persecution is an absolute reality for the follower of Christ. For some it is opposition and rejection from family, friends, neighbors or co-workers. But for many, (and that number is surely increasing), true persecution resulting in physical suffering and/or death awaits us.

These two promises are like two slices of bread on a sandwich, with the meat in between. For the citizen of God’s kingdom who enters through poverty of spirit and walks in the reality of persecution, the blessings are rich. These blessings are not the requirements to enter the kingdom, but the character of those who are living in the kingdom and the promises that are theirs. We will mourn, but we will be comforted[4]. Meekness, gentleness, mildness will be rewarded with an inheritance in the earth. Believers will hunger and thirst for righteousness—not their own, but Jesus’ own righteousness, and He will fill them. (Phil. 3:8-9) We will be required to show mercy for the mercy we obtain. God indwells those whose hearts are toward Him in purity and truth. Finally, sons, or children of the kingdom will be peacemakers. God gives us the ministry of reconciliation. By leading others to faith in the Lord Jesus (who themselves become children of God), we show them the One who made peace with God for us by the blood of His cross (Colossians 1:19-22).  These shall be called sons of God.

I recognize a shallowness in myself when I consider how I have breezed through this passage so many times. Instead, I now see its truth as sobering, yet its promises rich. It stands as an entrance into the rest of the sermon; my poverty of heart is the gate. But today's Christianity often beckons us to befriend the world's system, to seek popularity and earthly success. Notice Jesus' stern warning, "But woe to you who are rich, ​​for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full, ​​for you shall hunger. ​​Woe to you who laugh now, ​​for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, ​​for so did their fathers to the false prophets."

From Adam4D: http://adam4d.com/jesus-vs-world/





[1] Note: Much of the Harmony readings will be pieced together like a puzzle putting the four Gospels together into one narrative. I am copying the order or format from A Simplified Harmony of the Gospels, George W. Wright, Holman Bible Publishers, 2001. However, I am using the New King James rather than the HCSB. This order is from the research of Wright and is open to discussion. Of course, you can also read the passages side by side separately if you prefer.
[2] There is another location that some scholars argue may have been the site. It is noted that in Luke’s account, Jesus went down to a level place. But this is no contradiction. There are several level places on the slope of Mt. Eremos where Jesus may have taught.
[3] http://www.desiringgod.org/sermons/the-beatitudes-and-the-gospel-of-the-kingdom
[4] The mourning is for our sin and its consequences leading to repentance. For more excellent commentary on the beatitudes see: http://www.gotquestions.org/search.php?zoom_query=beatitudes&search.x=0&search.y=0

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

The Lost Pages and the 50 Commandments of Christ

A number of years ago, I challenged myself to read the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6, and 7) every day. Here’s what I learned. Law is hard; law brings condemnation. Yes, it was a great idea, but when I missed, I felt my failure.

To be sure I DID read the Sermon on the Mount many times over, in fact, so much so that the pages fell out of my Bible and eventually were lost. That is the point of this post. This sermon of Jesus’ describes a spiritual life that is beautiful. It inspires and compels us. But it also condemned me when I failed...which I did, and do...almost daily...ouch!

When God separated the Israelites out from among all the peoples of the earth, He gave them a precious gift and a curse. He gave His “Rules for Lining””—the Law. This law was the way for them to live in relationship to God. That was the blessing. But the relationship was limited, partial, and ultimately only served to show them their failure and condemnation when they could not keep it.

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount took the law even further. Jesus preached that it was no longer enough to keep the outward requirements of the law; God was looking for inward purity. It wasn't enough to refrain from adultery; if one even looks at another woman with lust, he is guilty. I have to remove “the log” out of my own eye before I can talk about the splinter in someone else. These teachings must have worn on the disciples’ soul for eventually they would cry out, “Who then can be saved!” Exactly! It is impossible to win God’s favor by keeping the law. But God provided the way.

The Law, written on tablets of stone, was stone to hardened hearts. In this Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was declaring the coming of a new kingdom in which Jesus’ cross work would ultimately bring the Holy Spirit to our hearts. His power would transform stony hearts to receive a new royal law of liberty written on hearts of flesh, and that is faith working through love.[1]

The disciples were right. No one can be saved by the law, and neither can we be made righteous by our depraved efforts to keep it. I once read an article in which the author proclaimed that the 50 commandments of Christ would transform the world. The missing pages from my Bible explain why this is a problem.  Striving to live this sermon by our own self efforts is a lost cause. It is simply law heaped upon law. None of our “good works” can merit us the benefits of God’s favor and grace.

It is only through the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit living in us that we can live this beautiful sermon. I did eventually copy the lost verses and replace them in my Bible. God’s Word itself explained the solution to my problem. Jesus died and rose again to redeem me from the curse of the law: the condemnation for my failure. Salvation is the way into His Kingdom, and that is the good news of the Gospel. In the same way Jesus also provides the means to live in His kingdom. He is the One who grows us, and changes us as we obey Him.

As we read through the next three chapters of Matthew, I pray that you will know the transforming power of the Lord Jesus Christ through the salvation He provided and the enabling power of His grace to live it as you yield to Him. His yoke is easy and His burden is light.



[1] Ezekiel 36:26; James 1:25, 2:8 ; Galatians 5:6