All Saints Day November 4, 2012 JESUS PATH TO ETERNAL HAPPINESS (MATTHEW 5:1-12) 1 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them, saying: 3 "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 sons 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." Introduction: This Sunday we commemorate All Saints Day. This day we remember not only all the martyrs (those
who have died for the faith), but all the people of God, both living and dead, who make up the entire body of Christ. Before we begin our prayer time (after we recite the Nicene Creed together), we are going to honor our departed loved ones from this year. The BIG question is this What makes a saint a saint? According to the Bible there are literally billions of saints (with a small s ), you and me included! For example, the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 1:7 to all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints. He even addresses the troublesome Corinthians as saints in 2 Corinthians 1:1. The word saint (Greek hagios) literally means holy one, that is, someone made holy to God by God Himself. Let s take a look at some key concepts in Jesus Beatitudes, and discover what the essence of sainthood really is. I. Blessedness It s All God! The word blessed in this passage is certainly important, since it is used nine times in verses 3-11! The Greek word for blessed is makarios, which expresses a permanent state of felicity/happiness/joy/meaning/fullness of life. In the New Testament makarios involves a sense of God s approval and favor that is based upon a right relationship with Him. We also notice the two commands, rejoice (chairō) and be glad (agalliaō) that imply a glorious and exulting joy with great emphasis. These two verbs are in the Greek present tense, which indicates an ongoing, continual pattern, perspective, and practice. Do you get the impression that Jesus really wants us to be happy and live life to the fullest? Most definitely! Who in the world can get all this? If somehow you could bottle it, market it, and sell it, you would make a fortune! Isn t this what everybody wants? Most definitely! But where does this joy, this fullness of life, come from? What is the basis, the foundation, for this blessedness? The question is answered by the word for (gar), which signifies a reason for being blessed. In fact, we notice in verses 3-10 that there are eight reasons given, since the second half of each verse begins with for. The major reason is found in verses 3 and 10, since it is repeated twice: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Kingdom (basileia) has as its root idea to rule or reign (as a king does). The notion of kingdom being a realm or a place is a secondary idea of basileia. Notice that there is a present experience of this kingly reign in the person of Christ, as is indicated by the word is. Blessedness is not something that is just far off in the afterlife. However, the full expression of this blessedness is experienced in the afterlife, as is in seen by the future tense in verses 4-8 ( they will ). A key phrase in verse 5 they will inherit. All these blessings are gained only through inheritance, that is, they must be donated by God to us. It is His free gift and initiation that matters. This same concept is brought out in verse 9, which talks about being called sons of God (a generic expression that includes both men and women, boys and girls). He is the only One who comforts (5:4), who fills (5:5), who graciously grants the kingdom of heaven (5:3, 10). What we see here is that God s favor and blessing are a gift. Who can get all this? Very special, extraordinary people who have performed stupendous deeds? Let s see. II. Reception of Divine Blessedness It s Not Us!
It is true that Jesus begins His infamous Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) with the very positive and uplifting concept of blessed (makarios). Yet immediately after that He digs right in with some very negative descriptions: poor in spirit, mourn, meek, and hunger and thirst. Each of these images may be briefly described as follows: 5:3 Poor (ptōchos) literally means begging or cringing/crouching, which is the position of a beggar. This word conveys the idea of utter destitution. The prepositional phrase in spirit clearly shows that this refers to a spiritual poverty. These blessed people are spiritually bankrupt before God with nothing at all to offer Him! 5:4 Mourn (pentheō) expresses an intense sense of loss, helplessness, and despair. This verb is used in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament) of mourning or grieving for the dead. These blessed people emotionally acknowledge their utter destitution before God they feeeeeeeeeel that they have nothing at all to offer Him! 5:5 Meek (praus) is the opposite of insisting upon one s own way in a haughty or indignant manner. Applied to God it refers to humility, and accepts His will and ways without complaining and without resistance. These blessed people admit that they do not have the right or the will power to boss God around they confess that they have nothing at all to offer Him! 5:6 Hunger and thirst describe our most basic drives for survival. You and I can do without a lot of things, but not food and drink! The blessed people experience in the depth of their soul how much they need God with nothing at all to offer Him! In verse 6, the fourth beatitude, the righteousness [a right standing/relationship with God] after which we hunger and thirst implies an insufficiency in ourselves and a dependence upon God to supply that insufficiency. In fact, the first three beatitudes ( poor in spirit, mourn, and meek ) have in common the idea of inability and insufficiency to do anything in our own strength and efforts. The good news in this passage is that it is God who makes us saints, not ourselves. He is the One who so graciously pours our His blessing of salvation through His Son Jesus. The cross and empty tomb proved that! While we may never be canonized as an official Saint or a Super Spiritual Giant, what really matters is being made a saint through the grace of our Heavenly Father, the shed blood of His dear Son, and the power of the Holy Spirit. What a blessing! III. Extension of Divine Blessedness God s Love to Others through Us! When amazing grace gets a hold of wretched sinners like you and me, we cannot take His love for granted. Verses like Romans 5:8 mean so much to us: God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Does our gracious Heavenly Father ever tire of extending His mercy to us? No way! We, like the Psalmist, constantly call out to our Good Shepherd: O Lord, hear my voice. Let Your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy (Psalm 130:2). Even in the most dismal and darkest of times, we know that God cares for us. Jeremiah, the Weeping Prophet, describes the fall of Jerusalem and compares it to a huge funeral scene in the book of Lamentations. It
