For Jan 26

 

Sermon Notes: The Great Inauguration

Intro: The headlines of the past week focused on the Inauguration of Donald Trump to begin his term of office as 47th President of the United States. Watching this every 4th year Constitutionally mandated inauguration, led me to compare that event with Jesus’ baptism, His inauguration to begin His ministry as Messiah.

 

 I. Comparing Inaugurations

A. The Presidential inauguration had been preceded by many campaign stops and news coverage, followed by the well-publicized election. The 20th amendment to the Constitution specifies that the term of the elected President will begin at noon on January 20 of the year following the election. The amendment moved the date from the original March 4 to minimize the ‘lame duck’ period, made possible by advances in transportation and communication that reduced travel times to and from Washington. Prior to The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court administering the oath of office at noon this year, two well-known clergy offered Invocational prayers, asking God’s blessings for the soon to be President. To conclude this ceremony, several other clergy representing various faiths, gave benedictions, endorsing the President with further words of prayer.

 

II Matthew 3:7-17

A. Matthew describes Jesus’ Great Inauguration to begin His ministry as Messiah, revealing some interesting parallels and contrasts, with the Presidential Inauguration. Jesus had been born for this ministry, with the campaign of prophecy beginning long before His birth, before any would know His physical identity, although prophecies had foretold the where and hows of His Coming. The prophecies of His coming were 100% accurate, unlike the inaccurate prophecies of the pollsters and media we saw. The Messiah would be born of a virgin, in Bethlehem, and introduced by a voice in the wilderness, preparing His way. His birth was announced by angels, but to a limited audience of mostly shepherds. His final campaigning by John the Baptist, more resembled the Trump campaign than the Harris campaign. The Harris campaign defended the current leadership, projecting a future for the status quo, while the Trump’s campaign, like any challenger’s, pointed out the failures of the current leadership with warnings about the future without his presidential leadership. Similarly, John is seen chastising the religious leaders of the current regime, calling them a brood of vipers - highly poisonous snakes who inflicted deadly spiritual venom on the people they governed. Their claim to righteousness was their ancestry from Abraham, but John ridicules their self-righteousness, telling them God could raise stones as sons of Abraham. He warns that their sinfulness, the lack of good fruit from their lives, was already being targeted by God for destruction, the ax about to cut down the tree.

B. But John offers hope with the Messiah’s coming. He’d be more powerful and righteous than John, who wasn’t worthy of even carrying His sandals, a task for a lowly servant. But as a warning to all, the Messiah would also be ready to separate the good wheat from the useless chaff to be burned. C. Although the people of that time were well aware of the prophecies of the Messiah and had hope in His Coming, they didn’t know Jesus’ messianic

identity as He stepped into the Jordan to be baptized by God’s Chief Justice, John, who had been born for this honor. Jesus’ oath of office was administered by being anointed with the water of baptism, anointing Him to assume his appointed, not elected, position of Messiah. Following that ‘oath of office’, came the concluding, endorsing benedictions, first by the Holy Spirit, descending on Him with the power He would need to perform His duties as Messiah, then by His Father, verifying He was His Son, whom He loved and was well pleased.

D. Following the Presidential inaugural ceremony, the now President gave his remarks, promising actions during his term of office to an audience of specially invited guests who had supported him. It came as no surprise that his remarks were somewhat arrogant, but bold and assertive, but it was the persona he had displayed throughout his campaign. The President followed his remarks with a time of signing Executive Orders, wasting no time in putting some of His campaign promises into actions as proof of his worthiness to be President.

E. Jesus’ actions following His inauguration were much in contrast. His immediate action to prove His worthiness was to be led into the wilderness, a deserted wasteland, to fast forty days and be tested by His strongest adversary for His ability to resist sin. Failure, by sinning, would show that He was unworthy to be Messiah. The outcome was never in doubt, Jesus had already been anointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit for success; testing would only prove His worthiness. Our only question might be who would have witnessed it, and made aware of this forty day test. (Yet another question to ask when we meet Him in heaven.)  The test also proved Satan’s inability to defeat Jesus. Afterwards, Satan seems more obsessed with harming God’s creation, turning them away from Jesus, than defeating Jesus, until the last battle at the Crucifixion.

F. While the President gave his inaugural address immediately following the traditional inaugural ceremony, Matthew records what we might perceive as His inaugural address later, to a crowd hearing His Sermon on the Mount. Some scholars think the Sermon is actually a collection of His teachings, or even a brief summary of them, which Matthew identifies as the Beatitudes, or as some have altered the pronunciation, the ‘Be – Attitudes’. But for our purposes, let’s assume they were given as His post-inaugural address.

 

III. Matthew 5: 1-12

A. Scholars also theorize that Jesus’ going up on a mountainside to give this teaching was near a rock formation that would have acted like a natural amphitheater. When Cathy and I toured the Holy Land, there were several places where the natural acoustics let us hear a distant speaker well, including the probable site of this Sermon. Matthew records that when Jesus saw the crowd waiting to hear Him, He went up on the mountainside ...then sat down. In Jewish tradition, sitting was the posture of a teacher or rabbi for a formal teaching moment. This assumed posture signified Jesus' authority as a teacher and His role as the Ultimate Rabbi, inviting His listeners to pay close attention to His words. As we go through these Beatitudes, we won’t see them as profound, stand alone words, like the Ten Commandments, but rather that each beatitude was in itself a collective summary of prior teachings contained in the OT. They each start with “Blessed are...” The term "blessed" in this context refers to a state of spiritual well-being and prosperity, implying divine favor and approval.

