Sharing Bread Matthew 5:13

SHARING BREAD

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”

Matt 5:13 (NIV)

Salt - the Hebrew symbol of the everlasting covenant between God and man.  All sacrifices the Hebrew made – the firstfruits they presented to the Lord – were to be sprinkled with salt – grain, incense, and animal sacrifices alike carried with them the same savor.  We discover in both Leviticus and Ezekiel:

¹³ Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings.    Lev 2:13 (NIV)

 

²³ When you have finished purifying it, you are to offer a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect. ²⁴ You are to offer them before the LORD, and the priests are to sprinkle salt on them and sacrifice them as a burnt offering to the LORD.   Ezek 43:23-24 (NIV)

 

In like fashion, the disciples were to be the firstfruits of the new covenant which the Lord Jesus came to usher in.  Christ terms His guys “the salt of the earth” and rightly so.  Interestingly, Hebrew newborns in ancient times were rubbed in salt to symbolize that they were children of the covenant.  It is not too surprising that the disciples - being reborn into a new covenant – would be called “the salt of the earth”.  We can count on our everlasting relationship with the Lord Jesus Who told us He would never leave us as orphans and that no one could snatch us out of His hand:

 

¹⁸ I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.   John 14:18 (NIV)

 

²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.   John 10:27-28 (NIV)

 

In every age, as salt, Jesus’ disciples were and are to be cleansing, flavoring and preserving agents to a vast world which lies in an unsavory heap rotting.  Disciples of the Lord, led and equipped by the power of the Holy Spirit are to take on the same characteristics as salt which are numerous.  Salt is a necessity of life – every warm blooded animal has to have some level of salt just as very soul born has a God shaped vacuum within them yearning to be filled albeit most do not realize it is God alone who fully satisfies this emptiness within. 

 

In the time of the original disciples, salt was scarce and precious.  Roman soldiers were often paid part of their wages in salt – solarium – our word salary derives from this.  The Good News the disciples would and do bring was and is highly valuable as well.  Disciples carry this treasure in their jars of clay.

 

Salt also halts decay.  Disciples are to be the preservative on earth to keep their society from raging rot.  Because of this it is of ultimate importance that we do not blend with the world – that when the world looks upon us they see something different and that Something is Jesus Christ.  Over and over again in Scripture God relents from sending judgment because of the righteous in the land.  Believers are to be the preserving agents in our age as well – the voice that stands for the hard right against the easy wrong, the voice that speaks up for justice for the oppressed and the weak and helpless.  We are to love mercy and our words are to be full of grace seasoned with salt.

 

¹⁵ Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷ The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.   1 John 2:15-17 (NIV)

 

Disciples are also to be a primary seasoning – appetizing for Christ sake.  Are we winsome and wooing as He?  Do our actions point others to Jesus or do they prevent others from tasting and seeing that the Lord is good?

 

Lastly, salt melts ice.  Even the hardest hearts are not beyond Christ’s reach.  Scripture states His “love never fails”.

 

Our Lord tells us here as well that flavorless salt-less salt is worthless salt.  We must maintain our saltiness to be of use to our Lord and furthermore to ourselves.  The best path for any human is God’s path though sadly we often kick against His best for us.  His way is always the highest and most profitable but most often the hardest yet the easy way often ends in waste and unprofitability, being trampled upon by men – good for nothing.  Jesus states there remains no remedy for tasteless salt.        

    

“The true Christian cannot be hid, he cannot escape notice.  A man truly living and functioning as a Christian will stand out.  He will be like salt; he will be like a city set on a hill, a candle set upon a candlestick. But we can also add this further word. The true Christian does not even desire to hide his light.  He sees how ridiculous it is to claim to be a Christian and yet deliberately to try to hide the fact.  A man who truly realizes what it means to be a Christian, who realizes all that the grace of God has meant to him and done for him, and understands that, ultimately, God has done this in order that he may influence others, is a man who cannot conceal it.  Not only that; he does not desire to conceal it, because he argues thus, ‘Ultimately the object and purpose of it all is that I might be functioning in this way’.”  Martin Lloyd-Jones

 

What I glean from this:

 

·       Salt is the symbol of the everlasting covenant between God and man.

·       Jesus’ disciples are to be the salt of the earth – cleansing, flavoring and preserving agents for our rotting world.

·       I am not to blend with the world thereby losing my saltiness.  

