1. Sermon on the Mount – Part 1
Matthew 5 v1-12
All NKJV unless otherwise specified
Credit is due to Matthew Henry for his significant commentary on the below interpretations.
Matthew 5
Verse 1-2
1
And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2
Then He opened
His mouth and taught them, saying:
 There were multitudes following Him already. This indicates that there was something very special about this man
called Jesus. He already had a huge following. He came by the power of the Holy Spirit, and the many miracles and
wonders performed led the multitudes to follow Him.
 The location – “a mountain” in Galilee. The teacher of Truth could find no better pulpit than a mountain could afford.
He was not located in the “Holy Temple” or in any stately building. No special chair to sit on. It was a common
mountain in the region of Galilee. The truth does not have to only be spoken in a church building. It can be spoken
anywhere convenient.
 When God gave the Israelites the Law, he came down onto the mountain. When God spoke to them, He spoke to
them in thunder and lightning. The people were ordered to keep their distance (btw – the people asked for this).
 Now, Jesus came up the mountain. He speaks to us in a still small voice. The people were invited to draw near.
Compare the difference and the ushering in the dispensation of grace.
Verse 3-12 Prelude
 Christ came to bless us.
 Christ has the authority to command this blessing.
 The Old Testament ended with a curse (Mal 4v6), The New Testament Gospel begins with a blessing.
 When the carnal world thinks of blessings, they think of being rich, having “things”, doing as they wish, eating
whatever they want, being in positions of worldly power, status and position, living for themselves in general.
 Jesus up-ends this error of thought, and shows the true way to blessings, and the character of the person who receives
the blessings. If a person aligns his thoughts to the carnal version, true blessings will not follow but rather the curse.
But if someone will get into agreement with the Lord, and follow His word, there will be true and lasting blessings.
 It shows us what God expects from man, and what we may expect from Him.
 Faith is a conformity to these ideas and a dependence on these promises.
Verse 3
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
 The poor is spirit are those who have emptied themselves of the world and its lusts. They have been emptied of self.
 We are to be patient and content with whatever situation we find ourselves in – be thankful for what we have,
patiently enduring any trials we find ourselves in.
 Do not set your hearts on worldly wealth.
 It does not mean that we are to throw away what God has given us in order to be poor. Rather it means that even if we
are rich, we are still to be poor in spirit. God gives and God takes away, and only if we are poor in spirit will we have
peace in either of these situations (in poverty or in wealth).
 If we are poor in spirit, we will always be sympathizing with others, and have a truly caring heart for them and their
needs.
 In summary, poor in spirit is humility. And the humble are blessed.
 Only those who are poor in spirit (humble) are part of the body of Christ. When a person is humble and yields to God,
then this person receives grace from God. God qualifies them to become kingdom citizens.
Verse 4
Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
 What is this mourning?
 This mourning is a godly sorrow. It is a sorrow for our sins.
 They mourn their fallen nature and many transgressions.
 They also have a heart for others, and mourn for the sins of others.

2.  This heart felt state leads to a life of repentance, asking forgiveness and turning from their sins.
 In other words, when they “mess up”, they feel true conviction and remorse. This leads to confession to the Lord and
repentance from sin.
 Those who mourn are blessed.
 Those who mourn will be comforted. God will wipe away every tear. We receive the forgiveness for our sins when we
have this heart-felt condition towards God. This mourning will be turned to joy.
Verse 5
Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
 The meek are those who quietly submit themselves to God, to his word and to his rod, who follow his directions, and
comply with his designs, and are gentle towards all men; who can bear provocation without being inflamed by it; are
either silent, or return a soft answer; and who can show their displeasure when there is occasion for it, without being
transported into any indecencies; who can be cool when others are hot; and in their patience keep possession of their
own souls, when they can scarcely keep possession of any thing else. They are the meek, who are rarely and hardly
provoked, but quickly and easily pacified; and who would rather forgive twenty injuries than revenge one, having the
rule of their own spirits.
 The meek are blessed.
 “Inherit the Earth” – the earth referring to the here and now – Meekness has a real tendency to promote our health,
wealth, comfort, and safety, even in this world. The meek and quiet are observed to live the most easy lives, compared
with the forward and turbulent.
Verse 6
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
 In this world, there may be those who oppress us. Yet you are blessed if you endure these hardships and hope in God,
who will see that justice is done and who will also deliver you from your oppressors. The key is to always go to God
in your need and not to bring about ‘justice’ in your own strength.
