Sermon for Sunday, January 5, 2025 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC)
Old Testament Reading:
[Isaiah 66:1-2 ESV] 1 Thus says the LORD: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? 2 All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.
New Testament Reading:
[James 2:1-7 ESV] 1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?
Gospel Reading:
[John 6:1-14 ESV] 1 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”
Sermon Text:
[Matthew 5:1-12 ESV] 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.
Introduction
Here we have Jesus preaching to his disciples, and to the multitude following him, and indeed to us in all generations. And he preaches “A New Way of Living.” [REPEAT: A New Way of Living.]
This is the blessed way.
These words that we have read are from the beginning of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. It is a lengthy sermon; comprising chapters 5, 6, and 7 of Matthew’s Gospel.
And these beginning words of the sermon are known as “The Beatitudes.”
They constitute some of the most shocking and profound of the ethical teachings of Jesus.
They are inspiring. Showing the way of the Christian life. A way of blessedness, of happiness, of joy, in all things.
The term “beatitude” is not an English term. Not originally anyways. Nor is it from the original Greek of the New Testament. Rather, it is a Latin term. And for centuries in the Western Church, Latin was the primary language used. In the Latin version of the Bible — called the Vulgate — each of these phrases (repeated 8 times) in our text where in English we say “Blessed are,” the Latin says “beati.” When summarized all together we have a status of blessedness which in Latin is “beatititudo.” So that is where we get the term “beatitude.” Whenever you hear the term “beatitude” think thus of blessings or blessedness.
The Beatitudes are Christ’s teachings on the blessed life, A New Way of Living.
But before I look to explain the message of the beatitudes, I want to look at the setting and at the preacher.
So let us use those three points for an outline.
I. The Setting of the Beatitudes
II. The Preacher of the Beatitudes
III. The Message of the Beatitudes
First,
I. The Setting
Up to this point Jesus has preached simply what John the Baptist also preached: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Jesus was anointed to his ministry and now begins preaching. And now we have much greater depth on what he preached. It is a wide-ranging sermon, and yet piercing in its precision. The result of which, we read at the end of chapter 7 is that the multitude (the crowd) was “ASTONISHED at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority and not as their scribes.”
The sermon takes place on “the mount.”
This is thought to be a mountain near the sea of Galilee. In John 6 there is a similar situation (perhaps the same incident) where it is said Jesus “went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.” “And a large crowd was following him.” And “Jesus went up on the mountain” and “Jesus sat down with his disciples.”
“Mountain” is probably too grandiose of a term for it. It is more likely a hill. Some years ago from the Sea of Galilee a friend and I walked up to the traditional spot on a hill now called “The Church of the Beatitudes.” It was a hike, but I wouldn’t call it a mountain.
At this place, or perhaps another hill near it, Jesus gave his “Sermon on the Mount.”
Notably, this was a common mountain. It wasn’t Mt. Ebal or Mt. Zion or Mt. Moriah. It was just a common mountain. Some of have in this the unspoken statement that Jesus is saying “We can worship God anywhere.” He doesn’t need to be in a “holy” place to give His sermon.
Then, as we consider the setting, we have to mention the crowd. The disciples were there, but so was a multitude. From both Matthew and John’s Gospels we see that they were following Jesus because of the miracles he had performed. Now, Jesus uses that opportunity to preach. Miracles are not done for their own sake, but to bring in hearers of the word. And, for the multitude, Jesus has COMPASSION and preaches to them. Consider all the people with all their needs. And with all their differences. Yet, they come to see Jesus and hear this one preacher. What an astounding setting.
II. The Preacher
The preacher at this setting is none other than Jesus Christ. The very messiah, the son of God, the greatest preacher to ever preach. And he’s giving his greatest ever sermon. And the people recognize that he has authority. This is God himself speaking.
We find that Jesus “sat down.” Now, it is our custom to preach standing up. But Jesus sat down, in a display of “I’m not saying something on the move.” “We’ll be here for a bit.” And perhaps as a display of authority, as one “sits” in the chair as King or as professors is seated as the chair of his discipline. It is from THIS PLACE that Jesus speaks. An ordinary spot, but Jesus sitting there and speaking is to bring the greatest authority and weight to his words.
