Matt 5: Israel Reduced to One

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0:00 The rest of us, we are gonna keep talking about the church ourselves. Last week you remember we had been like, kind of, we started out thinking about when Jesus looks at Peter, and Peter has this miraculous one little moment of faith, where he says, Jesus you are the Christ the Son of God, and Jesus looks at Peter and said, it is a miracle that you could believe that, that you could understand that, that you could say that out loud.

0:34 He's like, on that miracle I'm gonna start a church, I'm gonna start a church. Now that I know that people like Peter can believe sometimes, can understand who Jesus is, I'm gonna start a church. I'm gonna have a called out group of people, and this group of people will be the kickoff of the reign of God on earth. And we were talking about a little bit, a couple weeks ago, about Jesus deciding to start a church with a dude who believes sometimes and other times doesn't.

1:09 He has this one moment where Jesus asks him, who do you say that I am? And then Peter says, you are the Christ the Son of God, he says, boom I'm gonna build a church, and he might have said it too quick, right? Because right after that Jesus looks at Peter and says, get behind me Satan, right? He's like, believes and then doesn't. And what we're finding is that it's a miracle that anybody might believe ever. And nobody believes always, even the disciples.

1:39 And then it's a miracle that the church endures. And so we're going back and looking at, have been going back and looking at the strategy of God to reach into the world, to establish his reign on earth through people. And last week we looked at this story of Israel at Mount Sinai. And we talked about how he rescued them from Egypt before they remembered his name or had done anything for him.

2:09 That there is this commitment that God made to Abraham that's one side of, you'll be Israel. And then at Sinai he gives Israel the job as they have left Egypt and he says, now you'll be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. And we talked about how the notion of a priest in the ancient Near East is a person who mediates the holiness of God from wherever it dwells infinitely out to people. That the priest, whether it's Jethro or Melchizedek or Aaron or the Levites, the priests are always going into conversation with God, going into the presence of God, then taking the word and work of God out to the people.

2:55 And God at Sinai says, I'm going to create a whole nation who does that for the world. Israel will be a group of people who commune with God and then take God's presence and work out into the world. I'm going to create a whole kingdom of people. But there's a little hiccup in that Sinai conversation that sometimes we kind of just run over. But it's a challenge when you look at it all the way. You can look at it with me if you have the finger dexterity to find Exodus 19.

3:32 Or I guess you could just punch it into a phone. Exodus 19. Let's pray before we read it. Hey Lord, thanks for bringing us here. Indeed, you're the reason that we've come. Would you communicate with us this morning in the ways that we need? We have come here, Lord, because we need a word from you. We encouragement or conviction.

4:04 We need hope. Or what do we need? Increase generosity, Lord. We need perspective. Lord, speak to us in the ways that we need, that we might be your church this week. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Okay. Exodus 19. He does this kingdom of priest thing right at the beginning of the chapter. But there's this little hiccup here where let me find the verse. They set out from Raphodym and then in verse.

4:40 What is that? For you yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on Eagle's wings and brought you to myself. Verse 5. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all the peoples. Because all the earth is mine and you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

5:11 This is the one commitment God makes to his people, to Israel, his church that's conditional. If you'll keep my commands, then you'll be this thing for me. You'll be this kingdom of priests, this holy nation. You'll mediate my holiness out to the world. If you keep my commands. So he doesn't establish them as Israel with a conditional covenant. He established them as Israel with Abraham.

5:41 That's unconditional covenant. It's one sided. God does it all. That's why he didn't come to them and make a deal before he brought them out of Egypt. He carried them on Eagle's wings out of Egypt to Mount Sinai because he's committed to them. They're his people. But if his people are going to be these people, if God's people Israel, is going to be the kingdom of priests for the world. They're going to be in charge of mediating God's holiness out from wherever it dwells infinitely.

6:11 Down to his people, there are some guidelines in order to do that. And so he's doing something a little bit different right here. We talked about how God is always seemingly in the story of Scripture, doubling down on this proxy strategy, this image bearer strategy. He creates the first ones and says, look, I'm going to give this whole world to you. You'll be my image bearers in the world. And they trip over their feet and fall. And he's like, all right, I'll fix it, take some out of the garden.

6:42 And then in a couple of generations, they mess it up. And so he wipes out all but one family's like, now let's start with you. And then in a couple of generations, they fail. And so then he splits up all the world into different nations and says, Abraham, let's start with you. And then Abraham can't quite figure it out. And so now at Sinai, God's going to do something different. He's like, you know what? I've been working on these proxies, but these proxies keep failing. Let me bring my presence down closer. I'm going to need a whole kingdom of priests.

