Sermon on the Mount - The Blessings of Jesus

I have listened to a lot of sermons through the years, but none compares to the sermon Jesus gave in Matthew 5. I am going to be traveling through Chapters 5-7 in Matthew, and I will try to learn from the greatest sermon ever preached. Today I will look at the blessings of Jesus, per the Beatitudes. Jesus shares so much pure truth about the kingdom of God and the way we should look at life itself. You will be encouraged by the wonderful words of this great sermon, and we can learn the truths of Jesus together.

Matthew 5: (nlt) 1 One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him, ² and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes

³ “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.⁴ God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.⁵ God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.⁶ God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.⁷ God blesses those who are merciful,    for they will be shown mercy.⁸ God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.⁹ God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.¹⁰ God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. ¹¹ “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. ¹² Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.

To sit under the teaching of the Son of God was an incredible experience for those who physically got to hear the voice of Jesus, as He shared His great truth, because He is the Word of God. In John's gospel, John expresses the truth of Jesus being the Word of God. John 1:1 In the beginning, the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He existed in the beginning with God. ³ God created everything through him,

and nothing was created except through him. ⁴ The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. Jesus has always been and always will be the perfect Word of God, so when He preaches, He is his own reference!

In the above scripture, Jesus said God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for Him. Of course, the world we live in teaches the opposite, that we are all we need and we are rich with strength, self-power, and pride. That is why it is almost impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, because they believe money and prestige are all they need. Jesus teaches that the one who realizes they are nothing without Him will be blessed by God, and the end result of that blessing is that the Kingdom of God is theirs. Wow! What a great blessing, as Jesus offers salvation and an eternal home in heaven to those whom He saves!! The Pride of Life person will not realize this blessing from God, in fact, the opposite will be true. NO BLESSING. The existence of this blessing was spoken to the prophet Isaiah by God in Isaiah 57:¹⁵ The high and lofty one who lives in eternity, the Holy One, says this: “I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts. It will be the humble one who gets the prize, not the one who believes in their means and riches.

Matthew 5:⁴ God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. If you have ever lost a dear spouse, friend, or other relative, you know the meaning of mourning, but realize God knows what mourning means as well. This was also spoken from God to the prophet Isaiah as well in Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. ² He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. God hears our cries and sees our mourning, and He responds by bottling our tears. David wrote the following Psalm and He was praying for God's mercy on his life, as the enemy was hounding him at every turn. Psalm 56:⁸ You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle.

You have recorded each one in your book.

God not only sees the times we mourn, but he collects each individual tear, keeping track of our individual sorrows. God caring that much for me in this personal way is so much more than just a religious glance from a stiff and distant god. Our God is personally involved in the hurt we experience, and He sees our tears as no one can. God's personal comfort meets at the pinnacle of our hurt, and the blessing is that we have a God who cares, who comforts, and who responds to His children who mourn with a holy comfort that takes us through our hurt and pain with a guiding hand and a comforting hand.

I will continue with more Beatitudes in the days ahead, and as you can see the sermon on the mount draws us to hear more and more, just like Jesus is preaching it right here....And He is.

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren