April 28, 2023

Matthew 5: 3-12 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, . . . those who mourn, . . . the meek, . . . those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. . . . Blessed are the merciful, . . . the pure in heart, . . . the peacemakers, . . . those who are persecuted because of righteousness . . . Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven . . .” (NIV)

Men can choose what to set their hearts on.*

Jesus saw the crowds and went up on the mountainside and sat down. Matthew doesn’t tell us that Jesus went up there to escape the crowds, but if that was his plan, it didn’t work. His disciples came to him so Jesus began to teach them. What follows is the famous Sermon on the Mount – which probably should have been called something like Life Lessons on the Mountain, or the Mountainside Seminar. 

The opening segment of Jesus’ lecture, the Beatitudes, has been described as “a step-by- step description of how God rebuilds the believer’s heart.”* While I believe in the heart-changing capacity of the message, I don’t see it as a step-by-step procedure. That would mean that we all must start at “poor in spirit” and work our way up to being insulted, persecuted, and falsely accused. And what if we missed a step? We don’t all grow and develop at the same rate and in the same order. 

On the mountainside, Jesus introduced radical new attitudes towards things that happen to us – things that are beyond our control – and challenged us to adopt personal traits that are not valued by the rest of society. He did not say, “Here is a better way to act.” He said, “Here is a better way to be.” He promised rewards for those who embrace this drastic new lifestyle – but those rewards do not meet the world’s standards of value, nor do they satisfy our craving for instant gratification. “Great is your reward in heaven,” is something to look forward to, not something we can enjoy today. 

So why implement these life-changing, heart-altering attitudes? Because we are the light of the world (verse 14), and shining our light before others may lead them to praise our Father in heaven (verse 16). That’s who we are and what we do!

It should ever be the end of the Christian man, not only to promote the glory of God by his works, but to illustrate the glory of God in his character.*