Audio: iTunes | Spotify
Thursday Outline
He opened His mouth and taught them, saying, “Blessèd are…”
᛭ INI ᛭
Christ is the second and better Moses. As Moses ascended Mt. Sinai and received the Law, so Christ ascends the mountain and delivers not only the Law but the Gospel. He speaks comforting words to you and to me this morning, as we observed All Saints’.
He doesn’t speak Words of Law or command today, though He preaches them as recorded later in Matthew 5 and 6. No, today, He’s speaking comfort. He’s speaking about Himself, and what it means to be in Him by faith. His Words of comfort have everything to do with the Saints. Christ isn’t necessarily preaching the Saints triumphant, those who’ve passed on to glory “from this valley of sorrow.” He’s talking about the Saints militant, you and me who are made holy by faith in Him. He’s preaching comfort and hope, that we might be strengthened in our faith that we also “might live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.”
You can summarize what Christ says about the Saints pretty succinctly, actually. THE SAINTS ARE BLESSÈD, like Christ says nine times today.
THE SAINTS ARE BLESSÈD.
To say that THE SAINTS ARE BLESSÈD does not mean that they’ve received a blessing. In Matthew, “blessèd” is tied tightly to present and future salvation. And so doesn’t mean that they’re “happy,” as some translations have it. It’s tied to salvation. It could mean something akin to “saved,” but BLESSÈD in Matthew 5 carries the weight of “happy in spite of circumstances” or as we Lutherans might say, “Confident in salvation.” And so,
THE SAINTS ARE BLESSÈD, CONFIDENT IN THEIR SALVATION.
(I. THE SAINTS ARE BLESSÈD, in spite of the flesh.)
The saints are this way in spite of the flesh that clings to us. We are saints, but we are still, at the same time, sinners. That’s what Christ describes the saints: “they are poor in spirit; they mourn; they are meek; they hunger and thirst for righteousness.” Not necessarily the idea you get about saints, is it? It’s not true about the saints triumphant, but it’s true for you and me, isn’t it, dear saints of God? But as David before he was king had a ragtag band of misfit soldiers (1-Sam 22), so also gathers His saints on earth to Himself, even though they—you!—still have a flesh.
The Lord works a great reversal for His saints, for you. He dies for our sins. He claims all that’s unsaintly about our flesh and the works of the flesh, and He claims them as His own. He suffers the curse and consequence of our sin. But He wasn’t just delivered up for our trespasses, He was raised for our justification, our innocent verdict before God. Christ gives us His righteousness!
In fact, the great reversal works itself for you, as your Lord and Savior IHS Christ promises. He promises the spiritually poor the Kingdom of heaven; He promises comfort to the mourning; He promises that the meek—no need to make yourself great—the entire earth. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, since they don’t have it themselves, He delivers His own righteousness. He satisfies your hunger and thirst for being righteous, for being how God intended you to be, for wanting to behave how you should in His Supper. Here He feeds you His body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins, and you leave filled with His righteousness.
(Transition.)
And so THE SAINTS ARE BLESSÈD, CONFIDENT IN THEIR SALVATION, in spite of their flesh, and they’re also that way on account Christ and what He’s done!
(II. THE SAINTS ARE BLESSÈD propter Chrstium.)
Yes, THE SAINTS ARE BLESSÈD, CONFIDENT IN THEIR SALVATION not on account of what they’ve done. And yes, you should be merciful to other people. You should be pure in heart. You should be a peace-maker. But again, the flesh, makes us not be so merciful to everyone, and we certainly aren’t pure in heart. The desires of our heart, the lusts of the heart, are disgusting and should disgust us as much as it disgusts God.
But thanks be to God Christ is the truly merciful One! It’s why we constantly cry out to Him: “Lord, have mercy upon on!” He truly had a pure heart in your place. He kept the Law of God with all His heart, soul, mind, and strength, always behaving perfectly in thought, word, and deed. And He is the last and final Peacemaker: “Christ Himself is our peace” (Eph 2), “having made peace through the blood of His cross.” (Col 1)
He “creates in [you] a clean heart,” “renews a right Spirit within [you].” In Christ, you are given the right to be called children and even sons of God, by being baptized into Christ. (Gal 3) He pours out the Spirit into your heart. (Rom 5; 2-Cor 1) He gifts you so be peacemakers, after all, the “fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Gal 5) Being merciful, pure in heart, and peacemaker are the fruit of faith. And yet Christ promises the free gift of seeing Him one day, face to face.
(Transition)
And so THE SAINTS ARE BLESSÈD, CONFIDENT IN THEIR SALVATION, on account of Christ, and the saints receive it all by faith alone!
(III. THE SAINTS ARE BLESSÈD through faith in Christ.)
The saints are what they are (holy) and the way that they are (holy) because of faith! As inspired Peter says, hearts are purified by faith. (Acts 15) So, inwardly the saints are confident, even though outward appearances say otherwise. And so THE SAINTS ARE BLESSÈD, CONFIDENT IN THEIR SALVATION, no matter what happens to them because of Christ and the fact that the Spirit “sanctifies and keeps [them] in the one true faith,” come hell or high water!
The SAINTS ARE BLESSÈD when they are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. Not their own, but the righteousness and salvation found in Christ. As He said, “Blessèd are you when men speak evil about you for My sake.” It’ll be like it was for the prophets of old, as Christ promises here, and as Hebrews says: “[Some] were tortured…others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.” (Heb 11)
But the Lord does great reversals! He Himself rose from the dead after suffering the same things, and suffering them for you! He will keep you in the faith. He will keep His promise. His empty tomb is proof of that. He font and pastor and altar confess the same steadfastness of keeping promises. “Blessèd are the persecuted, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” “Great is your reward in heaven.”
(Conclusion.)
Rejoice and be glad! THE SAINTS ARE BLESSÈD, CONFIDENT IN THEIR SALVATION. And you can be so, dear saint of God, in spite of your flesh only on account of what Christ has done finally and fully for you! Died and raised, He baptized you, absolves you, gives you His body and blood for the forgiveness of all your sins. “Great is your reward in heaven,” as Revelation 7 reveals:
“These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
“Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.
For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Gracious Mercy Blog 