 

Sharing Bread Matthew 5:10-12

SHARING BREAD

¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Matt 5:10-12 (NIV)

“Canst thou answer this, believer?  Canst thou find any reason why thou art so often mourning instead of rejoicing?  Why yield to gloomy anticipations?  Who told thee that the night would never end in day?  Who told thee that the winter of thy discontent would proceed from frost to frost, from snow and ice, and hail, to deeper snow, and yet more heavy tempest of despair?  Knowest thou not that day follows night, that flood comes after ebb, that spring and summer succeed winter?  Hope thou then!  Hope thou ever!  For God fails thee not!”    Charles H. Spurgeon       

Ever been in the midst of persecution, insults, false accusations and much evil because of righteousness sake – Christ’s sake?  We are not talking here consequences from our own foolish actions rather consequences of our actions motivated by honoring our Lord Jesus.  Not only are we to take heart believer but we are to “Rejoice and the glad” as it is certain, Christ said, that blessedness follows.

Likewise, Scripture states, we are in very good company.  Jesus tells us here, in the same way, those whom “the world was not worthy” were persecuted.  Those that came before us and proved faithful to the faith though hunted, pursued, run down, abandoned, insulted, falsely accused and treated as the scum of the earth – rarely credited by man yet ever elevated by God.  In the great “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews chapter 11 we are told that faith is being certain of what we do not see and it is our faith that pleases God:

¹ Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. ² This is what the ancients were commended for.   Heb 11:1-2 (NIV)

 

⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.   Heb 11:6 (NIV)

 

⁷ By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.   Heb 11:7 (NIV)

“Show the world that thy God is worth ten thousand worlds to thee…..Be strong and very courageous, and the Lord thy God shall certainly, as surely as He built the heavens and the earth, glorify Himself in thy weakness, and magnify His might in the midst of thy distress.  The grandeur of the arch of heaven would be spoiled if the sky were supported by a single visible column, and your faith would lose its glory if it rested on anything discernible by the carnal eye.”   Charles H. Spurgeon  

When one is persecuted for righteousness sake, as Noah in Hebrews 11:7 above, who condemned the way of the world – mocked and belittled by those he served and warned - yet, we are told, he became an heir of righteousness that comes by faith.  Rather than embrace the world for a short season he chose rather to be mistreated for the sake of Christ over any other earthly acceptance or treasure ever looking ahead to his reward.

 

“Never dread any consequence resulting from absolute obedience to His command.  Never fear the rough waters ahead, which through their proud contempt impede your progress.  God is greater than the roar of raging water and the mighty waves of the sea.  ‘The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever’ (Psalm 29:10).  A storm is simply the hem of His robe, the sign of His coming, and the evidence of His presence.  Dare to trust Him!  Dare to follow Him!  Then discover that the forces that blocked your progress and threatened your life become at His command the very materials He uses to build your street of freedom.”  F. B. Meyer

 

¹³ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. ¹⁴ People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.   Heb 11:13-16 (NIV)

 

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ² Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.   Heb 12:1-3 (NIV)

 

What I glean from this:

 

·       Even in the midst of persecution for Christ’s sake, I am to rejoice and be glad.   ⁴¹ The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. ⁴² Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.   Acts 5:41-42 (NIV)

·       Faith is being sure of what I hope for and certain of what I do not see.

·       No earthly treasure or acceptance can compare to what God has prepared in advance for those who love Him.

 

Sharing Bread Matthew 5:8-9

SHARING BREAD

⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.

Matt 5:8-9 (NIV)

Being “pure in heart” is the most comprehensive of all the beatitudes.  Those who are “pure in heart” are inwardly clean from sin through faith in the Lord Jesus.  Purity of heart as well as clean hands are what we lift up to God – nothing soiled or alloyed rather uncontaminated and clear.  Clean hands refer to right actions and a pure heart refers to the correct motives behind the action – a proper attitude and will.  David writes:

⁴ He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. ⁵ He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior.   Psalms 24:4-5 (NIV)

 

True Christianity lies within the heart – in the purity of the heart that is washed from evil. The heart is used figuratively in Scripture as the seat of our desires, feelings, affections and passions.  The “pure in heart” refer to those whose lives conform inwardly in motive, desire and thought to God’s Law.  It is into the heart of the believer that God sends the Spirit of His Son as well as where Christ takes up residency.  Scripture confirms this in the following verses:

 

¹⁴ O Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts?   Jer 4:14 (NIV)

 

⁶ Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father."   Gal 4:6 (NIV)

 

¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.    Eph 3:16-19 (NIV)

 

The life of the heart is a hidden life although, Scripture states, one’s actions are normally a very good heart indicator.  God alone is the perfect discerner of the hearts of men Whose eyes ever search the private and concealed.  We never fool Him.  We are told in Scripture:

 

⁹ For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.   2 Chron 16:9 (NIV)

 

¹⁰ "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve."   Jer 17:10 (NIV)

