The World's Losers—Matthew 5:1-12

Let me give you a list of the sort of people who have it good in life, according to popular opinion. These are the people that most people would say have it good. I'll call them "blessed."

Blessed are the rich. They can have whatever they want.

Blessed are the people who have something to celebrate. There's nothing like a good party.

Blessed are the people who are strong enough to throw their weight around a little.

Blessed are the people who can enjoy life and not get hung up about the injustice in the world.

Blessed are the people who are thick-skinned enough to get what they deserve, people who know how to look out for number 1.

Blessed are the people who indulge their desires and aren't always asking what God would think about it.

Blessed are the plotters, the schemers, the gossips, the people who can pit everyone against everyone else and come out on top.

Blessed, above all, are the people who never let their religion keep them from getting what they want.

I think this list is a fair statement of what the world thinks about the good life. And this is why the list that Jesus gives, which is almost the opposite, is so counter-intuitive. He's saying that his disciples are losers in the eyes of the world, but are winners where it matters, in the kingdom of heaven.

It's important to see that he's speaking to his disciples here about their lives, not about life in general. He's not saying, for instance, that everyone everywhere who is in mourning is in a blessed condition: this would be almost satirical. No, he's saying that the good news of the kingdom of heaven puts believers in this strange position of losing everything the world values most, while gaining everything that is really of value.

These verses are called the beatitudes. Let's think about each one in turn.

First, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they shall be comforted." I'm sorry to say this about the very first beatitude, and as a preacher I hate to say this, but I'm not 100% sure what Jesus means here. I'm more confident about the rest of the beatitudes, so don't abandon ship. But this is a tricky thing to understand. Most scholars think it means something like this: "Blessed are those who recognize their own spiritual need. They aren't proud, above all they aren't proud in the presence of God." I think this is the most likely meaning, and it's certainly a true statement. In Isaiah, the Lord says almost the same thing: "This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word." And why are the poor in spirit blessed? Because theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The world may cast you off, but you have a home in heaven. You aren't rich in the world, but you have the riches that really matter. Most of the blessings in the beatitudes are put in the future tense, but this is present: the kingdom of heaven is yours even now.

Second: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." Like I said, Jesus isn't saying here that everyone who suffers loss, or everyone who grieves, is blessed by definition. This isn't some timeless truth. No, he's saying that true comfort is found in him, and mourners who find him are far better off than people who have something temporary to celebrate but miss out on the eternal comfort of knowing Christ.

Third: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." You would think that the strong would conquer the earth, and the meek, the humble, the gentle, the deferential would be pushed out of the seats of power. And this is often the case. But Jesus says, that order of things is coming to an end. The earth, Jesus says, is mine, and I will give it to whom I will, and I will give it to the gentle and lowly who put their trust in me. Abraham trusted in God's promise of the land of Canaan, but Christ is expanding that promise to cover the whole earth, indeed, the earth made new.

Fourth: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." Now, I like to be hungry, but not very hungry. I like to go for a run or play some pickleball or work in the garden and put an edge on my appetite. But I don't like to skip two meals in a row. I'm afraid, though, that this hunger for righteousness is more than a good appetite. This is a deep longing for God to set things right in a world gone wrong, and often, it's a longing that comes from suffering, from being personally the victim of injustice. But to his disciples who suffer so, Jesus says, hang in there. Your hunger will be satisfied: you will feast in a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells.

Fifth: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." The wisdom of the world says that you can't let your debtors off the hook, because no one is going to let you off the hook. But Jesus says that the biggest debt that you owe is the debt that you owe to God, and he is eager to let people off the hook. But of those who receive his mercy, he requires something: not a payment of the debt they owe to him, but a cancellation of the debt that others owe to them.

Sixth: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." This is a bold statement, considering how often the Bible says that no one has ever seen or can see God. Yet, in some sense, you will see God, if you are pure in heart. When the Bible says that God is invisible, it means, I think, not only that sinners cannot see him, but that no one can see what he does not reveal about himself. He cannot be examined like a slide under the microscope. But he can reveal himself: he can make himself known. And he will make himself known to those who are pure: whose hearts, rather than being filled with a thousand conflicting desires, are devoted to him alone.

Seventh: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." This is a big statement, coming from Jesus, who has recently seen heaven opened and heard God's own voice say, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." The devil fought hard to throw doubt on the truth that Jesus is the Son of God, but Jesus would have none of it. And now he says that in some mysterious way there will be other sons of God: his disciples, who will be peacemakers.

