The Sermon of the Kingdom
Matthew 5:1-12
In our study of the Gospel of Matthew, we come today to Matthew 5. We come today to what Augustine first called the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). It is perhaps the greatest sermon ever delivered on earth fact and it comes from the lips of the greatest Preacher who ever preached, Jesus Christ. One commentator calls the Sermon on the Mount, the supreme jewel in the crown of Jesus’ teaching.[1] It is the first of five major discourses in the Gospel of Matthew. All five are surrounded by blocks of narrative and all five end with the same formula (Matt. 7:28–29; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1).[2]
Matthew places this sermon near the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. As we saw in Matthew 4, immediately after His baptism and temptation Jesus began to announce the good news that the kingdom of God, long promised in the Old Testament, was now on the threshold. He Himself had come to inaugurate it preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17). Matthew records that “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom …” (Matt. 4:23). The Sermon on the Mount is the sermon of the kingdom preached by the King to those who would be citizens of His kingdom. It portrays the repentance and the righteousness which belong to the kingdom. John Stott comments, “it describes what human life and human community look like when they come under the gracious rule of God.”[3]
John Stott has given a helpful overview of the Sermon, demonstrating that it covers all of life. [4]
a. Kingdom character (Matt. 5:3–12)
The beatitudes emphasize eight principal marks of Christian character and conduct, especially in relation to God and to men, and the divine blessing which rests on those who exhibit these marks.
b. Kingdom influence (Matt. 5:13–16)
Jesus uses the metaphors of salt and light to indicate the influence for good that Christians will exert in the world if (and only if) they maintain their distinctive character as portrayed in the beatitudes.
c. Kingdom righteousness (Matt. 5:17–48)
What is true righteousness? What is the attitude of the Kingdom citizen to the moral law of God? Jesus reaffirmed the authority of Old Testament Scripture and drew out the full and exacting implications of God’s moral law and true righteousness. The key verses in this section are Matthew 5:20, “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven”; and Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
d. Kingdom piety (Matt. 6:1–18)
Here, the key verse is Matthew 6:8, “Therefore do not be like them…” In their ‘piety.’ or religious devotion, citizens of the Kingdom must not resemble either the hypocritical religion of the Pharisees or the empty ritualism of pagans. So Jesus calls for genuine devotion in giving, prayer, and fasting.
e. Kingdom ambition (Matt. 6:19–34)
Here, Christ deals with our attitude to material wealth and possessions. The key verse is Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
f. Kingdom relationships (7:1–20)
Christ changes all our relationships, so He instructs us in how to relate to both fellow believers and those who are unbelieving. Perhaps the key verse here is the “golden rule” of Matthew 7:12, “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
g. Kingdom commitment (7:21–27)
What is your relationship Jesus the King? It is not enough either to call Jesus ‘Lord’ (Matt. 7:21–23) or to just listen to His teaching (Matt. 7:24–27). The basic question is whether we mean what we say and do what we hear. On this commitment hangs our eternal destiny.
So you can clearly see that this is a very penetrating sermon, exposing man’s counterfeit righteousness and extolling the true righteousness of those who are citizens of the kingdom of heaven, those who are true disciples of Jesus.
1. The blessedness of the disciple [5]
Matthew 4 clearly demonstrated that Jesus’ authority as a teacher was well established. He was preaching and teaching all over Galilee. Great crowds were following Him. And it was in this context that Matthew tells us; “And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them . . .” (Matthew 5:1-2).
Matthew tells the setting of this sermon by writing that Jesus, “went up on a mountain.” (Matt. 5:1). Mountains are very important in this Gospel. In Matthew 4 there was the mountain of temptation (Matt. 4:8). Here is the mountain of the Sermon. In Matthew 17 there is the mountain of transfiguration (Matt. 17:1). And finally the mountain of the great commission (Matt. 28:16). These are all peaks in Matthew’s emphasis. Many see a parallel of this sermon on the Mount to Mount Sinai. Moses went up Mount Sinai to get the law from God to give it to the people of Israel. And now Moses’ great successor ascends a mountain to receive from his Father and transmit to His disciples the law of the kingdom. We have a new law for a new people given on a new mountain by a new Moses.[6]
Jesus saw the multitudes but did you notice who it was that He specifically spoke to? Jesus saw the crowds, but went up to the mountain—most likely one that overlooked the Sea of Galilee—and sat down. He didn’t go to the multitudes to speak these words. He withdrew from the crowds that were following after Him; and if anyone wanted to hear what He had to say, they had to go to Him to hear it. We’re told that, when He was seated, His disciples came; and He specifically spoke to them.
This is the first time we encounter the word “disciple” in the New Testament. A disciple is a learner, one who is taught by his master. Lots of people followed Jesus to be healed and amazed by His miracles, but only those who were His disciples came to be taught by Him. You could tell who was just a part of the multitude and who was truly a disciple; because His disciples, after witnessing His power to heal, came to Him to be taught.
