Text: Matthew 5:1-12; Revelation 7
Theme: “1 – Blessed”
Series: “Living towards Life”
Part 2 – Faithfully
Part 3 – Focused
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Intro – The law of the Beatitudes
When we start reading Matthew 5, we may be caught up dwelling in high moral standard it brings. More so, thinking about the many ways in which we are NOT living up to them. Did you have that kind of feeling going through the Beatitudes during the Gospel Reading? “Oh my, and I thought I was a good Christian…”
Let’s recap some of them:
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Is this how you feel when you lose someone?
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth – is meekness one of your strengths, truly? What about discussing a hot topic in the family?
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” – I know you want justice to be done, but how often do you hunger for it? What do you do to promote in your daily practice?
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God – Pure are heart? Here I think I got everyone in.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God – If it is about a topic I disagree with, then I’ll be vocal and promote fire instead of peace.
“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. Who doesn’t like a good persecution, right? The prophets were so courageous, I would do the same, I will stand for God even if that would cost me my reputation and my life… Only that when practical situations come, we are not always so eager to let the light shine.
The unfortunate fact about this list is that you may clear this or that topic, but you eventually trample and fall in one of them. Then St James comes in to tell you, “If you fail in one commandment, you broke the entire Law.”[1]
And the news for you keeps getting worse: it ramps up from here. When you go home, read the rest of chapter 5, plus 6 and 7, see the other standards Jesus sets for the commandments to be completely convinced that you have failed the test.
It seems to be a cul-de-sac, a no-win situation. And it will always be, if that is the only way we approach Jesus’ Beatitudes as they are called. We may be tempted to approach the text and draw a message about behaviour and moral standards only. “Here is how you should behave and here’s your prize if you do so.”
The GOSPEL of the Beatitudes
We need to go beyond. For when we read the text as it is written, we see more. For example, did you notice the tense of the verb to be? Does it say, “Blessed will be” or “blessed are”?
The first good news coming is Jesus saying, “Blessed are”. He is stating a present reality. You are blessed for being so and so, therefore you are an heir to the life eternal. As we saw, all the rewards Jesus mentions refer primarily to the Life to come.
This is where our theme for November connects, Living towards Life. The Sermon on the Mountain is one of the many biblical passages where we find how we live this life while we walk toward Life – Eternal. We find also that living in Christ doesn’t only let us know this truth about life and death in the distant future. It also impacts our whole life already here, today, now.
How do Jesus say you live your life towards Life? He says that you live as a blessed person. This is how you live: blessed. You don’t have to fight for it, conquer it, deserve it. You don’t behave your way into that condition – you wouldn’t be able to anyways. You are Blessed. Jesus says, blessed are you, Hope worshippers, who are meek, pure at heart, hungry for justice and everything else. How so? Because this blessedness is a gift of God. As you Live towards life you know that you already have the blessing of belonging to a God that knows you are s sinner, forgives your sins, and makes you a blessed person.
To be a blessed person means to live as one who has received the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life, even in the midst of hardship. Blessed are those who live in Christ, with all the joys, challenges, and sufferings that come with it. Jesus assures us that, no matter the circumstance, we are blessed in Him.
In the Bible and Lutheran Confessions, “blessed” refers to be recipient of grace and favor granted from God, not based on personal merit or achievement, but as a gift from Him. To be blessed means to be chosen, loved, and forgiven by God, regardless of life circumstances or personal struggles. Jesus speaks of blessedness not as a reward for good behavior, but as a divine condition that comes from God’s love, grace, and mercy.
More details about what being a blessed person means:
- Matthew 5 describes those who face challenges and live faithfully. Jesus describes those who live faithfully despite challenges—those who are meek, pure in heart, and hungry for justice—as blessed. This is a blessedness that transcends prosperity or outward success and is rooted in belonging to God
- 1 John 3 calls them the children of God.
- Revelation 7 shows them as those who stand before the Lamb’s throne.
These descriptions remind us that being blessed is not about earthly achievements but about being part of God’s eternal kingdom. Also, they aren’t the usual descriptions of being “blessed.”, right? We often are tempted to associate being blessed with prosperity, health, family, career success, education, and many more. We hear “I’m so blessed!” utilized to celebrate great life moments or achievements that we credit to God.
As we should celebrate all good things that come from God, we shouldn’t overlook the reality of struggles, challenges, and even suffering. When we encounter trials, we may not immediately say, “I’m blessed.” But Jesus, in today’s Gospel, assures us that we are blessed—even in hardship. Why? Because they are signs of a faith alive in Christ.[2] The text doesn’t tell you that “Blessed used to be those”, nor “Blessed will be those”, not even “Blessed becomes the one who”. Blessed are. As you live towards life, you live as a blessed person – in the full force, joy, challenge and hardship that this word brings to your life.
