EPISODE 208 GOSPEL OF MATTHEW CHAPTER 5 Part 1 "KINGDOM LIVING HERE AND NOW"

Welcome to Share the Word. Matthew records the fullest example of Jesus' teachings, and Pastor Paul takes an in-depth look over the next three episodes as we camp out in chapter 5, discussing Jesus' teachings of the Sermon on the Mount. Today's focus is on who God favors and why they will be in His kingdom. Matthew chapter 5: Kingdom Living Here and Now. A couple of Matthew's lines from the end of chapter 4 read, And Jesus went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of affliction among the people. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and even from Jerusalem and Judea, from beyond the Jordan.

As we saw in the other Gospels, the outset of Jesus' public ministry, which began in the northeast of Israel, was making an immediate, as we'd say, viral impact. He was more than just a fresh face, much more than a young rabbi with a new twist on the same old themes. Israel was an extremely religious society. People felt that they had heard it all, they had seen it all. But when Jesus appeared on the scene, preaching and teaching and healing and doing things he was doing, everyone who witnessed that was struck by how differently he came across. Reactions were, We've never heard anyone speak anything like this man before, and He speaks as one who has authority, not like the teachers of the law.

It was as though he could see directly into his listeners' minds, like he could read their very heart motivations. He could get at places deep inside people the typical religious teacher never touched. And remember, when Jesus spoke about the kingdom of God, he was speaking foremost about the reign of God and those who would accept him, those who would make him king in their hearts. He once said, You're looking here and there for the kingdom of God, but the kingdom of God is within you. That's Luke chapter 17, verse 21. The kingdom that Jesus was and is most concerned about is who and what's on the throne inside of us.

When chapter 5 opens, Jesus is in such a setting. Lots of early followers and the curious have gathered to hear him. He climbed a hill and sat down, and the crowds gathered as close as they could to hear him speak. Then Matthew records for us the fullest example we have of what Jesus actually taught when he was here. We call these next few chapters the Sermon on the Mount, and he began like this. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for in that way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Some modern translations use the word happy instead of blessed, and honestly, that would be a fine rendering if we didn't think about who was saying these things and in what context. I mean, the word can mean that. Just as with many English words, though, the Greek word Matthew used has a range of meanings.

Jesus' idea is better understood as favored by God rather than simply happy, or perhaps these are the kinds of people God is happy with gets at the idea most translations are trying to express by blessed. We think we know what things make us happy. Psychology Today magazine put that question to 52,000 Americans once in a survey. Their top ten answers were: better friends and social life, better job, feeling in love, more recognition and success, better, more sex, an improved financial situation, being more attractive or beautiful, changing where I live, adding more recreation into my life, and getting married and having children. Largely, when you think about that list, the responses are about changing your conditions, your circumstances. But Jesus' list about those he calls blessed point to things largely inside of us.

Jesus came speaking not about changing our circumstances as much as changing our hearts. So let's take some extra time to hear Jesus out on this. I'm going to discuss these Beatitudes over the next few lessons in some detail. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. What does that mean? First, let's think about what it doesn't mean.

When we hear the word poor, we immediately think in material terms. Some people throughout the centuries have mistakenly interpreted Jesus to mean materially poor, so they have sold everything they had, taken a vow of poverty, and lived in seclusion somewhere, thinking that that kind of self-deprivation assured them of God's favor in a place in heaven, I guess. That's completely not it. It also doesn't mean to have a poor opinion of yourself. He wasn't talking about disparaging yourself all the time. As someone has put it, Jesus didn't die for no junk.

He died for us because we're created in his image, because God loves us, and because we have great value and significance to him. So he was not saying we should wallow in self-deprecation like, I'm worthless, I'm useless, I hate myself. No. What Jesus was talking about is a realization of our spiritual poverty, poor in spirit. God is happy with those who realize they are spiritually poor. That gets at the idea.

Those who know they are nowhere near who they ought to be, who know they need God and his grace badly in their lives. Have you ever been broke? I don't mean a little short this week. I mean really desperately broke. Can you imagine getting to the place where you were so desperate, so in need, that you turned to begging, where you actually started turning to your relatives, your friends, strangers, anyone, because your need was that great? Most of us probably can't imagine that.

Is there anything more humbling than having to do that, to have to beg for help? There are two words in the New Testament for poor. One means what we mean by working poor. You don't have much. You live from paycheck to paycheck, juggling things to try and keep food on the table and a roof over your head. That's not the word Jesus used here.