may be the most depressing book in the entire Bible. Yet in the midst of pain, suffering, loss, and intense grief, he writes this: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23). As God s people, His saints, we do not come to Him in a spirit of fear, waiting for His hammer of justice to fall on us for the sins that we have committed, either in thought, word, or deed. Instead, we come to Him with the utmost confidence, as is brought out so beautifully in Hebrews 4:16: Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. This brings us to the fifth beatitude: Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 5:7 Merciful/will be shown mercy (eleēmōn, eleeō) involves showing kindness and love to another who is helpless, miserable, and in distress. While grace (charis) stresses showing love to the undeserving, mercy (eleos) stresses showing love to the weak and miserable. Wait a second! Do we have to first show mercy to others before God will extend His mercy to us? No way! His blessing/mercy/love has already been poured out freely to sinners who desperately need Him ( poor in spirit, mourn, meek, and hunger and thirst ). However, because of divine mercy and amazing grace, something wonderful begins to happen We are learning to follow Him and share His blessing with others. It doesn t mean that we are perfect, fully arrived, or totally together spiritually, morally, emotionally, socially, and psychologically. On the contrary, we grow in God s grace (2 Peter 3:18) and mercy step-by-step. It s a process. Is it hard to forgive someone who has wronged us? Most definitely. Is it a challenge to reach out with compassion to someone who naturally repels us? Sure it is. Is it difficult to give a helping hand to someone, who quite frankly, doesn t deserve it? Yes. The good news is that divine mercy changes our grudges, our preferences, our calculations, our biases, our self-centered aspirations. We who formerly knew no mercy can now extend mercy to others, whether fellow believers who have rubbed us the wrong way or unbelievers who have hurt or offended us. We, the merciful, do not feel or act important enough in ourselves to insist upon revenge or a self-righteously just compensation for wrongs others have done to us. Instead, we begin to be merciful as our Father also is merciful (Jesus words in Luke 6:36). IV. Back to the Source of All Blessedness God Is Our Ultimate and Immediate Focus! 5:8 Pure (katharos) literally means clean and is not mixed or contaminated with any uncleanness or impurity. Figuratively pure in heart refers to a single-minded sincerity and loyalty, describing a person who stands before God in all integrity and honesty without devious or corrupt motives. There is a tendency within every person to want to feel important and feel secure in one s own attainments and accomplishments. This desire, when tainted with evil, leads to SELF-righteousness and human pride. This temptation is particularly appealing to social activists, altruists, and humanitarians. The merciful must in no way succumb to such a SELF-deceptive lure and trap!
This is why Jesus now directs our attention back to the vertical (man to God) dimension. Being pure in heart describes a person who has a single-minded sincerity, loyalty, and devotion to God, without being tainted by conniving, devious, and corrupt motivations before the Almighty. The focus of the pure in heart is God and His gracious blessings, not SELF-attainments and accomplishments. The person who is pure in heart is constantly reminded that except for God s mighty rule and tender mercy in his life, he would be dirty, contaminated, and clogged in his heart and soul to the core of his being. The promise given to those whose heart focus is upon God is one of the most startling of all they will see God. Holy Scripture elsewhere states that no person on earth is able to truly see God and live. In this present life we are able to experience only a tiny fraction of the divine compared to the eternal bliss of seeing God in the afterlife. What a wonderful promise that only Jesus can fulfill! Personal Application As believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, we confess that He is our greatest treasure. The Lord of all true blessings, both now and for all eternity, is our key focus. All Saints Day reminds us to maintain this eternal perspective. I am humbled by the Beatitudes to see how we need to be much more focused upon God s kingly rule and have a deeper eternal perspective in which heaven is our deepest longing in life. You and I have a tendency to get quite wrapped up in numerous pursuits (paying the bills, hobbies, doctor s appointments, etc.), with the result that our passion for the Almighty is seemingly lost somewhere in the background. We hate to admit it, but at times we are simply too distracted or too busy for our own (eternal) good. For example, during the holiday season we can get so wrapped up with plans and activities that we forget the real meaning of Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas. Tis the season to get hyper get stressed out get distracted? No! Tis the season to be thankful to look to Jesus to be pure in heart. As we continue to focus on Him and His blessing, we are less apt to get sidetracked, as here: An old method for catching raccoons is to place a piece of foil inside a small barred box that is staked to the ground. When a raccoon comes by, he reaches his paw into the box to get the foil. But, once he has grasped the foil, his paw changes shape and will not fit back through the bars on the box. Many times a raccoon would rather give up his freedom and perhaps his life just for the sake of a shiny but useless piece of foil [Taken from 1500 Illustrations, p. 179] May we never get so enraptured with this world s bits of foil, that we take our eyes off the goodness and grace of the Almighty God and the cross and empty tomb of His dear Son. Lord, please help us to not get so bogged down in various responsibilities, concerns, and earthly activities that our relationship with You grows stagnate or we take You for granted. Please help us to be much more meditative on eternal things and be much deeper people spiritually. Thank You. Amen. Focusing on and rejoicing in the One who so richly blesses us for all eternity,
Pastor Steve Waterman