Title Sunday Faith Training (6/3)-Jesus' Happiness Theory (3)
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Title: Jesus' Happiness Theory (3)
Text: Matthew 5:5
Date: 2012. 6. 3. Sunday Day Worship
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."
Jesus' sermons / The main target audience for Jesus' sermons were the poor and powerless. He said to the poor, "Blessed are the poor." He said to those who wept, "Blessed are those who mourn." He said, "Blessed are the meek" to those who have no choice but to endure. At that time, Jesus' sermons were difficult to understand. There may have been some who denounced Jesus' preaching as sophistry. Jesus' sermons were difficult to understand from a worldly point of view.
★ The reason why there is no progress in the life of faith is because you start your life of faith with worldly standards. Many believers start their religious life with a worldly crown of blessing. We believe that if we believe in Jesus well, we will be blessed with wealth and live a healthy life. Of course, this is not a false belief. The problem is that it is established as the purpose of the religious life and is regarded as evidence of good faith. Believers with such a crown of blessing often fall into trials and conflicts despite many years of religious life. Pay attention. The core of the blessing Jesus spoke of is a certain state of being connected with God. The state of being poor in spirit, the state of mourning. And it's meek. this is a blessing Today, let's take time to think about the third happiness that Jesus spoke of.
1. Who is truly happy?
Jesus said that the "meek" are happy (Matthew 5:5). We interpret meekness as a mature and outstanding personality. But that was not the case at the time. The meek are the weak. They are the ones who have no choice but to endure violence and oppression. They are weak people who do not have the strength to resist and have to endure. But Jesus said that such people are blessed. What is meekness?
★ At that time, the meek refer to those who do not have the strength to resist the power of the world and have to endure it. The 'meek' were the same class as the 'poor' in that they were socially weak. This is the argument of the Dutch theologian Hermann Liedelboss. At that time, meekness was the way of life of the weak. He lived obediently by surviving among the strong. Again, meekness was a way of life for the weak and closer to a slave ethic. It was humiliating.
★ So, what kind of meekness Jesus spoke of? The meekness Jesus spoke of refers to an attitude before God. It refers to the state of obeying God without resisting or rebelling against God. It is humiliating to live meekly in the presence of worldly powers, but it is wise and blessed to live like this before a God who is rich in love and grace.
★ Jesus also lived meekly before God. "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your hearts, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:29-30). “Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). “He, being in the form of God in the beginning, did not consider equality with God to be robbery, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human form, and being found in human form humbled himself and became obedient to death, that death" (Philippians 2:6-8).
2. What blessings do the meek receive?
Jesus said that the meek will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). What "land" will the meek inherit as an inheritance? Commentary Hokma puts it this way: "Just as the Old Testament people of Israel entered the land of Canaan according to God's promise, so the New Testament saints will enter a new heaven and a new earth, the culmination of the Messianic kingdom."
★ Among the first generation of Exodus, the people who inherited the land of Canaan were Joshua and Caleb. The rest died in the wilderness. They did not receive the land of Canaan as an inheritance. Among David and Saul, David was the one who inherited the kingdom of Israel. His descendants inherited the throne. He did not attack the anointed of God. submission to the sovereignty of God. Saul resisted God, but he was obedient before God. Eventually he inherited the nation of Israel.
★ What business did we receive? It is an eternal paradise. As recipients of the inheritance, we must be meek. As an evidence of meekness, we must submit to God's sovereignty and plan-guided guidance. Just as a flock follows a shepherd, we must trust and follow God. Such a person is a blessed one.