There’s an important principle in this. The Sermon on the Mount was not meant for the crowd at large. It is not to be taken and applied to all societies in the world. It was meant for a very specific audience, Jesus’ disciples, His followers, those who came to Him to be taught of Him.
The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most misunderstood messages that Jesus ever gave. Some say it is God’s plan of salvation, that if we ever hope to go to heaven we must obey these rules. Another calls it a “charter for world peace” and begs the nations of the earth to accept it. Still, others tell us that the Sermon on the Mount cannot apply to us today, but that it will apply at some future time, perhaps after Christ returns during the millennial kingdom.[7]
But the context shows that it is meant for disciples of Jesus. John Stott writes,
Only a belief in the necessity and the possibility of a new birth can keep us from reading the Sermon on the Mount with either foolish optimism or hopeless despair. Jesus spoke the Sermon to those who were already his disciples and thereby also the citizens of God’s kingdom and the children of God’s family. The high standards he set are appropriate only to such. We do not, indeed could not, achieve this privileged status by attaining Christ’s standards. Rather by attaining his standards, or at least approximating to them, we give evidence of what by God’s free grace and gift we already are.[8]
Jesus begins His sermon with what we call the Beatitudes. The word “beatitude” is related to the Latin beatus, which means “blessed.”[9] This is the word that begins each of the eight affirmations that Jesus makes in Matthew 5:3-10. MacArthur points out that the Greek word is makarios and it’s a familiar word, an adjective meaning “happy.”[10] The Jerusalem Bible translates it accordingly: “How happy are the poor in spirit . . . Happy are the gentle . . . Happy are those who mourn . . .” It describes the happy, blissful condition of the soul, the blessed, contented condition of the soul.
These eight beatitudes give us nothing less than a summary of the greatest themes of the message of the gospel. They present truth so profound and so life-changing, that they could not have been spoken by anyone else but God in human flesh.
Jesus is speaking of a happiness that is the believer’s experience even when during very unhappy circumstances, a happiness we have even in such things as mourning, or hungering and thirsting, or being persecuted unfairly. This is a happiness that does not have its source in any human effort or earthly circumstance whatsoever.
This is a transcendent kind of happiness – a happiness above circumstances. It has to do with “being” something – being a privileged recipient of God’s gracious favor and unmerited blessing. This is why we translate it “blessed”. When we say that someone is “blessed”, we are speaking of a derivative happiness. We mean that they are the recipients of something given to them by God. We cannot be happy, or blessed in this sense, without being a recipient of God’s gracious favor.
True happiness, true blessedness, is a gift of God’s grace. It’s a happiness that can never be affected by the things of this world. It’s the settled, inner satisfaction and bliss that comes to those who are in God’s favor through Jesus Christ. And that’s the “blessedness” that is set before us over and over and over in these words from our Savior. Jesus offers it to His disciples free of charge.
The focus of the Beatitudes is not on “doing”. It doesn’t so much define a set of actions to us as much as describe a kind of character. As someone has pointed out, this isn’t the “Do-attitudes”; it’s the “Be-attitudes.” It’s a description of what it looks like to “be” a disciple of Jesus Christ. It is the portrait of someone in whom Christ dwells. The Sermon on The Mount was never meant to be a list of commands that we follow in our own strength. Simply put, we will never be able to “do” the things in the Sermon on the Mount, if we will not first “be” the things in The Beatitudes.
So before we look at The Beatitudes, may I ask you: Are you a “disciple” of Jesus? Are you one of His “followers”; and do you set yourself apart from everything else in this world in order to be taught by Him? Have you taken the first step? Have you stepped apart from the crowd in order to call Him your Lord and Master? Are you prepared to leave all and follow Him? Are you truly a “disciple” of Jesus?
Listen to the teaching of King Jesus:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:3-12).
Here, then, are the foundational principles of The Sermon on The Mount. Here’s the summary description of the man or woman in whom Jesus Christ dwells. Here is the pathway to true blessedness. Here is the portrait of the disciple of Christ.
But, how does someone come to that state of “blessedness”? We could even put it this way: How does someone enter into the state of “being” a disciple – and thus being blessed? That leads us, next, to consider another wonderful aspect of the Beatitudes. There’s a logical order to them; and this order shows us . . .
2. The progress of the disciple.
The Beatitudes were not given to us by the Savior as a random set of assertions. They are interrelated to and build upon one another. They show us how someone progresses in the state of being a disciple of Jesus.
Consider the first three Beatitudes. They deal with that aspect in the progress of a disciple in which he or she first comes to a deep realization of his or her need for God’s grace. The first Beatitude says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.” “Poor” literally means destitute and reduced to being a beggar. But it isn’t speaking of those who are poor “financially”. It is “poor in spirit,” those who have come to terms with the fact that they are poor “spiritually”—those who realize that they have nothing of their own to commend themselves to God, no spiritual worth or virtue in and of themselves. They are spiritually bankrupt before a holy God and are sinners worthy only of His condemnation and wrath. They are “poor in spirit”.
