In Christ, You Are The Blessed :: Matthew 5:1-12

Then having seen the crowds, [Jesus] walked up into the mountain. And when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And when he opened his mouth, he began to teach them, saying (vv 1-2) ... 

CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ARE THE BLESSED.

This is our theme.

Please now turn to page 325 in your (Lutheran Service Book) and join me in confessing our faithful doctrine on the Third Article of the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. 

How can water do such great things? Certainly not just water, but the word of God in and with the water does these things, along with the faith which trusts this word of God in the water. For without God’s word the water is plain water and no Baptism. But with the word of God it is a Baptism, that is, a life-giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul says in Titus, chapter three: He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. (Titus 3:5–8)

I.

Dear Saints in Christ ... The Kingdom of the Heavens is yours ... you will be comforted ... you will receive your inheritance ... you will be filled to satisfaction ... you will be shown mercy. ... you will see God ... you will be called sons (and yes, daughters) of God. ... You don’t deserve any of this one bit, but it’s all yours. You who have nothing have everything. So, let us rejoice and be glad ... because Jesus doesn’t say you are blessed nine times so that you can expect a curse.

Today we observe All Saints Day. You who confess the faith in Jesus, who confess his word and promises are not only true but inerrant and that they deliver the forgiveness of sins ... you  who have been baptized ... you are the saints who are arrayed in white, like thousand snowclad mountains bright (LSB 676 st 1)!

Traditionally, most people reserve the title “saint” for those who have lived an exemplary life of faith. That doesn’t mean those who go to church every Sunday are saints. Nor does this title necessarily apply to those people we call good. Those who have studied the lives of the people who bear the official title saint very quickly discover that the saints were sinners at heart. We are sinners who sin ... born in sin ... and save for our Lord Jesus returning on the clouds in glory first, our sin will ultimately kill us. But we are at the same time saints. We have been declared holy ... that is, saved in grace by means of faith, and this is not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not out of works, so that no one can boast (Eph 2:8-9). We are saints because God has shown us grace ... that is, given us the forgiveness of sins.

II.

There is only One who has actually merited the favor of God, that is, earned the right to the title saint. That would be Christ Jesus. He is the Holy One of God. And today he has come to this place where heaven and earth meet ... the mountain. Here, the Word Made Flesh opens his mouth and describes how we are blessed. 

Many teach that the Beatitudes Jesus speaks here are primarily rules of the road for your way of life as Christians. Some even teach that if you try really hard, you can actually live up to them. But taken that way, the Beatitudes are pure Law. That is, they condemn and give no hope. 

Instead, listen to Jesus: You won’t hear a curse. 

The Beatitudes are pure Gospel because they properly describe Christ ... of who he is and what he is doing for all of you: He has led you to this mountain. He has brought you into repentance, that is, given you faith to recognize your sin and that he is your savior. You are blessed here ... incorporated here ... united here ... into communion with Christ. 

III.

Jesus says ... Blessed [are] the poor in spirit because the kingdom of the heavens belongs to them (v 3). To be poor in spirit is to recognize that you have nothing to offer God who is the giver of all good things. As Saint Paul wrote, Jesus, though already existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied himself ... he had nothing ... taking the form of a slave ... who had nothing ... being born in the likeness of men. And having been found in the appearance of man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient unto the point of death, [even] death [on] a cross (Pp 2:6-8). Think about it ... Jesus had everything, yet died with nothing so that we who have nothing could have everything that belongs to him. So congratulations, the kingdom of the heavens belongs to you. 

Then Jesus said ... Blessed [are] those who mourn because they will be comforted (v 4). Who has mourned but the one who was born without sin and lived his entire life without sin, and then was punished for all sin? It was Jesus who was despised and rejected by men. It was Jesus who was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (Is 53:4). It was Jesus who wept at the tomb of his beloved friend Lazarus (Jn 11:36, Rm 6:23). More than that it was Jesus who cried out from the cross when he was separated from God by your sin. But thanks be to God, on account of this the God of all comfort now lives in you.

Then Jesus said ... Blessed [are] the meek because they will inherit the earth (v 5). Who is meek but the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who entered Jerusalem, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey (Zec 9:9). It was Jesus who in gentleness invites you to come toward him for rest (Mt 11:28). He is the one who can give you rest because he is the one who actually rested on the Sabbath after all of his work ensuring that your sin died with him and was buried so that it will never be heard from again. 

Then Jesus said ... Blessed [are] those hungering and thirsting for righteousness because they will be filled to satisfaction (v 6). It was Jesus who hungered and thirst for righteousness, not for himself, but for you and me. First, on the night he was betrayed, he took bread and the cup, and having given thanks, he broke it and gave it to us saying, Take and eat. Take and drink. My body and blood are given for the forgiveness of your sins. (Mt 26:26-28). The righteousness of God, which is Jesus, is now one with you. 

Then Jesus said ... Blessed [are] the merciful because they will be shown mercy (v 7). Jesus is the epitome of the merciful one. The wages of sin is death. But instead of allowing you to face all of God’s wrath for your sin, Jesus stood in your place. That is mercy. God poured out his wrath upon Jesus so that your sin would die with Jesus. Lord, have mercy. And because the Father is merciful, he then raised Jesus from the dead. 

He is now risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah! 

Then Jesus said ... Blessed [are] the pure in heart because they will see God (v 8). We do not have pure hearts. In fact, as Ezekiel reminds us, we have hard hearts. But the Lord God promised to remove the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh (Eze 36:26), a pure heart. And he fulfilled that in baptism. As Jesus told Nicodemus, Amen, Amen, I tell you that unless one is begotten from above he cannot see the kingdom of God (Jn 3:3). But each of you have been washed, sanctified, cleansed by the washing of water and the word (Eph 5:26). Now you can see and hear.

Then Jesus said ... Blessed [are] the peacemakers because they will be called sons of God (v 9). Do you know what it means that the Lord of Peace grants you peace at all times in every way (2 Th 3:16). It means you receive forgiveness only on account of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. As Saint Paul tells us in Colossians, Jesus has made peace by the blood of his cross (Col 1:20). He did this also so you can share that peace. As Paul tells us in Ephesians, Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you (Eph 4:32).

Then Jesus said ... Blessed [are] those being persecuted on account of righteousness because the kingdom of the heavens belongs to them. Blessed [are] you when they revile you and persecute you and say all evil against you (falsely) on account of me (vv 10-11). I am not sure that there is a greater tragedy than being persecuted for being a Christian, for following the way of peace, forgiving and being forgiven. But it happens every day. You will be despised for sharing the love of God with one another. You will be hated because of Jesus.

Therefore ... Rejoice and be glad because your wages are many in the heavens, for in this way they persecuted the prophets, the ones before you (v 12). 

Dear Saints of God, that’s what Saint John was showing us in our first reading. This is a picture not only of heaven, but also of you here in the church on earth. Already our Lord has sanctified you in the waters of baptism, dwells among you in his Word and Sacrament, and bestows upon you the victory over your enemies. 

So come. You may not feel like a saint yet, but in God’s eyes you are. See what kind of love the Father has given to us? You who have faith in these words ... given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins ... are worthy and well-prepared to receive his body and blood. Jesus has saved you. That means you are saints. 

So come ... in his name.