We’ve seen a lot about Jesus — who he is — in the first chapters of Matthew. He is the messiah who has fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament.
III. The Message
Now, we transition from HIM to HIS MESSAGE.
In this message of the Beatitudes, Jesus preaches “A New Way of Living.”
These are world-changing truths, counter to all the views of the world.
The world teaches something like the opposite of Jesus’s Beatitudes. They’d say:
Blessed are the rich
Blessed are the healthy
Blessed are the powerful
Blessed are those eat well
Blessed are the winners
Blessed are the victors
Blessed are the popular
But Jesus says:
Blessed are the poor in spirit
Blessed are those who mourn
Blessed are the meek
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
Blessed are the merciful
Blessed are the pure in heart
Blessed are the peacemakers
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake
What is going on here? How do we make sense of all of this?
Should we seek poverty? Ill-health? Being trampled-on? Of course not.
Rather, we are to understand that Jesus is teaching that our blessedness is not dependent on wealth or worldly ability. In fact, we are blessed DESPITE NOT HAVING those things of the world. We are blessed even THROUGH our problems.
The Beatitudes are at odds with those “triumphalist” type of views like those of the Jews who thought the messiah would form an earthly kingdom and take power over the other nations. And the Beatitudes are at odds with those who seek to dominate society through force rather than through the Gospel. And the Beatitudes are at odds with the health and wealth and prosperity gospels, which are no gospels at all. (Those are the teaches of the televangelists who promise you health and wealth … if you give them money). The Beatitudes are at odds with these views. They present a new way of living.
It is vital to understand that the Beatitudes are not a set of rules or commands to fulfill, but rather a description of the Christian life. And that Christian life is a STATE of blessedness. [REPEAT]
It can be translated as a state of fortune or of happiness.
Instead of “blessed are the poor in spirit” we can say “happy are the poor in spirit.”
The key is that this happiness or blessedness CONTINUES even through difficulties. It is a blessedness that is GREATER THAN the moment of difficult you are in. The joy of the Lord shines through the lowest lows of life and death.
John MacArthur says this: “In this sermon the Lord establishes a standard of living counter to everything the world practices and holds dear. To live by the standards He gives here is to live a life of blessed happiness. Here is an utterly new approach to living, one that results in joy instead of despair, in peace instead of conflict. It is a blessedness not produced by the world or by circumstances, and it cannot be taken away by the world or by circumstances. It is not produced externally and cannot be destroyed externally.”
Ultimately, as the Psalmist says, “Happy is that people whose God is the Lord.” [Psalm 144:15 KJV]
And so we have a description of the Christian; even you and me. We are blessed, we are happy, because our God is the Lord.
The “happiness” of the world can even be detrimental to our true happiness.
Wealth distracts us from God.
Power makes us think we are in control.
Health makes us think we are immortal.
But in our troubles we look to God, and have greater blessedness.
In your mourning the death of another, you are blessed to be WITH OTHERS.
And it is more blessed to hunger for righteousness is blessed than to be led into evil.
Meekness is superior to arrogance.
Mercy is better than vindictiveness.
And peacemaking is healthier than causing conflict.
The Beatitudes are a description of the happy man. A happiness that you and I can have. Not one that we attain, but one that we have because of Jesus Christ.
This happiness is our status. So we ought to embrace this application:
Application: Recognize and live the Beatitudes
All of you who are Christians have this blessedness in you. You ARE the light of the world. So don’t say “I’d like to achieve that blessedness” but rather recognize that you already have that happiness. Then, knowing that happiness, embrace it and BE it. Then, as many have said before me, the beatitudes will change your attitudes.
This is a new way of living.
I plan, Lord willing, to delve into each of the beatitudes more in depth in sermons in the weeks coming up, so we can consider more deeply the meaning of each of them.
For now we have a summary. The Beatitudes are the New Way of Living. The Way of the Christian.
When I read them, I feel comforted. I feel peace. The ALMIGHTY Jesus speaking about meekness. The one who could command angels to defend him, instead HE in humility and meekness lived these Beatitudes for us and points us to live the same. No other religion, no other teaching can compare. This is the Truth of God. Let us be blessed as we embrace it. And let us pray.