Sunday 01/29/23 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “Why The Sermon On The Mount Matters!”
Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 15
New Testament Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Gospel Lesson: Matthew 5:1-12
As Christians we are
called live and love like Jesus Christ. We are called to live the gospel of
Jesus Christ, to share the gospel with others, and to love our neighbors as
ourselves. Many of us do this in various ways in our everyday lives.
Sometimes though, it can
be hard for those who are struggling and or suffering. The promises of God
through Jesus Christ are the same for us all if we turn to Christ, but some of
our life circumstances differ from others. Sometimes for some, it is easier to
be the giver or the caretaker than to be the receiver. Many of us love helping
others, but we might not like receiving help from others. This reality is how
it has always been in the world, and the Christian community is tasked with loving
and caring for each other. This is what we do, as followers of Jesus Christ.
This morning, we have the
famed “Sermon of the Mount,” in our gospel of Matthew reading. Some people also
refer to this at the “Beatitudes.” The “Beatitudes” is a fancy way of describing
saying of Jesus. As in, Jesus said these things, these “blessed(s)” are the “Beatitudes.”
Some experts think that Jesus gave his “Sermon on the Mount” near the Sea of
Galilee on a hill, and some might argue that he gave this sermon somewhere else.
Maybe a mountain or somewhere else. There is a large agreement that Jesus was
in an elevated area though, as this sermon is often known as the “Sermon on the
Mount.” There also a version of this in the gospel of Luke, often called the “Sermon
on the Plain.” In the gospel of Luke version, often called, once again, “The Sermon
on the Plain,” which differs a little from the “Sermon on the Mount,” it is
commonly believed that Jesus was preaching on a flat surface not an elevated
service. This why in the gospel of Luke it is called the “Sermon on the Plain.”
The Sermon on the Mount
and the Sermon on the Plain both give some of Jesus’ core teachings and
challenges for us to be more like him. This is reflected in our Psalm 15 reading
for this morning, as Psalm 15:1-2, which says once again:
O Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill? 2 Those who walk blamelessly and do what is right and speak the truth from their heart; (Ps. 15:1-2, NRSV).
It is interesting that that Psalmist
asks this morning “who may dwell on your holy hill,” as Jesus gives the Sermon
on the Mount or the Beatitudes this morning on a hill or an elevated place. Who
can dwell on the holy hill, and how should we strive to live? Well, this my
friends is what the Sermon on the Mount and Beatitudes are all about. Jesus
this morning, beyond just love God and love your neighbor is giving us further
instructions for how to live, and this, as my sermon title is called, is “Why
the Sermon On The Mount Matters!”
If Jesus is the ultimate form of love,
as he was God in flesh, then the ultimate act of love was Jesus dying on the
cross for us. In fact, in our reading for this morning form 1 Corinthians
1:18-31, it says starting 1:1 once again:
18 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:18, NRSV).
The message of the cross is love,
forgiveness, hope, repentance, and mercy. This is why the Apostle Paul says in
1 Corinthians 1:23-25 this, once again:
23 but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to gentiles, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength (1 Cor. 1:23-25, NRSV).
Jesus, fully God, fully human, came
for each and everyone of us. Jesus did not come just for some, but for us all.
In fact, the Apostle Paul reaffirms this reality, picking up in 1 Corinthians
1:28, saying once again:
28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to abolish things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. 30 In contrast, God is why you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Cor. 28-31, NRSV).
So, Jesus, our Lord, the lover of our
souls, just what did he preach on the mount this morning? What are these “Beatitudes,”
and “Why Does the Sermon on the Mount Matter?” Let’s take a look once again at
Matthew 5:1-12. Starting in 5:1 it says, once again:
5 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he began to speak and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 5:1-3, NRSV).
According to one of my favorite bible
commentaries, the Africa Bible Commentary it says this of being “poor in spirit”:
“The term poor in spirit has its roots in material poverty. Someone who is poor has no influence, power or prestige. Then, as now, they were often taken advantage of exploited” (Africa Bible Commentary, pg. 1144).
