Matthew 5:1-6
The King’s Way
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Matt.
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Intro
√ The King’s Way
In our next section of scripture we find the record of Jesus’ 1st sermon, popularly titled…
“The Sermon on the Mount”
The sermon is recorded in chapters 5-7 and is perhaps the most misunderstood sermon ever preached!
I’m forever hearing well-meaning (but ignorant) people quoting sections of Jesus’ sermon with an air of authority…
…not realizing that they’ve completely missed Jesus’ point because they’re reading His teaching out of context!
Ex. Wrong interpretations abound
1) Not the plan of salvation!
2) Not a charter to usher in World peace!
Rather, it is Jesus’ instruction to His disciples (for all time) regarding the subject of true righteousness, that is…
…the King’s Way
√ Key verse
The key verse to understanding the subject and application of the Lord’s sermon is found in Matthew 5:20…
“For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”
That truth is as shocking today as it was when Jesus first said it!
That is, how on earth can we exceed the righteousness of the religious leaders who kept the Law of Moses so strictly that they even tithed on the spices from their gardens!
The answer, only by abiding in a relationship with the King of Righteousness, Jesus Christ!
So, as we study the sermon of the King understand that Jesus is teaching us what True Righteousness is…
Not the keeping of rules and regulations that can be measured by external conduct.
Rather, true righteousness is a matter of the heart, a matter of character that will be manifest in our conduct and more importantly…
…by our attitude in life.
Ap. Relationship vs. religion
As we study the Sermon on the Mount keep in mind that Jesus’ teaching is in direct contrast to the teaching of the religious leaders.
The religious leaders were concerned with the outward appearance of righteousness that they measured by one’s religious activity.
Jesus is concerned with the inner man and how that attitude is manifest toward…
Ourselves
God
Others
The application is timeless because in many segments of the Christian faith today people have become more like the Pharisees than Jesus.
The way of the King (vs. 1-2)
Matt. 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.
Matt. 5:2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
√ The way of the King
In response to the huge group of people that had begun to follow Him, Jesus takes the opportunity to teach them.
Matthew tells us that Jesus…
Went up on a mountain
Sat down and taught
The mountain:
We really have no idea which mountain Jesus picked, though
it seems reasonable to place it in the northern
The important point is that Jesus wasn’t in
Rather, He picked a nice mountain for His seminary classroom! He made Himself available to anyone who was seeking Truth vs. the religious leaders who wouldn’t even talk to most people.
Seated:
This was the traditional way in which the Rabbis taught. They sat, the student stood.
Might be a good idea to bring this back into practice!
What follows is Jesus’ teaching about true righteousness. It is a description of the King’s Righteousness…
…and also what is available to any who would follow Him.
Ap. Check your attitude
While we recognize that we cannot attain to the Lord’s standard of righteousness in our own strength…
…don’t dismiss the application of Jesus’ words because these are things that He wants to work into our lives!
Our attitude toward ourselves (vs. 3-4)
Matt. 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matt. 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
√ Our attitude toward ourselves
Jesus begins His sermon by addressing our attitude toward ourselves!
That is, the Lord wants to first deal with how we see ourselves.
That’s because the root problem with the religious teachers in Jesus’ day was that they were filled with self-righteous pride and taught their disciples to be just like them.
So, Jesus wants to establish as a foundational point in our lives the right way, or the righteous way, in which we should view ourselves.
√ Blessed
You’ll note that each of the righteous attitudes, or attributes, that Jesus enumerates for us begins with the word…
…blessed.
It means…
“Happy are you” or “Fortunate are you”
The truth that Jesus holds out to us is that inner happiness, satisfaction and joy are all found when we are in a right relationship with God.
That right relationship is the result of having a right attitude in life…
…in our inner person, toward ourselves, God and others.
You’ll note that with each right attitude there is a corresponding blessing, or benefit.
While the religious leaders sought after all the blessing that Jesus promises…
…they couldn’t experience them because they had a wrong attitude in life.
So, if you want to be blessed you have to follow the King’s Way, not Man’s!
1) The poor in spirit
True righteousness begins with a proper estimate of one’s self. That’s what it means to be…
“poor in spirit”
It doesn’t mean to be poor spirited, or to walk around saying…
“I’m just a worthless worm”
Rather, it means to have a humble opinion of ourselves that is based upon an honest evaluation of who we are and what gifts God has given us.
With that proper attitude toward ourselves we recognize that we have a need for God in our life.
That we’re not self-sufficient!
That attitude is in direct contrast to the arrogant attitude of the people in the world who parade themselves around as if they’re better than other people.
The self-righteous doesn’t recognize their need for God because they’re convinced that God will be impressed by their works.
