August 16, 2015
Morning Service

Matt. 5:1-12

 

After the Lord was baptized by John the Baptist, and by the way according to Luke, Jesus, and John the Baptist were second cousins.  Their mothers, Mary, and Elizabeth, were first cousins.  He was led up by the Spirit, into the wilderness, to be tempted by Satan.  This temptation lasted 40 days.  We know He defeated Satan by quoting Scripture to him.  When Jesus came down from the mountain, He went to His hometown of Nazareth, into the Synagogue,  and the Scriptures were handed to Him to read, as was the custom.  He found the Scripture in Isaiah where it said:

·         Luk 4:18-21  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,  (19)  To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.  (20)  And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.  (21)  And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

Jesus went on to tell them of the Synagogue, Luk 4:24  And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.

 

He was 30 years old, rejected by His own people, had the message of God, and this was the beginning of our Lord’s ministry that lasted 3 years.  Then at 33 years old gave His life a ransom for the sins of mankind on Calvary.  Saying from the cross, while dying, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”

 

Listen as Matthew, the tax collector, describes the beginning of His ministry.

Mat 4:13-17  And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:  (14)  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,  (15)  The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;  (16)  The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.  (17)  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

In this chapter 4 of Matthew, we see Jesus call His first disciples, brothers Peter, and Andrew, then the sons of Zebedee, James, and John.  

Then it is said, Mat 4:23-25  And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.  (24)  And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.  (25)  And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.

            Jesus being with them, there were blessings galore, today, without Him, there is chaos, and destruction.  Wherever He is there are blessings, and where He is not there is turmoil.

The beatitudes:

Mat 5:1-12  And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:  (2)  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, 

·         Jesus sees all different types of people with different attitudes, and needs, so He leaves them, and His closest disciples come to Him, and He teaches them.

 

 

From the comments of Matthew Henry:

Our Saviour here gives eight characters of blessed people, which represent to us the principal graces of a Christian.   Many commentators believe the word Blessed here means happy.

(3)  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

1. The poor in spirit are happy. These bring their minds to their condition, when it is a low condition. They are humble and lowly in their own eyes. They see their want, bewail their guilt, and thirst after a Redeemer. The kingdom of grace is of such; the kingdom of glory is for them.

(4)  Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 

2. Those that mourn are happy. That godly sorrow which worketh true repentance, watchfulness, a humble mind, and continual dependence for acceptance on the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, with constant seeking the Holy Spirit, to cleanse away the remaining evil, seems here to be intended. Heaven is the joy of our Lord; a mountain of joy, to which our way is through a vale of tears. Such mourners shall be comforted by their God.

(5)  Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 

3. The meek are happy. The meek are those who quietly submit to God; who can bear insult; are silent, or return a soft answer; who, in their patience, keep possession of their own souls, when they can scarcely keep possession of anything else. These meek ones are happy, even in this world. Meekness promotes wealth, comfort, and safety, even in this world.

(6)  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 

4. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness are happy. Righteousness is here put for all spiritual blessings. These are purchased for us by the righteousness of Christ, confirmed by the faithfulness of God. Our desires of spiritual blessings must be earnest. Though all desires for grace are not grace, yet such a desire as this, is a desire of God's own raising, and he will not forsake the work of his own hands.

(7)  Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 

5. The merciful are happy. We must not only bear our own afflictions patiently, but we must do all we can to help those who are in misery. We must have compassion on the souls of others, and help them; pity those who are in sin, and seek to snatch them as brands out of the burning.

(8)  Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 

6. The pure in heart are happy; for they shall see God. Here holiness and happiness are fully described and put together. The heart must be purified by faith, and kept for God. Create in me such a clean heart, O God. None but the pure are capable of seeing God, nor would heaven be happiness to the impure. As God cannot endure to look upon their iniquity, so they cannot look upon his purity.

(9)  Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 

7. The peace-makers are happy. They love, and desire, and delight in peace; and study to be quiet. They keep the peace that it be not broken, and recover it when it is broken. If the peace-makers are blessed, woe to the peace-breakers!

(10)  Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

8. Those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake are happy. This saying is peculiar to Christianity; and it is more largely insisted upon than any of the rest. Yet there is nothing in our sufferings that can merit of God; but God will provide that those who lose for him, though life itself, shall not lose by him in the end.

(11)  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.  (12)  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Prayer: Blessed Jesus! how different are thy maxims from those of men of this world! They call the proud happy, and admire the gay, the rich, the powerful, and the victorious. May we find mercy from the Lord; may we be owned as his children, and inherit his kingdom. With these enjoyments and hopes, we may cheerfully welcome low or painful circumstances.