Monday, January 3, 2022

Sermon on the Mount - Part 5

 Today I want to look at verses 6-9, focusing on who Jesus was speaking to, and on the context of the entire message.

Matthew 5:6-9

(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.

In verse 6 he talks about hungering and thirsting for righteousness, which I am sure the leaders thought they were doing. After all, the followed the law to a "T". But in verse 20, Jesus says, "unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven," so what is he saying? The leaders took pride in their righteousness, which was really self-righteousness, and not the righteousness of God. To hunger and thirst for righteousness for Jesus meant going beyond just the action and included the motivation. Are you seeking to gain salvation (a good thing but a selfish motive?) or are you seeking to honor and praise God, the maker and creator of the universe? How can you be satisfied if your goal is to earn God's favor? Can you ever really do enough to satisfy God? If you are going to be honest, you have to answer no here. But if your response is just to love God and honor Him, relying on the righteousness given in the grace of Jesus, you can find satisfaction. It is a weird paradox, knowing that you can never do enough, yet what you do is sufficient because Jesus picks up the slack. 

Verse 7 speaks of being merciful. There is no other appropriate response to seeing the love and mercy of God than to be loving and merciful to others. (Matthew 18:32-33) We can see again and again in the gospels how this was not a quality of the leaders of the Jews, from their dealing with John the Baptist to the crucifixion, and so much in between.

Verse 8 tells about being pure in heart. I see this as speaking of not having ulterior motives. The leaders were full of ulterior motives, most of which revolved around themselves. They wanted power, they wanted to be worshipped by the people, they loved being in control. It is almost as if they had wandered so far in to religion as to forget why they were there. Their religion was not a response to God, but all about what it provided for them. The pure in heart remember why they are there. They seek to honor God first, foremost, and only. These are the ones who will see God. They are probably the only ones looking for God. To not be pure in heart then, is to be blind. (Matthew 15:12-14; John 9:32; John 9:39-41) God can grant sight, and will to those who seek Him.

Finally for today, Jesus speaks of the peacemakers. Or as I like to compare them to, peace keepers. Peace making requires negotiation at times, and sometimes force. Jesus said, "Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." (Matthew 10:16) Wise and innocent, there are 2 characteristics of peace makers, I think also of the peacekeeping forces, such as those on the border between North and South Korea. Armed and ready to protect freedom even at cost of life. That is a peacemaker's role too. Someone who defends peace, not the bully who wants to take it away. I see the leaders that were in the audience as the bullies, using the law to control, putting cumbersome burdens on the people, robbing the people of their freedom. The peacemakers are the ones who are called sons of God

Jesus came to set things right. To restore what had been corrupted. Yet even as He did, that corruption continued to work its way into His work. I think of what I have read in Luke 4:13, "And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time." Even as Jesus is working to restore us, Satan is looking for opportunities to take us back. That is what we must be aware of and why we must be on guard. It is why, in addition to having the qualities of mercy and purity, in addition to hungering for righteousness, we must also be vigilant as peacemakers.

Edited 2/4/2022

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