 The second point is that we are to desire (hunger and thirst) for the source of our righteousness, who is Jesus Christ.
We are to desire Him. When we seek Him with all of our hearts, we shall be filled with the Holy Spirit.
 Hunger and Thirst are appetites which return frequently, and hence this desire for our Lord should be frequent and
regular. It is the ‘abiding in the vine’.
 We should hunger and thirst for spiritual blessings. Ask and you will receive.
 Only God can fill our soul as it is meant to be. If we are hunger and eat, we are then satisfied for a while. God brings
this satisfaction as we continually hunger and thirst after Him.
Verse 7
Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
 This mercy shown can be many forms. It can be that someone has wronged you. You can show them mercy. It can be
that your fellow man is in need. If you have the means, help the person. Even if you do not have the means, your
heartfelt condition towards that person is read by God.
 It is love in action. It also represents the attitude of the heart towards the unsaved. We have a desire to tell people of
the gospel which we know will liberate them from the prison of sin. Someone told us about Jesus Christ. We are to do
likewise towards others.
 The merciful are blessed.
 And just as we are merciful, God is merciful towards us. And we will notice that others will also be merciful towards
us. What you sow you will reap.
Verse 8
Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
 This refers to inward purity. The inward purity of the heart. This can only come from God’s washing of the heart from
wickedness (for the heart of man is exceedingly wicked). This kind of purity comes from the ‘new man’, the new
creation. As a person yields to God and believes in God, a transformation occurs.
 The heart is purified by faith – Create in me a clean heart O Lord!

3.  The purification leads to making the right choices for our lives, not following in the steps we used to make after the
lusts of our eyes and the lusts of the world.
 Purity of heart gives us a clean conscience over our daily walk. We are sanctified.
 The pure in heart are blessed.
 An person with an unclean heart cannot possibly see God. How can this person come into the absolute Holy presence
of the almighty God. It requires cleansing, which Jesus bought for us on the cross. Jesus bought us the right to come
into God’s presence.
 We will see God by faith in our present state on the earth, and we will see God face to face in the future when He
takes us up to be with Him.
 It is interesting to note that someone currently in hell cannot come into the presence of God. The presence of the Holy
God will be infinitely more unbearable to an unwashed soul than the place called hell in which they are in.
Verse 9
Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
 Peacemakers – are those who have a heart towards making peace and avoiding offense. Preserving relationships so as
to prevent breakdown, and if breakdown occurs then to peaceably restore relationships.
 Ever noticed how much harder it is to say ‘sorry’ compared to remaining stubborn? Which one do you think is the
right way forward?
 And if Jesus is the Prince of Peace – then should we not also be promoters of peace? For when we are still enemies of
God, he made a way for peace with us by the offering of His Son.
 So if Jesus came to save sinners, what should our heart situation be towards sinners? Offence is referred to as the
“Bait of Satan’. Offence is a trap. Don’t bite!
Verse 10
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
 Persecution is a given. All of the disciples, including Paul were heavily persecuted and martyred. Not only this, but
the early church went through the same persecution. They were beaten, hung, dropped in hot oil, disemboweled, fed
to lions, burned alive at the stake, covered with tar and set alight, bodies were ripped apart by horses, etc, etc.
 Many were presented the opportunity to renounce Jesus Christ and be set free. Needless to say, they chose to rather
die than deny Jesus Christ. Do you think they had faith? How important was their message?
 The very freedom we have today to read and share the Word of God was bought by the blood of the saints, who lay
down their lives to get us the message. If there is one book you should read in life, read the Bible!
 We do not go out in order to be martyred, but to spread the gospel. Know that we are in God’s hands and that even if
we come under the threat of death, then His will be done.
 In John 15v18, Jesus said, 18
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
 Theirs is the kingdom of heaven – God sees what you sacrifice for Him, and God will reward.
Verse 11-12
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
“Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before
you.
 When people come against you and say evil of you because you are spreading the gospel and doing the work of the
Kingdom of God, know that you are blessed. They are really coming against the King for it is the Holy Spirit who
does this work through you.
 There is a very real spiritual war going on, with Satan wanting to stop the spreading of the Truth. Satan will bring
accusations and condemnations against you in order to discourage you, embarrass you, or even harm you. Know that
you are blessed. How can all of these persecutions compare to the eternal value of just one single soul receiving
Christ? So keep your focus on His Kingdom, and His will.
 Knowing the eternal value of the work being done, you should rejoice and be glad for the reward is great.