A Righteous Portrait of the King

1. A Righteous Portrait of the King Mt 5:1-12

2. Mt 5:1 Ἰδὼν δὲ τοὺς ὄχλους ἀνέβη εἰς τὸ ὄρος, καὶ καθίσαντος αὐτοῦ προσῆλθαν αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ· Then after seeing the crowd He went up to the mountain and after sitting down His disciples came to Him.

3. Mt 5:2 2 καὶ ἀνοίξας τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ ἐδίδασκεν αὐτοὺς λέγων· And opening His mouth He began to teach them, saying, “

4. The Setting • We do not know where “the Mount” is except it is in Galilee based on the context. • Crowds and disciples are not contrasted as different groups, cf 7:28. • Yet there is a separation of disciples or learners from non-learners in the crowds. • Principle: Go where the Lord is to receive the Spiritual food He offers. • The SERMON on the Mount was a TEACHING event.

6. Mt 5:3-12: The Beatitudes • v3Happy are the poor in spirit, because belonging to them is the Kingdom of Heaven. • v4Happy are those who mourn, because they will be comforted. • v5Happy are the gentle because they will inherit the earth. • v6Happy are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness because they will be filled to satisfaction. (CHORTAZW) • v7 Happy are those who show mercy, for they will be shown mercy. • v8Happy are the clean in heart because they will see God. • v9 Happy are the peacemakers because they will be called sons of God. • v10 Happy are those who are persecuted on account of righteousness because belonging to them is the Kingdom of Heaven. 11 Happy are you when they should revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil about you, being false, on account of Me. 12 Rejoice and leap for joy because your reward is great in heaven, for in this way the prophets before you were persecuted.

7. What is a Beatitude? • A Beatitude is one of the 9 statements in Matt 5:3-12 that begins with “happy” or “blessed.” • The word is a transliteration from LatinBEATITUDO = “happiness” BEATUS = “happy” Verb: BEARE = “make happy” • In other words: In English, a beatitude is one of the 9 “happys” in Matt 5:3-12 and nothing else.

8. #1: v3: POORNESS 3 Μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. Happy are the poor in spirit because belonging to them is the Kingdom of Heaven.

9. Poverty of Spirit • Poverty of spirit refers to the inner conviction of a fallen human’s spiritual bankruptcy. • A man who is poor in spirit realizes that he has no right to relationship with God because he is sinful. • Poor means you do not have something you need. • Poor in spirit means you know that you have that need. • Most humans are poor in righteousness but not in spirit. • Everywhere in the Sermon on the Mount, experience is expected to match position.

10. #2: v4: SADNESS 4 μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται. Happy are those who are mourning Because they will be comforted

11. Mourning • Mourning is the action that corresponds to knowing we’re poor. • Comfort for the sadness that should be present in everyone over sin is available only to those who know it. • The picture of mourning and poorness of spirit presents a principle we need to understand: • Our attitude should match God’s attitude concerning sin. • The more we take on His character the more we will reject what He rejects and approve what He will approve.

12. Couplets • Happy are the poor in spirit because belonging to them is the Kingdom of Heaven. • Happy are those who are mourning because they will be comforted • Rulership • Resolution

13. #3: v5: GENTLENESS 5 μακάριοι οἱ πραεῖς, ὅτι αὐτοὶ κληρονομήσουσιν τὴν γῆν. Happy are the gentle because they will inherit the earth.

14. Weak? Meek? Or Humble? • The word for meek is prau~, and the best lexicon says this: “pert. to not being overly impressed by a sense of one’s self-importance, gentle, humble, considerate, meek in the older favorable sense….” • The word occurs 4 times in the NT, 3 in Matthew. • It best describes the humble attitude of a good leader. • Mt 11:29:  “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

15. Mt 21:5: “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, Gentle, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” • 1 Pet 3:3-4: “Your adornment…let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of the Lord. • This character trait was once expected of all men in our culture with the use of the word “gentleman” because from the Biblical worldview, aristocracy meant having power to be kind and charitable.

16. Principle: Gentleness is a character quality, not an assessment of net financial worth. • Principle: However the key to attaining the eternal estate of our inheritance—real wealth—is the character that goes with it. • Application: We teach our children to be ladies and gentlemen after the pattern of Jesus Christ because this is the necessary character quality for rulership under Him. • Therefore the issue is not strength vs. weakness but the character of the person who has wisdom to dispense his strength with kindness and equity.