Malachi 4 is the last chapter of the last book of the Old Testament, and it ends with a warning. Abandon me, and you will be cursed.
Then God went quiet. Four hundred years of it. Four centuries of pain, agony, disappointment, a whole people asking where God went and what they had done and what they were supposed to do now.
And then the Messiah shows up. He climbs a hill, he sits down, he opens his mouth, and the first recorded sermon of his ministry — the first word out of the silence — is not a curse.
Blessed.
That is what Jesus does. He takes the world and turns it upside down and inside out.
We are starting a series in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5 through 7. Twelve minutes long, cover to cover. More libraries have been written about it than about any other sermon ever preached, and it still leaves you scratching your head. Jesus said what? If your right hand causes you to sin, you should — what?
Kent and I have a high view of this book. We believe it is God's Word and we will always teach it. We also have questions, just like you. So wherever you are and whatever you believe or do not believe, there is a seat at this table for you.
The word I had wrong
I have been in full-time ministry for twenty-two years, and I got rebuked in my study this week.
I have told people for years that God is about your holiness, not your happiness. To some degree that is true. But the word translated blessed nine times in this passage is makarios, and it can be translated happy. Not a superficial happiness. A deep, abiding happiness — joy with a sense of purpose and wholeness. Happy are you. Happy are you. Happy are you.
Now think about who is sitting on that hillside. People with an average lifespan around thirty-five. One in four of their babies dying in infancy. No dentistry, so teeth hurting or falling out. Children with no education. No banks. Just trying to make ends meet, with an empire breathing down their necks taking money they do not have.
Jesus could have opened anywhere. He went straight to the ache: what is this life for, and why do I have longings in me that nothing satisfies?
Here is where the whole sermon is going, so you can relax. You cannot achieve blessing. You can only receive it from Christ.
Blessed are the poor in spirit
Can I get a what?
They thought the same thing. But the poor in spirit are the ones who know they cannot save themselves — that they need Christ to do for them what they cannot do for themselves, save them and sustain them. And God meets them right there in that humility.
Think of Cain and Abel. Cain came before God with his best. A religious man, doing everything he could to earn his standing, and God turned him down. Abel came with a sacrifice. This is before God ever commands a sacrificial system, so Abel had probably heard it from his mother and father — how God made the first sacrifice for them and clothed them in animal skins on their way out of the garden. Sin brought death, and there is life in the blood.
And when God accepted Abel, Cain did what religion always does. He struck out in self-justification and killed his brother.
Pretense can make you feel good. It never touches the heart.
Blessed are those who mourn
Can I get a what? Happy are you when you are crying — that is not usually how it works.
A woman once asked me to pray that her daughter would feel pain. Imagine praying that over your child. Here is why. The girl's nerves do not work. She puts a hand on the stove and does not know she is burning until she smells it. She steps on glass and only learns she is cut when she sees the blood.
There is purpose in pain. Pain is the proof your heart is still alive. Psalm 34:18 says God is near the brokenhearted. Jesus himself wept over the plight of his people.
It is a broken world. It is not a hopeless world — Christ has begun his kingdom and he has promised to come back and finish it. So we mourn. We just do not mourn without hope.
Blessed are the meek
Meek, not weak.
I watched a clip this week that says it better than I can. A pitcher throws a hundred-mile-an-hour fastball right at Shohei Ohtani to put him on base. The dugout starts to come out. And Ohtani turns around and waves his own teammates off. Stay put. Calm down. Then he walks to first.
That is meekness. Controlled strength. God is not calling you to be weak. He is calling you to be strong and under control.
Blessed are the pure in heart
We have a lot of kids in our house, which means a lot of devices playing a lot of things in the background. Every so often you walk up on one of them and they snatch the phone to their chest. They have not said a word, but you know something is not right.
That is what hiding does, whether you are hiding from people or from God. It puts a wall in the relationship. The righteous are bold as lions because they have nothing to hide.
And notice that none of us are pure in heart. Jesus sets the bar where nobody can clear it. That is the point. We need a Savior.
The blessed one
Look at what Christ actually did. He was poor in spirit so you could be rich. He mourned over his people so they could be saved. He was meek and stood silent in your place at his own judgment. He hungered and thirsted for righteousness so you could be satisfied. He is the pure in heart who stands before God and intercedes for you. He is the Prince of Peace.
Blessed are we in him. Happy are we in him. Satisfied are we in him.
Augustine said our hearts are restless until they find their rest in God. Your greatest hunger will only be filled in one place.
So what are you still trying to achieve that Christ is offering to give you?