¹³ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.   Heb 4:13 (NIV)

 

“This knowledge [of our own sinfulness], though it strikes man with terror and overwhelms him with despair, is nevertheless necessary for us in order that, stripped of our own righteousness, cast down from confidence in our own power, deprived of all expectation of life, we may learn through the knowledge of our own poverty, misery and disgrace to prostrate ourselves before the Lord, and by the awareness of our own wickedness, powerlessness, and ruin may give all credit for holiness, power and salvation to him.”  John Calvin

 

Jesus tells us the “pure in heart” will have the benefit of seeing God – seeing His hand in circumstances, seeing His hand move for His child’s benefit, seeing with heavenly eyesight rather than earthbound ones.  It is the perfection of the soul’s happiness to see God – it is the most comprehensive comfort and none but the “pure in heart” see Him.  What pleasure could the unregenerate soul have in envisioning a Holy God?  

 

Lastly, Jesus tells us that “peacemakers” are blessed as well.  Those whose lives breathe peace into circumstances rather than contention, aggression, hostility or assertiveness - they are those whose lives delight in love and peace.  Peacemakers preserve peace as well as seek to recover it when it is broken.  Those who are “peacemakers”, Jesus states, will be called “sons of God”.  Paul tells us in Romans 12 we are to seek to live at peace with everyone:

 

¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.   Romans 12:18 (NIV)

 

“Peacemakers are people who breathe grace.  They draw continually on the goodness and power of Jesus Christ, and then they bring His love, mercy, forgiveness, strength and wisdom to the conflicts of daily life.  God delights to breathe His grace through peacemakers and use them to dissipate anger, improve understanding, promote justice and encourage repentance and restoration.”    Ken Sande

¹⁷ But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸ Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.   James 3:17-18 (NIV)

 

What I glean from this:

·       The pure heart has been cleansed from sin through the blood of Jesus.  ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.   Heb 10:22 (NIV)

·       Nothing is hidden from God.

·       I am to sow in peace to raise a harvest of righteousness.

 

Sharing Bread Matthew 5:6-7

SHARING BREAD

⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.

Matt 5:6-7 (NIV)

If one is hungry and thirsty - pining for the Word of God – seeking for righteousness - they need only to open wide their mouths to be filled.  God is so anxious to satiate our hunger for Him and sets forth no limitations of quantity when we seek.  He always gives to complete satisfaction – never sending us away with a few meager shekels when we remain diligent to dig for pure gold.  It is God alone who fills and satisfies a soul.  Scripture tells us:

¹⁰ I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt.  Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.   Psalms 81:10 (NIV)

 

God speaks the following promise to us as well through the pen of the Prophet Jeremiah:

 

¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.   Jer 29:13 (NIV)

 

Paul also tells his beloved Timothy twice to pursue righteousness – conforming his life to the claims of a higher Authority – conditioning his life to a standard which was not his rather Gods. This should be a red flag for us as well.  We do this by knowing and applying God’s Word to our lives.  Head knowledge only puffs up making us spiritually prideful – application of Truth’s learned is essential for the Christian.  God never intended for us to remain “as is”.  Interestingly, we never stay stagnate - we are either going backwards or forwards.  We must not lull ourselves into a false comfort of thinking we are A-OK exactly where we are in our walk with the Lord.  That is the kiss of death spiritually speaking.  We easily fall into sin but holiness and righteousness must be a pursuit.  “Hunger” and “Thirst” are appetites that occur most frequently calling for fresh satisfaction.  The souls stirred by the Lord Jesus calls for constant meals of righteousness as well:

 

¹¹ But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of the faith.   1 Tim 6:11-12 (NIV)

 

²² Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.   2 Tim 2:22 (NIV)

 

"Something happens when we come to God for His grace and mercy--something that is so radical and so amazing that it can only be described as death to our old selves. It is the overwhelming desire to please the One who has loved us with such amazing and unconditional love...I may not get better overnight; I may not be the fine, upstanding, and wonderful Christian I thought I was, but I now have a desire to please the One who loved me (and gave Himself for me). That desire is the soil in which goodness grows--not perfectly, by any means, but it does grow."  Steve Brown

Next, Jesus tells us that the merciful are “Blessed”.  Really, is there anything more beautifully winsome than seeing undeserved mercy fleshed out?  God says His compassionate saints will be shown His active mercy.  Mercy is the concrete expression of pity and compassion.  It seeks to relieve affliction, alleviate suffering or distress and ease misery.  When we are merciful - particularly to the undeserving (as we all are) – God shows us His active mercy.  Paul tells us in Colossians to clothe ourselves with compassion - we are to demonstrate an active pity – bearing and forgiving one another in love:

