Revolution, entry 2: The Beatitudes-Seeing Things Upside Down

Posted by: Brandon | November 1, 2007

Revolution, entry 2: The Beatitudes-Seeing Things Upside Down

Part 2.

Last week I introduced you to the revolution that I feel God has brought to our feet here at CCH and Northwest.

If you weren’t here last week, we talked about what a revolution is…that the word literally means “to turn around” and it’s the process of removing something old and replacing it with something new. For example, the American Revolution was the process by which the forefathers of our country took the old structure of their government…the monarchy of England…and replaced it with something new…their democratic ideas. They took something and turned it…

And we talked about a few different areas that I can see a revolution forming in the lives of Christians…and in our talk, we looked at the old way of thinking about a few things and then the new way of thinking that is possible.

For example, we talked about the old idea that Jesus came only to this earth to make sure we could go to heaven. Basically, this is an idea that the only reason Jesus came was to prepare us to die. But the revolution…the new way of thinking (and it really isn’t new…it’s ancient…we are just re-discovering the idea) is that Jesus came to bring us life. And not just eternal life later…but abundant life now. And think about it…if all Jesus cared about was what happened to us after we died, then why did he spend so much time talking about how we should live life. Why did he talk about hatred and murder and adultery and lust and money? Because…Jesus didn’t come to just prepare us to die; he came to show us how to live. And that’s the revolution.

We also talked about the Kingdom of God…we all have heard that term over and over again and read it a hundred times in the Bible, but so few of us understand what it actually is. All too often, we think that the Kingdom of Heaven (or the Kingdom of God, the terms are interchangeable) is just when we die or when Jesus comes back. But, both John the Baptist and Jesus said that the Kingdom is here…now. Not just there and later. And therein lies the revolution…living our lives right now in such a way so that people can see we are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, which is here.

And that is what we are going to be talking about all semester.

And we finished last week asking the question…what can we start to do to bring the revolution here to CCH and to Northwest? And do you remember the answer?

Repent.

Jesus’ first sermon:

Mark 1:14-15 ESV

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Repent…and interestingly enough, this word ‘repent’ means the same thing that the word ‘revolution’ means: to turn around.

We have to turn around from what we think we already know…we have to get rid of our assumptions about Jesus and his church and his Kingdom. The reason why so many people missed Jesus the first time was because they had bad assumptions about who and what he should be…and they failed to repent of those assumptions…and because they failed to repent of those assumptions, they missed the revolution.

And I can promise you…you do not want to miss this revolution.

Listen to these words of Paul…

Colossians 1:13 ESV

13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son…

So, are you ready? Are you ready to begin the revolution with me? Are you ready to move from something old (the domain of darkness) and be transferred to something new (the kingdom of Jesus)?

PRAY

Matthew 5 is where we are going to start out…

To understand the essence of the American Revolution, it makes sense to look at the Declaration of Independence…because it is the revolution manifesto. It tells you exactly what the revolution is all about.

In the book of Matthew, chapters 5 through 7, we have what we call the Sermon on the Mount. And if you want to understand the kingdom revolution, you have to read the Sermon on the Mount…it is the kingdom manifesto. It tells you exactly what the revolution is all about.

Let’s read the manifesto introduction:

Matthew 5:1-12 ESV

5:1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others 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 so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Let’s unpack this just a little bit…

There is no doubt that this is King Jesus’ inaugural address…and in it, he is explaining what he expects from the members of his Kingdom.

It’s interesting, in verse 1, that we see Jesus go up on the mountain and begin to teach…the Old Testament law was given on a mountain. Moses went up, heard the law from God, and told the people. Here, Jesus goes up on the mountain and tells the people of a new law. This coincidence and significance would not have been lost of the people who were listening to Jesus…he is beginning the revolution. The old is being replaced by the new.

And he uses this word over and over…blessed.

The original Greek word for blessed is ‘makarios.’ Many people think this word mean ‘happy,’ but happiness is based on our circumstances, and that is obviously not what Jesus is referring to.

In the original language, the word ‘makarios’ was used to describe people who had no cares in this world…and the Greeks could only find 3 types of people who had no cares.

1) The gods. The gods had achieved a state of life that was beyond all the cares and labors of the rest of us…they were beyond what normal people deal with. And so the Greeks said they were blessed: ‘makarios.’

2) The dead. The Greeks felt like people who had died were blessed: ‘makarios,’ because they no longer were dealing with the cares of life.

3) The wealthy. People who had extreme wealth were thought to be above all the normal cares of this world because they had enough money to pay someone else to worry about all that stuff for them. And so the Greeks called them blessed: ‘makarios.’