So, the King’s Way begins with an attitude of honest humility toward ourselves and not one of self promotion.
√ The blessing
To those who have this proper attitude Jesus promised that
theirs would be the
That is, the very thing that the religious leaders sought and were sure that they possessed…
…Jesus says belongs to those the religious leaders thought could not have it!
Humility is the path to exaltation by the King (ref. I Peter 5:6).
2) Those who mourn
The second righteous attitude we are to have toward ourselves is an honest estimation of our sins and our helpless spiritual condition.
Those who see their sins the way that God sees them and are heart broken over them…
…are those who mourn.
Contrast that attitude with the self-righteousness of the religious leaders who would not admit to sin.
While the Pharisee might point out their perfect conduct as evidence that they were sinless…
…Jesus pointed to our hearts to demonstrate that none of us is without sin.
Jesus’ point is that true righteousness is more than external. True righteousness is born of Godly character in the inner person.
Ex. Isaiah
Isa. 6:5 So I said…
“Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
The LORD of hosts.”
He had already been in ministry for a number of years. Yet, when he saw the holiness of God he began to mourn over his own sinfulness.
Ap. The maturing Christian
God often begins His work in our lives by addressing our sinful conduct. But, as we grow in Christ He then turns His attention to those inner areas of our life like…
Our motivation
Our thought life
Our attitude
…it’s then that we truly begin to mourn over just how sinful we really are!
√ The blessing
To those who mourn Jesus promised comfort! How does He comfort us? With the knowledge that His work on the Cross is sufficient to cover all our sins…
…both those on the outside and inside of our lives!
Ap. Romans 7 & 8
The battle between flesh and the spirit is won when we begin to walk in the Spirit. God’s promise to us is that Jesus Christ is able to rescue us from every enemy…
…including ourselves!
So, the King’s Way begins with a righteous attitude toward ourselves and our sins.
Our attitude toward God (vs. 5-6)
Matt. 5:5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
Matt. 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
√ Our attitude toward God
The next inner attitude of life that Jesus deals with is our attitude toward God. That is, how we relate to God and His ways.
1) Meek
First of all we have to define what it means to be meek! Unfortunately most people today have a wrong understanding of the word.
Ex. “Meek as a mouse”
Hardly an attribute that any of us would aim for! In the original text the English word “meek” means…
“Gentle”
The word was based on the picture of a strong stallion that had been broken so that a person could ride it…
…it refers to power under control.
The idea then is that a meek person is one who has submitted themselves to God.
Ex. Moses and Jesus
Both are described as being “meek”, yet no one would ever think of either as being weak. Rather, they both submitted themselves to the will of God.
Moses – a prince of
Jesus – God in human flesh submitted Himself to His Father’s will.
The contrast between Jesus and the religious leaders is stark.
The religious leaders rejected God’s will because they didn’t want to submit to His plan.
Jesus on the other hand willingly laid aside all His glory, power, and authority, and surrendered Himself completely to do the Father’s will.
So, the King’s Way is one of submission to God. Jesus calls His disciples to follow His example and…
…submit themselves to God’s will.
√ The blessing
To those who are meek, submitted to God’s will, Jesus promises that they will inherit the earth!
That is, they will rule and reign in the
2) Hunger and thirst for righteousness
To hunger and thirst for righteousness means to have a spiritual appetite for God and His ways.
That’s very different from being “religious” like the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Rather, to have a spiritual appetite means that a person desires a relationship with God!
That is, the truly righteous person is the one who has a living, vibrant communion with God on a continuous basis.
Their religion isn’t limited to rituals and special days on calendar.
Rather, their religion is all about knowing and communing with God.
Ex. The woman who washed Jesus’ feet (Luke 7)
Simon the Pharisee and his guests were very religious men, but they had no real desire for a relationship with God.
The sinful woman, while not very religious, had insatiable hunger to know the Lord and be near Him as demonstrated through her display of love.
This is the attitude of heart that Jesus speaks of regarding those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
√ The blessing
Jesus promises those with a spiritual appetite that they will be filled! We see that demonstrated in the record of the sinful woman at Simon’s house.
Simon the Pharisee thought he was righteous…
…so he didn’t seek for it, and didn’t receive it.
The sinful woman wanted nothing more than to be made righteous…
…and received it because of her desire for the Lord and His ways.
So, the King’s Way of righteousness is found by those with a right attitude toward God and His ways.
Close
√ The King’s Way
Jesus is concerned with the inner person and how our attitude is manifest toward…
Ourselves
God
Others
Jesus’ sermon reminds us that true righteousness is born out of righteous character…
…not religious conduct.