The other word is called ptokos in Greek, means you're so poor you have to beg. You're desperately poor. That's the word Jesus was using. But remember, he's talking about spiritual poverty. He's talking about those who realize they are desperately in need of God and his grace. This is the place from which we must enter the kingdom of God.

The doorway is low. Those who are lowly in heart are the only ones who can come in. This was actually good news to the people in the culture of Israel in the first century, because as I said, theirs was a culture steeped in religion, especially the religion of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus was declaring that the kingdom of God is not for the spiritually elite, not for those who think they certainly must impress God, who have mastered the art of being religious. It's for those who realize they don't. They admit they don't come close, who honestly know little, if anything, they have to commend to God.

But that's the starting point, recognizing our spiritual poverty and our desperate need for him and his grace in our lives. I know that many listening to this have been followers of Christ for some time. Does this beatitude mean anything to us? Sure it does. The principle doesn't change. This is not just the way to be saved.

This is the way to live as a Christian. I like something Søren Kierkegaard, a 19th century theologian, said on this point. There are, he said, in the end, only two ways open to us: to honestly and honorably make an admission of how far we are from the Christianity of the New Testament, or to perform skillful tricks to conceal our true situation. Do you get what he was saying? Never lose the attitude of being poor in spirit. Isaiah 66:2 says, This is the one I esteem, says the Lord, he who is humble and contrite in spirit and who trembles at my word.

As a songwriter once put it in their hymn, I need Thee every hour, I need Thee, oh, I need Thee, every hour I need Thee. Bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee. We come to Christ this way, poor in spirit, crying out for His grace, and we should live in Christ the same way, acknowledging that in and of ourselves, we're spiritually broke, and so constantly in need of His grace, constantly relying on His resources. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Then, blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. There's a song which was popular in the early 20th century.

It was actually a marching song soldiers sang as they went off to the horrors of World War I in Europe. I've heard this on several old war movies. That's how I know it. Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile. While you've got a match to light your fag, boys, smile. That's the style.

What's the use in worrying? It never was worthwhile. Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile. By the way, fag at the time was slang for cigarette. But to paraphrase, ignore the fact that the world is on fire and smile, smile, smile. Some things are seriously sad, though, and pretending otherwise is not reality.

So what then could Jesus have possibly meant by, Blessed are those who mourn, or God favors the mourners? Let me suggest this definition for what he meant: being saddened over what saddens God. So those who are saddened by what saddens God, they will be comforted. Let's apply this a couple different ways to see if how we feel lines up with how God feels. First, in the broadest sense, our attitudes toward the things going on in the world that have to make God profoundly sad, like how little value is placed on human life by so many, the mainstreaming of pornography, perversions, and so on, the abandonment of truth by once Christian churches, epidemic divorce, family breakdowns, children being hurt and damaged in the process, greed, hatred, injustice. Certainly no shortage of things that must break God's heart.

On the conscience of a sensitive person, these things can pile up and weigh on us so heavily, we can't help but feel profoundly sad over them too. Does the sin of this world sometimes get you down, break your heart? I don't mean you feel outraged and disgusted. Those are not the attitudes Jesus is commending here. He commends the one about mourning because they are the feelings that God Himself feels. Narrowing the lens, one of the most personal pictures of Jesus we have in the Gospels, in the Gospel of John actually.

We did a full podcast about this. Remember when Jesus received word that one of his closest friends, a man by the name of Lazarus, was gravely ill. This is John chapter 11. And it says there, on his arrival in Bethany, Jesus found that Lazarus had been in the tomb, that is dead, four days. And many Jews had come to Mary and Martha, his sisters, to comfort them in their loss. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but her sister Mary stayed at home.

Lord, Martha said to Jesus, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask. Jesus said to her, Your brother will rise again. Martha answered, I know he'll rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life, and the one who believes in me will live even though they die. Yes, Lord, I believe that you're the Messiah, the Son of God who has come into the world.

And after she said that, she went back for her sister Mary. Jesus is here and is asking for you, Mary. So Mary got up quickly and went out to him, and he had still not yet entered the village. When those who had been with Mary, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there. But Mary came to the place where Jesus was, and when she saw him, she fell at his feet and said, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come along with her weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.

Where have you laid him? he said. Come and see, Lord, they replied. Then verse 35 says, Jesus wept. You know the ability to cry is actually a gift from God, like tears are cleansing agents for the soul, as someone has put it. Jesus wept.

