The Playbook (Sermon on the Mount 1)
Have you ever been on a team?
When you’re part of a team, there’s something special about putting on that jersey — it symbolizes your commitment to the team, the city you represent, your colors, number, and name. But here’s a catch: when you choose one jersey to wear, you can’t wear other jerseys at the same time. And even if you could, there’s still be one jersey on top to be seen by all.
Teams have playbooks filled with offensive and defensive strategies and philosophies that dictate how they play the game and plan for victory. In Scripture, Jesus gives us our playbook– a vision for kingdom living as part of Team Jesus. This divine playbook lays out foundational ways of thinking and living, guiding us in making decisions aligned with God’s will. It tells us how Team Jesus will play the game and our plan for victory — spoiler alert: Kingdom of God scorekeeping is vastly different from other scoring systems! This vision defines who we’re supposed to be as followers of Christ.
In Matthew 4:23, we read about Jesus traveling through Galilee, teaching in synagogues, and announcing good news about God’s kingdom while healing every disease and sickness among people. As we move into chapters 5–7 with the Sermon on the Mount — think of it as our constitutional document — we receive core teachings directly from Jesus himself. Then, in chapters 8–9, Matthew shares stories showcasing Jesus not just talking but walking his talk by healing sicknesses and touching lives.
Jesus embodies both word and action; he teaches us what kingdom life looks like while also showing it through his deeds. His teachings offer us a radically different picture compared to what many believed at that time — expecting an overthrow of Rome through war. Instead, Jesus presents a new playbook emphasizing love over force and humility over power — a different way to keep score entirely! So next time you feel that tension between worldly values and God’s kingdom values, remember this: we’re playing by Team Jesus’ rules now — it’s all about transforming lives through love and grace.
“Jesus did not just speak about love; he demonstrated it in his actions, reaching out to the marginalized and forgiving those who wronged him.”
— Philip Yancey
And the thing that unites us — whether we speak English, Swahili, Spanish, Creole, Russian, or Indonesian — is Jesus. We are all on the same team with the same playbook and rules; we keep score in the same way. We all have Matthew 5–7 in our Bibles as our uniting constitution of God’s kingdom!
The opening verses of this sermon are known as the Beatitudes. These are short statements designed to shock you into saying, “Hold on now, wait a second.” They are intended to make us stop and consider truths that might not be immediately obvious or clear. They are designed to change us from the inside out.
The Beatitudes
The Beatitudes talk about what it means to be blessed. A more contemporary way of saying that might be to ask what it means to live the good live, or your “best life.” According to Jesus, the good life belongs looke like the following:
- “Blessed are the poor in spirit…”
- “Blessed are those who mourn…”
- “Blessed are the meek…”
- “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…”
- “Blessed are the merciful…”
- “Blessed are the pure in heart…”
- Blessed are the peacemakers…”
- “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness…”
This doesn’t sound like what we’d typically call “the good life,” does it? Jesus flips all our ideas upside-down and inside-out. He changes the way wekeep score and how we define victory.
“In the upside-down kingdom, reality is different. The first are last and the last are first. The poor are rich, the weak are strong, and the foolish are wise.”
— Donald Kraybill, The Upside-Down Kingdom
Forget LeBron James and Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift, and Billy Joel. Forget about celebrities and millionaires who demand that we look to them for hope and salvation. The kinds of people that Matthew lists here are the star players — they are the real hope of God’s kingdom!
Among these sorts of people, the humble and the overlooked, Jesus is most easily found. It’s where He hangs out, where kingdom seeds grow and flourish. You see, God’s kingdom operates with its own playbook and its own way of keeping score — it’s a whole new ball game.
The “aha” moment comes when we realized that the blessings aren’t in our current situations — being poor in spirit or being persecuted, for example — but in the promises that follow:
- “…because theirs in the kingdom of heaven.
- “…because they will be comforted.
- “…because they will inherit the earth.
- “…because “…because
- “…because they will be shown mercy.
- “…because they will see God.
- “…because they are called children of God.
- “…because theirs in the kingdom of heaven.”
Martin Luther King spoke of this as a “costly interruption,” emphasizing how life’s greatest challenges often disrupt our plans — a failed marriage, a lost job, or even an unwritten poem due to an unexpected knock at the door. King never got to speak some of his most profound words about this concept — they were found in his briefcase after his assassination, another costly interruption. As King described, living out Jesus’ teachings from the Sermon on the Mount (SoM) demands we join a new team with unfamiliar rules and ways of keeping score. It calls us to embrace discomfort and live conspicuously for Christ through love and righteousness.
This radical way of life interrupts our everyday routines — at home, work, or church — and challenges our deepest assumptions and values. But here’s the comforting part: we are not walking blind or playing without guidance. Jesus gives us a vision for kingdom living through Scripture; we have a divine playbook that outlines His plan for us.
“Being a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God’s will.”
— Dietrich Bonhoeffer
One thing to remember:
In Scripture, Jesus gives us a vision for kingdom living.
We are not wandering aimlessly, and we are not on a team without a coach. We have a playbook and a solid plan. We understand the game and exactly how it’s scored. But here’s the kicker: just having that playbook isn’t enough. We must dive into it, read every page, know it inside and out, and memorize those plays like our favorite song lyrics. Then, it’s time to put on our jerseys — the right ones that fit us perfectly — and get ourselves onto the field. It’s about preparation meeting opportunity; we can’t just sit on the sidelines hoping for a win. We’ve got to be in there, ready to play with everything we’ve got because that’s how champions are made! So let’s lace up those shoes, huddle up with our teammates, and show everyone what we’re made of!
One question to ask:
Which jersey is most important in my life?
Choosing which jersey is most important in your life is like deciding which team you’re ultimately playing for. We’ve all got a collection of jerseys — whether it’s work, family, hobbies, or our faith in Jesus. But if you had to pick just one to hold onto no matter what, which would it be? For me, it’s the Jesus jersey. Why? Because when everything else is uncertain or changing, that jersey represents an eternal team with a winning strategy.
One thing to do:
Dive into Matthew Chapters 5–7 every day this week. Soak in those words like they’re the ultimate playbook for your life. Reflect on them deeply and pray through them consistently. You might start noticing how God’s word begins to shape your thoughts and decisions — like having an all-knowing coach whispering brilliant plays into your ear during the game of life.
As you dig deeper into Matthew 5, you’ll see how this divine playbook can influence everything from how you treat people at work to how you manage stress at home or even approach your favorite hobbies with a new perspective. It’s amazing how that one jersey can bring clarity and purpose to every other area of your life! So go ahead — grab that Jesus jersey and wear it proudly because it’s not just about cheering from the sidelines; it’s about making game-changing moves every day!
Steven E Fairbanks
Steven E Fairbanks
Steven E Fairbanks
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