1. Actions flow from identity; Jesus begins with identity: you are blessed; you are God’s agents.
2. Echoes Deut 33:29; Jesus’ followers are the true Israel, God’s new covenant people.
3. As such, we are to have character marked by faith, hope, and love; be distinct in the world.
1. “Blessed” does not mean “happy,” but “favored by God”
2. Blessings summed up in the kingdom (vv. 3, 10); present tense vs. future tense in 4-9; already/not yet
3. We hope for what is to come, even as we begin to experience it now.
1. Isaiah 61:1-2a; Jesus at the synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4); read 2b-3;
- note references to “poor”; “mourn”; and “righteousness”; only one missing is “meek”
- In Beatitudes, Jesus claims to be the Spirit-anointed servant who proclaims God’s salvation.
- Virtue begins with faith in God; not a matter of self-effort.
(1) v. 3: “poor in spirit” = acknowledges spiritual bankruptcy; example: Pharisee and tax collector - What I long for in my children more than anything: poverty of spirit; how many families fail here?
(2) v. 4: mourning in Isaiah 61:2-3 is for Israel’s exile/sin; mourning = repentance; prodigal son - “they shall be comforted” in the age to come and in anticipation of it; God will wipe away every tear.
(3) v. 5: Psalm 37:1-2; “Fret not”; see 8-9, then 10-11; “meek” = “those who wait for the LORD”
- meekness is complete reliance on God, submission to his sovereignty; opposed to fretting
- My temptation: to fret when I see injustice (especially against me); social media exacerbates this.
- We shouldn’t be surprised at injustice; wait patiently for the Lord, and you will inherit the earth.
(4) v. 6: Hunger/thirst; we are not familiar with this feeling; longing to be virtuous.
2. Notice that all four of these highlight our inadequacy and God’s sufficiency; call for faith.
3. Unless we are rightly related to God by faith in Christ, nothing else matters.
1. Faith fuels love for God and for others. Movement from vertical (vv. 3-6) to horizontal (vv. 7-12).
(1) v. 7: “merciful”: those who show concern for the needy, grace to the guilty
- Parable of the unforgiving servant; 10,000 talents vs. 100 denarii
- Unmerciful spirit shows we have not grasped the depths of our sin and of God’s mercy
- “will receive mercy” = at the final judgment; not a basis of our justification, but evidence of it.
(2) v. 8: Psalm 24:3-4: “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.”
- Purity of heart = absence of guile, deceit, manipulation for one’s own gain.
- Man w/5 kids at a restaurant who gets the wrong check; but he is honest and pays what he owes
- there is no greater hope than to see God; let that promise be held in your mind in times of temptation.
(3) v. 9: God is the chief peacemaker; when we make peace with others, we imitate him.
- “will be called” = at the final judgment
(4) v. 10: Jesus envisions our commitment to righteousness leading us to suffer for it.
- We are willing to suffer for righteousness because we love God, others; have hope
- Further commentary in 11-12: “on account of me” has replaced “righteousness”
- Jesus tells us not only to endure, but to rejoice; we are joining the company of the faithful
- The good life is not about escaping suffering; just the opposite: it will result in suffering.
2. Character of Jesus’ disciples: Marked by faith, hope, and love.
1. On the heels of vv. 10-12; Jesus’ point: not everyone will hate, oppose, reject you; some will believe.
2. Two metaphors: point of both is that they stand out; they cannot be missed; they influence.
1. v. 13: to us, salt is a seasoning; in 1st century, it was mainly a preservative.
- Jesus’ disciples have a preserving effect on the world; they slow its decay; influence is unmistakable.
- But what if the salt is corrupted by impurities? It can no longer fulfill this function; it hardens soil.
- The point: your influence will not last if your character is deficient.
- There is a wide chasm between poverty of spirit and hypocrisy; the two are opposites.
1. v. 14a: Salt merely slows decay; light dispels darkness
- Isaiah 60:1-3: Jesus’ disciples are the true Zion
2. As such, we cannot help but display God’s glory: 14b-15
- City on a hill: lamps would be unmistakable at night
- Lamps are not lit to be covered up.
3. v. 16: Aren’t we supposed to avoid doing good deeds to be seen? (6:1)
- The issue is about motive, not audience.
- No one who is a true follower of Jesus will be able to keep that fact hidden for long.
- My life was changed in middle school when I was taught for the first time that my whole life bears witness.
1. The good life, the virtuous life, defined by faith, hope, and love.
2. It is a life of suffering, rejection; but also one that can’t help but lead some to glorify God.
3. Rest of sermon shows how, specifically, Jesus’ disciples are to stand out as different.