Who Receives the Kingdom?|
Matthew 5:1-4
This morning we are starting a series on the Sermon on the Mount. So let’s turn to Matthew chapter 5. If you need a Bible, we’d like to bring one to you that you can use this morning. So raise your hand and the ushers will bring one to you. Matthew 5 is on page 809 in the Bibles we are passing out.
The Sermon on the Mount is probably the best-known part of the Bible. And if you asked a random cross-section of people if they were living according to the Sermon on the Mount – I think most would answer “yes.” But if they do answer “yes” – it’s because they have not read the Sermon on the Mount.
C. S. Lewis was a follower of Jesus, and a professor of Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University. Here’s what he said about the Sermon on the Mount –
As to ‘caring for’ the Sermon on the Mount, if ‘caring for’ here means ‘liking’ or enjoying, I suppose no one ‘cares for’ it. Who can like being knocked flat on his face by a sledgehammer?
Maybe a better picture is of a sledgehammer knocking the self-righteousness out of us – knocking the pride out of us – knocking the sin out of us. But you get the idea. Those who say they are living by the Sermon on the Mount have probably not read the Sermon on the Mount.
So what we are going to do over the next months is read the Sermon on the Mount. I’ll be teaching on it verse by verse Sunday mornings, we’ll have some time for questions, and then in our home groups we will wrestle with how we are living this out.
So let’s dig in. Why should we listen to the Sermon on the Mount? We get some clues from the first two verses – Matthew 5:1-2 --
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:
What does it mean that Jesus “opened his mouth.” That sounds funny to us, but in biblical times that meant what someone was going to say had unusual importance. It’s like you are a defendant in the courtroom, and the jury foreman is about to give the verdict. Or like you call the doctor’s office and you are about to hear the result of tests.
When the Bible says someone “opens his mouth” to speak – it shows that what someone is going to say has unusual importance.
So why does the Sermon on the Mount have unusual importance? It’s because of who is speaking it. We are starting our study in chapter 5 – but in the first four chapters Matthew has shown us who Jesus is.
Look at the very first verse – Matthew 1:1 –
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.
In the Old Testament God had promised that He would come to earth as a man – a man born in the line of Abraham – a man born in the line of David. Jesus is that man – fully God and fully man.
Then look at vv.22-23 –
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).
700 years before Christ God had said a virgin would conceive and give birth to a baby who would be God with us. Jesus is fully man – and fully God.
I could go on. But you get the point. The reason we should listen to the Sermon on the Mount is because the One speaking is not just a man. He is God. Here you are going to hear the words of the God who has always been, who created you and gave you life, who you were created to know and love and worship.
What is the Sermon on the Mount about? We can see that in the first sentence – look at Matthew 5:3 --
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The Sermon on the Mount is all about the kingdom of heaven – which Jesus also calls the kingdom of God. It’s about who gets to receive the kingdom of heaven, enter the kingdom of heaven, enjoy the kingdom of heaven.
So what is the kingdom of heaven? God created the heavens and the earth, and he created Adam and Eve and all of us so that we could have the joy of knowing Him, trusting Him, depending on Him. God’s kingdom ruled over the earth – and it was paradise.
But Adam and Eve did what all of us have done – they rebelled against their Creator. They turned their backs on God so they could call the shots and run their lives.
And the result was horrifying. God withdrew His Kingdom from this earth, and allowed evil to spread throughout the earth and Satan and his kingdom to rule the earth.
So under God’s ultimate sovereignty, Satan’s kingdom has ruled this world. And because of our sin all of us have been slaves of Satan’s kingdom – with all its emptiness, greed, pride, and racism.
But God promised that one day He would come to earth as a man. That He would be punished in our place for our sins and rise from the dead. That through this He would break the power of Satan’s kingdom and re-establish the kingdom of heaven.
So all through the Old Testament people waited for God’s kingdom. They longed for God’s kingdom. They prayed for God’s kingdom. So imagine how you would have felt when one day you see a crowd gathering around a man named “Jesus” and you hear Him say -- “The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection human beings can be transferred from Satan’s kingdom into God’s kingdom. We can be freed from all our guilt. We can experience His power changing us. We can feel His presence satisfying us. We no longer need to live in Satan’s kingdom – we can live in God’s kingdom.
But how? Who gets to enter the kingdom of God? Who gets to receive God’s kingdom? Everyone listening to Jesus would immediately think of the scribes and Pharisees – the religious leaders. They never lie. They don’t associate with sinful people. They always go to the temple. Surely they will receive the kingdom of heaven. So the kingdom of heaven is for those who are morally wealthy, spiritually wealthy, who are really good people.
That’s what everyone would have thought. Which is why Jesus’ first words would have left everyone speechless. Who receives the kingdom of heaven? Look again at v.3 --
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Who receives the kingdom? Not those who look at their lives and think “I’m morally wealthy, I’m spiritually wealthy.” No. It’s those who look at their lives and admit -- “I’m spiritually poor. I’m morally bankrupt.”