 

¹² Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.   Col 3:12-14 (NIV)

 

“We must have compassion on the souls of others, and help them; pity the ignorant, and instruct them; the carless, and warn them; those who are in a state of sin, and snatch them as brands out of the burning.  Indeed, a good man is merciful to his beast.”    Matthew Henry  

 

²² Be merciful to those who doubt; ²³ snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. ²⁴ To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy-- ²⁵ to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.   Jude 1:22-25 (NIV)

 

What I glean from this:

 

·        It is God who fills my soul – satisfying my desires with good things.  ¹ Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. ² Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits--³ who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, ⁴ who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, ⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.   Psalms 103:1-5 (NIV)

·        I am to pursue righteousness.

·        I am to demonstrate mercy to others.

 

 

 

Sharing Bread Matthew 5:4-5

SHARING BREAD

⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.

Matt 5:4-5 (NIV)

“The teachings of Jesus are all out of proportion when compared to our natural way of looking at things, and they come to us initially with astonishing discomfort.  We gradually have to conform our walk and conversation to the precepts of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit applies them to our circumstances.  The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of rules and regulations - it is a picture of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is having His unhindered way with us.”   Oswald Chambers

When we consider those who mourn as well as those who are meek our first thoughts seem to be anything but “Blessed”.  Most of the time, in thinking as the way of the world, those who are mourning and those who are deemed meek are not in enviable positions – no vying for their spots, their places on the ladder of life.  They seem to invoke both our empathy and sympathy yet Jesus tells us here that “Blessed” is exactly what they are.  Hmmm isn’t that interesting.  Could it be that Jesus knew it was - and is still - most merciful of our loving God to allow us to be at the end of ourselves – at the end of our ropes, so to speak, to reach the edge of our need clearly realizing our vast limitations with nothing left to cling or hold on to which we have so foolishly put in the place of Him?  Could it be that this is where abundance truly begins - humbled and broken and falling facedown at His feet? Wits end – empty - looking up is a good starting place for flesh.  Blessedness begins with the brokenness of self.  When we recognize our needs and bring them to the only One Who is able - Jesus states we are “Blessed” – possessing the favor of God.  King David rightly states:

¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.    Psalms 51:17 (NIV)

 

“The Lord sometimes suffers His people to be driven into a corner that they may experimentally know how necessary He is to them…..Jesus can soon remove our sorrow, He delights to comfort us.  Let us hasten to Him while He waits to meet us.”  Charles H. Spurgeon

Indeed, Jesus’ job description while He walked on this earth prophesized in Isaiah - as well as stated and fulfilled by our Lord Himself - permeated with comfort and hope:

¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, ² to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, ³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.   Isaiah 61:1-3 (NIV)

 

“The believer is in spiritual danger if he allows himself to go for any length of time without tasting the love of Christ and savoring the felt comforts of a Savior’s presence. When Christ ceases to fill the heart with satisfaction, our souls will go in silent search of other lovers… By the enjoyment of the love of Christ in the heart of a believer, we mean an experience of the “love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us” (Rom. 5:5)… because the Lord has made himself accessible to us in the means of grace, it is our duty and privilege to seek this experience from Him in these means till we are made the joyful partakers of it.”  John Flavel

 

Our Lord comforts us in our afflictions in order for us to in turn comfort others with the comfort we ourselves have received.  It takes no rocket scientist to realize the great need the world has for comforting.  A casual glance around our spheres of influence will make that clear if we are simply willing to take our eyes off self and our own agendas and stop, look and listen for a moment.  Masses of hurting humanity are everywhere – just like the disciple’s viewed only dressed up and pretending perfect.  Since the fall of mankind way back in the Garden, there has been no shortage of pain on this earth.  Nobody has more problems than people!

 

“God comforts us not to make us comfortable but to make us comforters.”    John Henry Jowett 

 

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.   2 Cor 1:3-4 (NIV)

 

Lastly, we read our Lord calling the meek “Blessed”.  How odd.  Meek conjures up milquetoast in my mind – someone not willing to take a stand – afraid of their own shadows.  That is not at all what the word means.  It is anything but weakness.  It is a condition of mind and heart which demonstrates gentleness, not in weakness but in power.  It is a balance born in strength of character – it is power under control.  It is Jesus on the cross.  I am reminded of our Lord’s Word to us later in Matthew:

 

²⁸ "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."   Matt 11:28-30 (NIV)

 

What I glean from this:

 

·       God will not despise a broken heart.

·       In mercy, God allows things in our lives to drive us back to Him – to get us to return to our point of departure – for our good and His glory.

·       Meekness is power under control.