What Does It Mean To Be Blessed?

Matthew 5:1-16     

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

Scot McKnight begins his commentary of the Sermon on The Mount with these words:

"The Sermon on the Mount is the moral portrait of Jesus' own people.  Because this portrait doesn't square with the church, this Sermon turns from instruction to indictment." 

I think of almost all the stories in the Bible --- the Sermon on the Mount has been pasteurized and homogenized because we find the message so challenging.

Pinchas Lapide, an Orthodox Jew of all things, in his commentary writes:

the history of the impact of the Sermon on the Mount can largely be described in terms of an attempt to domesticate everything in it that is shocking, demanding, and uncompromising , and render it harmless.

Yet at the same time, the sermon on the Mount has been called the greatest moral document of all time.

But one of the questions that we must wrestle with is: just what is this document?

·         Some have argued that The Sermon is just Moses on steroids, designed to show us just how wretched we are --- and how much in need of the righteousness of the Christ.

·         Others argue that the teachings in the Sermon are meant to be lessons on how to live privately as a Christian and not how we live publically

·         Still others say that they are meant only for the most committed disciples --- like Monks or “uber”-Christians

·         and others would say that they are only for those who have been transformed by grace and see these demands not as law, but rather a grace-filled ethic for those whom grace has transformed

So what is this “sermon”?

Is this simply a collection of moral virtues?

Stanley Haurewas wrote:

"Virtue may be its own reward, but for Christians the virtues, the kind of virtues suggested by the Beatitudes, are names for the shared life made possible through Christ. . . . Christians are not called to be virtuous.  We are called to be disciples."

If there is a theme for this coming year that Mary and I are going to zero in on it is this: What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus?

In everything we do this year, we are going to center around that question.

And considering what is going on in the United Methodist Church I believe it is more important than ever before.

We are going to try to answer that question (What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus?) in two ways

1.    What does it mean personally?

2.    What does it mean for Meridian Street UMC?

You and I have absolutely no control over what happens in Minnesota when the United Methodist Church gathers in May at our General Conference.

What we do have control over is: who we are, and how we live as followers of Jesus.

And for me --- who we are --- and how we live as followers of Jesus is found right here --- in the Sermon on the Mount.

We may not like what it has to say

We may argue and do our best to minimize the ethic that Jesus presents

But it is here --- in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus tells us what being a followr of Jesus is all about.

Listen for a moment at how this "Sermon" begins and how it ends.  Because this is the frame we need to hear what Jesus has to say to us.

It begins with these words:

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up a mountain. He sat down and his disciples came to him.  (Matthew 5:1  CEB)

And ends with these:

 “Everybody who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise builder who built a house on bedrock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the wind blew and beat against that house. It didn’t fall because it was firmly set on bedrock. But everybody who hears these words of mine and doesn’t put them into practice will be like a fool who built a house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the wind blew and beat against that house. It fell and was completely destroyed.”

When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were amazed at his teaching because he was teaching them like someone with authority and not like their legal experts.

Now when Jesus had come down from the mountain, large crowds followed him.  (Matthew 7:24-8:1   CEB)

This Sermon is a microcosm of the message of Jesus --- it is his ethic --- his moral vision

          Chapters 5-7 Matthew seems to be saying --- Here is Jesus message

          Chapters 8-9 --- Here is his actions

                    NOW --- YOU DECIDE

So, for the next few weeks, Mary and I will go through these nine beatitudes and try to help us understand exactly what it is that Jesus wants from us.

But before we do that --- Let me try to put this Sermon on the Mount into some kind of context

While the Sermon is found it two places, Matthew and Luke, we are going to focus mainly on the version that is found in Matthew.

When we talk about Matthew, we need to understand a few things.

More than likely Mark is the first Gospel written, it, along with an unknown collection of stories of Jesus that scholars call "Q" were probably written in the early to mid-60's.  Most date Matthew to the late 70's or maybe even early 80's and believe that Matthew had access to both Mark and "Q" and possibly even other written and oral sources.

But to be honest, the dating of Matthew is not real important.

What is important is who and why Matthew wrote his Gospel

While Luke is written primarily for a gentile audience --- Matthew is clearly written to a Jewish audience

Matthew expects you to know the Hebrew Bible

Matthew is constantly quoting from the Torah and Isaiah (along with various other books)

The structure of Matthew is quite interesting

          It can be divided into 5 distinct sections --- just like the Torah

And it is constantly trying to demonstrate that Jesus is not a New Moses who supersedes the Moses of the Hebrew Bible --- but rather that Jesus is the fulfillment of Moses and re-iterates the law in a new way.

Think of Moses’ birth and Jesus’ birth --- the parallels are striking

But if we just focus on our story, we can see numerous parallels as well.

How does the story begin?

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up a mountain. He sat down and his disciples came to him.  (Matthew 5:1  CEB)

Jesus WENT UP A MOUNTAIN

          Who also went up a mountain to receive the law?

And like all good teachers HE SAT DOWN

The posture of a lawgiver is sitting --- we are reminded in both Matthew and Luke that those with legal authority sat in the seat of Moses

Jesus is teaching a new law as the new Moses for the new people of God.

And as we try to understand this new ethic, we need to keep one important thing in mind.

This new ethic that Jesus is teaching is unique because it is based around the understanding and assumption that Jesus is the Messiah

          This ethic that he is presenting is quite simply a Messianic ethic

And nothing about the Sermon on the Mount will make sense until we understand that it is a messianic vision --- and only once we understand the messianic nature of this ethic will we be able to embrace it --- especially its more radical elements.

N.T. Wright described it this way:

"The Sermon . . . isn't just about how to behave.  It's about discovering the living God in the loving, and dying, Jesus, and learning to reflect that love ourselves into the world that needs it so badly."

This ethic is not simply about some future time or place --- it is about NOW and how we are to live with God.

But let me say one more thing

We cannot live this ethic on our own.

          Of that I am certain

The only way we can begin to embrace this ethic --- this life of Jesus --- is through the Holy Spirit.

          Without the Spirit --- we are sunk

The Holy Spirit is, as Scot McKnight describes, able to take "human abilities to the next level and human inabilities and turn them into new abilities."

Joachim Jeremias wrote:

"What Jesus teaches in the sayings collected in the Sermon on the Mount is not a complete regulation of the life of the disciples, and it is not intended to be; rather, what is taught here is symptoms, signs, examples, of what it means when the kingdom of God breaks into the world which is still under sin, death, and the devil.  You yourselves should be signs of the coming kingdom of God, signs that something has already happened."

Augustine said the entire Sermon on the Mount was the "perfect standard of the Christian life."  And it leaves us with one question that Jesus seems to be asking:

          WILL YOU FOLLOW ME?

Or as John Stott said in his commentary:

"Jesus confronts us with himself, sets before us the radical choice between obedience and disobedience, and calls us to an unconditional commitment of mind, will and life to his teaching."

Next week we will begin digging into these beatitudes or blessings that Jesus proclaims to us.

Joachim Jeremias wrote:

The instructions of the Sermon apply to everyone who is a disciple of Jesus. They direct his way to the narrow gate, to the reign of God.

Take some time and read Matthew chapters 5-7

While we are going to focus on just a few verses in chapter 5 --- we need to see the entire context of this sermon.

As you read --- ask God to open your mind and heart

          So that you might hear the invitation of Jesus.

                   The invitation to COME and FOLLOW him.  Amen.