Matthew 5: The Sermon on the Mount: The Beatitudes (7)

Pray Psalm 111.1-3.
Praise the LORD!
I will praise the LORD with my whole heart,
In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.
The works of the LORD are great,
Studied by all who have pleasure in them.
His work is honorable and glorious,
And His righteousness endures forever.

Sing joyfully Psalm 111.1-3.
(Manoah: When All Your Mercies, O My God)
Praise the Lord! O let my heart give praise here amid His chosen race!
Your works are great, O Lord, and sought by all who know their grace.

For Your work is full of splendor, Lord, and of majesty most pure;
Your righteousness, O glorious God, forever will endure!

Read aloud and meditate on Matthew 5.1-12.

Prepare.
1. Which aspects of life in the Kingdom does Jesus address in these verses?

2. What does it mean to be “blessed”?

Meditate.
We should remember that in God’s covenant, the core promise is that He will bless us (Gen. 12.1-3). To be blessed of God is to be a beneficiary of His favor, to be given access to His Presence, to know and love and serve Him, and to be in a position to realize all the other promises of His covenant which includes extending His blessing to all the families of the earth. The Kingdom of God is the context in which those precious and very great promises are all realized in Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 1.4). As God spoke words of blessing to Abram, Moses, and Israel, here Jesus – as God’s Sent One – speaks words of blessings to all who hear and obey Him.

Jesus assumes the role of covenant-keeper, and He stands in the place of God to give entry to the Kingdom, where all those promises and blessings may be finally possessed. We enter the Kingdom through meekness, mourning for our sins, and looking to Jesus for comfort. He holds out the earth to us as His proper domain – having wrested it all from the devil in Matthew 4.1-11 – and calls us to seek righteousness and purity for our part of it. Kingdom citizens look to God through Jesus Christ, and offer the mercy and peace of God to the world, inviting them to enter the Kingdom as they have, through the blessing of Jesus and His words and work.

Our course in this world will be difficult, as not everyone welcomes the Good News of the Kingdom. But we must meet all opposition with rejoicing, looking to the end of our faith, which is to see Jesus face to face, and to dwell forever with Him in thanksgiving and praise, in a place He is even now preparing for us.

The beatitudes offer a concise summary of the Good News of the Kingdom. But we have many questions, and, in the remainder of the sermon on the mount, Jesus will continue to sketch out the implications and opportunities of life in the Kingdom which is not of this world.

Reflect.
1. How would you explain life in the Kingdom to a new believer in Jesus?

2. All the blessings and promises of the Kingdom are to be found in Jesus. Why is it important that we understand this?

3. Where do you need to see growth in your life as a citizen and ambassador of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ?

So do not suppose that the reward of the kingdom of heaven belongs only to the poor in spirit. It also belongs to those who hunger for justice, and to the meek and to all these blessed others without exception. For he set his blessing upon all these things to keep you from expecting something belonging to this material world. John Chrysostom (344-407), The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 15.5

I love Your Kingdom, Lord! Help me to seek and further it today as I…

Pray Psalm 111.4-10.
Thank the Lord for transferring you into His Kingdom, sealing you in His covenant, redeeming you by His blood, and showing you His wisdom for Kingdom living. Pray about the day ahead, that you might be a faithful ambassador of that Kingdom.

Sing Psalm 111.4-10.
Psalm 111.4-10 (Manoah: When All Your Mercies, O My God)
You have caused Your many wondrous works to remain before our face.
For You are full of mercy, Lord, and abounding all in grace.

For all who fear You, You provide; Your covenant endures.
Your pow’r You show Your people, Lord, and make the nations theirs.

The works of Your all-sovereign hands are faithful, Lord, and just.
Your precepts ever more are true and worthy of our trust.

You have sent redemption, to us, Lord, in Christ of cov’nant fame,
and we in wonder, grace, and awe adore Your holy Name.

All they who would true wisdom know must learn to fear You, Lord,
And in that wisdom daily live and praise You evermore.

T. M. Moore

Worship the Lord!
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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).