The Sermon on the Mount is the greatest sermon ever preached. The opening of the sermon is the beatitudes.
The beatitudes represent a way for sinful people in a sinful world to live for God as they serve God to bring others to God.
Part 1 – Bankrupt
Matthew 5:1-3
January 14, 2018
At the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount is a section called the Beatitudes. Jesus says “blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” To be poor in Spirit is to recognize that you have nothing to offer God. You have nothing that God needs. You have nothing that you can do to deserve or earn standing before God. That you can’t possibly live up to God. Our salvation from God is entirely because of the grace of God.
Part 2 – Good mourning
Matthew 5:4
January 21, 2018
Jesus says “blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” The mourning is a mourning of sin, both the sin that is in the world and the sinfulness of our own lives.
Part 3 – The virtue we miss
Matthew 5:5
January 28, 2018
The meek shall inherit the earth.
Jesus is not saying “blessed are the weak, blessed are the passive, blessed are the spineless, the yes men, the doormats, the wishy-washy.” He’s not saying “blessed are the flakes, blessed are the cowards, the timid.”
Meekness is totally giving yourself over to God’s ways because you know that they are good. And that your ultimate source of purpose, joy, and hope is in the Lord, not in your own efforts.
Part 4 – The pursuit of happiness
Matthew 5:6
February 11, 2018
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Heaven is a perfect place. It’s a righteous place. And so having a hunger and thirst for righteousness in the life is meant to be a foretaste of the perfected state we will be in with the Lord for eternity.
Hunger and thirst for righteousness isn’t “yeah, I could eat.”
It’s a call to be starving. And the good news is that God satisfies that hunger and thirst.
Part 5 – Merciful living
Matthew 5:7
February 18, 2018
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Mercy is having compassion, pity, and empathy for those in need. But true mercy requires action. It’s serving people. This is what it is to live out the Christian life.
Part 6 – Holiness vs. Religion
Matthew 5:8
February 25, 2018
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
A wonderful promise, a promise that should be at the bedrock of how we live our lives, how we pursue God, how we understand what God desires from us.
Part 7 – Like father, like son
Matthew 5:9
March 4, 2018
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
We live in a world that is often at war and a society that is often at conflict.
Fighting is easy. Being angry is easy.
Being a peacemaker is hard. It can be costly, it can cause pain, it can seem pointless, it won’t always be reciprocated, it can leave us vulnerable.
Part 8 – Godly persecution
Matthew 5:10-12
April 15, 2018
Persecution is something that all Christians will face at different times in life. It can look different in different parts of the world, but the cause is the same: the world’s opposition to the gospel. Persecution is a refining fire where a person’s faith is tested and where they can mature in Christ.
Part 9 – Heavenly ministry
Matthew 5:1-12
April 15, 2018
The Beatitudes are a challenging section. Blessed are the poor in Spirit? Blessed are those who mourn? Blessed are the persecuted?
The beatitudes represent a way for sinful people in a sinful world to live for God as they serve God to bring others to God.
Josh Benner 