And then, as the second Beatitude teaches us, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” And again, this isn’t talking about merely “mourning” in and of itself. Rather, this is a deep inner mourning in the soul. Those who have a sense of their own spiritual poverty before a holy God also recognize the depth of their own sin. They see themselves as they truly are, and they grieve and sorrow over the sin that is in them.
In the third Beatitude, Jesus teaches us, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth“; and this needs to be understood in the context of the things that proceeded it. When a man or woman comes to realize the abject poverty of their own soul before God, and then comes to be broken-hearted and deeply sorry for the sin in their lives, how then should they come to God? Not in pride or self-confidence, but as meek and humble beggars – demanding nothing as their right, but only pleading for His mercy.
Can you see how these first three Beatitudes describe how someone begins the journey of becoming a disciple of Christ? They show the progress of the disciple of Jesus Christ through the deep sense of need for God’s grace and mercy?
The fourth Beatitude describes the desperately needy man or woman in the state of transition; where they cry out to God for righteousness by grace, and where God, by grace, declares them righteous. What a great and hopeful assertion it is! It’s one of the most wonderful promises of grace in all the Bible! Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
That brings us to the remaining four Beatitudes. They all speak of the blessed state of the man or woman who has come to God in the depth of their need for His grace, and who have – by God’s grace – been pardoned and declared “righteous” through Jesus Christ. Such a person is transformed from the inside out. They live a new kind of life in God’s grace, a life of mercy, purity, peacemaking, a life that is so counter-cultural that it brings persecution for righteousness.
The first step in entering the kingdom, the first step to happiness, is being poor in spirit, realizing your spiritual poverty. The second one is mourning over it. The third one is humbly falling down before the glory of God in your condition. The fourth one is then pleading for a righteousness which you don’t have and hunger for. That begins then to manifest itself in an attitude of mercy toward others, a pursuit of purity and peacemaking in your own life, and creates hostility in the world. That’s the flow of the Beatitudes.[11]
So you see; the Beatitudes are not just a random group of assertions of blessedness. They describe the blessedness of the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ – from beginning to end. It describes a life begun in neediness, brokenness and repentance; and then goes on to describe that same life justified and transformed by the redeeming grace of God through Christ.
Because this is true, this means that none of the individual Beatitudes should be seen as independent of the others. They are not individual “blessings” that we can take out of context and make to stand on their own however we wish. They all go together and are interrelated to one another in such a way as to form a single progression. The Beatitudes are meant to be understood as eight different aspects of the portrait one kind of person. They together describe what each disciple of Jesus Christ is to be like.
That naturally leads us to a third thing that the Beatitudes show us . . .
3. The Master of the disciple.
The kind of life being described in The Beatitudes is not one that you or I could ever manufacture in our own power. It is, through and through, a life that can only be lived by Jesus Christ Himself dwelling in us.
As we study the Sermon on the Mount, you’ll find that it presents us with a humanly impossible standard to live by. Only a prideful and arrogant fool would think that he or she could live out the principles of The Sermon on The Mount.
No; only Jesus can live such a life. And if we are to live it, it will only be because He lives it through us. The Beatitudes is the portrait of a man or woman in whom Christ dwells. It’s the portrait of someone who abides in Christ. More than that, the Beatitudes is a portrait of Christ Himself. Only He can live the life through us that is described in these eight assertions. This means that abiding in Him and He in us is the only way to true blessedness.
And that thought brings us to the Lord’s Table. It is here that we are reminded that we are one with Christ in His life, death, and resurrection. In just as real a way as the bread and fruit of the vine go into our bodies, Christ has come to dwell in us by faith.
[1] Michael Green, The Message of Matthew: The Kingdom of Heaven, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001), 88.
[2] D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 122.
[3] John R. W. Stott and John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7): Christian Counter-Culture, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 18.
[4] John R. W. Stott and John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7): Christian Counter-Culture, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 24–26.
[5] Greg Allen, The Disciple’s Portrait, https://www.bethanybible.org/archive/2004/053004.htm#f1. I adapted Allen’s outline and used several of his points in developing this sermon.
[6] Michael Green, The Message of Matthew: The Kingdom of Heaven, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001), 89.
[7] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 20–21.
[8] John R. W. Stott and John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7): Christian Counter-Culture, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 29.
[9] David Turner and Darrell L. Bock, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, Vol 11: Matthew and Mark (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2005), 75.
[10] John MacArthur, The Only Way to Happiness, https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/90-188/the-only-way-to-happiness accessed 06/06/2022
[11] John MacArthur, The Only Way to Happiness: Be Poor in Spirit, https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/90-189/the-only-way-to-happiness-be-poor-in-spirit accessed 06/06/2022