Blessed in daily life
As we hear all about being blessed – it comes from Jesus, everything is a gift, and we can’t merit it -, the temptation is to stop at “I’m saved by grace through faith, and my great reward is Life eternal.” And then conclude, “as I live towards that Life, paying or not paying attention to Jesus’ words it’s just a detail”. But that is not what the Bible teaches. Faith is very real, very practical, and deeply woven in our daily relationships, choices and connections. When we contrast the Beatitudes with much of what the World presents to us, we understand our unique and blessed positions of light bearers and saltshakers of the world living towards Life:
_The world says, “Blessed are you when you don’t regret anything you said, never apologizing, and you live with your head up.” Jesus says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
_The world says, “don’t talk about death, it is the end of everything. Let’s celebrate life only – unless if it is a person at the beginning or at the end of life, then you can celebrate death.” Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
_The world says, “You don’t need to change a thing, others can change their heart. Be authentic and fight. The strong rule the world”. Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
_The world sometimes says, “Justice and righteousness are defined by the type of the ideology you embrace”. Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
_The world many times says, “You committed a mistake? We will expose, and even if you show repentance, we will just double down. We will print the screen, and that stays forever.” Jesus says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”
_The world says quite frequently, “There are second intentions and ulterior motives in everything, don’t trust your own shadow”. Jesus says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
_The World sometimes says, “Sue. Always.” Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
_The world today says, “Do you still hold on to that old book? Is it really worthy all of this? Come on, this is the XXI Century!” Jesus says, “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.
It is a completely different perspective of being blessed. It formats your life and gives direction to your steps. You live towards life carrying in your chest the faith that saves you, shapes you and will carry you until the end. [3] It is the perspective of those who were redeemed by Christ’s blood on His Cross and receive the promise of resurrection when he killed death and rose again.
This perspective illustrates the fact that we live with the End in Mind, for Christ impacts both our future hope and our life here and now. How? Think about building a house, starting college, or beginning a trip. We start these things with the end goal in mind; we don’t set out without knowing where we’re headed, otherwise we are setting ourselves up for failure. Our Christian life is the same—we begin and we continue on with the end in mind – the Life that has no end. Eternal life doesn’t begin only after we die. It begins at baptism or conversion, when we become Christ’s own, and Jesus assures us that whoever believes in Him already has eternal life. As you are rooted in Christ, you are already blessed, no matter your circumstance. You already have the promise of life eternal. [4]
On All Saints Day, we remember those whose end has already come. Well, the end of their life here, for life never ends. They lived as blessed person on Christ, and now they share the blessed bliss of the presence of our Saviour. This inspires us, as we live with that end in mind, to walk in Christ and with him today, tomorrow, until the end.
Cc – For we are living towards Life. We are encouraged to engage in a life of faith that reflects our hope in Christ in the promise of eternal life. In Christ we have forgiveness of sins, salvation, and a life in His presence. We live rooted in faith, shaped by grace, and focused on Christ. Therefore, we can say with faith, courage and hope every day: “I am blessed!”
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[1] “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.” (James 2:10, ESV)
[2] This living faith is marked by several characteristics:
- Meekness: the opposite of pride and quarreling. We live peacefully, knowing the meek shall inherit the earth.
- Righteousness: seeking justice rather than personal gain. Striving for righteousness might go unnoticed by the world, but it reflects Christ’s work in us.
- Mercy: the opposite of a vengeful spirit. Today’s world digs up past mistakes to harm others, but mercy finds joy in forgiving and helping those in need.
- Purity of Heart: looking beyond appearances, seeking God’s will over our own thoughts. True purity is about heart and soul, not just external appearances.
- Peacemakers: bringing peace where we can. Saints on earth work to help in reconciliation and resolution of conflict to prevent harm.
- Persecution: we’re blessed when persecuted for our faith. No one likes suffering, but Jesus reminds us that persecution can be a sign of faithfulness to His Word.
[3]While we wait for our permanent home in New Earth and New Heaven, we live in this world as blessed people. Another way to describe blessed is: sinners saved by grace. Not pharisees, hypocrites, or people who think they are superior to others. Simply put, we are sinners saved by Grace.
Jesus, in Matthew 5, gives us the Beatitudes to guide our life of faith here on Earth. He shows us what living our faith in action looks like. Martin Luther describes the Beatitudes as the sweet, friendly beginning to Jesus’ sermon. Unlike the Law that threatens punishment, Jesus speaks here with gentle encouragement and beautiful promises. But as Luther notes, these words are only understood by those who already belong to Christ.
[4]Jesus begins with “Blessed are…” because the emphasis is on Him, not us. He blesses us and carries is through life by the power of the Holy Spirit, until we are finally made complete when we join Him in eternity. It all starts and ends with Christ.
