The Collect
O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
Readings:
Psalm 41; 42
Exodus 32:1-20
Gospel: Matthew 5:1-10
1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Commentary:
The ministry of Jesus, as presented by Mathew, begins and ends with teaching. Matthew tells that the last instruction from Jesus before he ascended into heaven, was: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,” (28:19a). And here it would appear that Matthew chose to emphasize this teaching aspect of Jesus’ work.
Interestingly enough, this discourse—colloquially, if not universally known as The Sermon On The Mount—appears to be a collection of teachings rather than a sermon delivered in one sitting. It works better and is easier to absorb in a written format rather than as a speech given by mouth. While Luke included parallel verses in 6:17-49, the rest of these teachings in Luke are scattered throughout the work. The question then arises “Did Luke divide one of Jesus’ sermons into fragments that he scattered throughout his Gospel—or did Matthew assemble a number of Jesus’ teachings and present them as a single sermon at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Almost certainly the latter.” (Donovan)
“And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,” (vs. 1-2)
In chapter four, Matthew describes—albeit briefly—how Jesus began his ministry, chose his disciples, and how great crowds followed him to hear him speak. He tells us here that seeing these crowds, he went up onto a mount and began to teach. Although it is a seemingly minor point, Matthew felt called to include “and when he was set” meaning when he had sat down. It was the custom in those days, for a great teacher to set and the listeners to stand. Although popular paintings and illustrations portray Jesus as standing on a rock—a sort of improvised pulpit, stage, or dais so to speak—but Matthew appears to have intended to illustrate this event as Jesus taking the position—more than likely sitting in a lotus style position—that great teachers or philosophers would take while speaking, even though they were all inferior to him (Jesus).
“ While the scribes and Pharisees had Moses’ chair to sit in, with all possible ease, honour, and state, and there corrupted the law; our Lord Jesus, the great Teacher of truth, is driven out to the desert, and finds no better a pulpit than a mountain can afford; and not one of the holy mountains neither, not one of the mountains of Zion, but a common mountain; by which Christ would intimate that there is no such distinguishing holiness of places now, under the gospel, as there was under the law; but that it is the will of God that men should pray and preach every where, any where, provided it be decent and convenient. ” (Henry)
(The Beatitudes)
“In the Beatitudes, Jesus stands our world on its head. We believe in personal pride; Jesus blesses poverty of spirit. We seek pleasure; Jesus blesses those who mourn. We see the prosperity of aggressive people; Jesus blesses the meek. We love good food and drink; Jesus blesses those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Each beatitude begins with the Greek word, makarios, which is usually translated “blessed” or “happy.”“Blessed” is preferable because of its religious connotations—blessedness is a gift of God. We use “happy” more broadly— often in ways that contradict the Beatitudes—in ways that celebrate our power or the satisfaction of our appetites. In the original language, the “are” is missing. For example, a literal translation of the årst beatitude reads,“Blessed the poor in spirit,” giving it the exclamatory feeling of,“Oh the blessedness of the poor in spirit!” (Donovan)
“The Old Testament ended with a curse (Mal. 4:6), the gospel begins with a blessing; for hereunto are we called, that we should inherit the blessing.” (Henry)
“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (v. 3)
“This sermon is Jesus’ Inaugural Address in which he lays out his vision of life in the kingdom of heaven. In this sermon, Jesus outlines the principles by which the kingdom is ruled. It is a not set of rules for worldly success, but is instead a glimpse at rules that govern the kingdom—a mirror-image world where everything seems backwards—where the poor are blessed rather than the rich—where the meek inherit the earth.” (Donovan)
Matthew uses the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven” instead of “Kingdom of God” due to his Jewish background in which it was wrong to write or use God’s name.
