Matthew 5:1-4 (NKJV) 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.

SERMON ON THE MOUNT: POOR & SORROWFUL Matthew 5:1-4

SOM: Poor & Sorrowful  Tonight begins a new Sunday night Sermon Series  We want to begin a series of sermons designed to take a closer look at Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount  The Sermon on the Mount is the most famous sermon ever preached

SOM: Poor & Sorrowful  We see this sermon in it’s entirety in Matthew chapters 5-7  There is so much that Jesus covers in this one sermon  We will certainly take our time to go through the scriptures and think about all that Jesus spoke

SOM: Intro  The Bible records that Jesus went up on a mountain to preach this sermon  The mountain spoken of here is located about seven miles southwest of Capernaum  It is known as the Horns of Hattin (Mount of Beatitudes)

SOM: Intro  Jesus went up in altitude because it would be easier to speak to a multitude of people from there  He was seated to speak, which was a custom of teaching among the Jews  The teacher would be seated while all who listened would stand

SOM: Intro  Jesus begins this sermon with what we commonly refer to as the Beatitudes  The term Beatitude means “happy”, “fortunate”, or “blissful”  We see the word “Blessed” repeated over and over  We might substitute “happy” for “blessed”

SOM: Poor  Jesus begins in verse 3 by saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”  There are a couple of different ideas that are suggested here  One is poor in spirit being those who view their spiritual state as lacking

SOM: Poor  The idea here is a humility towards the way one sees himself spiritually  Do you see yourself as a sinner who needs a savior or as a righteous person who can do it all on your own?  The way we approach our spiritual condition is important!

SOM: Poor  The contrast here is between one who has an attitude of humility vs. one of pride  There is perhaps no better example than the one found in Luke 18:9-14  Here is the familiar story of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying about their spiritual state

SOM: Poor  It’s not the proud who stand to enter the kingdom of heaven, but the humble  It’s is for those who recognize their need for God and the salvation He so freely gives  However, there is also another thought given here…

SOM: Poor  That thought is one of having the spirit of poverty  This is the man who, whether he has money or not, does not trust in or depend upon his riches in life  Instead he sees that his dependency is upon God and God alone

SOM: Poor  Jesus was once asked by a rich young ruler what he must do to be saved  Jesus spoke of keeping the commandments, of which the young man certainly had  However, Jesus then went a step further with that young man (Luke 18:22)

SOM: Poor  This young man did not have a spirit of poverty  Perhaps he did not see how he could live his life apart from his riches  However, he seemed to think that he could live that same life apart from Christ as he went away sorrowful

SOM: Sorrowful  The next verse says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted”  Those of that time knew about mourning  We all have things we mourn over  Those of that day even had professional mourners whose job it was to mourn at a funeral

SOM: Sorrowful  Jesus here is not speaking about mourning over a funeral  The meaning behind this is more of a spiritual one  The first thing we should mourn over is our own sin  Do we still mourn over our own sins?

SOM: Sorrowful  Anytime we sin and cause God grief and sorrow, we too should mourn over that sin  We cannot become desensitized to the things of the world  Remember that it is godly sorrow that leads us to true repentance, which is turning from sin (II Cor. 7:10)

SOM: Sorrowful  Our sorrow should also be for the sins of the world  Again, have we become desensitized to what we see in the world around us?  Is apathy our problem?  Those who mourn over the sinful state of the world shall be comforted