Well, with the picture on the wall behind me displays, today we begin a new sermon series on Matthew 5-7, or more commonly referred to as the Sermon on the Mount. So open up your Bibles or devices to Matthew 5
There are many ways to teach through the Sermon on the Mount, for us, we’re going to take the slow track. Examining each verse on its own and in its context, while considering its placement in the whole of this sermon. But before we dive in, some introductory comments are needed.
The Sermon on the Mount is one of most famous and loved portions of the Bible. This is true inside the Church, and surprisingly enough it’s true outside the Church as well. Many philosophers and activists have admired this teaching of Christ even though they refuse to embrace Christ. For example, Ghandi enjoyed this teaching but never became a Christian.[1] You might have thoughts about that, but for me I’m mixed. While I’m encouraged on one hand that so many love this sermon, I’m puzzled on the other hand. I’m puzzled because all of Jesus’ teaching is meant to lead us to Him. That one can love His teaching and not love Him, shows how fallen our world truly is. So the non-Christians who enjoy this sermon, misread and misinterpret this sermon, as if it’s just a code of ethics or some kind of depiction of what a utopian society could be. We don’t need to get into this now, but as we go through these three chapters we’ll see again and again how the Sermon on the Mount is far more than meets the eye, containing rich principles for Kingdom living as well as robust Christ-exalting doctrine.
But, to be clear, those outside the Church aren’t the only ones to wrongly interpret the Sermon on the Mount, many inside the Church misinterpret it as well. How so? There are three main errors Christians make regarding the Sermon on the Mount.[2]
First some teach that the Sermon on the Mount isn’t for anyone today, but are only for Christians in the future when the Kingdom of God comes.[3] We disagree. We believe that wherever Christ reigns as King, there is His Kingdom! So Christ is reigning right now in Kingdom power in the hearts and lives of all who believe in Him. So while there is truth that the Kingdom is coming in full one day in the future, we also believe the Kingdom has already come with Christ in part. Thus, the truth taught here is of the utmost importance for believers right now.
Second some teach that the Sermon on the Mount is impossible to live out as a Christian.[4] Meaning the bar is set so high in these chapters that no one can actually live in line with it. Again I say, we disagree. By the power of the Spirit we who believe in Christ can truly and happily obey God and make great progress in holy living. Thus, the truth taught here is what Christians are called to do. This is not a ‘live in line with the Sermon on the Mount and you will become a Christian’, but a ‘Because you are a Christian, live like this’ kind of message.[5]
Third some teach the Sermon on the Mount is all about a social gospel. Meaning, there is nothing of redemption and salvation present here, but only truth about how to serve the poor and oppressed among society. Those that teach this also say this social gospel is the mission of the Church, that this is all God requires of us, in effect turning Christianity into a program of humanitarianism.[6]
So now that we’ve seen how we can wrongly interpret the Sermon on the Mount, let’s ask the question that follows: how ought we to interpret this grand and glorious teaching? The proper way to handle this sermon is to see at as St. Augustine saw it. He once said the Sermon on the Mount is, “the perfect standard of the Christian life.”[7] Here we see the character of the Kingdom. We see what God requires of us. Church, here we see the life to which we are called.[8]
Without further ado, let’s begin. See first…
Setting the Stage (v1-2)
“Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying…”
In v1-2 the setting for the Sermon of the Mount is given to us. Matthew 4 told us how Jesus began His preaching ministry in Galilee, and that many began following Him to hear Him, so great crowds of people flocked to Him. So when Jesus saw them, v1 says He goes up a mountain, His disciples followed, He sat down, which was the normal method of teaching for a Rabbi, and He taught them.[9] Notice in this a few important details. Who is Jesus teaching? His disciples, that is clear. This means the content of the Sermon on the Mount is not meant for the whole world in general, but for His disciples, those who have already left all to follow Him. This is why there is no call to repentance and belief, and this is why most of the sermon has to do with living out our faith in Him. But we also know from 7:28 that the crowds followed Him up the mountain too and were astonished at His teaching. So the scene depicted looks like Jesus sitting with His disciples nearest to Him, while the crowds looked on, hearing what Jesus taught them.
The other important detail to see here is that Jesus is teaching from a mountain. We do not know what mountain this is, but that He goes up a mountain to teach is very important. It’s important because Matthew is presenting Jesus as a new Moses.[10] Matthew has already done much of this already in the chapters before this. He’s already presented Jesus’ life as a repeat of Israel’s life in the wilderness. Both Israel and Jesus came up out of Egypt, both went into the waters of the Jordan, Israel is called God’s son in Exodus and in His baptism Jesus hears the Father call Him the beloved Son, both were then driven into the wilderness, both experienced profound temptation there, and while Israel failed, Jesus succeeds. This all exists as it does to show Jesus is the New Israel.