7:12 I'll bring my presence down right into their midst. Now they don't have to wonder where I am. I'm right here in this tabernacle, which is a model of the heavenly city. I'll be right there. And I'll set up a way that they interact with me and then the ones who interact with me that get the sacrificial forgiveness can go out and tell the world, hey, when you follow the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of creation and life, your life looks better. It looks like you only have one God, like you don't steal, you don't kill, you don't covet your neighbor's things.

7:43 You have everything that you need because you're in connection with this God. Isn't that a better way to live? Come and join us. Meet him at the tabernacle. This is the intent of Israel because the whole earth belongs to God. Through Israel, he's going to reach the whole world. This is why it's so tragic that Israel can't ever do it. They're little flickering light of faith. It's off and on and off, off and off and off and off, off, off.

8:13 It's not on enough. They turn this servant position into one of exclusivity. Now there is real, not for the sake of the world, but at the expense of the world. They start to think God chose us as the church because he's not interested in you. This had developed by the time of Jesus. I was just teaching through with some people last week. I do this little Bible study out in Lake Mary and we've been looking at the story of the good Samaritan

8:46 anybody know that story? Raise your hand if you know the story of the good Samaritan. Awesome. Well, there's one little thing as we were studying the story of the good Samaritan that they were trying to understand why these Israelites, the priests and the Levites, why they just walked past the guy that was on the side of the road. And there's one theory that in the story that Jesus tells, the priests and the Levite, the good Israelites, walked past the guy on the side of the road because they weren't sure if he was Jewish or Jewish. And if he was not an Israelite, if he was a foreigner, the tradition had developed that actually it was bad to help people who were not Israelites.

9:27 How could that be? Because God is for Israel, they had decided. God is for Israel. We are God's people. That means by deduction, God is against the nations. And if God is against the nations and I go help someone who's out here, the part of the nations that I'm working against God, I better not do that. And so they just walk by the guy. Israel had developed a mindset that God has picked us, not for the sake of the rest of the world, but at the expense of the rest of the world.

10:02 This is the predominant mindset when Jesus comes into the space. They had developed elaborate rules and strategies to figure out who belongs and who doesn't belong. Who's in and who's out? Who's us and who's them? Us and them matters. Very deeply to Israel. This is why Israel was kicked out of the promised land so many times because the if then broke.

10:35 They didn't do the if, so they lost the then. Right? Okay. Look forward in your phone to Matthew chapter five. Matthew chapter five. You know Jesus, he comes on the scene and you know he has this like claim where he's going to be,

11:18 he's going to be the promised delivering king, the Christ, the Messiah. But you know he fights with the church people more than anybody else, right? He doesn't fight with the tax collectors. He doesn't fight with the quote unquote sinners. He doesn't often fight with the Galileans. He's always fighting with the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the Sanhedrin, like the good church people.

11:52 And he's kind of like reinterpreting a lot of the law. Like in Matthew chapter five he has a sermon on the Mount where he does this famous thing where he's like, you've heard it said, don't commit murder. I tell you, don't even hate. You know, you've heard it said, don't covet your neighbor's wife. I say, don't even look at her lustfully. Right? Like he's like reinterpreting all of the law. But there's a critical point where Jesus says he's, it's in here, but you can look it up later.

12:24 Take my word for it. He says, there's one point where Jesus says, hey, I didn't come to abolish the law and the prophets. I came to fulfill them. Jesus came down and he's like, there was this notion that came up. The Mosaic law is all about the if then. Getting you to, as Israel, rooted in your identity, unconditional from God, now be these people in the world.

12:58 The priests, the mediators of God of holiness, the proxies of his action in the world. You embody his word and work out to the world. Right? And the Mosaic law is all about how they would do that. When you fail, come back and make the sacrifices and get the redemption and go back out and try again and build this relationship where you're always coming back to the God for the thing that you need. Right? Recognizing you fail and he'll reset you.

13:28 And it didn't work. Right? They turned it back on itself. They figured they were performing and that they were entitled to forgiveness because they are the chosen people at the expense of the rest of the world. And Jesus comes and he's like, you may think I came to wipe that whole thing out. He said, but I didn't. I still want to do that. I came not to abolish the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them. Meaning you can't do it?

14:02 Jesus said, cool, I'll do it. You can't, it's too high of a call for you. It's too weighty of a responsibility for you. I'll do it. One of my favorite little phrases I learned in seminary about the life of Jesus is that he was Israel reduced to one.

14:39 That that call on Sinai, every Israelite failed at, but not him. He kept it. He kept it. This is why he's so excited when he hears Peter say, you are the Christ the Son of God. He says, oh gosh, Peter, flesh and blood could not reveal that to you, but only the Spirit could reveal that to you.

15:14 This thing is starting to work where through him the presence, the word and work of God is coming through the Christ out to the people and taking root in some dummy fishermen like Peter. He said, the thing is working. The word and work of God is finding its way into the world, releasing actually a spirit that blows where it will, that does what it wants through the person of Christ to root in the one of Peter.