So let’s be honest. When you look at who you are – do you see that in yourself, apart from Christ – you are spiritually poor, morally bankrupt – with nothing to recommend you to God?
Now you might say “Wait a minute. I work hard at my job. I serve others. I raise my kids well.” How can Jesus say I am spiritually poor – morally bankrupt?”
Think of the illustration I used a few weeks ago. Imagine a boat captain building a luxury yacht and fitting it out with state-of-the-art equipment and beautiful staterooms and stocking the galley with the best French wine and lobster and tri-tip. And he invites all of us to join him on a cruise to the Bahamas – all expenses paid. That’s what God has done in creating this world and us.
And what did we do? We all mutinied against the captain, because we wanted to be in charge, we wanted to call the shots, we wanted to run the boat. We mutinied and threw him overboard.
So – what if you now are faithfully doing your job steering the boat? That changes nothing – you are still a mutineer. What if you serve the rest of the crew by swabbing the deck? That changes nothing – you are still a mutineer. What if you raise your kids well on the boat? That changes nothing – you are still a mutineer.
We have all rebelled against God. We have all turned our backs on Him so we could be in charge, call the shots, run our lives. So it makes no difference whatever else we do – before God we are mutineers. Spiritually poor. Morally bankrupt.
And when the Son of God opens his mouth, the first words of the Sermon on the Mount are – blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
So -- to be transferred from Satan’s kingdom into the joys of God’s kingdom the first step is to recognize that you are poor in spirit. Which means that when you look at yourself before God, you don’t say -- “I’m a pretty good person.” You don’t say -- “I’m better than George.”
No. You say – “I’m spiritually bankrupt. Morally bankrupt. I have nothing in me that deserves anything good from God. All I deserve from God is judgment and punishment.” And if that’s what you are saying then Jesus says you are blessed -- “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
But that’s not all Jesus says. Jesus also tells us what to do about our spiritual poverty. What should we do about our spiritual poverty? Look at what Jesus says in v.4 --
4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
It’s not enough to recognize our spiritual poverty. Jesus calls us to come to Him and mourn for our spiritual poverty, sorrow for our spiritual poverty, repent of our spiritual poverty.
That might shock you – because many people today would urge you not to mourn over your sin, not to feel guilty over your sin. People have created religions which say – it’s wrong to feel guilty, stop mourning, feel good about yourself.
But that’s not what Jesus taught. Jesus calls us to mourn over the ways we have turned our backs on God – over the ways we have rebelled against Him.
It’s important to understand what mourning is – and what it is not.
Mourning is not feeling bad because you have dishonored your image of yourself. It’s not thinking “I should be better than that, I should be above that, I’m bad, bad, bad.”
Nor is mourning feeling bad because you have dishonored your image to others. It’s not feeling bad because your wife knows what you have done, or your home group knows what you have done, or your boss knows what you have done.
Mourning is feeling bad because you have dishonored God. The more clearly you see God, the more powerfully you will feel the wrong of what you have done, and the more deeply you will mourn.
For example --
God promises that He will completely satisfy our hearts. Look at God’s love, majesty, power, compassion. But we go days without opening His Word? We’d rather watch American Idol? We’d rather go shopping? Can we feel how wrong that is? We should mourn.
God forgives us through faith in Jesus. Think of it – you have sinned against God – and because of Jesus He has completely forgiven you. So – we won’t forgive each other? We bear grudges against each other? Look down on each other? Can we feel how wrong that is? We should mourn.
God promises that He will ordain everything to bring us the greatest joy in Him. So – we worry about the future? We grumble when trials come? We are bitter in the midst of difficulties? Can we feel how wrong that is? We should mourn.
This kind of mourning doesn’t come naturally. It needs to be nurtured. Prayed for. Sought. But when you have this kind of mourning, Jesus says --
4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
They shall be comforted. How does that work? We are mourning – how can we be comforted?
It’s because Jesus died on the Cross to pay for all the guilt of all your sin. It’s because when you come to Him and mourn for your sin – all your guilt is completely paid – and you are completely forgiven.
And when you are completely forgiven – something amazing will happen. God will pour His love into your heart in a way you can feel – in a way you can experience. You will have the greatest joy known to a human being. And you will know you are in the kingdom of heaven.
Questions?
So what does this mean for us?
It’s simple. Today and every day -- recognize that you are spiritually, morally bankrupt. And mourn for your sin before Jesus, repenting for your sin before Jesus, confessing your sin to Jesus.
And every day you will be comforted – God will pour His love and forgiveness upon you and your heart will be completely satisfied. And you will know that you have received the kingdom of heaven – you have entered the kingdom of heaven – you can enjoy the kingdom of heaven now and forever.
And that’s what Caleb Shao has done – which is why we get to celebrate his baptism together.