Sermon: Sunday, 7th September, 2025
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Matthew 5:1-16
How many times in the Bible are followers of Jesus called Christians and how many times are they called disciples? The word ‘Christians’ occurs 3 times whilst the word ‘disciple’ occurs 269 times. Before ascending to Heaven, Jesus calls us to: ‘… go and make disciples of all nations… baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’ (Matthew 28: 19-20)
It is crucial that all of Jesus’ followers embrace what it means to be his disciple or apprentice. We must obey all that he says. We must seek to live as he lived, not in our own strength but in the strength he provides. The late Dallas Willard believed that the bar for discipleship in the modern church has been set far too low. We live as if God has next to no expectations of how we live our lives. We are too content with just being ‘saved’ and conveniently forget all about being ‘followers’. Being a disciple is about far more than conversion. It begins with that. But it is about a lifelong task of active apprenticeship and not passive belief.
Dallas Willard: ‘The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who, by profession or culture, are identified as ‘Christians’ will become disciples — students, apprentices, practitioners — of Jesus Christ.’
The best way for us to ‘raise the bar’ again and to be the kind of disciples Jesus wants is simple: we need to study the teachings of Jesus and then live them out in our lives. As we do this, our lives will be transformed, and we will become more like Jesus. How can we say we believe Jesus shed his blood for us but that we don’t really want to live in the way he commands? Are you ready to pursue the kind of life Jesus wants you to? If you are, the Sermon on the Mount is a great place to start. It begins with the beatitudes.
T Johnston: ‘The beatitudes are Jesus’ most complete description of his disciples. Jesus works on the inside out, zeroing in on the heart and describing the behaviour that flows from it. What emerges is an individual, and then a community that is radically different.’
If this is true, and it is, then the eight virtues outlined in the beatitudes ought to describe, in some measure, all the Christians in this church. Again, like the fruit of the Spirit, we can only become like this with the help of God’s Spirit. We need to keep praying that God would make us like this.
Most of us have experienced ‘pick and mix’ sweets at the cinema or in a shop. You see a whole range of sweets and you just choose the ones you want. These eight virtues must not be treated in that way. We cannot say: ‘I like the thought of being a peacemaker, but I don’t want to be poor in spirit’. Like the fruit of the Spirit, and the Ten Commandments, all eight of these virtues combine to outline what all Christians are meant to be. Jesus is saying to us today: ‘This is how my people are to live.’ This is not a description of an elite group of Christians but of ordinary Christians like us. And the more we live in that way, the more we will be salt and light in this world.
The late Donald Macleod once mentioned that he was often asked what the Free Church stands for. He said that he wished we could point people to the Sermon on the Mount and say: ‘This is what we stand for.’ In other words, we are those who focus on implementing the virtues of the beatitudes, on loving our enemies, on prayer in the secret place, not judging others and trusting in our Father to provide for us, rather than worrying ourselves sick.
What does the word ‘blessed’ really mean? Some people have translated the Greek word (makarios) as ‘happy’. But the meaning is much more precise than that. To be blessed means that God approves of how we are living. We have his smile upon us. He is pleased with us. Before we look at the first two beatitudes, it is important to acknowledge just how counter-cultural they are. Were you to poll the top eight virtues of the average person in Fife, in might be more along the lines of blessed are the healthy or the wealthy or those who managed to get Oasis tickets or have financial security. Jesus focuses the attention of his followers on mourning, meekness and showing mercy.
1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus wants his disciples to be those who are ‘poor in spirit’. This has nothing to do with financial poverty. This speaks of spiritual poverty. This word for poor is a very strong one, speaking of someone who is destitute, like a beggar who has nothing. This beatitude is best illustrated by the parable in Luke’s Gospel.
‘To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’ (Luke 18:9-14)
Which man is blessed? Which man does God favour? Clearly, it is not the one who evaluates his life before God and concludes that he is a great guy, far better than everyone else. The Pharisee is self-righteous and is not seeing things as they really are. God hates this kind of attitude. However, the tax collector evaluates himself properly. He recognises that he has not loved God as he ought to have and has not loved his neighbour as he has loved himself. He knows he has lied and stolen and been selfish and proud. He knows he needs God’s mercy. And God says that he is blessed and that nothing less than the Kingdom of God belongs to him. He knows the truth. The truth is, I cannot even live up to my own standards of behaviour, far less God’s. I am spiritually bankrupt.