Luke’s version of the Beatitudes (Luke 6:20-26) is quite different from Matthew’s. Luke includes only four beatitudes, which are shorter and more physical. In Luke, Jesus says,“Blessed be ye poor:” as compared to Matthew’s version,“Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Luke also pairs Beatitudes with Woes—i.e., the first beatitude is paired with “But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.” (Luke 6:24)
“the poor in spirit” Poor (Greek: ptochoi) means poor as in abject poverty. Standing before God– the poor in spirit—know that they bring that they bring nothing in their hands that God needs and nothing in their hearts that compels God to accept them. They bring their poverty, hoping for sustenance. They bring their spiritual brokenness, hoping for mending. They bring their sin, hoping to receive forgiveness. They bring their grief, hoping to be comforted. They do not stand before God in a bargaining position, because they know they have nothing to offer him.
However we should take care, therefore, not to canonize the poor or to demonize the rich. There are poor people who are wicked to the bone and wealthy people who are generous to a fault. It is the heart rather than the pocketbook that matters to God.
“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” (v. 4)
“We are apt to think, Blessed are the merry; but Christ, who was himself a great mourner, says, Blessed are the mourners. There is a sinful mourning, which is an enemy to blessedness—the sorrow of the world; despairing melancholy upon a spiritual account, and disconsolate grief upon a temporal account. There is a natural mourning, which may prove a friend to blessedness, by the grace of God working with it, and sanctifying the afflictions to us, for which we mourn. But there is a gracious mourning, which qualifies for blessedness, an habitual seriousness, the mind mortified to mirth, and an actual sorrow. ” (Henry)
“The Greek word for to mourn, used here, is the strongest word for mourning in the Greek language. It is the word which is used for mourning for the dead, for the passionate lament for one who was loved.” (Barclay)
“The weeping is for the low and needy condition of both the individual and society; but with the awareness that they are low and needy because of sin. Those who mourn actually mourn over sin and its effects. This mourning is the godly sorrow that produces repentance to salvation that Paul described in 2 Corinthians 7:10.” (Guzik)
“for they shall be comforted.” Those who mourn over their sin and their sinful condition—or even the sinful conditions of others—are promised comfort. God allows this grief into our lives as a teaching to learn from not as an absolute state.
“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” (v. 5) “It is impossible to translate this ancient Greek word praus (meek) with just one English word. It has the idea of the proper balance between anger and indifference, of a powerful personality properly controlled, and of humility. In the vocabulary of the ancient Greek language, the meek person was not passive or easily pushed around. The main idea behind the word “meek” was strength under control, like a strong stallion that was trained to do the job instead of running wild.” (Guzik)
“The meek, who can be angry, but restrain their wrath in obedience to the will of God, and will not be angry unless they can be angry and not sin, nor will be easily provoked by others.” (Poole)
“Our word meek comes from the old Anglo-Saxon meca, or meccea, a companion or equal, because he who is of a meek or gentle spirit, is ever ready to associate with the meanest of those who fear God, feeling himself superior to none; and well knowing that he has nothing of spiritual or temporal good but what he has received from the mere bounty of God, having never deserved any favour from his hand.” (Clarke)
As we see in these quotations of theologians and scholars, “meek” in this verse should not be conflated or translated as timid or mild, but more properly understood as described above. Once again I remind the novice Christian, to beware of the enemy who will take out of context the words of Christ to use as a cudgel to defeat you. Don’t accepts the enemy’s usage but seek discernment and learn for yourself the meaning of the Word of God.
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” (v. 6) We see Christians hungering for many things: power, authority, success, comfort, happiness – but how many hunger and thirst for righteousness? A Christian hungers and wants to continue in God’s righteousness and to see righteousness promoted in the world. However: “…they hunger and thirst after it, but such is the power on the side of their oppressors, that they cannot have it; they desire only that which is just and equal, but it is denied them by those that neither fear God nor regard men.”
