Sermon on the Mount – Beatitudes (2) Matthew 5:5-7
by Rev. Jeremiah Cheung
[iframe http://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLA52B027546F8B6C8&hl=en_US 500 500]
We have already discussed two of the eight Beatitudes – `Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ When man is at the end of his rope, God begins. When you are at the end of your rope, you are blessed, for that is the time God begins his work. `Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.’ When we feel shame and grief over our sins, then we are blessed, for then, there is yet hope for us. The Lord will help us, he will comfort us. Today, we will discuss the next three Beatitudes.
5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
We can understand it better if the Lord had said: Blessed are the strong, because they will attain the earth; but the Lord said blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. How can the meek inherit the earth? Many people think that a meek person is a weak person. But the Bible never commended weakness. Meekness is not weakness. True meekness means being strong and powerful yet refraining from using force. A meek person actually possesses great strength yet chooses not to use it forcefully upon others.
Numbers 12:3 says, “Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.” Moses was a meek man but Moses was also strong and powerful, and no one dared behave carelessly before him. Even the most powerful man then, Egypt’s Pharaoh could not stand in Moses’ presence, because Moses’ power was frightening. Yet he was the gentlest man in the whole world.
In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus said, “I am gentle and humble in heart.” Jesus was a meek man, yet Jesus was the most powerful man in the whole universe, for even the wind and the waves obeyed him, and no one dared behave carelessly in his presence.
Meek in the original text meant several things: 1. It may refer to a tranquilizer or sedative which eases the suffering of the sick and brings about restful sleep. 2. It may refer to a gentle breeze, which refreshes people. 3. It may refer to a horse which had gone through training and become very tame.
Therefore, meekness means possessing great inner strength yet displaying gentleness.
Some people use water to describe meekness. Water is gentle yet it can be a frightening force. Meekness is not weakness, meekness is great strength. But how can one become meek?
In the past, films used to be flat, simply two-dimensional. But now there are three-dimensional films. If you want to be meek, you must become a person who lives in three-dimensions. What does this mean?
A person who lives in the flat plane, only on 2D, moves only backwards if he is not moving forward, and he moves only towards the right if he is not moving to the left. Many people live in 2D, and are thus limited only by these two dimensions, resulting in a lot of people-to-people tension. But if you live in the 3D, it is different. Not only do you have a flat space, you also have depth. You will learn to see and deal with things from a different angle. When you see others succeed, not only do you not envy them, you applaud them, because you see hope for God’s kingdom. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth, because they know contentment, they do not seek more.
5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
What is the righteousness hungered and thirsted for here? There are three theological explanations:
1. Righteousness by faith which refers to our salvation. When your heart thirsts for salvation, God is your fulfillment.
2. Societal righteousness. The Church is society’s conscience. When there are injustices in society, the church must stand up and care for the weak and poor, then our hunger for righteousness will be filled. But I believe the righteousness referred to in this passage is:
3. Obedience to and doing God’s will. When a Christian obeys and does God’s will, his heart will find true fulfillment.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. In the Bible, we can find at least three kinds of spiritual food:
1. The Word of God. Jesus said: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
2. Difficulties. Numbers 14:9 “Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up.” Twelve men went up to spy the land, ten rejected the idea of going in, but Joshua and Caleb said `We may go in, for the enemies are like food to us.” God gives us difficulties so that we will become stronger and healthier.
3. Doing God’s will. John 4:34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”
True fulfillment is found in doing God’s will, because true fulfillment comes from Christ. People feel dissatisfaction because the heart of man is full of lustful desires and these can never truly satisfy. The process of pursuing these dreams are often more satisfying than the attainment of them. Once we attain them, we will immediately feel there is nothing special, so we go on and on, pursuing newer things and newer pleasures. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled – because all the riches of God are in Christ. Although we will never truly and completely understand him because he is too abundant, when we obey God’s will, we will know him more and more, we will understand him more and more. He is our greatest satisfaction, our greatest fulfillment. Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want – This is true fulfillment! Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled. God is their true fulfillment.
5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Let us first understand the meaning of mercy. Mercy means magnanimity, seeking not to take account of everything with everyone, refusing intentionally to point out others’ faults. This is a character trait that Christ gradually cultivates in us.
Mercy pertains to quality of life. A nation may have the best system, a church may have the best organization, but if there is problem with the populace’ standards, problems would still crop up. Cueing up in line, for example, is a matter of quality. I grew up in Hong Kong. From the 1960’s to the 80’s, people in Hong Kong didn’t know how to cue up in line. People who took the bus would just dash towards the bus when it came. Nowadays, 80% of the people in Hong Kong fall in line to take the bus. The standards of people in Hong Kong have improved. China’s economy has improved vastly lately. And now, many people from China travel to different countries as tourists. However, they do not know how to line up; they have money but their standards in life continue to be low. The problem is not the system, not the institution, but people. The moral standards of the people must improve. We have been called the children of God, shouldn’t our standard of conduct even be higher?
The Lord said: The merciful will be shown mercy. This suggests the law of cause and effect. When we show others mercy, someday, we will be shown mercy, too. Contrastingly, if we criticize and attack others continually, we will also be attacked and criticized someday. A United Nations’ ambassador went to Africa. Returning from his trip, he declared that people in that country were the worst group of people he had seen. He said the immigration officers were unfriendly, the taxi driver had a bad attitude, the waiters were disrespectful, the people were hostile. Later, this same ambassador read an article about how the world is a mirror, that every man can see himself reflected in others. When he returned once more to Africa, he determined to wear a smiling face. As a result, he was met with a smiling immigration officer, taxi driver, etc. Then he realized that it was his attitude which needed the change. Those who show mercy will be shown mercy.
The Lord said: The merciful will be shown mercy. We may have an impression that showing others mercy is a condition we must meet so that we ourselves will receive mercy; that if you do not show others mercy, God will not show you mercy too. This is not what is meant by this verse, because mercy itself is unconditional. If mercy is conditional, then it is no longer true mercy. Showing others mercy is not a condition towards gaining God’s mercy. Showing mercy is but knowing ourselves, and admitting that we need the mercy of others, too. Maybe right now you don’t feel you need mercy, because you are strong, talented, and wealthy; maybe you feel that others are the ones who need mercy. In reality, each one of us is pitiful and weak, our spirits our weak. When faced with moral temptation, we often fail. When we are in a position to show mercy, we should be merciful towards others, for when the time comes and we would need mercy, the Lord will be merciful towards us. In the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, when the tax collector spoke, he only said, `God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ The Pharisee however didn’t seek God’s mercy. In the end, it was to the tax collector that the Lord showed mercy, because he acknowledged his need for mercy. How about you, do you know that you need the mercy of the Lord?