Read Matthew 5:5

We tend to think of meekness as being soft-spoken, passive, or gentle.  Often if someone is strong and bold, we wouldn’t also categorize them as meek.  Meekness is not a characteristic of leader for most of us.  However, Jesus was meek.  He tells us “blessed are the meek”.  How can you be strong and meek?  Gentle and yet lead?  Meekness really has to do with character more than it does about personality.  It is more about humility than passivity.  Meekness has to do with seeing yourself for who you truly are, and seeing God for who He truly is.

Kevin DeYoung, an author and pastor, wrote about meekness at The Gospel Coalition Blog last week.  Here’s his insight on meekness:

Meekness is hard to define. It is not a subservient groveling. It is not a spineless acquiescence. The Greeks had no respect for meekness because they equated it with servility–people taking advantage of you, people walking all over you, people punching you in the gut as you thank them for the pleasure of being hit, that sort of thing.

But that’s not what the Bible means by meekness.

Meekness is a combination of patience, gentleness, and a complete submission to the will of God. Meekness is learning to be self-controlled instead of needing to be in control. Meekness is opening your heart instead of clenching your fist. Meekness is the firm resolve that it is always better to suffer than to sin.

Meekness is one of the great virtues of the Christian (Col. 3:12). The world may have no place for it, but the Bible does.

Moses was the meekest man on the earth (Number 12:3). And if you know anything about Moses, you know he wasn’t born with a meek personality. He killed somebody! We are not talking about a personality trait. You can be soft or loud, introverted or extroverted and still have meekness. Moses had to have meekness pressed into him by life and by the Lord.

Or think of Paul. There were big time issues in Corinth, and Paul wasn’t afraid to talk tough. But his first approach was to plead with the saints by the meekness and gentleness of Christ (2 Cor. 10:1).

If you think meekness is for losers, then you think Jesus is a loser. The Son of Man was a meek man (Matt. 11:29). Of course, that’s not the only thing to say about Jesus, but it’s one thing we can say.

When you are confronted, when you are wronged, when you get all hot and bothered and you’re tightening up inside, what does meekness look like? When you come after your adversaries is it with a whip or with a weep? Who’s sins upset you more, the sins of your neighbors or your own? Meekness is not about being a doormat. It’s about being dignified, even in the face of confusion, anxiety, and injustice.

Blessed are the meek, for they–of all people!–shall inherit the whole wide world (Matt. 5:5).

 

1.  Write out the definition for meek.

2.  How does the correct definition of meek compare to what you may have thought beforehand?

3.  Would you have considered meekness a value or a virtue prior to reading this?  Why or why not?

 

 

 

I did not grow up in church. I grew up in a wonderful family, who was very close, I had parents who loved each other, and we believed in God, we just didn’t go to church.

I can remember friends in elementary school asking what religion I was. I answered, “Well, I think I’m Christian.” I mean I was American after all, right?! As I got older, I can remember many people who were Christian telling me two things that were very confusing.

“You’re a sinner”
“Don’t you know Jesus died for you?”

Neither of these made sense to me. First of all a sinner? That felt a little judgmental, how could someone possibly call me a sinner? I was a good person. And Jesus died for me? What does that even mean? I didn’t even know Him and why would he die for me??

This was all so offensive to me. Really, think about it for a moment. When you call someone a sinner it means you’re telling them you’re going to hell. No one wants to hear or believe that!

It wasn’t until I was 21 years old did I understand what sin and Jesus death on the Cross truly meant. I lost my father unexpectedly when I was 19 to a heart attack. Our whole world shattered and everything I thought I knew about life, and death, and time on earth flipped upside down.

This led me to start asking question and truly seeking answers. I needed to know what happens after you die, who is control of your time on earth, and why people were always telling me about Jesus.

My now husband patiently began to answer these questions. One evening, we sat down to watch the Passion of the Christ. I still did not truly understand sin and Jesus’ death on the Cross-, but I was seeking and my heart was warm towards God.

There is a scene in the movie based on scripture in which a woman is caught in the act of adultery. In biblical times, the penalty for being caught in adultery was death. This woman committed a sin that deserved death according to the law. So the religious leaders dragged her out to be stoned to death.

With their stones in hand, ready to do justice and kill this woman, Jesus walks up and enters in. He stands in front of her, as she is scared, filthy and bloody from already being dragged out to face death. You see her reaching out her shaking, filthy hand toward His feet. He kneels down and draws a line in the sand.

She knew she deserved death; she was filled with shame and guilt, covered in dirt and blood and Jesus stands in front of her, as her Defender as if to say, “Her sin deserves death, but I will stand before her. My grace is sufficient and my death will satisfy.” The religious leaders drop their stones.

In this moment, I realized I was that woman. While I though of myself as “not too bad, a good person, certainly not a sinner”, this visual of God’s grace made me see my sin for what it was. My sin earned me death, and Jesus by His grace, stood in the gap to defend me and rescue me. My eyes were opened, I saw my sin, and I mourned.

