The Beatitudes aren't advice for getting ahead; they're an announcement that God's kingdom has arrived and operates by entirely different values.

Login To Save

The Upside Down Kingdom

The Beatitudes and Kingdom Values  |  Matthew 5:1–12

Central Idea: The Beatitudes aren't advice for getting ahead; they're an announcement that God's kingdom has arrived and operates by entirely different values.

1. THIS IS AN ANNOUNCEMENT, NOT ADVICE

“Jesus is not suggesting that these are simply timeless truths about the way the world is, about human behaviour. If he was saying that, he was wrong. Mourners often go uncomforted.

The meek don't inherit the earth. Those who long for justice frequently take that longing to the grave. This is an upside-down world, or perhaps a right-way-up world; and Jesus is saying that with his work it's starting to come true.

This is an announcement, not a philosophical analysis of the world. It's about something that's starting to happen, not about a general truth of life. It is gospel: good news, not good advice.”

— N.T. Wright

It is gospel. Good news, not good advice.

Jesus says: the knowing-you-have-nothing-together is the entry point.

2. THE UPSIDE-DOWN NATURE OF THE KINGDOM

Blessed are the poor in spirit (v. 3)

Matthew 5:3 NIV

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn (v. 4)

Matthew 5:4 NIV

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek (v. 5)

Matthew 5:5 NIV

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Meekness is not to be confused with weakness: the meek are not simply submissive because they lack the resources to be anything else.

Meekness is quite compatible with great strength and ability... True meekness may be a quality of the strong, those who could assert themselves but choose not to do so.

The strong who qualify for this blessing are the strong who decline to domineer.

— Leon Morris

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (v. 6)

Matthew 5:6 NIV

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful (v. 7)

Matthew 5:7 NIV

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart (v. 8)

Matthew 5:8 NIV

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers (v. 9)

Matthew 5:9 NIV

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are the persecuted (vv. 10–12)

Matthew 5:10–12 NIV

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

3. THIS IS WHO WE ARE, NOT WHAT WE DO TO EARN FAVOR

Jesus isn't saying, "Work really hard to be meek, and then you'll be blessed." He's saying, "Here's what kingdom people look like. Here's what it looks like when someone is deeply rooted in me."

This is the Way

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Acts 9:2 NIV

“…and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

I. THE WAY HAS A NAME: JESUS

Jesus Claimed Exclusive Access to the Father (John 14:6)

John 14:6–7 NIV

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Jesus Is Personal, Not Philosophical (John 14:7)

"Jesus' solution to perplexity is not a recipe; it is a relationship with him."Merrill Tenney

II. THE WAY REQUIRES CONFESSION

Proverbs 28:13 NIV

Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

We Must Acknowledge the Church's Failures

"I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."Mahatma Gandhi

We Must Distinguish Jesus from Cultural Christianity

"Jesus — the Jesus we might discover if we really looked! — is larger, more disturbing, more urgent than we — than the church! — had ever imagined.

We have successfully managed to hide behind other questions and to avoid the huge, world-shaking challenge of Jesus's central claim and achievement.

We have reduced the kingdom of God to private piety, the victory of the cross to comfort for the conscience, and Easter itself to a happy, escapist ending after a sad, dark tale.

Piety, conscience, and ultimate happiness are important, but not nearly as important as Jesus himself."

N.T. Wright

III. THE WAY IS A LIFESTYLE, NOT JUST A BELIEF

Following Involves Imitation

Matthew 5:1–2 NIV

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.

Following Requires Community

From its very beginning, the Way was communal.

Two Questions to think about honestly this week and sit with:

Seekers:

• Would you be willing to consider that He might actually be who He claimed to be?

Followers of Jesus:

• Have you settled for Christianity without Christ? Have you inherited a religion but drifted from a relationship? Have you built your faith around the right vocabulary and the right behavior and the right tribe — but somewhere along the way, lost sight of the person you're actually supposed to be following?

Sermon notes coming soon!