Matthew
5:1-11 (NIV) Now when Jesus saw the
crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and
he began to teach them. He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in
spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are
those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the
meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those
who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed
are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed
are the pure in heartfor they will see God. 9 Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed
are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult
you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
A good teacher knows that a lesson plan has one
main point, and the Sermon on the Mount is no exception. The main point of the
Sermon on the Mount is this: Blessed are the humble. Humility is the thread
that holds the whole message together. The Sermon on the Mount spells out what
humility looks like:
Blessed
are the poor in spirit. The poor are
those who have not or cannot make it on their own, and the poor in the spirit
are those who know they cannot make it on their own without God. It is the
heart’s acknowledgement of need.
Blessed
are those who mourn. Jesus is not
saying, “Happy are the sad.” To mourn is the opposite of being hardened and
closed and guarded toward the pains of life. It is to experience life’s sadness
as well as its joy. Those who allow themselves to feel some of life’s pain are
the ones who make a difference in the pains of life.
Blessed are the meek. Meek might be called “strong gentleness.” We see
real meekness in the compassionate power of Jesus, and we see what it means to
be humble. Jesus is poor in Spirit. The Son of God lived out of His sense of
need for God. Jesus mourned for the people. He wept over the city of Jerusalem.
And He was meek. Before His accusers He was meekly silent, and His silence was
eloquent.
Some translations substitute “happy” for “blessed,”
but happiness comes from our word “happens.” Happiness depends on the
happenings of life. We are happy when life goes well for us. We are unhappy
when life does not go well. Blessedness is a gift and a more permanent gift. Problems
may arise, but they do not have the power to take blessedness from us. “Blessed
are the humble” summarizes the Sermon on the Mount. But there is something
missing from that sermon that most of us are very accustomed to. There is no
command. The Sermon on the Mount does not prescribe. It only describes. It puts
on display the kind of life God is working for us to have. It holds out the
promise of deep joy that goes with it. So, what do we do, if anything, about
the Sermon on the Mount?
At this point, all that Jesus is asking is that we
give in to the work of God. Give in to the work God is doing with you.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell (Broyles)
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