I grieved deeply over how sinful I was. I cried. I confessed. I repented. And I thanked God for the gift of His son and His death on the Cross.

This beatitude “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” is not something to quote when a loved one passes. While God will comfort you in your mourning, this mourning mentioned here is referring to our sin. When we truly see our sin for what it is, when we truly understand how deeply embedded sin is in our lives, it should lead us to mourn and grieve.

And, it should lead us to gratitude that Jesus would reach out His hand to defend and rescue sinners like us.

 

1.  What does it mean to mourn?

2.  How is mourning your sin different from feeling guilty over your sin?

3.  Have you mourned your sin?  Ask God to reveal your sin to you, to see it for what it is, and then remind you of His grace.

Read Matthew 5:3

I can remember a time when I was a waitress and I was serving a young family of four. The mother was clearly exhausted and her two young kids were, well, being kids and playing at the restaurant. As I walked up to take their order, her son who was probably around 4 years old picked up his glass of water, and poured it into her glass of water, which was already full.

Water went everywhere.
I gasped.
Dad tried to stop it.
Mom yelled: “Son, what are you doing?? Why would you dump your glass of water in mine? Mommy already has enough water!”
She said I’m sorry. I said I’m sorry. And the son didn’t quite know what he had just done and just stared at the mess.

I think about this scenario probably more than I should. This boy trying to fill up a glass that was already full. And maybe it’s a cheesy illustration, but hold that picture for a moment.

How can you fill up a glass with more water if it’s already full?
You can’t. It has to be empty.

When Jesus starts the Sermon on the Mount, he doesn’t start with “Blessed are the ones who have it all together. Blessed are the ones who are filled with their good works. Blessed are the ones who are full of self-righteousness. Blessed are the ones who are full of their legalistic lists of do’s and don’ts. He starts with . . .

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)
 
Blessed are the ones who are empty, the ones who have come to the end of their rope, the ones who are spiritually bankrupt, the ones who have nothing left to offer.  Blessed are the ones who see their need for God.

Arthur Pink said “To be “poor in spirit” is to realize that I have nothing, am nothing, and can do nothing, and have need of all things. It issues from the painful discovery that all my righteousnesses are as filthy rags. It follows the awakening that my best performances are unacceptable, yea, an abomination to the thrice Holy One. Poverty of spirit evidences itself by its bringing the individual into the dust before God, acknowledging his utter helplessness and deservingness of hell. It is the Spirit emptying the heart of self that Christ may fill it: it is a sense of need and destitution. The one who is poor in spirit is nothing in his own eyes, and feels that his proper place is in the dust before God. {Pink, A.W., An Exposition of The Sermon on The Mount}

As long as we think of ourselves more highly than we ought, we are filled with pride, and have yet to taste of His grace. When we see ourselves as sinful, we see The Cross more clearly. When we see our need for God, we inherit the kingdom.

Seeing our emptiness is seeing our need for God. It’s seeing our need to be filled. It’s a gift of brokenness that leads us to our Healer.

Being poor in spirit is being brought low so that we can be lifted high.
Being poor in spirit leads us to riches in Christ.
Being poor in spirit is seeing our emptiness that leads us to His grace.

 

1.  What does it mean to be poor in spirit?  

2.  Read Isaiah 66:2, Psalm 51:16-17, and James 4:10.  What do all of these verses have in common?

3.  Have you had a moment in your life when you realized you were poor in spirit?  When did you recognize your need for Savior?

If I asked you what it means to be blessed, what would you say? How do you define “blessed”?

Is it being financially stable?
Free from worry?
Healthy?
Loving husband?
Well behaved kids?
A nice home?
Lots of friends and loved ones?

Another way of defining the word blessed, is happy. What is true happiness?

If you wrote out a definition for happiness what would it be? What would your life have to look like in order to be happy?

Read Matthew 5:1-10.

Does your list of “blessing and happiness” look anything like what Jesus listed?

Poor in spirit
Mourning
Meek
Hungry & Thirsty
Merciful
Pure in heart
Peacemakers
Persecuted

I don’t know about you but when I made my list, none of these words were on there. I have always considered blessing and happiness to mean free from trials and suffering. Jesus tells us true happiness comes when we are emptied of our selves, when we’ve come to the end of rope, and we look to God. True happiness comes when we mourn our sin, become humble and see ourselves lowly when compared to God, when we are so desperately hungry and thirsty for Christ and His kind of life, that’s when we find true happiness.

These beatitudes are not new commands or things we force ourselves to do in order to be blessed. Because of the posture of our hearts and our understanding of our sin, God, and his unending grace, we are blessed.

The beginning of blessing is not health, wealth, and prosperity.
It’s poverty, grief, hunger, and thirst.
It’s seeing the Cross clearly and living in light of that.
As a result of living in the light of the Gospel, we get more blessing and more happiness than we can even understand.
Living in right relationship with God leads us into green pastures, life and life abundant with the Most High God.
It leads us to find our happiness in God over earthly treasures, and delight in Him is our treasure ever more.

