Sermon on the Mount 3
JASON MARTIN
Jesus in the Gospels / Matthew 5:6–8
They got it pretty good
1. As we continue reading at the Sermon on the mount, consider where we are in the story.
2. Jesus is describing and declaring blessings over certain people. We see this also in the Old Testament; (blessed = ‘ashrey’)
Psalm 32:1–2 ESV
1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Psalm 1:1–2 ESV
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
3. MacArthur says these are both;
a. a necessary condition for entering the Kingdom -and
b. characteristics of those who live in the kingdom
i. this is both how we get into the Kingdom and how we live once we are in the Kingdom
ii. (I take this as a heart that has truly repented and turned toward God will exhibit these fruits - these are not a checklist to be completed as an entry fee)
But who is out here listening to Jesus?
1. Read Matthew 4:23-5:2
a. We see the types of people included in these crowds - but what did Jesus read in the Synagogue?
Isaiah 61:1 ESV
1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
b. The He opens this Sermon on the Mount talking about that same group of people.
2. Read Matthew 5:3-5
a. Then we look around the scene at the Mountain - and that’s who has come out to Him (from Matt 4:23-25)
b. And as we continue to look around, we don’t see people that we would say ‘got it good’. We see a traveling Rabbi, some fishermen, and a bunch of people that society has decided have no value.
c. It would look to us like these people ‘don’t got it very good’. And it looked the same way to them!
3. How it it that Jesus can say they are blessed?
a. Unless somebody knows that they are sick, they have no need for a Physician.
Righteousness
Matthew 5:6 ESV
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
1. Why describe it like hunger and thirst? Aren’t those urges that we have multiple times everyday? They are some of our most basic and foundational needs.
a. Our bodies require food and drink to be healthy. Likewise, a healthy spirit will hunger and thirst for righteousness.
2. What is the world hungry for?
a. Satan was hungry for power
Isaiah 14:13–14 ESV
13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
Isaiah 14:15 ESV
15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.
b. Nebuchadnezzar was hungry for praise
Daniel 4:30 ESV
30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”
Daniel 4:31 ESV
31 While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you,
c. The rich fool was hungry for abundance
Luke 12:18–19 ESV
18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’
Luke 12:20 ESV
20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’
3. What do we hunger and thirst for?
a. Turn to John 6:48-63
Jeremiah 2:13 ESV
13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
John 4:14 ESV
14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 7:37–38 ESV
37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
Revelation 21:6 ESV
6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.
4. We should have a deep desire (hunger and thirst) both for personal righteousness and also for the world to be righteous.
a. Turn to Romans 3:21-26
2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Psalm 17:15 ESV
15 As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.
Psalm 107:9 ESV
9 For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
5. We should have an ongoing hunger and thirst for righteousness, even if we don’t like the taste of it sometimes.
Proverbs 27:7 ESV
7 One who is full loathes honey, but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.
Merciful
Matthew 5:7 ESV
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Luke 6:36 ESV
36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
1. We can’t earn mercy, otherwise it wouldn’t be mercy.
a. Like salvation, we aren’t purchasing mercy with mercy. It is the fruit of the mercy we have received.
2. Each beatitude is the fruit of the ones before - and it all starts with being poor in spirit - recognizing our spiritual poverty.
a. Poor in spirit > mourn > meek > hunger for righteousness > show mercy
3. Mercy is something that blesses the giver and receiver - and we MUST be on both sides of it
4. People who recognize the mercy they have received will extend mercy to others.
a. What are the limitations of our forgiveness and showing mercy?
i. Turn to Matthew 18:21-25
James 2:13 ESV
13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
i. Lamentations 3 says ‘His mercies are new every morning’
5. Being merciful is more than just forgiveness - it requires action
a. Turn to Matthew 25:33-36 (37-46) - the righteous show mercy by helping those in need
i. food & drink
ii. be welcoming
iii. clothing
iv. visiting the sick and imprisoned
Pure in heart
Matthew 5:8 ESV
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
1. This is deeper than ritual washings
Matthew 15:17–20 ESV
17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”
2. Purity is a heart issue. I hear even Christians say “People are inherently good”
a. Genesis 6:5 “5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
b. Jeremiah 17:9 “9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
3. Is a pure heart sinlessness?
a. Turn to Psalm 18:24-27 - covers these three beatitudes
i. Psalm 18:21 explains that David’s righteousness came from his loyalty, not sinlessness
b. Turn to Psalm 24:1-5 - ‘clean hands’ is using a physical ritual to explain a spiritual reality. (Pilot washed his hands but they still had Jesus’ blood on them)
4. It begins inside and overflows outwardly
a. Turn to Matthew 23:25-28 - ‘first inside, so that outside’(vs 26)
5. They shall see God
a. Psalm 17:15 “15 As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.”
b. Hebrews 12:14 “14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”
c. 1 John 3:2 “2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”
d. Revelation 22:3–4 “3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.”
Application
1. Notice the progression
a. Poor in spirit: “I need God.”
Mourning: “I grieve over what sin has done.”
Meek: “I surrender myself to God.”
Hungry for righteousness: “I want what God wants.”
Merciful: “I give to others what God has given me.”
Pure in heart: “I want God Himself.”
2. How can we hunger and thirst for righteousness?
3. What happens when I realize how much mercy God has shown me?
a. are we more forgiving?
Exported from Logos Bible Study, 12:21 PM September 25, 2026.