B. The beginning “Blessed are the poor in spirit" suggests humility and recognition of one's spiritual need and dependence on God, a foundational attitude for entering the kingdom of heaven. In biblical context, "the poor" often meant those marginalized or oppressed, like the lepers, or beggars calling out for alms. But here, the term addresses those in spiritual poverty. Recalling that in the Nazareth synagogue, Jesus had announced that the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him, consistent with his baptismal inaugural endorsement by the Holy Spirit. Then quoting Isaiah 61:1, He goes on to say “the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.” The good news for the poor in spirit, the humble, the needy, the marginal, that the present and future hope of heaven included them.

 C. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” wasn’t just referring to those in a state of personal grief, but rather a state of sorrow over individual sin and the sins of the nation. David exhibited such a state of mourning in Psalm 51, in sackcloth and ashes in deep repentance for his adultery. So, this beatitude also shows the compassionate nature of the Messiah's mission. Jesus' stated mission, again from Isaiah 61, to “bind up the brokenhearted”, was marked by acts of healing and comfort for the brokenhearted, and forgiveness for those grieving for their sins, reflecting God's concern for the emotional and spiritual well-being of His people. His promise of comfort is an assurance of God's future intervention and consolation. Such comfort is also linked to the resurrection hope, as seen in Rev 21:4, where God will wipe away every tear, and mourning will cease, assurance for believers their sorrow will be met with divine consolation/hope.

D. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” The "meek" here are those who exhibit humility and gentleness, rather than a character weakness. In biblical terms, meekness is strength under control, a quality exemplified by Jesus Himself, saying in Matt 11:29, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”  Then the meek inheriting the earth may have related to Israel’s claim to inherit the Promised Land resulting from God’s covenant with Abraham. But in the immediate sense, the meek are able to experience a blessedness by a sense of peace and contentment, living in harmony with God's creation on the earth.

E. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” speaks to a deep, spiritual longing for righteousness, much like the physical needs of hunger/thirst. The biblical concept of righteousness often refers to living in accordance with God's will/commands. This longing for righteousness is a yearning for God's justice and holiness to prevail. In Psalm 42, the psalmist uses the image of a deer, panting, longing for fresh streams of water, to portray his soul’s longing for God. Jesus portrays Himself as the righteous Living Bread and Living Water, to satisfy our souls never having to spiritually hunger or thirst again. both a present experience through the Holy Spirit, and a future reality in God's kingdom.

F. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” The merciful are those who show compassion and forgiveness to others, reflecting God's own nature. Even before Jesus' ministry, mercy was a valued virtue, but often limited to one's own community or kin. In Micah 6:8, God emphasizes doing justice, loving mercy, walking humbly with God. Jesus expands this concept, urging His followers to extend mercy universally. The merciful are those who actively seek to alleviate the suffering of others, embodying the love and compassion that Jesus Himself demonstrated throughout His ministry. We see a reciprocal relationship between showing mercy and receiving it, like we find in the Lord's Prayer, "forgive us our trespasses, in the same way we forgive those who trespass against us".

G. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” "Pure in heart" signifies those who are sincere, honest, free from deceit or moral corruption. In Psalm 24 the psalmist rhetorically asks, “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord and stand in His holy place?” then answering “those with clean hands and a pure heart.” Only those who are purified by God can stand in His presence, so internal purity reflects a transformation by God's holiness. This portrayal of God is both a present spiritual reality and a future hope, the ultimate reward for those who seek God with a sincere heart.

H. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. The concept of peacemaking, where peace (shalom) signifies completeness, wholeness, and harmony with God, others, oneself. Peacemakers are those who actively seek to reconcile/restore relationships, reflecting God's own nature as the ultimate peacemaker. The call to be peacemakers is seen often in the teachings of Jesus, who emphasized love/forgiveness to be reconciled with God as well as people. This beatitude connects with the prophecy in Isa 9:6 of the Messiah, the "Prince of Peace", reflecting the ministry of Jesus, who came to establish peace between God and humanity. Being a "son" implied sharing in the character and mission of one’s father. Thus, peacemakers are recognized as reflecting God's character and mission, and are granted the honor of being part of His family.

I. The remaining beatitudes deal with being persecuted for being righteous. The call to endure persecution is a call to follow in the footsteps of Christ. Although early Christians might have feared extreme physical persecutions, even Crucifixion like Jesus, we are more likely to face social and economic persecution, consequences of our faith based actions in our communities.

 

Conclusion: We’ll conclude Jesus’ inaugural remarks here, having compared the relative simplicity of His inauguration as Messiah with the grandiose celebrations of our country’s presidential inaugurations. But despite the relative simplicity, the absolute promises of the kingdom of heaven far outweigh any of those made in this earthly kingdom. Promises that assure us as believers, that despite earthly suffering, we have a secure place in God's eternal kingdom. Blessings that deserve our willingness to Stand Up for Jesus in all we do or say. Amen