All Saints Day

Jesse Jacobsen

Time-stamp: <Sat Nov 5 22:54:42 2005>

Matthew 5:1–12

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.


“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.”

God Blesses His Saints

Today is the first Sunday in November. What does November remind you of? Thanksgiving, most likely. That's when we get together and eat too much in celebration of what God has given us. If you can celebrate Thanksgiving, it's not hard to feel blessed.

There are different ways that people feel blessed. Sometimes it's having food in your belly or on the table. I like the sound of rain on a roof above my head. Sometimes the warm sunshine slanting through the hills seems like a blessing. You know that such things come from God. But we don't always think of our blessings that way.

Your paycheck might come from the company you work for. Your supplies might come from the store. Your support and advice might come from your friends. Your hugs might come from your children or grandchildren. Sometimes our blessings don't seem to come from God. And even when we can still make the connection to God, it's often harder to make the connection to Jesus in particular.

One result is that we're not thankful toward God as we ought to be. But another result is that we often look to the wrong places for our blessings. Jesus blessed His disciples in many ways, but more than anything else, He blessed them by teaching them. He preached sermons. He told parables. Through His Word, Jesus gave the best blessings, and still does. In fact, most of our blessings are connected somehow to His Word. In our text, Jesus was teaching us about all such blessings from God. He was also teaching us about what it's like to be a saint here on earth. God blesses His saints. Therefore, let us be numbered among them. Therefore, take comfort from His Word.

Therefore let us be numbered among them.

As you read or hear the beatitudes in our text, certain things probably run through your mind. That's a good thing. First: Who fits the descriptions that Jesus is giving: the “poor in spirit,” the “meek,” “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,” the persecuted, and so forth? We should each ask if Jesus is talking about me. Second: Who are the rest, the opposites? Jesus might call them “rich in spirit,” the “bold,” the “already-righteous,” the persecutors. They are not ones who are blessed. We want to be in other group.

But are we? Are we really, even when we think so?

Sometimes we all resemble the second group. Being rich in spirit means that you are confident that you don't need any help from God. You don't need to hear His Word. You've already heard it. Who needs to be forgiven twice? That's the attitude of the rich in spirit, not the poor in spirit.

Are we truly meek, or do we sometimes want to get our own way at the expense of somebody else? Do we really mourn deep down, or is it self-pity in disguise? Would we rather have God's perfect righteousness, or the kind that's “good enough?” That's worldly righteousness.

Do we have mercy upon others, or do we want justice especially when it will be in our favor? Are we pure in heart, or do we have hearts mixed with sin? Do we make genuine and God-pleasing peace, or do we hide hurtful intentions behind peaceful words? Are we persecuted for our righteousness, or do we really deserve what we get?

I realize that as Christians, our sins have been washed away in the blood of Jesus Christ through faith. But that's not the same thing as His permission to sin.

We may wish that we fit the description Jesus uses for those who are blessed, but wishing doesn't make it happen. The fact is, we all have guilt before God on the very same points that Jesus was listing. But worse than that, I fear that sometimes we have been the persecutors of God's people.

Jesus said, “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.” Who was He talking about? Now, maybe you feel persecuted. Maybe you even deserve to feel persecuted. But stop and consider how you treat God's children here on earth. Do you give them all the same mercy and generosity and charity that you want to receive?

As Christians, we don't want to be the guy who persecuted God's prophets. But the people who did that were the ancestors of the very same disciples to whom Jesus was speaking. In a way, it's a fine line that separates persecutors from those who are persecuted. We step over that line.

God blesses the saints, so let us repent and be numbered among them. Jesus did not come to leave us with a doctrine of God's wrath against sin, He came to preach God's mercy. So let us repent and God will transform us again from sinners into saints. He has made us poor in spirit. Now He will comfort us.

Therefore take comfort from His Word

God blesses His saints, therefore take comfort from His Word. Though we must admit that we are not exactly like those blessed saints that Jesus was describing, yet He tells us that we are. We may not be very merciful, but He is merciful. Jesus took away our sins and gave us a garment of His own righteousness. It may not change much in the way you feel inside, but take His word for it: in His eyes, you are now truly a saint. Little by little, the Holy Spirit is working in you to become poor in spirit, pure in heart, and the rest. He is not finished yet, but that doesn't matter because your sins are all gone.

Who is given the kingdom of heaven? The poor in spirit for one. They are not poor in dollars or poor in education. They are poor in spirit. That means they feel the weight of their own sin driving them to the Word of Jesus, where they find the richness of His forgiveness. Isn't that why you're here today? Those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake also receive the kingdom of heaven. I don't have to tell you that there is injustice in the world. God's own children sometimes suffer injustice. But Jesus turns our eyes away from this world toward heaven. Our answer is not here, but there.

Those Jesus calls blessed are continuously being what He says they are. Those who mourn are mourning still, because the sin in this world is the cause of that mourning. Those hungry and thirsty for righteousness are never permanently satisfied on earth. Sometimes they receive their fill, as in the Lord's Supper, but when a day or a week pass, they are hungry again. The meek, the merciful, and the pure in heart have these qualities in their nature, a reflection of Jesus' own humility and love.

The things Jesus uses to describe His saints are descriptions of Him, first. He lived a perfect life, but at the same time, He allowed himself to suffer. He looked for righteousness everywhere, and His life's work was to obtain peace between heaven and earth. Since He died and rose again from the grave, that peace is confirmed. He is the eternal peacemaker, and Christians are at their best when we follow in His footsteps.

But it's a struggle, isn't it? So the beatitudes here, describing all the saints on earth, are comforting for two reasons. They tell us how Jesus sees us: as true saints. They also contain His promises to us, which will be fulfilled at last when we reach heaven.

In this last year, some of the saints in this congregation have entered eternal life. It wasn't because they were good people. Rather, it was because they had such a Savior. What was true for people like Caroline Keller, Jim Helm, and Matthew Smith is just as true for you and me: God's mercy is what makes us what we are, and nothing in us. Jesus did it all, and when the time comes, we will also follow through the veil to the place of everlasting life.

It may seem sometimes that our blessings come from elsewhere, but ultimately they all come from God. He blesses us not because of us, but because of His love in Jesus Christ. God blesses His saints. Therefore, let us be numbered among them. Therefore take comfort from His Word. Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Listen online at www.grace-els.org.

This document was translated from LATEX by HEVEA.