Matthew 5:1-20 Born to Teach

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: Memory Verse of the Month Matthew 1:23

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 to get close to the question. Platonism aimed to acquire deep knowledge. Antisthenes argued that purpose of life is living a life of Vvrtue 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 the answer provided by the greatest teacher ever, one who was literally born to teach us and save us.

Setting the Stage:

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

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. (NIV)

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.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (NIV)

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 see 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!

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).

We live in a world that is fallen. Violence is present all over. People are mean, spiteful, self-centered, and that is just the beginning. However, this is not how we are called to live. Children of God should be peace makers. We should seek peace with others. In fact, Jesus, is the supreme peacemaker. Colossians 1:20 tells us that Jesus made the ultimate peace when he reconciled us to himself through his death on the cross. As we follow Christ we should be peace makers seeking to heal divisions between people. The first way the you can have meaning in the midst of a fallen world is by seeking peace.

We also must admit that persecution is a reality for the one who follows Christ. Our world is fallen and we should not be surprised when we are persecuted for righteousness. We should not be surprised when we are persecuted for the sake of Christ. However, that should not slow us down in our faithful service to Christ. We live in a fallen world but we are part of something much greater and we have a long history of which we are part.

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

Image: The prime Directive.

In the Star Trek Universe the prime directive is the rule states that Starfleet personnel and spacecraft may not interfere in the normal development of any society. In fact the rule goes so far as to mandate that any Starfleet vessel or crew member is expendable to prevent violation of this rule. Now, I am not a Star Trek expert, there are others here who know a lot more about this than me. However, what I do know is that time and time again the prime directive shapes the story. Essentially, the prime directive states that the presence of Starfleet should not change the society in which they find themselves.

Did you know that we also have a 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!

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

The Prime Directive is that we are to change our world. We are to represent God to creation and as such creation should be impacted by our presence.

Let's read through verses 13 to 16.

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (NIV)

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

Salt in the ancient world had a variety of uses ranging from being a preservative to adding flavor. Ancient salt, often harvested from the Dead Sea had many impurities and these impurities could make the salt ineffective for use. What Jesus is saying here is don't dilute your purpose. Don't let impurities come into your life in a way that makes you ineffective in your prime directive!

We have been called to be a positive influence in the world. We should lead people to thirst for God. We should bring out godliness from the world drawing attention to the way in which God is at work and the righteousness he is bringing into the world. Salt is never the main course but it is always a part of the main course. God is our main course but we should enhance the flavor and work to preserve righteousness. When we have a positive influence on the world we are satisfying our prime directive!

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

the Bible teaches us throughout that God is light. For example Psalm 18:12; 104:2; 1 Tim. 6:16; and John 1:5. We have been given the opportunity to shine as light in the world. Literally we are given the opportunity to represent God to the world. This is our prime directive! We should not hide that light, cover that light, or do anything that might detract from our God ordained role as lights in the world.

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.

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

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).

The Jews were seeking the righteousness of the Pharisees and Jesus responds that this righteousness is insufficient. I think one of the greatest lessons that Jesus teaches is the reality that we cannot and should not ever compare ourselves to another person. The only one we should be comparing ourselves to is the Savior. When we do so we will find ourselves lacking and realize that we must identify with Jesus. So many problems that people have stem from the simple fact that they compare themselves to someone other than Christ. So often people struggle because Jane is stronger, Jack is more popular, Dan is smarter,... and the list goes on. Stop! Look at Christ, find your identity in Christ, he is the only source of eternal life!