15:51 This is why Jesus is so excited. He's accomplishing what Israel couldn't and expanding the reign of God on earth. People living under the authority of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, creation and life. And now for us Christ and the church. So this is why, look at, he goes to, in Matthew chapter 5, are you still there? Right at the beginning. Matthew chapter 5 verse 2.

16:23 Well, we can start at verse 1. See in the crowds, he went up on the mountain. And when he sat down, his disciples came to him. This is how they would teach. He's out there kind of in the wilderness and he's got a group of people around him. And if he gets ready to teach, he sits down. And then the rest of the people come and stand around him to listen to what he's got to say.

16:57 And he starts off. This is the Beatitudes. They're really famous. And before we read them, Jordan has this cool book you should ask him about. Years ago we went through it. That's called, Paul in Spirit. Right? Yeah. But the Beatitudes, often we read them and it's like, there's like nine roughly, I think, Beatitudes. And we think there's like nine different people.

17:29 There's the peacemakers. There's the pure and heart ones. There's the poor and spirit ones. But what Jesus is doing is all of these words describe the ones who follow him. And it starts with this key. So when we read it this first time, understand that Jesus is describing in nine ways how the people who follow him look, how his little kingdom of priests in the world, what they look like.

18:02 Okay. Okay. And so he sat down and his disciples came to him and he opened his mouth and taught them saying, last, sorry, we're going to read him. But I don't know how long Matthew held these words in his head before he wrote him down.

18:32 But it's curious to me because it's so lovely. And it must have just kind of like locked in his brain. Or maybe somebody wrote it down right away. It was a pretty oral culture. They had better memory than we did, you know? But like to get these words this way, he opened his mouth and out of his mouth came these words. I don't know what he had to do to remember it. I'm just saying before we read it, I'm really glad he remembered it.

19:06 Because it's beautiful and very encouraging. Okay, that's enough build up. And 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 where they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied.

19:40 And blessed are the merciful for they shall see mercy. And blessed are the poor in heart for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God. And blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And blessed are you. When others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

20:12 Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Beautiful and unexpected. I would think if I were the originator and end of all things, the great ancient of days from whom all things proceed and to whom all things return.

20:42 And I had done this like unexpected, unrepeatable act of incarnating in the flesh of a child in Nazareth and went through the trouble then of growing up to get to just the point in my thirties to gather the first group of people and say now we're establishing a new kingdom of priests. These kingdom of priests will be strong and powerful. All will flow to their authority. All roads will lead to them.

21:15 All chariots will come out from them. My kingdom, I'm setting up a kingdom who's going to rule the earth. He doesn't do it. Though we could. Blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed are the pure in heart. Blessed are the ones who mourn and are persecuted. Consistently and surprisingly persistently.

21:47 The God of our people goes the subversive route. Goes the downtrodden and unexpected route. He goes even further right and he says you, hey, you gathered here in the wilderness with me are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?

22:22 It can no longer good for anything but what you are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. He's gone so far to accomplish the reign of God on earth that he's taking them to their logical end of what it looks like to be the kingdom of priests in the world. If this world is going to have anything good in it at all, any flavor or preserving character, it's because you're moving around in it. If anyone around you is going to know what's true and see things for the way they are, it's because you're moving around in it.

22:56 The church, me and you, are the hope for setting things right. Or at least remembering what the right thing is. The world's a dark place, God sent light. First in the Christ and then in you. The world is a decaying and dying place.

23:29 Much of it is destined for death and much of what happens in the world is spiraling downward. If there's a preserving quality in the world, God sent a preserving quality in the world. Something to redeem, restore, renew. At you. Here we are. What should we do with ourselves?

24:02 The church, like the opportunity to be the church, is this phenomenal divine gift. You are the people of God in the world. The church is this incredible gift accomplished by the Christ, independent and irrespective of the work of your performance, of your ability to perfect it or keep the light of faith on all the time.

24:34 Doesn't matter, doesn't change it. Your position as the church rests in the prerogative of God, not in your wandering mind and faulty heart. Your identity is secure. Christ has risen and accomplishes you as the church. Praise God. Now it is a great gift and also a phenomenal calling. What greater purpose or mission could you live on than being the church in the world?

25:12 Life preservers, light givers. I'm asking the Lord a lot this year, what does it look like? How can I responsibly be your church? In my friendships, in my city, in my networks, how can I be your church? And I'm hoping that we can walk towards asking that question together. How might you be the church? In your friendships, in your families, in your networks, in our city?

25:46 Let's pray that we can ponder that question well. Hey Lord, thank you for this room with people and all that they represent. Thank you for your persistent grace to call us to be the church. Give us a sense of what that means this morning, that we indeed are your church with all the gift and calling incumbent and teaches how to live as your church. In Jesus name, and for his sake we pray. Amen.