“The Beatitudes”
Matthew 5:1-12
Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas
Sixth
Sunday after the Epiphany—February 16, 2020
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our text is today’s Gospel Reading from the fifth chapter of St.
Matthew, commonly called, “The Beatitudes.” You are invited to follow
along the sermon outline on the bulletin insert.
The Beatitudes are one of the most beloved and yet most misunderstood
parts of Holy Scripture. Many people have the mistaken notion that the
Beatitudes are some kind of formula for earning your own way into heaven.
Just follow these rules and you can save yourself. Others consider the
Beatitudes to be good advice from a wise teacher on how to live a happy life.
One television preacher actually called the Beatitudes the “be happy attitudes;”
principles for living, which, if you follow them, will make you be happy in
life.
But, the Beatitudes are much more than “be happy attitudes,” and the
Beatitudes are certainly not a formula for earning your own way into heaven. To
understand the deeper meaning of the Beatitudes, we must first understand to
whom the Beatitudes are addressed. St. Matthew reports, “Now when he saw
the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came
to him, and he began to teach them.” St. Luke says, “A large crowd of his
disciples was there.”
So, the Beatitudes are not intended for just anyone; they are not
advice to humankind in general on “be happy attitudes;” and the Beatitudes
cannot be a formula for earning your own way into heaven because they are
specifically directed toward those who are already Jesus’ disciples, who trust
in him for their salvation. The Beatitudes are a Master’s personal
promises to his followers. The Beatitudes are Jesus’ personal promises to
you and me. What does Jesus promise you in the Beatitudes?
“Blessed are the poor in spirit.”
The poverty Jesus is talking about here has nothing to do with assets
and liabilities. Jesus is talking about being “poor in spirit,” a
spiritual attitude of spiritual poverty, an attitude which says, “I have earned
nothing from God; I am owed nothing by God. All that I am and have is a
gift from him.” As St. Paul says in Titus, “When the kindness and love of
God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had
done, but because of his mercy.” That is what it means to be poor in
spirit, acknowledging your spiritual bankruptcy, your spiritual poverty.
Relying for your salvation not on anything you think you have earned or deserved
but on Jesus Christ and the salvation He earned for you by His atoning
sacrifice. As the hymn “Rock of Ages” says, “Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to Thy cross I cling.”
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
What is Jesus’ first promise to you in the Beatitudes? When you stop
relying on yourself for your salvation, when you put aside your
self-righteousness and instead rely on him and his righteousness, you
receive the kingdom of heaven, you have eternal life.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.”
“Blessed are those who mourn.”
The mourning Jesus is talking about here is a spiritual grieving, and
mourning, and lamenting over your sin. Jesus means, “Blessed are those who
repent,” “Blessed are those who lament and sorrow over their sins.”
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” What is Jesus’
second promise to you in the Beatitudes? Your sins are all forgiven; the
sins which trouble your conscience are all pardoned. As the apostle St.
John says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive
our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
“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 meek.”
Christian meekness does not mean weakness. Jesus himself was a
forceful, powerful individual, who when necessary expressed himself very
strongly, as when he drove the moneychangers out of the temple with a whip.
Christian meekness does not mean weakness; Christian meekness means humility.
As. St. Paul says in Ephesians: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient,
bearing with one another in love;” and in Philippians, “Do nothing out of
selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than
yourselves;” and he tells Titus, “Remind the people . . . to be peaceable and
considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.”
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” What is
Jesus’ third promise to you in the Beatitudes? The Golden Rule of the
Bible is: “Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.” But, we
are often tempted and pressured to follow not the Golden Rule of the Bible, but
the Selfish Rule of the world: “Do unto others before they get a chance to do it
unto you.” Jesus promises that even though in the eyes of the world your
Christian meekness may be perceived as weakness, ultimately you will not lose
out, ultimately you will never be worse off by showing true, Christian humility
toward all men. In fact, when Jesus says that the meek “will inherit the
earth,” he is symbolically promising that true Christian humility will be richly
rewarded.
“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 meek, for they will inherit the
earth.”
