The Sermon Matthew 4:23-5:12

The Sermon…
I look at my life a lot of times and I ask what can I do to make my life easier. Or an even better question is what can I do to make my self happier? In general I am looking for, answers to my questions, and help with my problems, and ultimately happiness.
Go to any bookstore and you can find books on parenting, money, cooking, relationships, car repair, history, and how to fix our appliances. There are shows on that tell us the perfect way to raise our kids, how to decorate our houses, and survive in the wilderness with just a paperclip and some duct tape. We are drawn to books, shows, and people who we think can help show us how to be happy and deal with our problems. And we all have problems. What do I do to fix my marriage? How do I deal with my children? How do I survive at work when it seems no one else is on my side? Do you ever wonder is happiness even possible? How can I be happy with all this stuff that weighs me down? Am I all alone in this? Is everyone else happy and I am somehow just missing it? I think it has been the same for people since the beginning. We read that in the formation of our own government over 300 years ago that we have the right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We talked last week about Ecclesiastes and that Solomon had asked a lot of these questions. The people of Jesus day were no different. They have struggles to deal with in life, and they, like us, were looking for the answers to their problems and they were looking for a real happiness. The people who lived in the region where Jesus was had been hearing about this new teacher, a new prophet who was going around doing some pretty amazing things. So they began to seek him out. Many people started to follow Jesus, and for different reasons.
Some people followed Jesus because they ate the food that he provided. In John 6:26 Jesus told many who were following him “…not because(they) saw miraculous signs but because (they) ate the loaves and were filled” Jesus did not mind that they followed only for the food, but wanted them to understand that they were missing out on the ultimate bread from heaven, himself.
Many people followed because they were in need of healing and had heard that Jesus had healed those in pain, and blind, and deaf, and with leprosy. When we are in pain or we are sick, there is no greater desire than for it to be over. Think back to the time when you were in the most pain you have ever been in. What would you have done to make it stop? In Jesus day many came seeking him hearing that he could take away the pain and they were willing to travel great distances in the hope that Jesus would make them well. Matt 4:24
Matthew14:14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
Matthew 15:30: Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them.
Many people were intensely curious about what Jesus had to say. He taught like no one else, he taught as one having authority. Matt. 7:28-29. Even at 12 years old he amazed the teachers of the law. At the beginning of his public ministry people who knew about Jesus, or possibly knew Jesus said “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” The Bible also says “all spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.” Luke 4:22 He even had the conversation with his own disciples and asked them about their motives and resolve to follow. Peter answered “Lord, to whom shall we go, you have the words of life!” John 6
All of these things caused people from all over, “…from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and the region across the Jordan…” to follow him. The Bible uses the words Multitudes, and crowds to describe the size of the gathering. We know on one occasion there were 5000 men, plus women and children. On another occasion there were 4000 men. So many people were coming to see and hear and be fed by Jesus. This passage in Mark describes a little of the people’s desire to be near Jesus, the one with the answers to their questions and the one with the power to heal their diseases.
Mark6:31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."
32So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
As the multitudes followed Jesus, he knew their hearts and gave them what they needed whether it was food or healing understanding of the things of God. We read in the Bible Matt. 4:23-5:2 “23Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. 25Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him. 1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
The word is translated in most of our translations here blessed, but the idea is happy is the man that…
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 10Blessed 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. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Jesus began by confronting the people’s ideas about true happiness. The things he says go against our natural instincts about happiness. And as the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount he is setting himself up to challenge a lot more preconceived ideas. He tells then true happiness or peacefulness does not come the ways that we think it should. There is a challenge to our preconceived notions of happiness. Jesus is saying be poor and meek and mourn and be hungry and merciful and pure and be a peacemaker and be persecuted for doing what is right. I just wonder did someone stand up and say…”What? you are telling us the real way to happiness is by being poor and hungry, and all these other things you have mentioned? Doesn’t it make sense that we have plenty of money and that we eat the best foods and that we are in places of power to really be happy?” I do not think that there was, but I think there were some who wondered. It would do us well to know and understand the words that Jesus said to them.
Blessed are the poor in spirit…Poor in spirit refers to a condition of the heart where we look at ourselves and we know that on our own we cannot make it. It could be referred to as humility. It means that we look in the “bank account” of our lives and realize I do not have riches. This is an understanding that we cannot do it on our own, and is a direct reference to our need for Jesus for Salvation. For the person who recognizes this, theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn…This is in reference to people who grieve over sin. It is a godly sorrow that brings repentance. …for they will be comforted. They are comforted with salvation.
Blessed are the meek…meekness means strength under control. It is the opposite idea of being out of control. It is the ultimate control, being controlled by the spirit. …for they will inherit the earth
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…there are those who have a slef-righteous way of looking at life. Jesus is specifically talking about the Pharisees who will end up being a major focus of the Sermon. These are people who have a yearning for the righteousness of God and not of themselves. God is glad to fill them …for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful…those who show mercy will receive mercy from God. This is the law of the harvest, you will reap what you sow. …for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart…”That is, whose minds, motives, and principles are pure.” (Albert Barnes, Barnes notes on the New Testament) …for they will see God. Not just by faith but for real, in heaven. 9Blessed are the peacemakers…These are the people who try to use their influence to reconcile differences and settle disputes, prevent lawsuits. … for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness…those who suffer for doing right, no bad. …for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11"Blessed are you when people insult you…like they insulted Jesus.. persecute you and falsely make sure it is not true say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
How can you be Happy? It is summed up pretty well in Verse 12 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
What would it look like if we all had the security and blessings, the Happiness that come with following the Lord’s teachings? I hope that we will all realize that these blessings of God are for now and for later. They are for the life we now live and the one that is to come. The tense of the promises are future except, We can have a confidence that Jesus includes us when he says “…theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.”