Now, as we read on in the gospel of Matthew, I think we will get a sense of what kind of peacemakers Jesus is talking about. And I think we can distinguish his disciples from two other kinds of peacemakers. The first is the "peace by superior firepower" type. This is not what Jesus is talking about. There is a place for this way of thinking in warfare. There is even a place for it in the kingdom of heaven, but that comes later, at the end of the world. That is not the way for Jesus' disciples in their earthly lives, which are to mimic his earthly life. The second is the pacifist. The peacemakers are not necessarily pacifists in the conflicts of this world. After all, the Apostle Paul said that rulers do not bear the sword in vain, but are God's servants, avengers who carry out wrath on evildoers. So there is a place for the sword.

No, the point is that Jesus' disciples are after something more than victory on the one hand or non-violence on the other. They are after the souls of their enemies. Jesus' disciples, like Jesus himself, are seeking to bring reconciliation between man and man, ultimately by bringing reconciliation between man and God. That is why they are called peacemakers.

Eighth: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Sometimes, when I'm reading the beatitudes, I feel like I'm in a boxing match with Jesus. If that's OK to say. Every beatitude is like a punch from his heavy gloves. So you want to be a disciple? he says. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Ouch! I don't want to be poor at all. Blessed are those who mourn. Ouch! Do I have to mourn? Blessed are the meek. Oof! That hurts. And the eighth beatitude is the knockout punch. You really want to be my disciple? Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. I'm down. I'm on the floor. I'm not ready for this, Jesus.

But with every punch comes a promise, as though my Savior picks me back up again and shakes my shoulders a little bit and tells me, don't worry, you can do it, not because you can do it, but because I am putting my Spirit in you. And take courage, because I am making these promises to you, and they will not fail. And the final promise is the same as the first: "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Your persecutors are not going to stop you: the kingdom of heaven is yours, and the King is yours, too.

Now, all these beatitudes have been phrased in the 3rd person, as though they were about people in general. But now, with the next two verses, it's like Jesus looks you directly in the eye: "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." And this tells us four things.

First, it tells us that blessings come specifically to those who suffer for Jesus. Unbelievers can suffer all they want without being blessed, but if you suffer for Jesus, that's how you know you're on the right track.

Second, it tells us what to do in our suffering: rejoice. I know that isn't easy. I'm not very good at it myself. And you might think that it does no good to tell someone to rejoice. But you know what? Personally, I have found it very comforting to remember that Jesus commands me to rejoice. Because my tendency is always to worry that I'm not doing enough. But when my boss tells me to celebrate, I know it's OK.

Third, this tells us that we have a reward coming. Presbyterians know that salvation is all a gift from God -- that we are terrible sinners and have earned only wrath, but Jesus earned God's favor for us. And that's true, and glorious. And yet, God reserves his right to reward us anyway for our Spiritual obedience. Let's look forward to our reward.

Fourth, this tells us that when we suffer, we are in good company. Thousands, millions of saints have gone before us and walked the path from suffering to glory. They made it through OK, and so will we.

These beatitudes teach that Jesus' disciples will be losers in the world, but winners where it really matters, in the kingdom of heaven. In closing, I want to mention the world's ultimate loser.

Jesus Christ was rejected by his people, abandoned by these disciples we've been talking about, and left to die on a cross, the death of slaves turned criminals. He was mocked to the last breath, burdened with the guilt of his people, and rightly recognized as a man under God's curse.

But the curse that God put on Jesus was the punishment for our sins, not for his: he had none. And God saw Jesus suffer righteously under our punishment, and accepted his sacrifice in our place. And God's ruling was that the man who gave up his life in love for his enemies, the ultimate peacemaker, deserved the ultimate blessing. So God raised him from death to eternal life.

If the eighth beatitude is true, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," then it is true in a special way for Jesus Christ. For us, who are persecuted as Jesus' disciples, it means that we get to be citizens of the kingdom of heaven. But for Jesus, who was persecuted beyond anyone else, it means that he gets to be the King of the kingdom of heaven. So we need not doubt that he will welcome into his kingdom those to whom he has promised it: the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, and everyone who loses what they had in this world, to gain what matter where it matters, in the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Pastor Nate Jeffries