Matthew 5:7-12
The King’s Thoughts
Read…
Phil. 2:5 Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had.
Phil. 2:6 Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God.
Phil. 2:7 He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form.
Phil. 2:8 And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross.
Pray
Intro
√ The King’s Thoughts
Last week we began a new section of Matthew’s Gospel that record’s Jesus’ first sermon, popularly titled…
“The Sermon on the Mount”
Jesus begins His sermon by addressing the issue of personal righteousness as it relates to how we see…
Ourselves
God
Others
We call this section…
“The Beatitudes”
…because the Lord is addressing our inner attitudes, or world view.
That which Jesus is calling us to, is to have the same attitude in life that He has…
…and that which He demonstrated when He ministered here on earth.
Paul calls that attitude…
“The mind of Christ” ~ Phil. 1:5 NKJV
“Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had.”! ~ NLT
The mind of Christ, or the attitude that Jesus had, is completely contrary to the self-centered attitude that we are born with and that the religious leaders in Jesus’ day had sanctified under the banner of righteousness.
Ap. A new attitude
We’re all born with a Darwinian attitude…
“Me first!”
…that attitude that promotes self-preservation over everyone and everything else.
What Jesus is calling us to is something higher, to have a mind like His. To see…
Ourselves
God
Others
…the way that He does.
That change can only happen by the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
But, you have to be willing to surrender you old attitude and mind set.
Are you willing?
If you are the benefits are beyond measure both in this life and the life to come!
So, let’s continue our study of the beatitudes by looking at what the Lord says regarding our attitude toward others.
Our attitude toward others (vs. 7-9)
Matt. 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
Matt. 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
Matt. 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
√ Our attitude toward others
Jesus gives us three inner attitudes that we need to manifest toward other people. Note that they cover how we…
Treat others
Think of others
Serve others
Let’s examine each inner attitude of the heart with a prayer that the Lord would work His nature into our hearts!
1) The Merciful
Let’s begin by defining merciful literally means…
“To be compassionate”
In a practical sense it means…
“To not give someone the judgment they deserve”
Ex. Jesus
He didn’t give the woman caught in adultery what she deserved…
…death by stoning under the Law.
Instead He granted her mercy.
Ap. How much mercy has God shown you?
We might boast that we’ve never sinned the way that this woman did…
Matt. 5:28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
That is, if we define sin the way that Jesus does then we’re all guilty!
So, I ask you again…
“How much mercy has God shown you?”
The point is that we are all rich recipients of God’s great mercy!
Therefore, Jesus calls us to manifest that same mercy that He granted to the woman caught in adultery…
…to all the people around us.
That doesn’t mean that we ignore sin. But it does mean that we’re called to extend mercy and forgiveness to everyone around us including those who have sinned against us!
Ex. We’re paramedics not policeman
The paramedic isn’t concerned with who caused the accident, they’re job is to save people.
Leave the police work to the Holy Spirit. Our job is extend mercy to those who have made wreck of their lives by sin.
√ The benefit of the beatitude
Jesus promises that those who are merciful will receive mercy!
May I suggest that that mercy isn’t limited to the mercy that God grants us…
…but also includes mercy from other people.
That is, you’ll find in life that other people will tend to treat you the way that you treat them.
If you are a person who extends mercy…
…then people will tend to show you mercy!
On the other hand, if you’re harsh and judgmental with the people around you…
…then don’t expect them to show mercy when you blow it!
So, we’re called to treat other people with the same mercy with which Jesus has treated us.
2) The Pure in heart
Matt. 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
The next attitude in life that Jesus calls us to is to be pure in heart. That means how we think of others…
Do we think of others as inferior?
Do we think of others as tools to be used?
Do we think of others as less valuable?
In the day that Jesus ministered most people were viewed by the religious leaders, political leaders and the wealthy as simply slaves to serve their needs.
Ex. Herod’s building projects
Tens of thousands of the common people were used as slaves in the building of the Temple, his palaces, etc., and many thousands died as a result of the hard work and harsh treatment.
Ex. Pharisees
The religious leaders didn’t have a problem with this kind of treatment because their theology was that God had created inferior people. They’re morning prayer began…
“Lord I thank you that I was not born a woman, a Gentile, or a dog.”
You still see this attitude today among many of the orthodox Jews when you visit Israel!
But, in sharp contrast to the teaching and theology of the Pharisees…
…here comes Jesus preaching a message that puts every person on the same playing field!
His message of God’s love for all people was (and is) radical!
That’s one of the reasons that the multitudes flocked to Him, they’d never heard anything like what He preached!
