Jesus" Firsts

Jesus’ “Firsts” Matthew 5:1–12

Do you recall the first time your child stood up on his own or the first word or words your child said? “ Firsts can predict what lies ahead. Today we learn about two major firsts of Jesus - where he stands and what he says – Both foreshadow his mission and ministry.

Lutheran Preacher Martha Stolz points out that before Jesus says a single word, he goes up the mountain and sits with his disciples. The first word out of his mouth, in his very first public sermon is” blessed.”

The Beatitudes are spoken directly to the people who already know hardship. They are the sick, the poor, the anxious, the worn down. They are people whose lives do not look “blessed” by any ordinary measure. Jesus begins, not with commands, but with naming. “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”

Jesus does not say, “Try to be poor in spirit.” He simply names them; he identifies them as blessed. This isn’t something they have achieved. It is where life has brought them. Martin Luther appreciates this. For Luther, faith begins with what he called spiritual poverty—the moment we stop pretending we can justify ourselves before God. The poor in spirit are not failing at faith; they are standing exactly where grace can meet them.

And Jesus says the kingdom of heaven already belongs to them. That’s a shocker. Most would think that the religious leaders, the wealthy would have ownership of the kingdom. Jesus reverses this.

“Blessed are those who mourn.” Jesus does not explain mourning or soften it. He blesses it. Which is important, because grief does not wait until we are ready for it. It comes uninvited. Sometimes knocking us down. And, in my opinion, it comes because we love, we care. Martin Luther understood this kind of faith, too—a faith that cries out in lament and still clings to God. To mourn is not to lack faith; it is to take loss and the brokenness of the world seriously. And Jesus promises that God meets people not after grief, but in the middle of it.

“Blessed are the meek.” This blessing is striking because meekness is seldom admired. In this context, meekness means restraint based on trust, not timidity; the meek do not seek control, trusting the future to God

As Jesus continues, each blessing does the same thing—it reframes what counts. Hunger and thirst for righteousness are not signs of discontent; they are aligned with God’s longing for justice. Mercy is not moral superiority; it is recognition. Those who show mercy know they need it too. Having purity of heart doesn't mean being perfect; it means having complete and unwavering trust in God. And peacemakers, are not peace-lovers from a distance. They step into conflict, believing God is already at work there.

“In the same way,” Jesus says, “they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Jesus does not promise that people will respect or admire you for this way of life. He promises company. And of course, Jesus, himself suffered. Luther called this the theology of the cross—the recognition that God’s work often looks like loss before it looks like victory. Faithfulness does not always make life easier. Many of us might say Amen to that. Though, sometimes it makes life clearer.

Jesus is bringing people together when the world tries to divide them. The divisions in his time were harsh: male and female, Jew and Greek, slave and free, righteous and unrighteous. Indeed, the divisions in our own time may even be more callous: liberal and conservative, black and white, citizen and “alien.” Jesus challenges all these divisions, implying that in God’s world the only division that matters is those who need help and those who help them.

And then—astonishingly—Jesus says, “Rejoice and be glad.” Not because suffering is good. Not because opposition is pleasant. But because our lives are caught up in something larger than this moment.

Let me make this clear. Blessings are not a reward for spiritual success. It is God’s presence in places we would rather avoid. The Beatitudes do not ask us to become someone else. They invite us to trust that God meets us exactly where we are.

And that changes how we live. This is not easy, but it is faithful.



And it good news. Because Jesus does not go to the mountaintop to escape the world. He climbs it to show us where God stands. Right here, with the grieving, with the longing, with the vulnerable, with you, with me. We are blessed – not because life is easy but because God is near. Thanks be to God Amen.

The Sermons of Martin Luther: Lenker Edition Martin Luther , J. N. Lenker, et al. | Apr 2, 2018 The Sermon on the Mount,” (Kindle)

Martha E. Stortz https://www.workingpreacher.org/sermon-development/first-words-what-the-beatitudes-tell-us-about-jesus-as-a-preacher