Blessed Are the Meek (Matt. 5:5)

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Outline: Matthew 5:5

1.    The meaning of meekness

2.    The promise attached to meekness

Summary: In every Beatitude, Jesus is inviting us to experience deep joy in the Father by describing the character qualities that attract the Father's blessing and favor.  Thus far Jesus has taught us that God lavishes blessing on those who recognize their need for Him ("Blessed are the poor in spirit") and on those who grieve over what grieves Him ("Blessed are those who mourn").  Now, with the third Beatitude ("Blessed are the meek"), we progress in level of difficulty, for now we are to not only grieve over what grieves God but also respond in a God-honoring way to those who grieve us.  To be meek is to respond in a godly way to those who mistreat us.  The meek person will respond to mistreatment in a self-controlled and gentle manner, returning good for evil, because he is trusting in God to make things right in His time and in His way and because he knows that he has a glorious inheritance awaiting him.  

Discussion Questions:

• Review: Define "blessed." Beatitudes are invitations, invitations to what?
• What is the meaning of meekness? 
• How does meekness relate to the first two Beatitudes?
• How is meekness described in other places in the NT (Matt. 11:29; 21:5; 1 Pet. 3:4 )?
• Why is Psalm 37 significant in understanding what Jesus meant by "meek"?
• What do we learn about meekness from Psalm 37?
• What does this promise mean: "they shall inherit the earth"? 
• How does the promise of inheriting the earth help us respond rightly to being mistreated?
• How should the meekness shown by Jesus in his life and death shape our responses to others? 

Application Questions:

• How do you tend to respond to those who mistreat you?
• How would God have you respond to those who mistreat you?
• If you are being mistreated, what would it look like if your response was controlled not by your emotions but by trust in God and a willingness to wait upon God?
• What would it look like to respond to God with meekness in troubling circumstances in your life?

Prayer points:

• Confess your ungodly responses to people who have mistreated you.  
• Praise Jesus for His meekness—that He did not return evil for your evil.
• Thank God for putting the very Spirit of the Meek One inside you to help you become meek.
• Ask God to help you depend on the Spirit and respond to mistreatment in a God-honoring way.

A Song To Help Your Mourning Be Your Worship

"Sovereign Over Us" by Aaron Keyes

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn (Matthew 5:4)

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Outline: Matthew 5:4

1. The meaning of mourning
2. The promise of comfort

Summary: The Beatitudes are invitations from Jesus to experience more of God's blessing, joy, and favor in our lives (Matt. 5:3-12).  Each Beatitude is a pointed description of Christian character, that is, what every Christian's character should be like.  And these character qualities attract the blessing of God and, as we shall see, also enhance our witness in the world (Matt. 5:13-16).  The second Beatitude ("Blessed are those who mourn") flows naturally from the first ("Blessed are the poor in spirit"), for it is only after we recognize our need for God that we will begin to feel as we ought to feel.  Those who mourn are those who are grieved by what grieves God.  This godly grief attracts the blessing of God, especially in the form of comfort (some comfort in this life and complete comfort in the life to come). 

Discussion Questions:

• Review: Define "blessed." Beatitudes are invitations, invitations to what?
• What is the meaning of mourning? [Hint: look at it through a narrow lens and a broad lens].  
• How do we learn to mourn?  [Hint: Analogy: a child watching daddy's tears]
• Thought experiment: what are some things that grieve the heart of God?
• Reflect on this phrase: sometimes "weeping is our worship"
• Can you think of a godly person in your life who is often grieved by what grieves God?
• In what sense is the promise of comfort a present and a future reality?
• Look up these cross-references and consider the comfort that we get to experience in part now and in full later: Isa. 61:1-2; Jn. 16:20-21; Ps. 30:5; 126:5-6; 45:15; Rev. 21:4.
• Comfort is only promised to "those who mourn." How does the gospel make it possible to be one who mourns?

Application Questions:

• How often do you grieve over things that grieve the heart of God? 
• What sins in your live should you be mourning over?
• When it comes to your response to the sins of others and the brokenness of society, are you more marked by frustration, irritability, impatience, a critical spirit, etc or by godly grief?
• What would it look like for you to mourn over the sins of others and the brokenness of society?
• What hinders you from grieving over things that grieve the heart of God?
• Why do you think "those who mourn" attract the blessing and favor of God?

