Revision as of 21:35, 27 November 2023

Theological Proposition/Focus: Jesus is Savior but he is also teacher.

Homiletical Proposition/Application: As we celebrate the birth of Jesus let us also reflect upon the reality of how Jesus taught us to live.

Introduction:

Image: The meaning of life is not 42

For millennia people have tried to answer the question "what is the meaning of life?" Actually that specific question was not really asked until the 19th century but Greek philosophers over 2000 years ago were trying the question. Platonism aimed to acquire deep knowledge. Antisthenes argued that purpose of life is living a life of Virtue which agrees with Nature. And Douglas Adams essentially argued that the meaning of life was 42. However, none of these is really a satisfactory answer. The good news is that there is an answer and answer provided by the greatest teacher ever, one who was literally born to teach us and save us.

Preview: Today we look at Matthew 5 and see that meaning in life comes from Christlikeness, representing God to creation, and finding one's identity in Christ.

Text: Matthew 5:1-20: Start with verses 1-2, then read each within the main points.

Setting the Stage:

Let's start by reading Matthew 5:1-2.

The book of Matthew begins with genealogy, proceeds to birth, baptism, testing, and then introduces Jesus as someone who is followed and worth following. Once we get to chapter 5 we are prepared to listen to the teaching of Jesus. So, what does this great teacher begin with? The sermon on the mount. Amongst those who study the Sermon on the Mount, there are as many as 36 different interpretations. These 36 interpretations can be reduced to nine different perspectives that there is general consensus on. Not surprisingly many of the interpretations come down to nuanced differences and really don't matter much to how we apply the sermon here and now. So let me give you one way to view the sermon on the mount. I think that in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus is giving us instruction on how to live a meaningful full life. In our current fallen form we will fail to live up to all of this but striving toward the eschatological ideal described in the Sermon on the Mount will bring about a satisfaction in life that is unmatched.

With that in mind, let's read verses 3-12.

Body

Meaning in life comes from Christlikeness (5:3-12).

We could sit here and dig deep into each one of these but that is for another sermon. For today I want us to be just a little more broad and think about these as groups. The first group, broadly speaking is about humility.

Humility is key to living a meaningful life (3-5).

The first blessing we see is upon those who are poor in spirit.

The individuals here are people who are forced to rely on God. The idea here is a humility that requires an individual to rely on God. The blessing is that the one who humbly relies on God is a part of the Kingdom of Heaven. God will provide! 2 Cor. 12:9 states "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

We see that God blesses those who mourn, or lament.

The idea here is of someone who is groaning under a burden. When I translated the passage I chose the word lament because it is not just death (which we often associate with the word mourn) it is any hardship or guilt that can cause someone to lament. This burden may be a burden because of something they have done or a burden because of something that has happened to them. Overall this is again part of humility as someone who laments is a broken person. The person experiencing this type of burden is promised comfort.

In verse 5 we blessing on the meek.

Meekness is not weakness but rather a sort of gentleness. Again, this is a picture of humility. A meek individual sees no need to be rough or harsh because they know that they themselves have also made mistakes and deserve punishment. Meekness stems from humility.

Some of the biggest promises for a full life are promises made to people who are humble!

So, what else should a humble person do? How about live for God!

Recognizing the need for holiness brings deeper meaning to life (6-8).

The next three beatitudes really have to do with living for God, persuing holiness.

Hungering and thirsting for righteousness has the idea of striving to do what is right in God's eyes.

We are not bound by the law because we are saved by grace. However, that does not mean that we should live however we want!

The promise for those who hunger after righteousness is that they will be filled and the picture is of complete satisfaction.

To be merciful is to come to the aid or defense of others.

This is a defining characteristic of God and sets him apart. Hence, I think that part of pursuing holiness is pursuing mercy.

Pure in heart has the idea of an attitude of complete devotion to God.

Think Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'" or Mark 12:30 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’"

A fallen world should not keep you from a meaningful life (9-12).

Image:

MTR: Determine to pursue Christlikeness as the source of meaning in your life.

Meaning in life comes from representing God to creation (5:13-16)

Image: The prime Directive.

The prime directive is found in Genesis 1:26-27.

And by the way, it is hard to imagine our prime directive being any more different than the prime directive in Star Trek!

We satisfy our prime directive by being a positive influence within our world (13).

We satisfy our prime directive by pointing others to God (14-16).

MTR: Determine to appropriately represent God.

Meaning in life comes through identity in Christ (5:17-20).

Image: The right paradigm helps make everything fit.

My previous training and time as a mathematician and researcher means that I often search for a paradigm through which I can view the world. A paradigm is a sort of model or typical example that you can use to explain phenomena. The paradigm that I generally accept throughout Scripture is that God created mankind to represent Him to His creation. However, time and time again mankind fails. In response to man's failure, God Himself came as a man to represent himself to creation. Colossians 1:15-16 states

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him (NIV).

Let me put a couple of pieces of a puzzle together here. Mankind has a prime directive, represent God. We fail. That doesn't mean we stop trying, it just means we fail. God responds by personally fixing our failure and invites us to identify with him and thus succeed where we otherwise fail. Let me show you how this plays out in Matthew 5:17-20.

Righteousness can only come from identity in Christ (17-18).

How often have you tried to be holy? How often have you tried to follow a bunch of rules and failed? Here is the thing, if you are trying to follow a bunch of rules, you are either failing a lot, or you are making up rules that you can follow so you feel good about yourself. If you simply try to just follow God's holy rules you will fail because you are a sinner!

One of the biggest questions that was asked of Jesus was whether or not he came to abolish the Old Testament law. The answer was no! Verse 18 tells us that Jesus kept the law, down to the smallest item. The NIV states that "not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." The Greek uses the word iota which is translated as the smallest letter in the NIV. In Greek Majuscule (the letters that would have been used in the first century) the iota looked like a verticle line. The idea here is that even the simplest strokes were kept by Christ. Jesus did not come to abolish the law. He came to fulfill the law because nobody else could. God had promised to bless the people who kept His Law. The problem was that nobody did. Jesus came and kept the law, received the promised blessing, and passes that blessing onto those whose identity is in Christ!

Does this mean you should just go and live however you want? No! your prime directive is to represent God, representing God demands you try to be obedient but don't let your personal obedience be your identity. Find your identity in Christ's obedience.

Eternal life only comes from identity in Christ (19-20).

MTR: Celebrate Christmas by placing your identity in Christ.