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”
Jesus is speaking of a spiritual hunger, a spiritual thirst, a “hunger and
thirst for righteousness.” Such a spiritual hunger and thirst is a longing
and desire to know God, to please him, to do his will. Many times the
Bible uses this imagery of spiritual hunger and thirst. Psalm 42 begins,
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” Psalm 119 says, “I open my
mouth and pant, longing for your commands.” Psalm 34 says, “Taste and see
that the Lord is good.” St. Peter urges, “Like newborn babes, crave pure
spiritual milk.”
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they
will be filled.” What is Jesus’ fourth promise to you in the Beatitudes?
St. Augustine put it this way, “Our hearts our restless until they find their
rest in Thee.” Your spiritual and emotional searchings and longings will
only be satisfied by a living relationship with Jesus Christ. The Lord
says in the book of Isaiah, “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters;
and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without
money and without cost.” Jesus declares, “I am the bread of life. He who
comes to me will shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.
. . If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. . . Whoever
believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow
from within him.” Jesus invites you to satiate your spiritual hunger and
thirst, to find your spiritual fulfillment, in him: “Whoever is thirsty, let him
come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. . .
To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the
water of life.”
“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 meek, for they will inherit the
earth.”
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they will be filled.”
“Blessed are the merciful.”
Jesus once told the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. This
servant owed his master a great debt that he could never repay. His master
has mercy on him and forgives his debt. But, then that same servant
refuses to have mercy on one of his fellow servants who owes him a small debt.
The parable concludes, “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked
servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.
Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’
In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he
should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat
each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” What is
Jesus’ fifth promise to you in the Beatitudes? The way of the world is to
seek revenge and hold a grudge; but the way for Jesus’ disciples is to follow
his example and show mercy, underserved kindness, underserved love, undeserved
forgiveness. Jesus promises that you will be blessed by him when you let
go of your grudges and revenge and instead show mercy to your fellow man.
As St. Paul says in Colossians: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and
dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness
and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may
have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” And as Jesus
taught us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive
those who trespass against us.”
“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 meek, for they will inherit the
earth.”
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they will be filled.”
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown
mercy.”
“Blessed are the pure in heart.”
Jesus is not referring so much to moral purity but to sincerity, a lack
of hypocrisy, a heart that genuinely trusts in Jesus and devoutly desires to
follow in his ways and do his will.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” What is
Jesus’ sixth promise to you in the Beatitudes? In this world it often
seems the advantage goes not to the “pure in heart” but to the hypocrites, to
the deceitful and the dishonest. But, Jesus promises his sincere, faithful
followers a far greater advantage: “for they will see God.”
“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 meek, for they will inherit the
earth.”
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they will be filled.”
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown
mercy.”
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see
God.”
“Blessed are the peacemakers.”
Every single Christian is called to be a peacemaker. St.
Paul says in 1st Corinthians, “God has called us to live in peace;” and in
Romans, “As far as it depends on you, live in peace with everybody.”
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”
What is Jesus’ seventh promise to you in the Beatitudes? It appears that
Jesus promises: If you are a peacemaker, then you will be God’s child.
But, it’s really the exact opposite: Since you are God’s child, you WILL
BE a peacemaker. You are able to live in peace with others, and moved to
be a peacemaker among others, because you yourself are at peace with God through
your Lord Jesus Christ. “For they will be called sons of God.” Jesus
promises that you will be recognized by others as God’s child by virtue of your
peaceful ways.
“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 meek, for they will inherit the
earth.”
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they will be filled.”
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown
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 are persecuted because of righteousness . . . Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.”
Jesus says, “No servant is greater than his master. If they
persecuted me, they will persecute you also.” St. Paul tells Timothy, “In
fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be
persecuted.” That is really the sum and substance of all the Beatitudes:
From a worldly perspective, following Jesus, living daily as his disciples, it
seems to have very little reward, very little payback. But, there is a
greater motive compelling us to follow our Master—his love for us. And
there is a greater reward than any earthly payback—his promise of heavenly
blessing.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you,
persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way
they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
What is Jesus’ eighth promise to you in the Beatitudes? St.
Paul—who suffered a lot for the sake of Christ—puts it this way in Romans, “I
consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that
will be revealed to us.”
The Beatitudes; a Master’s personal promises to his followers; Jesus’
personal promises to you and me. Blessed are:
the poor in spirit;
those who mourn;
the meek;
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness;
the merciful;
the pure in heart;
the peacemakers;
and those who are persecuted because of
righteousness.
Amen.
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