The Beatitudes and the Lords Prayer: Matthew 5:1-12 Matthew 6:9-15 Sermon Series

By John C. Martin III

Reverend John Martin, III diligently and faithfully
expounds upon the most profound words of the Christ. You will find John Martin loyal to Jesus and faithful to
Matthews God-breathed text. It is as
if Reverend Martin forces the text through the winepress and brings forth a
rich glass of royal vintage that brings honor to the King of vineyard.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Pastor Martin is faithful to his maxim that
theology is practical. Maintaining his
high view of the church and his love for the Lords sheep, John Martin imparts
the Lords Prayer and the Beatitudes in a manner that exhorts the Christian,
This is the way, walk ye in it. Is
Martin a moralist as so many who take on these passages?style="mso-spacerun: yes"> God forbid!
Martin is no moralist. He
presents the beatitudes of Jesus as the characteristics of those who have
partaken of the new birth. I have heard
these sermons. They are robust and
powerful. Reverend Martin has the fire
of Knox, the precision of Calvin, the compassion of Luther, the humility of
Edwards, and the potency of Rushdoony.
May our gracious Lord bless your understanding of His word as presented
by His servant, John.

Rev. Gerald Tritle

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 4, 2003
• ISBN: 9781410747020

John C. Martin III

This is Pastor Martin's first published work. It is a part of a thirty-six hundred page, multi-volume commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (with a new translation from the Greek text). Since the study for this massive work was done over a period of seven or eight years, and since it was delivered to a congregation of believers (including infants and children) during public worship, it should be very helpful to believers at all educational levels. A six -volume commentary will be in editing and production over the next year; and the short portion (here included) from the Sermon on the Mount should be an excellent taste of what is to come. Pastor Martin was educated at Belhaven College, Jackson, Miss., and at Reformed Theological Seminary, also in Jackson. He is married (42 years) to Flo. The couple live in Tyler, Texas, and they have two children and nine grandchildren.

Book preview

© 2003 by Rev. John C. Martin III. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,

or otherwise, without written permission from the author.

ISBN: 1-4107-4702-6 (e-book)

ISBN: 978-1-4107-4702-0 (e-book)

ISBN: 1-4107-4701-8 (Paperback)

1stBooks-rev. 08/18/03

Table of Contents

Matthew Text

Chapter 5:1-12

Matthew 5:1-12 Part I

Matthew 5:1-12, Part 2

Matthew 5:1-12 Part 3

Matthew 5:1-12 Part 4

Matthew 5:1-12 Part 5

Matthew 5:1-12 Part 6

Matthew 5:1-12 Part 7

Matthew 5:1-12 Part 8

CONGREGATIONAL CONFESSIONS OF SIN

On the Matthew 5:1-12 sermons

Matthew 5:1-12 Part 1

Matthew 5:1-12 Part 2

Matthew 5:1-12 Part 3

Matthew 5:1-12 Part 4

Matthew 5:1-12 Part 5

Matthew 5:1-12 Part 6

Matthew 5:1-12 Part 7

Matthew 5:1-12 Part 8

The Lord’s Prayer

Matthew Text

Chapter 6:9-15

Matthew 6:9-15 Part 1

Matthew 6:9-15 Part 2

Matthew 6:9-15 Part 3

Matthew 6:9-15 Part 4 Vs. 10

Matthew 6:9-15 Part 5

Matthew 6:9-15 Part 6

Matthew 6:9-15 Part 7

Matthew 6:9-15 Part 8

CONGREGATIONAL CONFESSIONS OF SIN

On the Matthew 6:9-15 Sermons

Matthew 6:9-15 Part 1

Matthew 6:9-15 Part 2

Matthew 6:9-15 Part 3

Matthew 6:9-15 Part 4

Matthew 6:9-15 Part 5

Matthew 6:9-15 Part 6

Matthew 6:9-15 Part 7

Matthew 6:9-15 Part 8

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To my son John, and his wife, Jill; my daughter Holly, and her husband, Marcus, I extend my heartfelt thanks for financing the publishing of this book on the event of my birthday.

To Jill Martin, my superb daughter-in-law, who has done all the computer work to get this in publishing form (many, many hours), I am humbled and very grateful to you.

To David Holly, a friend and a former member of the congregation, thank you so very much for designing the front cover.

To my grandson, Johnny Martin, I appreciate your hard work on the design of the back cover.

To my wife, Flo, faithful and supportive in all instances, thank you for putting up with me.

To Gerald Tritle, a brother in The Faith in Springfield Ohio, thank you for the vigorous attestation on the back cover. It only shows how prejudiced you are in my favor, but it is most appreciated.

