Deepen with Pastor Joby Martin

Episode: Do you want to be BLESSED? - Matthew S2E1

Date: February 9, 2026
Host: Pastor Joby Martin (+ guests: Pastor Britt & Pastor [name not specified, "D"])

Overview

This episode launches a new study series on the Gospel of Matthew, focusing especially on the Sermon on the Mount. Pastor Joby and guests examine what it truly means to be "blessed" according to Jesus, making deep connections between the teachings of Moses (the Old Covenant and Ten Commandments) and Jesus' "Beatitudes" (New Covenant). They aim to clarify misunderstandings around biblical blessings and law—with the central message that real blessing and righteousness come not from our own effort, but through relationship with Jesus Christ.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Matthew’s Big Picture: Jesus as the Greater Moses

• Parallels and Patterns:
  Pastor Joby explains how Matthew draws out parallels between Jesus and Moses:
  • Both had formative experiences in Egypt
  • Both are associated with mountains and the giving of God's law
  • Jesus "invites" people up the mountain, whereas Moses had to keep people away (for their own safety, due to sin).

Quote:

"Jesus, with a new and greater covenant, is going to go up on the mountain and not say, 'you can't come up here unless you're consecrated or holy,' but 'come with me.'"
—Pastor Joby (00:41)

• Five Main Teaching Sections:
  Like the Pentateuch, Matthew’s Gospel is structured with five teaching sections— further echoing Moses.

Quote:

"The first one is how ought a Christian to live? ... There are five major teaching sections in Matthew."
—Pastor Joby (01:43)

2. From Stone Tablets to Transformed Hearts

• The giving of the law on Sinai was about forming a people; Jesus' teaching is about transforming hearts—moving from external obedience to internal change.
• Law is not just rules or oppression but an invitation into freedom and flourishing.

Quote:

"God wrote the law on stone tablets, but [Jesus] elevates it to say, this law is written on our hearts."
—Pastor Joby (02:42)

Freedom vs. Restriction:

• The law, when misunderstood, becomes handcuffs or mere carrots for reward, but is intended for freedom and flourishing.
• David saw the law as "delightful"—the fullest version of life. The Beatitudes reflect that same intent.

Quote:

"What the law was pointing at, Jesus is now saying—this is the fullest. What the Sermon on Mount is—this is what full living is really all about."
—Pastor Britt (05:49)

3. Grace Before and Through the Law

• Salvation precedes obedience: At Sinai, God saved Israel before giving commandments.
• The commandments are a response to being chosen, not a condition for it—a foreshadowing of the gospel pattern.

Quote:

"Grace is on display even at Mount Sinai. He didn’t send [the law] to them in Egypt..."
—Pastor Joby (08:18)

4. Law as Map and Mirror, Not Exam

• The Ten Commandments, and by extension the Beatitudes, function as:
  • A map: Shows us how to live
  • A mirror: Reveals our inability to live as we should on our own, pointing to our need for "alien righteousness" (righteousness outside ourselves).

Quote:

"It’s a map to show us how to rightly live before a righteous king. But then it’s a mirror to be like, I can’t pull this off on my own, so I need an alien righteousness because I don’t have a righteousness in and of myself."
—Pastor Joby (08:49, explanation at 09:34)

5. Understanding the Beatitudes: Not a Checklist, but a Gospel Pattern

• The Beatitudes are not eight separate goals to strive for, but a description of what God produces in a gospel-changed life.
• The pattern is: Realize spiritual bankruptcy ("poor in spirit") → mourn for sin → hunger for righteousness → receive Christ’s righteousness: then attitudes/behaviors follow.

Quote:

"The whole point—it starts with 'poor in spirit', you’ve got to realize you’re spiritually bankrupt. You need to be saved."
—Pastor Joby (12:40)

Misunderstanding Dangers:

• Treating Beatitudes as achievements leads to pride or despair ("be pure in heart" is impossible to self-produce).

Quote:

"The moment you self-identify and put yourself [in the pure in heart line], you’re not pure in heart, man, because you know you’re self-righteous."
—Pastor Joby (15:25)

• The Beatitudes loop: We repeatedly come back to poor in spirit, mourning, surrender—it's not a linear climb but "a merry-go-round... this constant gospel life."

Quote:

"The gospel not just saves you, it sustains you."
—Pastor Joby (31:45)

6. Blessing: Real and Eternal Reward

• Overreaction against the prosperity gospel can cause us to miss that God does promise real rewards—ultimately found in Christ and in eternity.

Quote:

"There is a thing, I mean, you’re going to be rewarded in heaven."
—Pastor Britt (16:39)

• The "happy" or "satisfied" promised in the Beatitudes is different than worldly happiness—it's contentment, fullness in Christ.

Quote:

"Blessed are you when you fall in love with Jesus... you’ll be satisfied. There’s nothing in this world that will satisfy."
—Pastor Joby (18:48)

7. Cultivating Hunger for God

• Transformation (hungering and thirsting after righteousness) happens as we foster intimacy with Christ, prune sin/stupidity, and engage in spiritual disciplines (God’s presence, Word, people).

Quote:

"If you spend more time scrolling than in scripture, bro, your heart is going to be damp towards the Lord... and then you’ve also got to cultivate the things that grow your heart for Jesus."
—Pastor Joby (20:21)

Practical Advice:

• Don’t sit around waiting for feelings or spiritual hunger; actively pursue through worship, scripture, prayer, and service.

