Scripture: Matthew 5:4; Matthew 5:13-20; Isaiah 49:13-19
Today’s Beatitude is the second one in our series – the one that speaks about mourning and comfort. But we need to understand that this promise isn’t referring to personal struggles or anguish that we feel over the loss we experience due to the death of a loved one, or a personal tragedy, or the pain that incapacitates us from an illness or some other event. This mourning is that which the faithful go through because of the condition that God’s people are being subjected to.
Think about the feelings you may have had when an area church has had to close because the membership has fallen to a level that is unable to sustain the ministries and mission that have always been such a vital part of faith; or when long time members of our own church allow the world to pervert their faith, and they begin living and worshipping in a way that fails to bring honor to our Lord Jesus; or when divergent thought begins to tear a church apart at the seams and creates a great divide that is both unmanageable and irreconcilable.
That is what today’s Beatitude is all about – what we are to do in these situations, and how God will respond to those who remain faithful and strong in spite of what the world is doing all around us.
Read Matthew 5:4
Jesus is telling us that those who are broken and mourn over the oppression and persecution that the Church and its people are experiencing will be blessed and comforted, and even today, we should be expecting and rejoicing in this promise of encouragement. Once again, we are hearing that God cares and comforts those who stay close to Him and in the way He has called us to go. But even more than that, we are being told that our connection to each other, within the church, is vitally important in support and assistance for each other.
After all, isn’t unity in Christ what the Church is supposed to be about? How can unity between people have any meaning whatsoever, if Jesus isn’t part of the relationship! And when the faithful find themselves immersed in conflict, whether it is worldwide, or within a particular congregation, what are we to do about it?
Simply, we’re to remain faithful and active in the call that God has placed on our lives! Celebrate God in true worship; reach out to the lost of earth and show them the way to Jesus; support missionaries wherever they may be serving; teach Godly truth to the young and elderly and those new to the faith, and confront false teaching for the lies that they are spreading.
Read Matthew 5:13-16
As Jesus begins to preach His sermon, we discover that He is offering Godly teaching that is directed at all who would follow, trust and love Him.
Lesson #1 – the concepts of
salt, light, and a city not only fit together, but they each contribute to
faith in unique, but not so subtle, ways.
The lesson of salt is that
unless salt is salty, it isn’t salt at all. And if we are to be followers of Jesus
Christ, the only way is to follow Him is in His way! Other ways will make us “loose our
saltiness”, and we will be no good for anything - not in this life, and
definitely not in the next.
The lesson of light is that
we are to carry on in the way of Jesus.
Remember when He said that while He was in the world, He would be the
Light of the world? (John 9:4-5)
For now, He is gone from this world, and is calling us to assume the
responsibility to carry His light of truth, so that the darkness of evil will
not overcome us all.
And the lesson of a
city? We are to be the community of God,
and are to be a refuge and landmark for all who strive to walk in faith.
Lesson #2 – Each one of these concepts imply that we must exhibit certain interconnected characteristics if we are to have any hope to truly be one with God in Christ. “Saltiness” defines us as one in Christ, and it will never fail to be true. Light is our reaching out in “saltiness” to the world around us. And when we are that “city on a hill”, we reach out to those who are struggling in their life of faith, in encouragement and comfort and strength.
And when we do these things on behalf of our Lord Jesus, God will, in turn, bless us, exalt us, and rejoice within us.
Read Matthew 5:17-20
Many believe that since Jesus came to earth, and when He preached and taught us about faith in Him, He must have been telling us that we were no longer obligated to live a life that is reflective in the Law of God. But this is far from the truth. He did not come to replace either the Law or the words that the Prophets spoke – He has come to complete, fulfill, and clarify those words from God that were given to us eons ago. God’s commands and the Old Testament prophecies were only starters for our walk in faith, and therefore are still important in our striving to live a life in Christ.
And the Lord doesn’t stop there, that these commands and warnings are still a vital basis for our faith in Christ. It’s just that Jesus knows that we will never be able to keep each and every word that preceded His walk on the face of this earth – that we still need to understand the reason behind each word, but that when we fail to keep them, and we all do from time to time, we need faith in Jesus and His great sacrifice at Calvary to gain forgiveness for our failures.
Moses, representing the Law,
Elijah representing the Prophets, and Jesus, God in the flesh (Matthew17:1-13) – coming together on the Mount of Transfiguration, to show us that
unity within the complete word of God will sustain us in faith in Jesus,
and to give us hope of seeing God’s glory one day soon!
And the Lord goes on to say that as bad as going against those words will be, it will be even worse if we encourage others to ignore them, telling them that there is little, if any, importance in them for their lives – even to the extent that our ignorance and arrogance in this omission may result in our being excluded from the heavenly Kingdom of God. (Revelation21:5-8)
After all, if we ignore and fail to follow the word of God, how can we expect to be allowed to join Him in Glory? After all, it’s God’s way and right to say “Yes” or “No”, and we have nothing further to say about it. And the implication is that the very ones who should have known better – those who are leaders in the Church - have also done these very things, and we had better be listening to those who are sharing the truth of Jesus’ words, and not the ones that come from worldly sources!
Read Isaiah 49:13-19
The comfort that the Prophet speaks about is nothing less than forgiveness for the repentant; it is nothing less than a welcoming for those who are returning home from wayward living. This may have been referring to the people of Israel who were returning home from their 80 years of exile; it may be seen in the welcoming that the Prodigal Son received when he returned repentant to his father and home (Luke 15:11-31); it may be for the faithful who persevere in spite of the oppression, and pressure, and lies, and persecution that come against us all; and it may be for the errant souls who turn back to God after eluding His word and promise for many years.
And who will be the ones who rejoice over this turn of events? All of creation is who! Even when it seems as though God has forgotten all about us and our struggles, we can rest assured that He never can and never will. Hebrews 13:5 reassures us that the Lord has promised those who follow Him, that “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Never!!!
So the next time you feel as though you are “under the gun” of earth, and that God either isn’t paying attention, or just doesn’t care, listen for the sound of creation in its rejoicing and singing as you stay strong and perseverant in your trust and love of Jesus Christ. And from a passage that I have referred to several times in the past, Romans 5:3-5 – “ suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
And that will be enough to receive the Lord's peace and comfort!