Then we come to chapter 5 where Jesus heads up a mountain to teach His people. What’s the connection with Moses? Moses also went up a mountain, Mt. Sinai, received the Law of God, and came down to teach God’s people how they ought to live as members of the covenant. In a similar but vastly greater manner…here is Jesus going up a mountain, not to teach a new Law, but to teach God’s people what God’s Law was really about all along, and in so doing Jesus is instructing God’s people on how they ought to live as members of the new covenant community. So as the people heard God’s voice at Sinai and Moses taught the people as prophet, Jesus shows Himself here to be the true Prophet they’ve been waiting for, come down from heaven Himself to teach God’s people.[11] Lesson? Jesus is a new Moses, God’s final prophet.
And what He has to say is really important. v2 didn’t have to include the phrase “And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying…” It seems obvious that opening the mouth is how Jesus would speak His teaching. But Matthew talks like this to let us know what follows is of supreme importance for us.[12] And sure enough, what follows in v3 is stunning.
The Lowly Beginning (v3)
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
v3 is officially the beginning of the Beatitudes. That word Beatitude comes from the Latin word beati which means blessed.[13] This is also where we get the phrase the beatific vision, which describes the moment we’ll see the very face of God, which is the ultimate blessing. In total there are 8 Beatitudes. They all begin with this formula, “Blessed are…”, which is an echo of Psalm 1 or Psalm 32 where the Psalmist describes what truly means to be blessed. So here Jesus uses this blessing formula to teach us true bless-ed-ness or what true happiness looks like. And while so many in the world think they absolutely and already know what true happiness or blessing looks like, Jesus tells us what’s its really about.
Perhaps we can begin looking at this first Beatitude in this way. If I asked you, ‘What kind of person do you want to be?’ or ‘What kind of people do you admire?’ or ‘What are the happiest people in the world like?’ I imagine most people would give a list of traits including words like: strong, trustworthy, kind, loyal, smart, funny, fit, caring, wise, tolerant, and the like. One could even go way back to the historical virtues and mention: courage, temperance, justice, endurance, goodness, truthfulness, and beauty. I imagine most people would answer like this if you asked them the question of what kind of person they desired to be, or what kind of people are the happiest. You know what no one would say? No one would include poor in spirit in their list.[14]
But the crazy thing about it is that when Jesus gives His own list describing the character of one who is truly blessed, Jesus not only includes poor in spirit, He begins with it! Such is the strange and surprising teaching of Jesus.
So what does this mean? What is it to be poor in spirit? Well, we could say it certainly doesn’t refer to one who suffers from weakness of character, one who is rude or critical.[15] We could also say it’s the exact opposite of the haughty, overly-assertive, self-sufficient, stubbornly independent disposition that the world admires so much.[16] Does not the world regard and look up to the self-reliant, the with self-confidence, or the self-made man or woman? Of course it does. Those are the kinds of people the world loves to make much of, and continually puts before us as examples to follow. This is not what it means to be poor in spirit. To be poor in spirit is just that, a recognition of the poverty of our soul. It’s not a coming into this impoverished state, it’s recognizing we already are in this state. Don’t downplay this. Being poor in spirit is not just realizing our spiritual brokenness or spiritual neediness, its far more than that. To be poor in spirit is to embrace and own our spiritual bankruptcy. John Wesley said those who are poor in spirit have a ”…deep sense of the loathsome leprosy of sin…which overspreads the whole soul, and totally corrupts every power and faculty thereof.”[17]
Church, this is the painful yet pleasing discovery that all our goodness is nothing but filthy rags. I mean that. Owning that we are poor in spirit is both painful and pleasing. It is painful to us because it goes against our nature. Our nature doesn’t naturally believe this. Instead, it naturally fights it. Because of our sin and corruption and depravity, we naturally love to proclaim our own goodness. We naturally think we’re better than everyone else. We naturally think other people are the source of all the problems in the world…and that we are the lone epitome of all virtue and excellence. This is so ingrained in us as sinners that it takes the Spirit of God to strip us of this vanity and arrogance and bring us low.