Prayer points:

• Confess any of your ungodly responses to the sins of others and the brokenness of society.  
• Mourn any sin in your own life.
• Praise God that He mourned our sin and sent His Son to die to pay the penalty for our sin
• Praise God that you have the very Spirit of the Man of Sorrows within you, that you now have the capacity to be grieved by what grieves God.  This is a miracle of God's grace!
• Ask  God to break your heart for what breaks His
• Ask God to grow your capacity for mourning

Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit (Matthew 5:3)

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Outline: Matthew 5:3

1. What does Jesus mean by "poor in spirit"?
2. Why does being "poor in spirit" bring true happiness?

Summary: The Beatitudes are invitations to experience more of God's blessing, joy, and favor in our lives (Matt. 5:3-12).  Each Beatitude is a pointed description of Christian character, that is, what every Christian's character should be like.  And these character qualities attract the blessing of God and, as we shall see, also enhance our witness in the world (Matt. 5:13-16).  The first Beatitude ("Blessed are the poor in spirit") is intentionally placed first, for it is the key that opens all of the other doors of God's blessing.  What does it mean to be "poor in spirit"?  Jesus points at material poverty as a picture of spiritual poverty.  Generally speaking, the materially poor recognize their neediness, their weakness, their helplessness, the insufficiency of their resources and their need to rely on others to support them.  Similarly, the child of God who attracts their heavenly Father's blessing is one who recognizes their neediness and continually and habitually relies on God.  Such a person gets to taste kingdom joy in this life and will most certainly enjoy the fullness of that joy in the age to come.   

Discussion Questions:

• What is the meaning of the term "blessed"?
• In what sense should we look at the Beatitudes as invitations? Invitations to what?
• Discuss this idea: "Each Beatitude describes what every Christian's character should be like."
• What is the meaning of "poor in spirit"? [Hint: it may be helpful to recall two analogies from the sermon (the poor beggar and the newborn infant)].    
• Why do you think Jesus places this beatitude first? [Hint: try to recall the water sack analogy]
• What is the significance of Jesus emphasizing the present reality of the kingdom when he says blessed are...theirs is the kingdom of heaven? 

Application Questions:

• Do you lack real joy in life? What ways do you see self-confidence, self-reliance, self-sufficiency present in your life? Ponder how self-reliance is a joy-killer in your life.
• What doors of blessing, joy, and favor would be opened to you if you were to regularly recognize your neediness and consciously rely on God?
• Why do you think being "poor in spirit" attracts the heart of God?

Prayer points:

• Confess your self-reliance to God and the pride that acts like you don't need Him. 
• Thank Jesus for becoming a man, for perfectly relying on His Father, and for dying on the cross to erase the sins of arrogant and self-reliant people like us.  
• Acknowledge how much you truly need Him.
• Pray that God would help you regularly see your utter need for him.
• Pray that God would help you regularly turn away from self and to look to him for help.

The Sermon on the Mount: An Introduction (Matthew 5:1-2; 7:28-29)

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Outline: Matthew 5:1-2; 7:28-29

1.              Authority Anticipated (5:1-2)

2.              Authority Experienced (7:28-29)

Summary: After his baptism and victory over temptations in the wilderness, Jesus chose his first disciples and began his public ministry (Matt. 3-4).  Jesus started teaching, preaching, and healing with the result that his “fame spread” and “great crowds followed him” from virtually every surrounding region (4:25). As the crowds drew near to the mountain, Jesus saw them and took his seat on the mountain (5:1).  And with an air of solemnity and anticipation, the God-Man began to teach (5:2).  By the end of the sermon, the crowds were astonished, awestruck by the message, but more than that, by the Messenger himself (7:28-29).  Why?  Because Jesus taught with a unique, yes even a heavenly authority.  Jesus taught with an unmatched confidence and clarity, a level of dignity and depth that left a deep impression on the hearts of his hearers.

Discussion Questions:

• Describe the context in general and where the crowds come from in particular (cf. 4:25).
• Who is Jesus teaching and where do you see this in the text (hint: there are two groups)?
• How did the crowds respond to Jesus’ sermon (7:28)? Why that response? (7:29)?
• What does this teach us about the uniqueness of Jesus?

Application Questions:

• How should what you learned about Jesus’ authority effect the way you think about and respond to the teaching on the Sermon on the Mount in the weeks and months ahead?
• How have you been responding to the authority of God’s Word as of late?
• Applying the gospel: How should the truth that Jesus alone has authority to forgive sin affect the way we deal with our failures, shame, and guilt?
• Has Jesus’ authority made you bolder in talking to others about the things of God? How can a renewed understanding of Jesus’ authority help you grow in boldness?

Prayer Points:

• Praise Jesus that he alone has authority to forgive your sins and that he has done so!
• Confess to God any failures to honor Jesus’ authority in your life.
• Ask God to help you be regularly astonished by and submissive to his Word.