Epiphany
Matthew 5:1–12
1Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The Lord has an indictment against you. An indictment is a formal charge or accusation of a crime. It is a legal process, a formal written statement framed by a prosecuting authority and found by a jury charging a person with an offense. And God has an indictment against you. Arise, plead your case.
What are the charges? Not living in accord with his will. What does the Lord require of you? To do justice; to love kindness; and to walk humbly with your God. Have you done that? No! Have you done justice to all? Have you been humble before God? Have you been merciful and shown mercy and compassion on the poor and the suffering? Have you had mercy and forgiveness for the one who has offended you? Have you hungered and thirsted for righteousness? Have you been a peacemaker? You have done none of these. Instead you quarrel, get angry, talk about others behind their backs, hold grudges for years, refuse to forgive others, and form clicks among yourselves. The heaven and the earth have been called to witness against you. The Ten Commandments will witness against you. Your neighbor will witness against you.
The Lord says, "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today..." Take this book of the law "...that it may be there for a witness against you. For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are." "O house of David! Thus says the Lord:...Behold, I am against you...I will punish you according to the fruit of your deeds, declares the Lord."
With what shall you come before the Lord? On what grounds will you plead for mercy? How shall you stand in his court? Will you come with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Or shall you give your firstborn for your transgressions, the fruit of your body for the sin of your soul? Yes! The firstborn is required. The only thing that will appease the Lord is the death of the firstborn; the fruit of your body for the sin of your soul.
But, even though you don't deserve it, God so loved you that he gave his firstborn; his only begotten son, to die in your place. With what shall you come before the Lord and bow yourself before God on high? What offering can you make to God to pay off your crimes and appease his anger? The firstborn Son of God. With Jesus as the sacrifice for your sins, you shall stand before the judgment seat of God without fear. God has an indictment against you. You have nothing to offer God. You have no defense because you are indeed guilty of all the crimes you are charged with. But with the sacrifice of his firstborn Son on the cross, God is appeased, justice is done, the charges against you will be dropped.
The word of the cross is the power of God for salvation to all who have faith in Jesus. Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to gentiles, but to you who believe and are baptized it is the power of God unto salvation. You were purchased for God with the blood of Jesus. That is what we mean by the word "redeemed." Purchased from slavery to be set free. You are the redeemed child of God, purchased with his blood on the cross. "And because of him you are in Christ Jesus who became for you wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption." Jesus is your righteousness. Jesus is your sanctification. Jesus is you redemption.
Jesus is your righteousness because he was righteous. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for there is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed 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 satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Who is this describing? It is describing Jesus. You did none of this. It doesn't describe you. But it does describe Jesus because he did all of this for you. Jesus is the blessed one so that when you are baptized into his cross and resurrection you are blessed in him. On account of Jesus being the blessed one, you are blessed in Him.
He laid down his life on the cross for you so that you would become the blessed of this text. Because Jesus, the firstborn of God, was sacrificed on the cross, yours is now the kingdom of heaven. By His cross and passion, you shall be comforted. You shall inherit the earth. You shall be satisfied. You shall receive mercy. You shall see God, and you are sons of God. And all this he did to you when He baptized you with water and the Holy Spirit.
Now, as sons of God, you must strive to remain in his mercy. As God's baptized children this description of Jesus becomes your goal and objective. As you study God's word and receive body and blood of Jesus, you grow in this state of blessedness. You become more and more joined to Jesus and more and more like him. You share in his nature, in his love, in his life and in his blessedness.
But the only way that you will remain in this blessedness of Jesus is by remaining in the word and sacraments. For these are the means of the Holy Spirit and only by using them does the Spirit continue to dwell in you. Otherwise you block the Holy Spirit and fall away, excluding yourself from the kingdom of heaven and the blessings of Jesus.
You are the blessed of Jesus. You received that blessing in Baptism and continue it in Holy Communion. Grasp hold of these blessings and do not let them slip away from you. For the one who prevails unto the end shall stand at the judgment of God. He is the payment for your sin. With what shall you come before the Lord? With the firstborn. Jesus is the firstborn Son. "For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ...Be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall." (II Peter 1).
God has an indictment against you. On the last Day you will have no defense to offer, nothing to give to God, no payment can you make except for the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord. He will be your offering, your sacrifice, your payment. You have no righteousness, but by your Baptism God clothed you in the righteousness of Jesus. You are covered with his gown of holiness and purity.
So on that Last Day, all charges against you will be dropped. The indictment will be removed on account of Jesus. On that day you will indeed be blessed, because on that day all sin will be wiped away. No more sin, greed, selfishness, anger, envy will reside in you, because your flesh shall be purged from all sin and unrighteousness. You will then be holy and righteous in deed and in truth. Then this description of Jesus in the Beatitudes will be a true description of you. Blessed are you who stand on the Last Day for yours is the kingdom of heaven.
Amen.