Sermon Tone Analysis

*Intro* – Mark Twain once wrote about a swift-footed dog who had “a good opinion of himself” and thought he “knew something about speed” chasing a coyote.

The coyote would let the dog get close, but never catch up.

After awhile the dog notices that the coyote is actually slowing down to let him keep up.

Twain goes on, “then that town dog is mad in earnest, and he begins to strain and weep and swear, and paw the sand higher than ever, and reach for the coyote with concentrated and desperate energy.

This “spurt” finds him six feet behind the gliding enemy.

And then, in the instant that a wild new hope is lighting up his face, the coyote turns and smiles blandly once more, as if to say: ‘Well l shall have to tear myself away, bub – business is business, and it will not do to be fooling along this way all day’ – and forthwith there is the sudden splitting of a long crack through the atmosphere, and behold that dog is alone in a vast solitude!”

God’s question to us this morning is, what are we chasing that is eventually going to leave us “alone in a vast solitude”?

Jesus says in Matt 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

If we want it all, we must pursue righteousness.

Chase anything else, and we’ll end up emptier than a popped balloon.

In this sermon, Jesus is contrasting His followers with the Pharisees.

He is saying, “Whatever the world may think, you poor, hungry, weeping, rejected followers of me – you’re the blessed ones.”

This is not instruction on how to get into the kingdom, but it describes the attitudes of those who truly are.

We’ve looked at the first one – poor in spirit.

Today, the last three.

*II.

Blessed are the Hungry*

V. 21, “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.”

There’s a surprise.

Hungry people are blessed?

Yes, and on the flip side, in v. 25, ““Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.”

So what does it mean to be hungry?

Is lack of food a blessing?

Clearly not.

Otherwise v. 25 would be condemning people for eating their fill – and we’d all be lost, right?

To get Luke’s point, pay attention to the word “now.”

His emphasis isn’t on the hunger, it is on the timing.

And his point is, better to be hungry now and satisfied through eternity than to be full now and hungry for eternity.

That’s the contrast.

So what hunger is he talking about?

Mt 5:6 clarifies: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

Kingdom people hunger for righteousness.

They long to see the end of sin and the triumph of moral perfection.

We’re right back to Jesus’ comment in Matt 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

To hunger for righteousness is to long for God’s character to prevail in me and my world.

Paul says in Col 3:5, “Put to death (KJV = Morify) therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

What earthly idols come before God in our lives?

Believers hunger for righteousness.

It’s a family trait.

Sometimes we fail, but in our heart of hearts, we long to be free of sin, long for God’s character to prevail.

We hunger for righteousness.

We can’t wait for the day when the distractions of the world will lose all their allure, when regret is never an issue, when the pull is only toward God.

Like the 4th grade boy at church camp.

He wrote home: “Dear Mom, please send me lots of food.

All we get here is breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

He wanted more, just like the Christian longs for more righteousness.

Such a person is blessed.

And the day is coming when his longing will be satisfied – a day of moral perfection.

Now – but for those who are satisfied now – who belittle sin, who define morality in their terms, Jesus says in v. 25, “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.”

That describes an eternity of regret, Beloved, for those who want no more righteousness.

Recently a news story told of a man whose neighbor called to warn of a prowler.

The man got his 20 gauge, and opened fire when a hooded form came through a window.

Too late, he found it was his own son, sneaking in because it was late.

Imagine the despair of that man.

The last waking thought every night and the first every morning – if only I could have one moment back.

Just one second.

But, of course, he can’t.

It’s too late.

The second is gone!

He faces a lifetime of regret.

That is what Jesus is talking about, only it’s not a lifetime of regret; it’s an eternity.

The Pharisees knew their moral excellence would cut it with God.

They didn’t hunger for righteousness; they already had it.

But this very moment, they experience relentless regret that though they came face-to-face with the Son of God in the person of Jesus Christ, they blew Him off.

Now they hunger for righteousness, but it’s too late!

May I ask, “Will you long for God now and be satisfied for eternity, or will you chase the world now and long for God for eternity?

Blessed people hunger for righteousness NOW!

*III.

Blessed are Those who Weep*

Tears hardly seem blessed, do they?

Yet Jesus says in v. 21, “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.”

His contrasting comment in v. 25 is, “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.”

What does He mean?

Well, once again, it is spiritual reality that He has in view.

When Jesus says “Blessed are you who weep now” He depicts those whose hearts are broken because they see a world in which God is not honored and His will is trampled underfoot if it is even considered.

Twice in the Bible we find Jesus weeping.

In Luke 19, Jesus is cheered as he enters Jerusalem for the last time by disciples hoping it’s kingdom time!

But Jesus is heartbroken.

Luke 19:41, “And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace!

But now they are hidden from your eyes.

43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you.

And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Jesus saw through our cheers to the hard hearts within.

Many believe that this is the moment when Jesus officially offered himself to Israel as their Messiah.

But they rejected Him.

They wanted His gifts, not Himself.

Their rejection breaks His heart.

He weeps at their sin!

Then, there’s John 11.

Lazarus has died.

The sisters, Mary and Martha, meet Jesus in tears – in despair that He has not come soon enough to heal Lazarus.

Jesus tells Martha in v. 23, “Your brother will rise again.”

She infers He means an end time resurrection.

Mary arrives also crying.

She says in v 32, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

It's a rebuke that He was late.

33 "When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.

34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?”

They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept.”

Why did Jesus weep?