The 2026 College Football National Championship game involves two teams who have not been in the national championship conversation for several years. One team, Indiana, holds the record for the most losses ever by a college football team. Many people find it refreshing that this year’s championship doesn’t involve the same few teams that have dominated the sport for years. It’s nice not to have the same old same old.
Sometimes faith can seem that way. It’s always the same old same old. Maybe it feels like we are going through the motions. Maybe it always seems predictable. You wonder if it really makes a difference.
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We sometimes tend to see the Sermon on the Mount in that way. We’ve read it so many times that perhaps we’ve lost sight of how revolutionary and radical it is. The Bible says that those who heard this message from Jesus were amazed. Some translations said they marvelled, they were astonished, or even astounded. Jeremy Bacon says that to say they were shell shocked would be a surprisingly accurate translation.
Are we stunned, amazed, astounded or shell shocked when we read Jesus’s sermon? Maybe we need to take a deeper look to discover just how different His words were.
Setting the stage
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.
Matthew 5:1-2 (NIV)
We sometimes miss the significance that there were two distinct audiences mentioned for tis sermon: The crowd and the disciples. Jesus sat to teach His disciples but was fully aware that the crowd was listening in.
Another significance is in this case literally lost in translation. Many translations of this passage read that Jesus opened His mouth and taught them. The NIV here truncates that to simply, “he began to teach.” The reason this is significant is that in Biblical literature, repetitions often serve as an explanation point. It’s a way for Matthew to tell his readers to slow down and read this carefully. This is something important.
“This sermon is dangerous because it shakes us awake. This world is broken, but we develop so many ways to cope with life that we lose sight of how broken it all is (including us). Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount shatters all of our illusions like glass. His stark portrayal of the way things should be lays bare the bankruptcy of the way things are. After reading this, the illusions are gone, and we know we can’t stay where we are…. This sermon is dangerous because reading it has consequences. It will sift you. You must respond one way or another, and the choice you make will echo into eternity.” – Jeremy Bacon: The Sermon on the Mount: 40 Days of Learning the Ways of the Kingdom
Jeremy Bacon: “The Sermon on the Mount: 40 Days of Learning the Ways of the Kingdom”
Unexpected Blessings
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
Matthew 5:3-12 (NIV)
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew writes from a very Jewish perspective. When you look at scripture and at Hebrew culture, these blessings would be stunning to a Jewish audience. Blessings always came at the end, and they came in response to merit. Jesus began his message with blessings and he blessed them for very unexpected things.
One good translation that might give us a better picture of what Jesus was saying might be to say, instead of “blessed are,” “Congratulations. Jesus isn’t blessing people as much as congratulating people who are in these situations. It wasn’t “blessed are you because” as much as it was “you are blessed.”
Poor in Spirit.
We usually think of the poor as being without resources. Poor in spirit refers to an inward poverty. Emotionally and spiritually we lack the resources. It’s like we’re saying “I have nothing, I can’t do anything about it, I can’t fix it, and I need you (God) to fix it.” It’s a sense of desperation and brokenness. Jesus congratulates the desperate and broken who receive the Kingdom of Heaven.
Mourning.
We might mourn for loss, circumstances, our failures and our struggles. We struggle with why God allows these things to happen. Jesus congratulates those who mourn because God has stepped into their suffering and he provides comfort.
Meekness
The world says the spoils go to the winners. We celebrate the strong and mighty, the “self made man.” Jesus goes against the grain and congratulates the meek who will inherit the world.
Hungering and Thirsting for Righteousness
It’s easy to think Jesus is congratulating the righteousness. However, hungering and thirsting speaks of a kind of desperate longing. One doesn’t long for what they already have. Is Jesus referring more to an attitude like the apostle Paul who wrote “ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do?” (Romans 7:15) Congratulations when you struggle and long to be more like Jesus, for you will be filled.
Mercy
The crowds expected a religious teacher to condemn unrighteousness. Society today has a way of condemning people who don’t have the right attitudes about popular issues. In a world of condemnation and anger, Jesus congratulates those who have mercy and compassion towards those who struggle. They will receive mercy.
Pure of Heart
This is a tough one because no one really qualifies for this, do they? In Hebrew culture, a person could not enter the temple if they were ceremonially unclean. Our spiritual uncleanness separates us from God. The book of Hebrews speaks of how blood from sacrifices is sprinkled over people to make people clean. When we’ve been covered by the blood of Jesus, the barrier between us and God is taken away. Congratulations for you shall see God.
The sameness in the blessings
There was a difference between the audiences. Those in the crowds were seekers. The disciples were the committed. One was made up of onlookers while the other included followers.
However, there’s a common bond in both groups: These blessings applied to both. There were broken and hurting people in both groups. The crowds had people who fell short, as did the disciples. The struggling, the lost, the meek, the wounded, the people in need of mercy: those things pointed to both audiences.
This wasn’t about “do this and you will be blessed.” It was about congratulations for things you would never expect to be congratulated for. It was about what God does for His people.
We expect a lesson on righteousness and legalism. We received a lesson on grace. We’re not asked to become these things. Who wants to be poor in spirit? Who desires to be persecuted? Instead, Jesus speaks of blessings for things no one would expect to be blessed for.
And these blessings were available for the crowds AND the disciples.
Blessing and Difference
The difference between the disciples and the crowds is: one side was following Jesus, the other was not. One side knew the blessings of the Savior, the other didn’t.
It’s significant that the crowds were the onlookers. They were watching Jesus and listening in on His teachings. They were curious and they were interested.
What do they see?
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. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 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. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:13-16 (NIV)
When people look at us, can they see Jesus? Do they see that this is more than just some words or about some religion? Can they tell there’s something real and powerful?
How well are reflecting the love and hope of Jesus?
Things that the world sees as weakness are celebrated as blessings. This was a radical message. As the world struggles and suffers and longs for something better, can they see those things in us?
When we truly follow Jesus, He is reflected in our lives in such a way that people want what we have.
Do they see a light? Do they notice the salt? What stands out? Is there anything stunning in us that reflects the Jesus that preached a message that left people shell shocked?