So, the Greeks felt that you either had to be a god, be dead, or be filthy rich to be blessed: ‘makarios.’

But, here Jesus is saying that in his kingdom, there are people who also are blessed: ‘makarios.’ Who are they?

Well, they aren’t the gods or the dead or the filthy rich. The blessed ones are the humble, sad, weak, poor peacemakers. Those are the ones who are blessed: ‘makarios.’

This is quite different from what people were used to. And people could tell right from the start of Jesus’ message that things in the revolution are different…

You could almost say it was upside-down.

How many of you remember your biology class from junior high school? Do you remember when you studied the human eye?

When you look at something…the retina of your eye flips it upside down and projects onto the backside of your eye…and it projects it upside-down. Nerve endings, called rods and cones, then take those upside-down images and sends them to your brain…and then your brain takes those upside-down images and puts them back together right side up…

Jesus is placing these images before us…and he wants us to see them as upside-down. He wants us to see that what people think is right-side-up is wrong…and that upside-down is right.

Make sense?

Let me explain…in today’s culture, as well as in Jesus’ culture…the people who had it made were the winners, the wealthy, the clever, the victors, the well-respected. That seems to us to be right-side-up.

But Jesus wants us to see things upside-down. He says the poor and the humble and the persecuted are the one’s who have it made. Jesus sets the stage for his radical Kingdom by turning normal perceptions and standard common sense upside-down.

Let’s take a minute to look at each of these Beatitudes…and with each of these Beatitudes, we are going to ask the question:

“What if Jesus really meant what he said?”

Matthew 5:3 ESV

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are the poor in spirit…I love the word “poor” here…the image it gives us is of a beggar who is crouching down. He is holding out one hand asking for charity, and with the other hand, he is covering his face because he does not want to be recognized. He is ashamed of his low position…

Spiritual poverty…poor in spirit…Jesus calls this spiritual beggar blessed.

Jesus calls the man who crouches down and hides his face and holds out his hand blessed…and he says he is blessed because he receives the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom is received by those who know where they stand before God. The kingdom is received by those who crouch down and hold out their hand.

Listen to these words of Christ:

Luke 18:9-14 ESV

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

The spiritually proud (those who “trusted in themselves that they were righteous”) do not receive the kingdom, because they don’t hold out their hands. Only the spiritually bankrupt get it…because they hold out empty hands to their Father.

This is the first beatitude…because it’s the foundation for everything Jesus teaches us in the revolution. What comes next stems from this first beatitude.

So let’s ask our question: what if Jesus really meant what he said? What if they only ones who can receive the kingdom are those who are spiritually poor…those who are humble…those who hold out their empty hands? Will you be able to receive the kingdom? Are you too full of yourself to be empty before Christ?

Matthew 5:4 ESV

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

If we take the first beatitude seriously…if we realize that we are nothing but humble beggars before our God, then this next beatitude will flow from the first. Those who realize their humble state before God will naturally mourn over their sin.

Those who are completely broken over their sin…those who mourn…receive comfort. They find their comfort in the Good News of Christ. It’s only in complete brokenness that we find complete healing.

Paul says in II Corinthians:

II Corinthians 7:10 ESV

10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

Godly grief leads us to repentance…and that leads to salvation…blessed are those who suffer from godly grief, for it leads them to repentance and salvation, and to, as Jesus says, comfort.

That word ‘comfort’ literally means ‘to call near.’ So what Jesus is saying is, ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be called near to me.’

So let’s ask the question: what if Jesus really meant what he said? Then we must be broken by our sin. We must mourn over it. And we must allow that mourning, that grief, to lead us to repentance and salvation and comfort. We must follow the words of James:

James 4:9-10 ESV

9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Matthew 5:5 ESV

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Jesus quotes here Psalm 37…which says:

Psalm 37:11 ESV

11 But the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in abundant peace.

Again, this beatitude builds upon the foundation of the previous 2…we become spiritually bankrupt, mourning over our sins, and that leads us to this place of meekness.

Meekness is the quality of a gentle spirit…a lot of people equate meekness with weakness, but that’s not accurate. Jesus was meek, but he surely wasn’t weak. Jesus states that those who are meek will inherit the land, which is completely opposite (upside-down) from logical thinking that states that the powerful are the ones who will take over the land by their strength. Jesus says this is not so.

Meekness is gentleness, humility, modesty…

Meekness is an essential Christian characteristic…listen to what Paul says:

Colossians 3:12-14 ESV

12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, endurance, forgiveness, and love…those sound like weak character traits…but Jesus makes it clear that those are the most powerful character traits one can have in his kingdom.