To those who are “poor in spirit” all over the
world, Jesus says this morning that he loves you, that you are chosen by him,
and that you are blessed. Jesus then continues picking back in in 5:4, once again:
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted (Mt. 5:4, NRSV).
Many people are mourning throughout
the world. These could be people we know, or we could be these people.
Struggling with a loss, grieving, mourning. Jesus says, in these times, I am
with you, turn to me.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted (Mt. 5:4, NRSV).
Jesus
then tells us in Matthew 5:5:
5 “Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth (Mt. 5:5, NRSV).
According the Africa Bible Commentary:
“Meekness is the ability to control one’s
power and use it for the benefit of others. It is the opposite of arrogant, selfish
assertiveness and uncontrolled emotions. The meek do get angry, but at the
right time, and not because of wounded pride” (Africa Bible Commentary, pg. 1144).
The meek are those serve others and
not themselves. The meek are those who seek to make the world better, and not
get just what they can for themselves.
Jesus then tells us in Matthew 5:6:
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled (Mt. 5:6, NRSV).
According the same bible commentary I
have been citing throughout this sermon, it says of this beatitude:
“Hungering and thirsting for righteousness is a safe appetite, for God will always fill those with this hunger and thirst (5:6). This beatitude challenges is to eagerly seek righteousness, to seek God and his righteous instruction in much the same way that the very hungry or thirsty seek something to eat or drink” (Africa Bible Commentary, pg. 1144).
The rest of Jesus’ “Beatitudes” I
think are more self-explanatory than some that I just reviewed. For example,
Jesus says in 5:7-9:
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God (Mt. 5:7-9, NRSV).
Jesus challenges us to be merciful,
and he says in doing so, God will show us mercy. Be pure of heart, or sincere
in your love and kindness, and you will see God, Jesus says. Seek to make peace
and not war, and Jesus says, peacemakers will be called children of God.
In the last two “Beatitudes”
Jesus instructs us about being persecuted and oppressed for your faith. Jesus
tells us to conclude our Matthew 5:1-12 reading for this morning, his last two “Beatitudes”.
Picking up on Matthew 5:10, Jesus says once again:
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 5:10, NRSV).
Jesus is telling us that if we try to
live righteous and holy lives, that magnify Christ, some will persecute us for this.
Jesus however, says we will be given the kingdom of heaven. We should never
grow weary in doing what is right and in living and loving like Jesus. Even if
the world comes against us, Jesus is our hope, and he is the hope of the world.
Lastly, Jesus concludes
our reading with Matthew 5:11-12 saying, once again:
11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Mt. 5:11-12, NRSV).
Who here this morning loves Jesus?
Unfortunately, some people in this world will not like the fact that we love
and follow Jesus. We are called to love and forgive them anyway. Jesus has
given us the blue print for salvation and eternity, the path of sanctification,
and way that we are to live on this earth.
When we seek to like holy and righteous
lives, when we seek to live and love like Jesus Christ, some people will try to
tear us down. Continue though to live and love like Jesus, for he and his
gospel are the hope of the world. Part of his gospel is the “Sermon on the Mount,”
or the “Beatitudes,” and since Jesus is truth and love itself, this is “Why The
Sermon On The Mount Matters!”
Further friends, any of these categories of people that suffer, are persecuted, are
belittled, ignored, harmed, etc., Jesus is inviting this morning to love and care for them.
May we love and reach out to the poor in spirit, to those who mourn, to the meek, to
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, to the merciful, to the pure in heart, to the
peacemakers, to the persecuted, and to those who are attacked because of their
righteousness. The Sermon on the Mount then is not just how we should act ourselves,
but it also how we should love and lift up others, so that we all my grow closer to Christ
and each other. Once again, this is “Why The Sermon On The Mount Matters!” Amen.
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