Looking at him closely on that sad occasion is an insight to me into the heart of God. What kind of things break God's heart? More than society's ills. Here's one closer to home. When those he loves are hurting and in pain, Jesus showed us that. And since he did, we can conclude that weeping and mourning over things that are in fact sad aren't signs of some emotional weakness.

In a book on grief recovery, John James and Frank Cherry summarize society's approach to grief management as, Bury the pain, replace the loss. How healthy is that? They argue that serious pain we bury doesn't really die, festers like a sore in our souls. If we try and trade our pain prematurely for another feeling, that's not healing. In another book on the subject titled A Better Kind of Grieving, the author writes, I had a three-hour lunch break with a seasoned Christian counselor this week. I asked her to talk to me about grieving.

I asked her to tell me what she advises people to do when they're dealing with losses. She said, Of course I tell them to feel their feelings. But then I also urge them to, if they can, reduce the pace of their lives. I urge them to review their loss, talk about it openly, think about it thoroughly, write about it reflectively, and pray all the way through it. She continued, It's my experience that people want to bury and run away from their pain. They want to replace it with another happy feeling as soon as they can.

But to recover from pain, you have to face it. You must stand in it and process it before it will properly heal. That's God's way. Our laugh-happy culture, smile, smile, smile, is not a culture that is comfortable with sadness. Sadness is awkward. It's unsettling.

It ebbs and flows and takes on a life of its own. More than anything, pain and sadness long to be shared. Any of you who have really experienced serious pain and sadness know how true that is. This is why God's Word tells us, Rejoice with those who rejoice, but weep with those who weep. Pain and sadness are unavoidable in life, and if they haven't gotten around to you yet, they will. And that is one reason God invented this thing we call family, and also this thing we call church, meant to be our spiritual family.

It's so we can process life together, connected with others who care for us. We all need a place no one has to pretend, where pain and sadness that long to be shared can be shared and will be shared. The message cannot be bury it and move on. We need to enter into one another's pain, weep with those who weep, mourn with those who mourn. That's what Jesus did. A final way we should apply the second beatitude is the most personal and the most important.

I asked earlier, what kinds of things are going on in our world that break God's heart? Well, here's a more uncomfortable question. What's going on in your life and my life that breaks God's heart? Just feeling bad inside about how ugly the world is and being in touch with our own pain and learning to grieve it properly will not lead to what Jesus was most concerned about. The saddest thing of all in the world is to live in this goofed-up place with all of its pain and sadness and miss the one true message of hope and comfort, and that is that Jesus came to break the grip of the curse of sin and all the negative stuff that it's brought into our world and into our lives. He didn't just come to die for sin and pain and trouble in general.

He came to die for what's wrong inside of you and inside of me. It's our personal sin that stands between us and God, after all, and between us and the hope Jesus offers. When Jesus said, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God, he was saying what we need to understand is our spiritual poverty before Him and our need of His grace. And when He said, Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted, He was saying we also need to feel what our sin does to God, how it offends His holiness, and we need to mourn over that so that we can experience the sorrow that leads to repentance. Not until we are at that point are we ready to receive what Christ did for us to save us and to make us citizens of His kingdom. Have you experienced that?

As the Scripture says elsewhere, Come near to God; He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up. Turning from sin and turning to Christ as King in your life is putting ourselves into the place of God's favor now.

Pain and trouble will not disappear so long as we are in this fallen world. Followers of Christ are not immune from those things. But our citizenship has been transferred to heaven, and we await the return of our King, the Lord Jesus Christ. And in His kingdom, there will be no more mourning or pain or death, and God will wipe away all tears. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom belongs to them. Blessed are those who mourn; they will be comforted.

This is Paul for Share the Word. Thanks, Paul. I love that today was focused on the two Beatitudes and how they are intensely dependent to each other, how the importance of the kingdom of God within us is, but often set aside. Each time we experience grief, remember that we don't get over grief, but rather we go through it, and Christ wants to help carry the burden. Jesus gave us the understanding of what sin does to God. Have you dedicated your life to emulate Christ, and have you recognized what thoughts, actions, and words bring pain to God?

Are you living a life that recognizes the need for repentance, or are you just living your best life here on earth with no thought to your spirit and the wonderful creation that God made you to be? From all of us at Share the Word, our blessings and prayers go out to all of you.