In fact, it’s those people who embody these characteristics that, Jesus says, inherit the earth. The Jews listening to Jesus would have recognized his quoting from the Psalms…and they would have understood what he was saying.

To the Jews, owing land was the greatest blessing. So, inheriting much land was inheriting much blessing. When we were ‘inherit the earth’ or ‘inherit the land,’ we think about taking over some property, probably by force. We see it in wars all the time.

But when Jesus was talking about ‘inheriting the earth,’ he was talking about inheriting the blessings that land symbolized. Jesus didn’t mean that the meek would inherit property, he meant they would inherit great blessing from their Father in heaven.

So, what if Jesus really meant what he said? We have to ask ourselves if we seek power and prestige. Do we seek honor from people? Do we seek revenge upon our enemies? Are we quick to speak and defend our position? Even Jesus, when standing accused before his crucifixion, refused to speak. Do we seek to serve others and offer a quiet word? Do we seek to serve or be served?

Jesus promises a blessing for those who are meek.

Matthew 5:6 ESV

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…hunger and thirst are our deepest cravings. Daily we feel hunger and daily we feel thirst.

I remember when Keri, my wife, was pregnant with our first child. She had mild cases of morning sickness, and to fight it off, she would wake up and the first thing she did was eat. In fact, she kept a package of crackers next to our bed. She would wake up, sit up, and eat.

What if we pursued righteousness with that kind of urgency?

But what if we daily hungered and thirst for righteousness? What if righteousness became our highest priority, even more so than food or drink? What if our deepest cravings, our deepest desire was for righteousness?

When Jesus came onto the scene, righteousness was a relationship. The Pharisees considered themselves to be very righteous, because they followed all the right rules and said all the right prayers and washed their hands the right way. But Jesus says, a little bit later in the Sermon on the Mount, that our righteousness has to exceed that of the Pharisees…our righteousness is more than just following the rules. Our righteousness comes from a relationship…

What if we pursued that relationship with Christ the way we pursue our food and drink?

Jesus says if we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we will be satisfied. That word ‘satisfied’ is the word folks used when they fed and fattened their animals. It’s the same word used in the NT when Jesus fed the 5,000 and the 4,000. The Bible says they ate and were satisfied…they were full…they were fulfilled.

What if Jesus really meant what he said? We would pursue righteousness…holiness…relationship with him. We would pursue it as our #1 priority. What if we fasted? What if we fasted from food for a few days to pursue righteousness?

Keep a look out…we are going to have a few days of fasting here in the next few weeks to do just that.

Jesus says later in the Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 6:33 ESV

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness…

David’s words would be our words:

Psalm 63:1 ESV

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Matthew 5:7 ESV

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Mercy is compassion…but it’s more than that. Mercy is undeserved compassion and kindness. Mercy is freely given and received by those who do not deserve it.

And Jesus calls us here to be merciful to others…

Jesus tells a story in Matthew 18…it’s one of my favorite stories in all of Scripture. We will look at it in depth later. But he tells the story of a man who owed his master 10,000 talents. A talent was about 20 years worth of a day laborer’s wages. So, in today’s language, I make about $107. There are 7,300 days in 20 years…so 7,300 times $107 is a little over $781K. This man owed his master a lot of money…but he begged for mercy and received it from his master and his master canceled his debt.

Then this man went out and found someone who owed him 100 denarii. A denarius was a day’s wage…so in today’s language, this man owed him about $10K. But this man who had just had his $781K debt canceled refused to cancel the $10K debt of this man under him. In fact, he threw him into prison.

Jesus tells us that word made it back to this man’s master, the one who canceled his $781K debt and he says this:

Matthew 18:32-35 ESV

32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

You see, we are to give mercy because we have received mercy. And, according to this beatitude, we will receive mercy because we give it. It’s a part of a circle…we give it because we got it…and we get it because we give it.

Blessed is he who shows mercy for mercy will be shown to him.

So, what if Jesus really meant what he said?

What if the mercy we receive is dependent upon the mercy we show? Have we failed to show mercy? Are there grudges that we carry right now that are prohibiting us from receiving mercy from God? We have to show undeserved kindness and compassion to others if we are going to take our place in the Kingdom…we are going to have to love our enemies, forgive those who sin against us, give food to those who are hungry, clothe those who are naked, give water to those who thirst, welcome those who are strangers, visit those who are sick, stand up for those who are treated unjustly.

Could you imagine what Northwest would look like if we would show mercy? And in doing so, if we would receive mercy?

