Matthew 5:1-12 (The Sermon on the Mount, Part I)
The Beatitudes
Seeing the crowd in verse 1, Jesus went up a nearby mountain and began his famous Sermon on the Mount. It is not sure this is a combination of sermons/messages like they are found scattered through Luke, instead of in one instance like here in Matthew. To me it would make sense for both, that he preached one long sermon here and then repeated his message through out his ministry. He starts in verse 2, teaching the The Beatitudes, a declaration of blessedness. Christ comes with blessing and starts here, first and foremost.
"Blessed" is more than just happy, but an ultimate joy and well-being of being with God, not dependent on earthly influences. The first Beatitude is "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (v3) Spiritually poor in the sense of humility and needing Christ, not in the sense of lacking a spirit or a deficient spirit. Those who see themselves as being good enough and doing enough to gain God's favor are proud in spirit, not poor. The Kingdom is not a reward, but a freely given gift.
Next is verse 4, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" This is a strange "blessing". It could be simply be stated in another way "Happy are those who are sad". This blessing is in the fact that a fallen, sinful world is full of pain and suffering; physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. But those who trust in the Lord will be comforted... both now and in eternity by a loving God and Christian brotherhood. This a blessing! That no matter what happens, we have a God who will comfort us through brothers and sisters in the Lord.
Verse 5 contains perhaps the most famous Beatitude, "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth" This a very manipulated and misquoted verse. We see in the Beatitudes a relationship with the Lord, our God. The meekness here is similar to the poverty of spirit in the first Beatitude. We are to be meek in our relationship to God. This verse is also related to Psalm 37:11, "But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace"
Then, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled" (v6) God promises to those who desire his Truth that their desire will be given to them. If we desire God's righteousness and seek it diligently through faith, it will be given to us.
In verse 7, "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy" Those who love God and show this love in their actions toward others will be also shown love by God. Pretty straight-forward in my opinion! Mercy tends to beget mercy... it's like a happy virus. People who have been show love and forgiveness tend to pass it along.
Next in verse 8, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God" It is only those who are pure in their core; mind, will and emotions that will be saved. Luckily, Christ has given us this heart in his sacrifice on the cross, so that we have a heart pure and accepting to God.
Verse 9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God" Again this can be misconstrue to fit some social convention and political ideology. I did some research on this and came across some interesting information. Most of us know that in Hebrew (both today and in Christ's time) the greeting is "Shalom" or peace. This idea of peace was not a political one, but between relationships of family, God, and community. To use a crass comparison, it is the lack of "drama". So blessed are those who aren't drama-queens in other words!
Finally "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (v10) We should never back down from the righteousness of God, for his wisdom and knowledge is far greater than man. If men choose to discriminate against us, harm us, or try to keep us from witnessing and preaching Christ crucified; we should not fight against them, but rejoice. This is something that a fallen world will do, and Satan will use every force against God's chosen. Faith that falls in the face of adversity is not faith at all, but just going with the flow.
Christ reiterates the idea of rejoicing in trial and persecution in verses 11 and 12. I wouldn't be surprised if President Bush has verse 11 hanging up somewhere in the Oval Office. We should rejoice when the "world" says we are stupid, foolish, mistaken and just wrong for trusting in God. The followers of the devil have been saying these things for millennia and will continue until the last second of this world.
Seeing the crowd in verse 1, Jesus went up a nearby mountain and began his famous Sermon on the Mount. It is not sure this is a combination of sermons/messages like they are found scattered through Luke, instead of in one instance like here in Matthew. To me it would make sense for both, that he preached one long sermon here and then repeated his message through out his ministry. He starts in verse 2, teaching the The Beatitudes, a declaration of blessedness. Christ comes with blessing and starts here, first and foremost.
"Blessed" is more than just happy, but an ultimate joy and well-being of being with God, not dependent on earthly influences. The first Beatitude is "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (v3) Spiritually poor in the sense of humility and needing Christ, not in the sense of lacking a spirit or a deficient spirit. Those who see themselves as being good enough and doing enough to gain God's favor are proud in spirit, not poor. The Kingdom is not a reward, but a freely given gift.
Next is verse 4, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" This is a strange "blessing". It could be simply be stated in another way "Happy are those who are sad". This blessing is in the fact that a fallen, sinful world is full of pain and suffering; physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. But those who trust in the Lord will be comforted... both now and in eternity by a loving God and Christian brotherhood. This a blessing! That no matter what happens, we have a God who will comfort us through brothers and sisters in the Lord.
Verse 5 contains perhaps the most famous Beatitude, "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth" This a very manipulated and misquoted verse. We see in the Beatitudes a relationship with the Lord, our God. The meekness here is similar to the poverty of spirit in the first Beatitude. We are to be meek in our relationship to God. This verse is also related to Psalm 37:11, "But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace"
Then, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled" (v6) God promises to those who desire his Truth that their desire will be given to them. If we desire God's righteousness and seek it diligently through faith, it will be given to us.
In verse 7, "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy" Those who love God and show this love in their actions toward others will be also shown love by God. Pretty straight-forward in my opinion! Mercy tends to beget mercy... it's like a happy virus. People who have been show love and forgiveness tend to pass it along.
Next in verse 8, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God" It is only those who are pure in their core; mind, will and emotions that will be saved. Luckily, Christ has given us this heart in his sacrifice on the cross, so that we have a heart pure and accepting to God.
Verse 9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God" Again this can be misconstrue to fit some social convention and political ideology. I did some research on this and came across some interesting information. Most of us know that in Hebrew (both today and in Christ's time) the greeting is "Shalom" or peace. This idea of peace was not a political one, but between relationships of family, God, and community. To use a crass comparison, it is the lack of "drama". So blessed are those who aren't drama-queens in other words!
Finally "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (v10) We should never back down from the righteousness of God, for his wisdom and knowledge is far greater than man. If men choose to discriminate against us, harm us, or try to keep us from witnessing and preaching Christ crucified; we should not fight against them, but rejoice. This is something that a fallen world will do, and Satan will use every force against God's chosen. Faith that falls in the face of adversity is not faith at all, but just going with the flow.
Christ reiterates the idea of rejoicing in trial and persecution in verses 11 and 12. I wouldn't be surprised if President Bush has verse 11 hanging up somewhere in the Oval Office. We should rejoice when the "world" says we are stupid, foolish, mistaken and just wrong for trusting in God. The followers of the devil have been saying these things for millennia and will continue until the last second of this world.
posted by Ayric Andy | 4:49 PM
1 Comments:
Nice job!
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