“For they shall be filled” “Jesus promised to fill the hungry; to fill them with as much as they could eat. This is a strange filling that both satisfies us and keeps us longing for more.” (Guzik)
“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” (v. 7) “When this beatitude addresses those who will show mercy, it speaks to those who have already received mercy. It is mercy to be emptied of your pride and brought to poverty of spirit. It is mercy to be brought to mourning over your spiritual condition. It is mercy to receive the grace of meekness and to become gentle. It is mercy to be made hungry and thirsty after righteousness. Therefore, this one who is expected to show mercy is one who has already received it.” (Guzik)
“The word translated “mercy” is eleemones, which begins with sympathy but then moves to action. Jesus pronounces a blessing on the person who feels the other person’s pain and takes action to relieve it.” (Guzik)
Many of the detractors of Christianity, use a generalization that portrays us as miserly and not merciful enough toward those that prey upon our sympathies. Regarding this condition, Matthew Henry wrote; “ A man may be truly merciful, who has not wherewithal to be bountiful or liberal.” As Christians we are to show mercy and compassion to all, but sometimes, tough love is more merciful than that of being bountifully liberal with money, or so tolerant of the sins of the world as to embrace those acts to the point of normalization. One can be merciful or sympathetic to the plight of another without joining them in their state so as to show a sense of solidarity.
Jesus condemns the scribes and Pharisees for scrupulous attention to tithing while neglecting the weightier matters of justice, mercy, and faith (23:23).
“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” (v. 8) Jesus paraphrases Psalm 24:3-4: “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? Those who have clean hands and pure hearts.” “The pure heart is devoted completely to God. It finds a treasure in a field and sells all that he has to buy the field. It sells all that it has to buy the one pearl of great value (13:44-46). The person with a pure heart does not just claim to have faith, but possesses the kind of unwavering faith that leads to faithful living.” (Donovan)
The opposite of the pure heart is the divided heart. A divided heart will try to serve two masters, only to end up hating the one and loving the other. Jesus warns,“You cannot serve both God and Mammon” (6:24)
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” (v. 9) “Eirene is the Greek word for peace, and Matthew recorded the Beatitudes in Greek. Jesus, however, spoke Aramaic, a form of Hebrew. The Hebrew word is shalom, and it is to that word that we go to understand this beatitude. Shalom is more than the absence of strife; it is the presence of harmony and brotherhood. Jesus pronounces blessings, not on those who avoid confrontation, but on those who make peace. The avoidance of confrontation may simply allow evil to rampage unfettered. The making of peace, paradoxically, may involve force.” (Donovan)
Donovan cites events from the Second World War to illustrate this point; Chamberlain—the Prime Minister of England at the time—sought appeasement, peaceful coexistence, with Hitler, consequently Hitler killed six million Jews and caused the deaths of millions more. American and allied soldiers, waged war against Hitler and his forces—the opposite of Chamberlains peace through appeasement—and brought an end to the terror of Hitler. These war makers, became peacemakers, by neutralizing forces aligned with abject evil.
“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (v. 10) “Early Christians were persecuted for a variety of reasons. Jews, Saul among them, persecuted Christians as heretics. Jews and Romans accused Christians of immoral practices. The words of the Last Supper,“This is my body…. This is my blood,” led to charges of cannibalism. The Agape (Love Feast) and the kiss of peace led to charges of sexual immorality. Apocalyptic literature led to charges of sedition. Christian refusal proclaim,“Caesar is Lord,” led to charges of treason (Barclay, 108-110). At the time that this Gospel was written, Christians were being persecuted. This Gospel helped them to put that persecution into perspective.”
“In Matthew 5:10 they are persecuted for righteousness’ sake; in Matthew 5:11 they are persecuted for the sake of Jesus. This shows that Jesus expected that their righteous lives would be lived after His example, and in honor to Him.” (Guzik)
Jesus offers a blessing, not to all who are persecuted, but for “those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake.” If we experience persecution, we must ask whether it is because we have been righteousness or simply obnoxious. It is wise to invite the church’s counsel in such matters, because it is difficult for us to be objective regarding our own behavior. Still, it is clear that, when opposed, evil will use every trick in the book to win the day. True righteousness invites persecution. Jesus says that such righteousness also ends in blessings.
Benediction
Almighty God, you own everything in the heavens and on the earth; please break me from the sinful habits of greed, worldliness, covetousness, and indiscipline. What your Son has done for me is much greater than any of my fleeting and temporary accomplishments. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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