Matthew Text

Chapter 5:1-12

1. Now seeing the crowds He climbed up into the mountain; and after having set Himself His disciples came to Him.

2. And He opened His mouth and began teaching them saying,

3. Blessed the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of the Heavens.

4. Blessed the ones who are mourning, for they shall be comforted.

5. Blessed the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6. Blessed the hungering and thirsting after righteousness, for they shall be filled.

7. Blessed the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8. Blessed the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9. Blessed the peacemakers, for they shall be called Sons of God.

10. Blessed those who are enduring persecution on account of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of the Heavens.

11. Blessed are you whenever they revile you and persecute and say everything wicked against you falsely on account of Me.

12. Rejoice and celebrate, for your reward is great in the heavens; for thus they did persecute the prophets before you.

Matthew 5:1-12 Part I

As you have already noticed, the text reads a little different from the common readings that we have heard all our lives. And that is mainly due to the fact that the verb forms that have been supplied in the common translations, such as "blessed are the poor in spirit, and blessed are those who mourn," have been added to make the reading smoother. They aren’t in the text. And they aren’t there for a reason.

And the reason is that Jesus is making a declaration of fact-or judgment of fact. The apostle isn’t saying that men exist in blessedness because of some intrinsic value in these eight things listed here. But he does say that Jesus has pronounced-or judged-or declared-men to be blessed who are described by these eight qualities. Blessed the poor in spirit.

So Matthew has made a studied, grammatical decision, quoting the Lord Jesus, to let everyone know the Gospel-that Jesus Christ pronounces men blessed. The state of being blessed occurs naturally in no man; either by being naturally meek in character or lowly in spirit. Neither do reviling, persecution, being poor and beggarly, or acting as a peacemaker make one blessed. Blessed is a judgment of Christ-it is a pronouncement of the King on His Own subjects. A man in mourning over his own state of life is naturally driven from Christ into his own sin and degradation. But one over whom Christ rules mourns his own sin. And the King pronounces him blessed.

Our Lord begins the great Sermon on the Mount by making a clear distinction between His Kingdom and the world order. His preaching had begun-Repent, for the Kingdom of the Heavens is at hand. And this sermon, chapter 5-7, is an exposition of that. What does it mean to repent and be in submission to the King, and live in His realm-the Kingdom, God, Heavens, Lord-interchangeable. What happens when a sinful head of household sees the depravity that is there and then turns to obey the words of the King? What happens when an employer finally sees, and submits to every word that flows through the mouth of God?

Now, there are many different views out there concerning the sermon of the mount, as it is called. Jesus preached repentance, and He preached the Kingdom. The nature of man, and his obedience to the King. And every aberrant view of the sermon leaves out one or both of these two elements.

I just want to touch on a few of these, by way of explanation, so that you can see what I mean.

For example, there is the view that leaves out a clear exegesis, or exposition of each and every verse in the sermon, and exegesis of the whole, preferring to summarize the sermon by choosing a few particularly pertinent verses-such as the golden rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, (or some variation on it). And the idea is that if everybody treats his neighbor right, then we’ll have the great society.

Now, this is called the social gospel in which, I suppose, there is some loose form of a kingdom concept, but certainly not the Kingdom of Christ. And there is no understanding of depravity or repentance-without which sin and degradation will continue to run rampant. And for that reason the social Gospel does not work!

Another view, which is, perhaps, a little more serious for us as reformed people, is that the sermon is an elaboration of the Mosaic Law. But this is a pharisaical, law-and-order interpretation of it which leads to autocracy, tyranny and human abuse. I will say a lot about Jesus’ exposition of the Law and its Kingdom application from time to time, but, for now, it is enough to say that this approach to the Sermon on the Mount completely omits Jesus’ preaching of repentance first. And without it the law and order approach to society only culminates in an abusive wielding of the sword. Freedom disappears when men usurp the reign and realm of the true King, and install their own aberrant views of the Law.

The next interpretation that I want to mention is one that’s very popular today-in fact, most of the thousands of evangelical churches out there believe it in some form or another, and it’s taught from many, many pulpits and TV programs.

And it says that the Sermon on the Mount has nothing whatsoever to do with modern Christians. They say our Lord began to preach the Kingdom of God, but the Jews didn’t believe Him. They rejected the Kingdom preaching. So Jesus, at that point, went ahead and submitted to death on the cross, and couldn’t, therefore continue to preach and establish the Kingdom. So the Church age came to pass-and that will persist up to a certain point in history. Then our Lord will return with the Kingdom and the Sermon on the Mount will be re-introduced and preached again.

In other words, the Sermon on the Mount isn’t for us. It’s for a distant Kingdom age. It isn’t Christianity. It’s the Law for the age of the kingdom of heaven.

