The Scandal We Call
The Sermon on the Mount - part one
The message of Jesus that we have come to refer to as “The Sermon on the Mount” begins at Matthew chapter five and goes through chapter seven. We have quoted these words in many ways and have labeled the verses 5:3 through 5:12 as the Beatitudes. These words are lofty and sometimes pragmatic, and there are several teachings that are even shocking. Taken as a whole, this message is scandalous both in its content and the church’s refusal to obey. So much of what Jesus said in these three chapters has been interpreted down and adapted to fit neatly into our blended lifestyles. After all, the Lord could not possibly have meant all that He has said…could He?
I have read the Sermon on the Mount many times and have preached from its pages, and there are an innumerable amount of spiritual principles and commands that are both obvious and implied. The entire weight of these teachings is overwhelming when we attempt to understand them as unvarnished truth spoken to believers individually and the church as a whole, which is the body of Christ. I desire to briefly examine the words of Jesus against the backdrop of what we have systematically contoured them to mean for our own convenience. I will only need 10 verses for this post, that will be enough to give us an ample glimpse into how we have changed and ignored the very meaning and exhortations spoken by the One who we claim to believe and follow.
Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The poor in spirit. We can surely take these words to indicate one important aspect of what we call humility. The western world rejects this type of thinking, and so does much of the evangelical community of late. The church is told to hold yourself in high esteem and to climb the ladder of success and fortune. The poor in spirit are usually run over and ignored, and many times are considered unmotivated and even lazy.
I believe the poor in spirit corresponds with the verse in Philippians 2 that says to esteem everyone better than yourself. That sentence in and of itself is a colossal challenge and if taken literally it should - it must - indict all of us. How many days do we rise from sleep with a passion to esteem everyone better than ourselves? Our problems, our lives, seem to consume us, surely not the burdens and issues that others are carrying. Do we cling to being poor in spirit, uncomfortably humble, and being willing to be ignored and even unnoticed? Have we allowed the Holy Spirit to so change us that when we are offended or attacked personally we immediately retreat to the cross and say nothing? With gladness?
I believe the poor in spirit corresponds with the verse in Philippians 2 that says to esteem everyone better than yourself. That sentence in and of itself is a colossal challenge and if taken literally it should - it must - indict all of us. How many days do we rise from sleep with a passion to esteem everyone better than ourselves? Our problems, our lives, seem to consume us, surely not the burdens and issues that others are carrying. Do we cling to being poor in spirit, uncomfortably humble, and being willing to be ignored and even unnoticed? Have we allowed the Holy Spirit to so change us that when we are offended or attacked personally we immediately retreat to the cross and say nothing? With gladness?
Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.
There is so many heartaches that are concealed within the hidden corners of what passes for civilization. All over the world people mourn with little comfort. But this revelation first given from this mountain exhorts His followers to not sorrow as do others, for our comfort comes from above. Sometimes against the backdrop of tragedy is where the darkness can see the light most clearly. It rains on the just and the unjust, but comfort comes most specifically to the household of faith. The word blessed even indicates some supernatural experience that is entirely out of character with the circumstances. Happiness and contentment and even blessings in the very midst of mourning is a great light to our world. Exchanging mourning for dancing goes against the grain and glorifies our Comforter.
Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.
The meek. Webster says it is “showing mildness or quietness of nature”, and yet I am sure our Master referred to a spiritual quality much deeper and much more sacrificially reflective of the precious Spirit of God. This meekness is not some personality trait some may be born with, no this for all of us and comes at great expense to our egos and fleshly desires. This meekness can only come when we recognize who we were and what grace actually means. To understand the incarnation should bind us to this meekness since the Master we follow did not even demand a place to sleep, and He created a place to sleep for the entire world.
Moses was the meekest man who ever lived, and Paul said he was the least of all the saints. What kind of meekness is that, coming from the human conduit who wrote most of the New Testament Scriptures? This was certainly because Paul had seen the glorified Christ and that glimpse never left his heart. Have we seen the Christ? Oh not with earthly eyes that quickly forget, but with the eyes of the Spirit that sear His glory to our hearts and minds? The many times I have felt and experienced God’s presence in my Christian life I have inevitably felt both a sense of His greatness and my own unworthiness. And in a spiritual miracle I am both built up and laid low at once.
The church has become too self promoting and so narcissistic which is not what draws the darkened world. We can never outdo the world in self promotion or egotism, but sometimes the church tries. Oh let us humble ourselves under His mighty hand and allow His strength to be reflected in our meekness.
Moses was the meekest man who ever lived, and Paul said he was the least of all the saints. What kind of meekness is that, coming from the human conduit who wrote most of the New Testament Scriptures? This was certainly because Paul had seen the glorified Christ and that glimpse never left his heart. Have we seen the Christ? Oh not with earthly eyes that quickly forget, but with the eyes of the Spirit that sear His glory to our hearts and minds? The many times I have felt and experienced God’s presence in my Christian life I have inevitably felt both a sense of His greatness and my own unworthiness. And in a spiritual miracle I am both built up and laid low at once.