Quote:

"Get in the game... you start caring about other people, your heart for God grows because your dependence on Him grows."
—Pastor Joby (20:21)

8. Identity, Imprinting, and Seeing God

• Every human is made with the "imprint" of God—sin mars it, but through Christ, we become who we are meant to be: seeing God as Father, finding our true self in Christ.

"Turkey" Analogy:

• Newly hatched turkeys imprint on the first face they see. Humans are made to imprint on God—sin disrupts this, but Christ restores it.

Quote:

"When I saw that turkey video, Life of a Turkey, it just, I thought of Adam. He opened his eyes and that was imprinted upon him. That’s what I was made for. That’s my dad. ...That’s the gospel-shaped hole in our life."
—Pastor Joby (34:21-36:33)

• Our identity is restored so that when God looks at us, He sees Christ.

Quote:

"When you look in the mirror, what you see looking back at you is the truest version of reality, which is... Jesus Christ. That’s what imputed righteousness is like from God’s perspective."
—D (37:27)

9. Peace, Peacemaking, and Universal Flourishing (Shalom)

• Peacemaking is primarily about helping others find peace with God—our ultimate calling as "sons of God" is reconciliation.

Quote:

"The godliest thing you can do is what God the Son did. He reconciled people to God the Father... we have been given the ministry of reconciliation."
—Pastor Joby (41:37)

• "Shalom" means more than absence of war; it is universal flourishing, wholeness, completeness.

Quote:

"Anytime God says, don’t go over there, what he means is you can’t flourish over there as you’re designed to flourish. ... That’s the best way to understand shalom."
—D (42:51)

10. Suffering, Persecution, and the Cost of Discipleship

• True blessing often looks like suffering for Christ—not worldly comfort. Most Americans resist this teaching because of a cultural expectation of happiness.

Quote:

"If we walk in the footsteps of Jesus and he is going in the opposite direction in the ways of this world, there should be resistance. And if there’s not, you’re going with the flow..."
—Pastor Joby (44:49)

• Persecution takes degrees—from social slights to real suffering, but all count.

• Christians are called to encourage one another, not only critique. (e.g., how to respond to public Christian witness such as Jelly Roll's Grammy speech.)

Quote:

"Anybody that’s taking positive steps towards Jesus, I want to be in the cheering crowd, not the critic crowd."
—Pastor Joby (52:12)

11. Sermon on the Mount: Gospel Foundation for Christian Living

• "You can’t pull it off without Jesus." The Beatitudes and whole sermon show us what needs to happen in us; any attempt to live by Jesus’ ethic apart from grace leads to futility and pride.
• We obey because we are already accepted, not to become accepted.

Quote:

"If you think I’m going to obey so that I will be accepted, you will fall flat on your face. If you think because I have been accepted, I should obey... That’s the house built on rock."
—Pastor Joby (57:15)

• Example ("Saving Private Ryan"): Emphasis is not on "earning" salvation, but living in grateful response to a finished rescue.

Quote:

"Let your motivation of gratitude propel you to be a good man. … Christ laid down his life for me. I am compelled by the love of Christ to be different, to act different. And everything that he tells me to do leads to abundant life."
—Pastor Joby (60:09)

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• "The author of life knows best how to live it. And when you do it his way, it does go better..."
  —Pastor Joby (06:30)

• "The gospel not just saves you, it sustains you."
  —Pastor Joby (31:45)

• "You pick whatever it is. Honestly, you can be faithful to your wife your whole life, never touch another person and treat her like a slave and it ain't good."
  —Pastor Joby (58:03)

• "Get so mangled by the grace train that your whole life is unrecognizable."
  —Pastor Joby (61:13)

Timestamps of Important Segments

• 00:41: Jesus/Moses parallels, invitation up the mountain
• 02:42: Law on hearts, not just on stone
• 08:18: Grace precedes law, Sinai as a pattern for the gospel
• 09:34: "Alien righteousness" explained
• 12:40: Beatitudes—gospel pattern, not checklist
• 20:21: Cultivating hunger for God, practical advice
• 34:21-36:33: "Turkey" analogy for imprinting on God
• 41:37: Peacemaking defined as reconciliation
• 44:49: Persecution, cultural comfort, and cost of discipleship
• 57:15: Obedience as response, not a way to earn acceptance
• 60:09: "Saving Private Ryan" analogy for gospel gratitude

Takeaways

• The Beatitudes are not eight ways to earn God’s favor, but eight descriptions of gospel transformation—an invitation to a blessed life found only in Jesus.
• The law points us to Christ; it reveals our need, and in Him, we find power to obey and flourish.
• Real blessing, peace, and satisfaction are not results of self-effort but fruit of a relationship with Jesus.
• Obedience flows from acceptance, not to earn it; we are compelled by gratitude for Christ’s sacrifice to live differently.
• Persecution and suffering for Christ are marks of blessing and evidence of a life set apart.
• The Sermon on the Mount establishes our perspective for the whole Christian life: "Because we are new, we do differently."

Final Reflection

The episode concludes with a call to rely on the sustaining grace of Christ, to pursue intimacy with God intentionally, and to remember that the power for Christian living comes from the new identity given in Jesus—not from striving to "be blessed" through our own righteousness.

For listeners:
If you’re ready to move from striving to thriving in your walk with Christ, anchor yourself in the truth: "Blessed" begins with coming to Jesus empty-handed, and walking forward in the fullness, freedom, and flourishing He alone provides.