And according to this interpretation I needn’t read this portion of Scripture. Preaching it is foolish-indeed it is heresy! Being the light of the world and the salt of the earth, chapter 5, was for the early disciples and it will be for people later on, but it doesn’t apply to us now. We must never say, as Jesus says right here in this fifth chapter, that we should let our light so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven. It isn’t for present-day Christians to receive Christ’s pronouncement of blessed for being persecuted for His sake. It isn’t for present-day Christians that Jesus said I didn’t come to abrogate the Law but to confirm it. It isn’t for present-day Christians that Jesus said we are to love one another as He loved us. All in the sermon of the mount!

But, just as a quick response to this, and by way of further introduction to this great preaching of our Lord, let me say that this sermon is a perfect picture of what submission to King Jesus is! The Kingdom is now! And the command is for everyone to repent and submit to His dominion. And the sermon is a description of all who do so. Christ died-why?-To purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good words-Titus chapter two. And the peculiar people, zealous unto good works, is the description of believers in the Sermon on the Mount.

And nothing shows sinful man the need for repentance unto life more than this sermon. People turn away from this preaching of Christ because it crushes. But crushing is what is required. All of us must be crushed by the preaching of Christ, and He spares no one. From those who hold doctrine of human origin, to those who teach the Law incorrectly to the little ones, to those who have hatred for a brother, to those unjustly terminating a marriage, to those not fulfilling contracts and agreements, to those bringing gifts to God while offending his brother, to those dishonoring their parents, and the list goes on and on, in all these chapters and no one is spared!

And when one is crushed and becomes poor in spirit, one is pronounced blessed! And the Kingdom expands! And the dominion of Christ is furthered, for, when people repent, they turn to the cross of Christ and live in subjection to the King of Kings.

But this is a terrible sermon, this Sermon on the Mount. Now, do not get me wrong-I do not mean that its form and content are bad. Not at all. It’s perfect. But it’s a terrible sermon. It’s my feeling that if no one knew of this sermon, and it were preached word for word in the pulpits of the country, most of the people in the pews would get up and leave and never come back.

And let me say this. If you find yourself disagreeing with it, or upset by it, or arguing with it, or criticizing it at any point, that means there is something wrong with you! Your whole spirit is wrong. And your criticism says a lot about you! The preaching of Jesus isn’t wrong.

(And I pledge to you that I will strive to interpret it and preach it correctly.) I am not prone to speculation or unique interpretations. And I don’t even like allegorical preaching. But I am as susceptible to sin and delusion as anyone else. And I’ll be watchful for that. And I’ll be among you as a part of the body when our spirits are crushed by the Words of Christ. None of us, including me, are to sit in judgment on the preaching of Jesus; but we ourselves are under judgment. This is the life to which we are called. That is the very definition of the Kingdom-to be under the judgment of the King, to be in submission to what He said.

Now, as we finished last Lord’s Day, we found that the Lord Jesus had turned His back on Jerusalem and had turned toward the Gentile nations. He preached the Gospel of repentance and the Kingdom to those who were sitting in outer darkness.

And He cast out demons and healed the sick, showing absolute control over sin and death, in order to attest the fact that He was the Son of God, and to demonstrate that, in Him was light and life; and to illustrate the nature of His Kingdom. And because of these demonstrations of the power of God over the physical ravages of sin, people were coming from inside and outside Galilee by the thousands. And Jesus was healing every kind of disease common to man. And His fame spread to far-away nations and tribes of Gentiles.

As we come to our text this morning, Matthew records for us a very significant occasion of Jesus’ teaching. As Jesus was prone to do throughout His three years of ministry, after giving verification of His identity, He withdrew from the crowds-either to be alone or to teach smaller groups. This occasion is called the Sermon on the Mount, chapter 5, 6, and 7, because Matthew states that He went up into a mountain. (verse 1) Now, the mountains in Galilee, and especially around the Sea of Galilee, aren’t too high-ranging from a couple of hundred feet to two or three thousand feet. But however high it was, Jesus climbed up into it, says Matthew, and set Himself. In other words, He got set to teach. More than likely it was an area chosen to appropriately gather a smaller crowd around Him on a lower level so He could be seen and heard. And He called His disciples to Himself.

Then Matthew says that He opened His mouth and began teaching them. And what flows out through His mouth is probably the most famous passage in all of Scripture, and, as we’ve already heard, one of the most misread and misused passages. It describes the nature and conduct of all of His subjects.

And the word with which He begins, blessed is, in itself, a summary of the nature of one who follows Him and brings Him honor. As I said, it isn’t a term which describes an innate characteristic of man, but is a pronouncement, or a