To Listen ‘Open Message from Title’ and click on Listen Now or To Save: Right Click and ‘Save Target as’
What are some things you can think of that are opposite of what you think they mean or are? For example; the word peruse, what do you think it means and how do people use it? To look over something quickly. What it really means is to read or examine something, usually in a careful and thorough way or taking time to do it. What about irregardless? Same as regardless, in spite of or ignoring setbacks, hindrances, or problems. Can you think of others? It seems there are things out there that we do and use which should be done the opposite so to be right. Think about politics and common sense. There is even great evidence building that the dieting craze has it all wrong and should be doing things just the opposite of what is strongly recommended. Do you know what the greatest opposite is that is affecting all of humanity? It is the way we as a human race promote the opposites of what God says we need to be doing to find true happiness. If we were to look around the world today we would find that the qualities the world lifts up in human character, because character comes before behavior, are just the opposites of what God says they should be in the Beatitudes. Instead of being poor in spirit the world says there should be great pride. Instead of mourners we find people absorbed with self seeking pleasure, instead of meekness there is arrogance, instead of hungering after righteousness there are those who will do anything to get richer and richer, instead of mercy, our streets and schools are filled with cruelty, instead of pure hearts, we find every kind of moral filth and pornography at the finger tips of those who desire it, instead of peacemakers, people fight and act resentfully toward others, instead of rejoicing in our religious mistreatment, we look for any way we can to fight back. This is all from a society that claims to be so advanced and civilized. There are few places one could go, if any, to get away from such opposite thinking. If you think about it there are all kinds of media available that encourages this kind of behavior. There are books and websites promoting doing the opposite of what you think should be done.
This lifestyle of living opposite to what Jesus said would be best for us has taken a toll on our world today. It is not a good toll either. Living opposite of what God desires for us is sin and sin affects those involved in it and those around it. Psalm 32:3–4 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. There is a passage in the OT that talks about the sins of the father passed down to the 4th and 5th generation, these are the affects of sin that are carried onto the next generation, alcoholism, abuse and the like. All this negative living has created sickness and disease as well as psychological ills that effect many today. A whole industry has arisen to deal with them, the affects of man’s sin upon themselves and others because so many promote opposite living to what God desires for us. All of our heartaches and many of our psychological ills come from our sins or those of others. Pride, arrogance, resentfulness, evil imaginings, malice and greed are the source of so much human despair and pain. Then the physical effects that come along with them can be worse than the ills that attack us without notice.
The words Jesus spoke to us in this passage are a gift to show us how to live life free from the torment of our own sinful selfish desires which have a negative effect upon us. We would do well to listen to His words of heavenly wisdom and truth. That is what they are; truth, God’s own truth to us and a sinful world. This section of Matthew is the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus straightens out man’s wrong thinking about living and pleasing God. Jesus clears up the misgivings of people who tried to reinterpret God’s truths. In the next section Jesus clears up these opposites and gives what they were meant to mean. You will see again and again where Jesus says, “you have heard, but I tell you.” The problem was then and still is today that people won’t listen to what Jesus says, John 3:11-12 What Jesus is trying to teach from the beatitudes is the person who is meek will have the most peace to live and walk on the earth just as He did. 1 Peter 2:19-25 The only way we can find true rest for souls is to find our rest in the greatest example of meekness that walked the earth, in Jesus. Matt. 11:28–30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Only in Jesus will we find the place to lay our burdens down. The burden is one all the human race bears, consisting of all the effects of opposite living. The definition of burden here is a load carried or toil borne to the point of exhaustion, an accurate definition. Rest is a release from that burden. This is only something Jesus can do for us and then He teaches us how to live in right relationship to God and to others, teaching us His meekness. Now we carry a heavy burden of pride, a labor of self love, which reveals itself as sorrow when someone slights us, speaking badly of us. As long as we lift ourselves up as little gods there will be those who speak ill of our idol. Here we will find no rest or peace because we will expend endless effort to protect ourselves when we should just rest that into the hands of Jesus. We don’t have to carry those burdens any longer. Jesus teaches us to not care about what others think, who is greater or lesser than another. Just rest in Him and have peace for who we are in Him, sinners saved by grace and hopefully maturing.
The meek person isn’t concerned about their own sense of superiority or inferiority. Even though we may be strong and bold as a lion in our moral life, we should not be fooled about who we are. We need to accept God’s estimate of who we are; knowing we are as week and helpless as God says we are and from God’s point of view, that we are more important than the angels. We need to understand that the world will never see us as God sees us and we shouldn’t care. We don’t have to care because we know that when Jesus returns all things will be revealed for what they truly are. 2 Thess. 1:5-10 The meek person will also have rest from the pretense that the world puts upon people; to be something they are not, keeping up with the Jones’. We carry so many burdens today that we don’t need to. These burdens are killing those who are weighed down with them, eating away at their insides. This is why Jesus says we must become like little children; Matt. 18:3 And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Little children don’t care about what others think or what they have. They have hearts not yet filled with jealousy and envy. The whole advertising industry focuses on the bad traits in people to get them to buy things they don’t really need, bigger and better.
Only when we kneel at the feet of Jesus, surrendering ourselves to His meekness, will we find rest from all the world’s evils. Then we won’t care what others think about us, but only what God thinks of us and if He is pleased with us. 1 Thess. 2:4 On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. The heart of the world is breaking under the load of opposites they have taken upon themselves. The only release from that burden is the meekness of Christ who is willing to take up our burdens if we are willing to lay them down. Jesus asks us to come to Him and lay down our burdens and then to take up His yoke so He can teach us what it means to live out the beatitudes and find the peace we need to live in the world today, how to be free from the heartaches and headaches it offers. When we take up His yoke He will carry our load and we will learn from Him coming closer to God because those who are pursuing God will only ind Him by living the way He determined not by living opposite to what He commands.
When Jesus spoke these words to the people of His day, the Jews, they believed the only way the kingdom would be ushered in would be by a great war and force of arms. They were living in opposites then as well. The blessedness, happiness, Jesus spoke of does not come from one’s outward circumstances but from inner satisfaction and sufficiency in spite of the circumstances. This is what Jesus promises those who put their trust in Him, just the opposite of what the world teaches. The Beatitudes are based upon character, character comes before behavior. So to have our behavior changed we must turn to Jesus for Him to change our character so we can then live out the beatitudes in our lives. Benediction: 1 Thess. 4:1 Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.
