Foundations Of The Kingdom Of God

This morning have been revisiting the 'Sermon on The Mount' which starts in Matthew 5. This sermon is considered by many the single place where Jesus lays out the realities of the Kingdom of God, and how our lives should be lived.

I think it is very important to put this in the context of Jesus beginning ministry and the gathering of thousands of people. He had burst onto the scene with a completely new ministry of healing and miracles, proclaiming the Kingdom of God, and people were sure to be wondering what He was all about. These are the first real definitive statements that Jesus makes about all that, as far as we know.

He starts by proclaiming blessing to the people, not regarding material things, but rather spiritual traits. In other words He is laying the foundation of the Kingdom and it is a spiritual foundation, not a material one. This is such a departure from what the people were expecting from the Messiah. They were expecting a military leader, warrior-king to lead them to freedom from those who oppressed them, and here is Jesus saying blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek, those who mourn, those that hunger and seek righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, peacemakers and persecuted. He finishes the 'beatitudes' by saying that those who are insulted and persecuted because of their relationship with Him are blessed as well.

This is not a message on the power of positive thinking, or a statement that proclaims material prosperity to His followers, but rather a statement drawing people to the relational and spiritual components of their lives. Jesus wasn't proclaiming Himself an up and coming leader, but was rather drawing people to that which really provides life and blessing. He is all about restoring real relationship wth the Father, and the spiritually arrogant or people living purely material lives will not recognize their need or even the invitation. Rather than saying 'look at me!' He is inviting the people to look at their own hearts, and see there a need for relationship with the Father.

He continues on with encouragements to be salt to the earth, or a light on the hill. I find this very interesting in that at this early stage of His ministry, He was already talking about the witness His followers would have to the world around them. Again, this is not a call to people to follow him and show the world who is best and has the brightest ideas, or to force others to think as they do, which is the more common call of charismatic leaders to followers. Rather this is a statement of the critical role we all have in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God expands because of us, because of the traits in us that He mentioned in the first discourse of blessings.

Finally, rather than making this about Him, He makes it about us. Rather than expressing His own significance, He speaks about all of our significance. This really is radically different teaching than what they were probably expecting. The foundations of the Kingdom of God are based on our relationships with Him, our recognition of our desperate need for relationship with Him, the Father and the Holy Spirit, and the character traits He develops in us as we follow Him. We are called to be lights to those around us, to be that which seasons those around us.

Lord, help us to be the kind of people You desire to partner with in the expansion of the Kingdom of God.

Her are the verses I was reading from this morning - Matthew 5:1, 3-16 NIV
[1] "Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, [2]and he began to teach them.
He said:
[3] “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
[4] Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. [5] Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
[6] Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
[7] Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
[8] Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. [9] Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
[10] Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
[11] “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. [12] Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
[13] “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
[14] “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. [15] Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. [16] In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."