That’s true happiness, true blessing.

 

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Read Matthew 5:1-2

Jesus was the most gifted teacher to ever walk on this earth.  He had a way of not only teaching those who were listening to learn, but also rebuking those who were listening to critique.

“Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying…” (Matthew 5:1-2)

While Jesus was teaching to his disciples, he also knew the crowds were there watching and listening.

He is teaching to His disciples, He knows the crowd is listening, and He is rebuking the religious people. All in the same sermon. He knows His audience. He knows who’s listening, who’s learning, who’s watching from afar, and who’s waiting to pounce.

Crowd: audience

Disciple: A learner, one who follows one’s teaching. A disciple was not only a pupil, but an adherent, hence they are spoken of as imitators of their teacher.

Jesus recognized that there is a difference between those that are devoted followers and those that are there for a show. I would say much is the same today. Though we may not gather on the side of the mountain, we do gather inside of a building. Some to hear and learn as his devoted followers, others coming to consume and catch a show, and others coming to critique and cast stones.

Disciples and crowds still exist today.

Which are you?

Are you like the disciples who came to Him?
Do you come close to God?
Do you follow to glean from His words? To listen, and learn?
Do you imitate Christ out of a grateful heart?

OR

Are you like the crowd?
Watching from a distance?
Watching the show, listening, but never entering in?
Listening for error so you can critique and compare?
Waiting for spectacular but have yet to come close enough to see Jesus face to face?

It’s easy to be a part of the crowd. It’s easier to pretend to follow Christ than it is to actually follow Him. You can blend in, you can seem like you’re a part of the movement, you can play the part.

But, it’s much better and more rewarding to step out of the crowd and into relationship. Let’s become a disciple. Not one who plays church or looks the part, but one who is sold out to following Christ. Complete surrender, complete trust, complete pursuit of our Teacher.

Let people know us not by the crowd we sit in, but by the One we imitate. Let’s come close to our teacher, let His word change us so our lives display what we believe.

1. Write out some of the differences between a crowd and a disciple.

2. Which do you most associate with? Why?

3. Is it a struggle to follow Christ with everything? Why? Why not?

 

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{The Call to Discipleship}

Read Matthew 4:18-22

Before we dive into the Sermon on the Mount and study each verse, let’s back up a bit and add some color to the picture. We know that Jesus was teaching this Sermon on the Mount mainly to his disciples, while crowds were listening; it was his disciples he poured into the most.

What is a disciple? It’s someone who is intentionally growing, following, and learning to become more like their Rabbi.

When we were in Israel, we spent 10 days learning about the first century Jewish culture. We learned how they lived, how they worked, how they worshipped, and how they were educated. Did you know by the time a Jewish boy was 12; he would have memorized the entire Torah? That’s right, Genesis to Deuteronomy, every word. I taught elementary school and sometimes my students couldn’t even memorize their 15 spelling words correctly, let alone 5 entire books of the bible!

Education was a little different than what we see now. While all boys were educated in the Torah, your continuation of schooling and Jewish law would depend on how bright you were. In fact, the final level of education would only accept the best and the brightest. Part of that final step in Jewish education and religious studies was finding a Rabbi to follow.

You would approach a Rabbi and ask to be his disciple, someone who you would follow and learn from. The Rabbi would ask you some questions, and based on your answers deem you worthy enough, smart enough, to be his disciple. If you didn’t answer the questions up to his standard, he would tell you no, and you would go back to your village and learn your father’s trade.

In other words, you were told “You’re not good enough, smart enough, or worthy enough to be my disciple.”

Go back to Matthew 4:18-22. Notice Peter and the boys were on a boat casting their nets into the sea. This implied they didn’t make the cut to be someone’s disciple, so they learned their father’s trade as fisherman instead.

Look again at who initiated the invitation into discipleship? Who called out to whom? Was it the disciple to the Rabbi? Or was it the completely upside down backwards way of Jesus calling out to them?

Imagine what they must’ve felt like when they heard Jesus call out these 2 little words:

“Follow me”

This was more than just an invitation to go somewhere. This was acceptance. This was Jesus way of telling them “I know you’ve been told you’re not smart enough, good enough, and worthy enough. I’m telling you, you’re worthy to be my disciple.”

These two words were a way of Jesus beginning His upside down ministry of going to the ones who had been rejected by religious leaders, welcoming them in, and then using them to change the world.

Follow me meant much more than “let’s go on an adventure”. It meant I’m making you good enough and worthy enough to be my disciple.

That should lead us all to drop our nets and run after Him.

 

 1. What was the response of the disciples after hearing the words “Follow me”?

2. Why is it important to note that Jesus called out to them? How is this different from the way disciples were made back then?

3. Have you ever been told you weren’t good enough for something? Spend sometime today thinking about how the disciples must’ve felt being told they weren’t worthy enough to be someone’s disciple, only then to have Jesus invite them in. How does that affect the call on your life to follow Jesus?

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