Yes, we come to God like this when we become Christians, but as disciples we need to keep on coming to God like this.
Jerry Bridges: ‘Believers who are growing continue to see more sin in their lives. It is not that they are sinning more; rather, they are becoming more aware of and more sensitive to the sin that has been there all along. It is not the flagrant sins of society around us, but rather such sins as our selfishness, our pride, our jealousy and envy, and above all, our judgmental spirit towards others.’
Even as Christians, we can fall into the trap of minimising or ignoring our own sins and maximising those of others. But if we are poor in spirit, we will not do that so much!
Most of us are happy to go to the doctor and admit the physical or mental problems we have. There are things which are wrong, and we cannot deal with them on our own and we need help. We go and seek out that help. It would be foolish to turn up at the GP practice and then say ‘I’m fine. I’m in perfect health. And I’m far healthier than most other people I know.’ The reality is that our blood pressure is high and something is wrong. If only we could have the same attitude with our spiritual and moral problems. We ought to go to our spiritual doctor, Jesus himself, and ask for his help, admitting our problems of pride and selfishness and so on. We ought to confess and ask him to change us on the inside by his Spirit. What gets in the way? Pride. Jesus reminds us that his followers are like the tax collector.
Don Carson: ‘We must come to him and acknowledge our spiritual bankruptcy, emptying ourselves of our self-righteousness, moral self-esteem and personal vainglory. Emptied of these things we are ready for him to fill us.’
And God most certainly does fill us. Who, then, is given the Kingdom of God? It is not the proud or self-righteous who receive God’s Kingdom, but those who are humble enough to acknowledge their unworthiness to receive it. You need to understand the truth about yourself. Don’t be self-deceived, blaming others for your wrongs. Instead, acknowledge your moral poverty, ask God for forgiveness and help and then he will empower you to live with humility and love and peace. Ask Jesus to fill you up so you become more like him. Ask him to cause the fruit of the Spirit to grow in our hearts. Ask him to help you to be serious about following him.
2. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Of course, Jesus is not speaking here about mourning the death of a loved one but rather mourning over our sin. In this sense, the first two beatitudes are closely connected. Jesus’ followers are aware of their own shortcomings, and this accurate understanding of themselves leads them to godly sorrow before God. At first, blessed are those who mourn might sound crazy. Happy are the unhappy. But those who mourn over their sin before God will know the enormous comfort of God’s forgiveness.
These first two beatitudes come together in the Old Testament, in book of Isaiah we read; ‘The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendour.’ (Isaiah 61:1-3)
Do you know what it is to mourn because of your sin? Let’s look more closely at this. This kind of mourning is not the same as feeling sorry for yourself. For example, imagine you get drunk and end up behaving in a rude and crass way towards a friend, you might regret that in the morning. You might even go and apologise to your friend. But there is a piece missing. You ought to apologise to your friend but you should also apologise to God. Why? Because it is his rules you are breaking. He is the one who commands us not to get drunk and to treat people with respect. There’s an important verse Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians: ‘Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.’ (2 Corinthians 7:10) ( This verse tells us there are two kinds of sorrow or mourning. Godly mourning turns away from sin towards God, confesses to God and finds forgiveness and cleansing in him. It is this mourning we see in David after his adultery. He sins against Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, by stealing his wife and then by murdering him. But he knows that ultimately, he has sinned against the Lord. ‘Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight…’ (Psalm 51:4)
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. We are comforted as mourning before God allows us to lay hold of God’s mercy. So, David goes on to say: ‘Cleanse me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.’ (Psalm 51:7-10)
Those who don’t mourn before God will not receive God’s comfort. But those who do can say with David: ‘You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you for ever.’ (Psalm 30:11-12)
One day, the Kingdom of God will be consummated, and we shall live on the new earth forever. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’ (Revelation 21:4) But until that day, while we are on this earth we will continue to break God’s rules.
Rather than distracting ourselves with entertainment or blaming others our burying ourselves in work, let’s respond by going to a quiet place and mourning before him. He promises a deep comfort. This is Jesus’ description of his disciples.