Matthew 5:8 ESV

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

In the Jewish culture, the heart was thought to be the center of the human being…out of the heart flowed emotions, thoughts, motivations, courage, and actions.

The book of Proverbs confirms this for us:

Proverbs 4:23 ESV

23 Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.

Out of your heart flows the springs of life…Jesus calls us to keep those springs pure. He calls us to keep our emotions, thoughts, motivations, and actions pure. A pure heart leads to a pure life.

And Jesus states that if we will do this, we shall see God. This echoes what we find in the book of Psalms:

Psalm 24:3-4 ESV

3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart…

Jesus is calling the citizens of his kingdom to care about their hearts…which is upside-down from what most of them were hearing from the Pharisees. The Pharisees cared about the external…Jesus is calling us inward.

So, what if Jesus really meant what he said? Then we would do whatever it takes to keep our hearts pure…that word ‘pure’ could also mean clean. We will do whatever it takes to keep our hearts clean. If we struggle with sin, we must radically amputate that sin. Jesus says that if you’re right eye causes you to sin…gouge it out. That’s crazy-talk…but it’s also an indication of how serious we are to be taking this charge to keep ourselves pure.

If you struggle with internet porn…I daresay, get rid of your computer.

If you struggle with unforgiveness…I daresay, go before that person you hold a grudge against and ask for their forgiveness for your unforgiveness.

If you struggle with gossip when you are around a friend…I daresay, spend some time apart.

That all sounds radical…but so is gouging out your own eye.

The pure in heart will see God…

Matthew 5:9 ESV

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

A peacemaker is one who seeks to bring harmony and reconciliation between two parties. Jesus was a peacemaker…he stands between us, as sinful—and our Father, as perfect—and makes peace.

Paul says this:

Romans 5:1 ESV

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus has brought us peace…he has made peace between us and God.

Making peace is an active thing…it’s not passive. It requires action and sacrifice.

We need to be striving to make peace in two ways:

1) We need to strive to make peace between others and God…just as we have found. If we are Christians, we have found that peace and now it is our responsibility to make that peace for others.

2) We need to strive to make peace between others and others. Just as we want others to have a harmonious relationship with God, we realize that we are called to have a harmonious relationship with others as well.

Romans 12:18 ESV

18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Live at peace with all…

It’s interesting to me that Jesus promises that peacemakers will be called sons of God…especially since he was THE Son of God and he was THE ultimate peacemaker. If we will follow in his footsteps and make peace as well, we are called sons of God. We are being like Jesus…we are doing what Jesus did…and we will be called sons of God as well.

So, what if Jesus really meant what he said? It means that we have to actively strive for peace. If we have a damaged relationship with somebody, we have to pursue peace. We have to set down our weapons of hatred and jealousy and stubbornness. And we have to make peace. And Paul tells us we can’t just live at peace with the people we like or the people we get along with…he says we are to strive to live at peace with all…as far as it depends on us.

Some people may not want the peace that you are pursuing…but as far as it depends on you, pursue it. And you shall be called a sons and daughters of God.

Matthew 5:10 ESV

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

It doesn’t get anymore upside-down than this…Jesus states that the person who is persecuted for the sake of righteousness is blessed. And, it’s interesting that Jesus states that theirs is the kingdom of heaven…this is the last beatitude, and the first beatitude (blessed are the poor in spirit) stated that they would also receive the kingdom of heaven.

The kingdom of heaven sandwich…blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.

Blessed are you when you live your life so upside-down that people persecute you…I think this is Jesus’ way of bringing all the beatitudes together. When you live life upside-down…when you are poor in spirit, when you are mourning over your sin and when you are in a place of meekness, when you hunger and thirst for righteousness, when you show mercy, when you strive for purity of heart and peace with each other…you will be persecuted for righteousness’ sake. And you are blessed. And the kingdom of God will be yours.

Jesus goes onto say:

Matthew 5:11-12 ESV

Living the life of revolution in the kingdom is offensive…you will be insulted and abused and scorned and persecuted and bad-mouthed. But Jesus encourages us to rejoice and be glad…because these same people did those same things to the prophets before us…and the prophets are great in God’s kingdom.

So, the question of the night: What if Jesus really meant what he said? Well, if he really meant it, it means that persecution WILL come our way. And if it doesn’t come our way, we have to ask ourselves if we are really living the principles of the kingdom of God. If we aren’t really living the principles, then we won’t find persecution because we are not living out loud.

But, if we are living by these principles, we will find persecution…because our lives will be different than those who don’t know our King.

And with these words…

Matthew 5:3-10 ESV