The discovery of our spiritual bankruptcy doesn’t only go against our nature, it goes against everything the world impresses on us. You see the world has its own ideas of blessing or what it means to be happy and blessed. How often do we see social media posts, accounts, and influencers promoting the ‘higher life’? They say that if we only tapped into our potential, that if we only got quiet enough to hear our hearts, we would finally come to understand how wonderful we are and would find the contentment that has so far alluded us. This message is everywhere. From positive thinking gurus, to methods of manifesting our desired destinies into existence, to soft-gospel churches peddling a man-centered message that’s all about us…the world is ever eager to convince us that we are not poor in spirit, but rich in spirit! That we are not spiritually needy but spiritually abundant on our own. And it’s all lies! It would certainly be refreshing to see an influencer on social media today promoting not the ‘higher life’ but the ‘lowly life.’
So recognizing we are poor in spirit is painful to discover, but it’s also pleasing to discover. Why? Because of what it leads to and what it proves! Recognizing that you are poor in spirit is the beginning of faith, it’s a sign of grace, a sign that you’re spiritually alive and aware. The realization of our utter worthlessness before God as sinners is what brings us to the end of ourselves. And when we come to the end of ourselves, we’re in the perfect position to find the beginning of true life in Christ. You see, no one can know Christ truly without embracing their own poverty of spirit. But once we see our need and own it, we can run to Christ who is strong to save sinners like us! And once we come to Him we ought never to outgrow or graduate from this low and humble posture. No, it’s a sign a deep maturity to grow in your awareness of the depth of our corrupt condition.
Church, how pleasing is it to see how this first beatitude ends. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Those who acknowledge themselves as spiritually destitute are the very ones who enter the kingdom of heaven.[18] Only those who are willing to bow low before Christ, will get Christ. Only the poor in spirit enter heaven! Only the poor in spirit get Christ forever!
This first beatitude then, is really the foundation of them all.[19] Being poor in spirit is the lowly entrance into the Kingdom of God.
Thus, this first beatitude is a sharp test for all who examine it.[20] For it lays bare the great difference between the natural man and the Christian, the lost and the saved. Lost man boasts in many things: that they are of a certain heritage or pedigree of family, that they have education at a high level, that they have a serious work ethic and have made something of themselves, that they have wealth to show it, and great possessions to prove their prominence. Lost man boasts in himself, that he is better than other men, and therefore deserves all manner of good things. Such a man is not poor in spirit but proud in spirit, and such a man will not enter into eternal life.
The Christian cannot be more different. The Christian, rather than boasting in himself or herself, feels that they are nothing, that they have nothing in and of themselves to offer to God and are truly needy before Him, utterly dependent on His grace and mercy. Don’t mishear me. The Christian boasts just as the lost man does. But the Christian doesn’t boast in themselves, they boast in Christ! That Christ is the One who has made all true blessing and happiness possible. That in His redemption they have all they could ever need. That their sins have been drowned out in His blood. That their filthy rags are covered in His righteousness. That their salvation has been secured forever in His resurrection. That the Christ who sits on the throne sits as a great friend to them, and will one day return for them.
This is how Jesus begins His most famous of all sermons. So ask yourself, who do you resemble? Lost man or saved man? How do you think of yourself and what you truly are in the presence of God? Proud or poor? Do you want to be blessed? Do you want to experience what it is to live the blessed life? Get low, own the poverty of your spirit, and you’ll find true riches in Christ.
[1] Craig L. Blomberg, Matthew: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture, NAC (Holman Reference, 1992), 93–94.
[2] R. C. Sproul, Matthew, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), 53–54.
[3] This is the dispensational error.
[4] This is Martin Luther’s error.
[5] Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon of the Mount - vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1981), 17.
[6] This is the liberal error.
[7] Augustine, quoted in R. Kent Hughes, The Sermon on the Mount: The Message of the Kingdom, Preaching the Word Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001), 13.
[8] Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon of the Mount, 30.
[9] Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, PNTC (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1992), 94.
[10] R.T. France, The Gospel of Matthew, NICNT (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007), 157.
[11] Vern S. Poythress, The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses (Phillipsburg, PA: P&R, 1991) 256.
[12] Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, 94.
[13] Sproul, Matthew, 54.
[14] Daniel M. Doriani, Matthew 1-13, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, PA: P&R, 2008), 105.
[15] France, The Gospel of Matthew, 165.
[16] A.W. Pink, An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1969), 17.
[17] John Wesley, quoted in Hughes, The Sermon on the Mount: The Message of the Kingdom, 18.
[18] Hughes, 19.
[19] Pink, An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount, 17.
[20] Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon of the Mount, 44.