The church has become too self promoting and so narcissistic which is not what draws the darkened world. We can never outdo the world in self promotion or egotism, but sometimes the church tries. Oh let us humble ourselves under His mighty hand and allow His strength to be reflected in our meekness.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.
Righteousness. True righteousness, perfect righteousness, can only be found by faith in Jesus Christ so the Master must be adding a practical component here. We as believers are made perfect before our Maker by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, but we are commanded to work out our salvation with fear and trembling so we may present a visible representation of the power of the resurrected Christ. This righteousness which has been imputed to us will and must have an impact on our earthly lives as sure as electricity has an impact on a light bulb.
And the Master shows us that blessedness comes from hungering after that impact. Seeking and meditating upon our spiritual righteousness and thirsting to see its manifestation in our lives brings joy and contentment. This is sometimes depicted in strict and legalistic terms that sets out a set of rules about which to adhere, and when the believer meets these man made requirements he thinks he feels a sense of contentment before God when in reality he is breeding self righteous and not the righteousness of Christ. You see the righteousness of Christ when exhibited in a living follower of Jesus Christ has a much to do with others as it does with the believer himself.
There is some real conundrums when we examine the life of Christ against what we have constructed as practical righteousness. Some of the people Jesus communed with and some of the things he did we would condemn as compromise today. The life of Jesus would not be altogether accepted as separated in fundamental and conservative circles today. He got dangerously close to sinners, and he broke what everyone thought was the law of Moses. He never handed his disciples a set of rules etched in stone, and his harshest rebukes of those who loved Him centered upon their judgment of others and their sin.
You see, hungering and thirsting for righteousness is a journey of deep humility and brokenness because with the smallest part of self righteousness and pride the entire journey falls apart into a Pharisaical system that serves one‘s flesh and not our Savior. The core motivation for spiritual righteousness is usability in God’s kingdom and not for the praise of the believer. And in a sentence, hungering and thirsting for righteousness is seeking and demonstrating the heart of Jesus Himself to a world who desperately needs to see Him.
And the Master shows us that blessedness comes from hungering after that impact. Seeking and meditating upon our spiritual righteousness and thirsting to see its manifestation in our lives brings joy and contentment. This is sometimes depicted in strict and legalistic terms that sets out a set of rules about which to adhere, and when the believer meets these man made requirements he thinks he feels a sense of contentment before God when in reality he is breeding self righteous and not the righteousness of Christ. You see the righteousness of Christ when exhibited in a living follower of Jesus Christ has a much to do with others as it does with the believer himself.
There is some real conundrums when we examine the life of Christ against what we have constructed as practical righteousness. Some of the people Jesus communed with and some of the things he did we would condemn as compromise today. The life of Jesus would not be altogether accepted as separated in fundamental and conservative circles today. He got dangerously close to sinners, and he broke what everyone thought was the law of Moses. He never handed his disciples a set of rules etched in stone, and his harshest rebukes of those who loved Him centered upon their judgment of others and their sin.
You see, hungering and thirsting for righteousness is a journey of deep humility and brokenness because with the smallest part of self righteousness and pride the entire journey falls apart into a Pharisaical system that serves one‘s flesh and not our Savior. The core motivation for spiritual righteousness is usability in God’s kingdom and not for the praise of the believer. And in a sentence, hungering and thirsting for righteousness is seeking and demonstrating the heart of Jesus Himself to a world who desperately needs to see Him.
Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.
True mercy comes from a heart that both recognizes the awful situation of someone else as well as the grace of your own situation. So often we are tempted to take advantage of someone else’s misfortune which can provide us with a fleshly sense of superiority. So many people who have shown very little mercy for others seem to beg for it themselves when they are in need. Jesus tells us that mercy breeds mercy, and we should be children of mercy who are neither blind to the sin of others or blind to that same sinner’s need of mercy at a time when it would be so easy to ride the waves of judgment.
It is impossible to expound fully on the mercy that Christ has shown the world, and specifically those who trust in Him. Mercy seems to carry with it a sense that those who need it do not deserve it, and this is most true spiritually. We have been made recipients of God’s eternal mercy and emanating from that knowledge must be an eagerness to imitate the One who has shown us such mercy. It is better to give than receive, and in this instance we are promised a harvest from our seeds of mercy. Self righteousness hates mercy, and mercy disarms self righteousness. We are called to be the ministers of God’s mercy to a dark world in desperate need of mercy.
It is impossible to expound fully on the mercy that Christ has shown the world, and specifically those who trust in Him. Mercy seems to carry with it a sense that those who need it do not deserve it, and this is most true spiritually. We have been made recipients of God’s eternal mercy and emanating from that knowledge must be an eagerness to imitate the One who has shown us such mercy. It is better to give than receive, and in this instance we are promised a harvest from our seeds of mercy. Self righteousness hates mercy, and mercy disarms self righteousness. We are called to be the ministers of God’s mercy to a dark world in desperate need of mercy.
END OF PART ONE
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