Ap. How do you really think of other people?
Do you see them as Jesus does…
…the special objects of the Father’s Love?
Or, have we become like the Pharisees in our Christian faith?
Ex. Steve and his friends
√ The benefit of the beatitude
Jesus promised that those who possess this attitude of heart will be blessed with the special privilege of…
“seeing God”!
Isn’t that interesting? If we see people the way that God sees them…
…then we get to see Him!
So, we’re called to think of other people in the same way that Jesus thinks of us.
3) The Peacemakers
Matt. 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
The last attitude that Jesus tells us we ought to have toward others is one of service to our fellow man, that of a peacemaker.
While that certainly has a broad application in life, that is helping to bring peace between people…
…I believe that the specific attitude that Jesus is calling us to is that of a peacemaker between God and Man.
After all, that is the model that Jesus lived and has called us to follow.
Ex. Jesus’ ministry
Col. 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,
Col. 1:20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
Col. 1:21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled
Col. 1:22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—
The point is that while we do see Jesus ministering as a peacemaker between people, as He did with Martha and Mary…
…His main peacemaking mission was to bring peace between God and Man!
Ex. Jesus is the mediator
Job cried out for such a peacemaker, someone who could stand on equal footing with him and God…
…someone who could bring peace between them.
Job 9:33 Nor is there any mediator between us, Who may lay his hand on us both.
Jesus is the One that Job sought!
1Tim. 2:5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
Jesus alone is able to stand on equal footing with both God and Man because He alone is The God Man!
At the Cross He stretched out His arms and became that mediator Who could lay His pierced hands on the head of both the Father and all of Mankind.
Bringing peace between God and Man.
Paul tells us…
2Cor. 5:18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
2Cor. 5:19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
√ The benefit of the beatitude
Jesus tells us that those who do the work of bringing peace between God and Man will be called the “sons of God.”
That is because they will manifest the same character and heart that Jesus the Son of God demonstrated in His life.
So, Jesus calls us to follow His example and serve others as a peacemaker by bringing the message of peace to those who are still at war with God.
Our attitude toward trials (vs. 10-12)
Matt. 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matt. 5:11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kind of evil against you falsely for My sake.
Matt. 5:12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
√ Our attitude toward trials
The final beatitudes that Jesus calls us to posses regard our attitude toward trials! That is, once we actually begin to have the inner attitudes that Jesus has called us to have toward…
Ourselves
God
Others
…then we expect that the whole world will rejoice that we’re living like Jesus!
Wrong!
Rather, Jesus warns us that when we begin to live a truly righteous life, then we can expect to experience the same kind of persecution that He did!
√ What’s wrong with the World!
One would think that just the opposite of what Jesus said would be true. After all, if we’re…
Treating people well
Thinking of the best for other people
Serving them by bringing them the Gospel of peace
…wouldn’t other people appreciate the change in our lives?!
The answer is “no!”
The reason is that the people of the world are trapped in darkness and wrong thinking.
Therefore, when they see someone living out the attitude of Christ in their lives…
…their reaction will often times be one of resistance because they are being convicted by the light of God’s Spirit shining through your life.
Ex. Jesus’ ministry
All through His ministry the religious leaders sought to kill Him! For what crime?
Simply living a life of true righteousness manifest by the beatitudes He speaks of here in the Sermon on the Mount!
The truth then that Jesus communicates here in verses 10-11 is that we can expect the same treatment.
Jesus said…
John 15:18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
John 15:19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
All that doesn’t sound like such a great motivation to want to live a life of true righteousness! I’m mean who wants to be hated!
√ The benefit of the beatitude
The motivation for living a life like Jesus’ is two-fold…
They receive the Kingdom of heaven!
They receive a great reward in heaven!
The point is that anything lost on earth as a result of living the righteous life that Jesus calls us to will more than be compensated for by God who loves us.
Ap. You got a chose your side
There’s no neutral ground in the war between Heaven and Hell. Since you have to chose a side, chose the side that…
Wins!
Offers the best retirement
Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead proves to me that choosing His Way, the King’s Way is the best choice because no matter what the world does to me…
…I’m going to have the last word!
Close
Ap. A new attitude
We’re all born with a Darwinian attitude…
“Me first!”
…that attitude that promotes self-preservation over everyone and everything else.
What Jesus is calling us to is something higher, to have a mind like His. To see…
Ourselves
God
Others
…the way that He does.
That change can only happen by the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
But, you have to be willing to surrender you old attitude and mind set.
Are you willing?
If you are the benefits are beyond measure both in this life and the life to come!