Sermon on the Mount - The Beatitudes

Matthew 5:2-12

The Beatitudes

² And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

⁵ “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons^[a] of God.

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

¹¹ “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The Beatitudes - blessed or happy

blessed - more than a temporary or circumstantial feeling of happiness, state of well being in relationship to God.

² And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

he opened his mouth - I learned this is an idiom of Jewish culture.  Then I had to look up idiom.  It kind of means a figure of speech.  It also implies that Jesus actually said it, it came out of his mouth. 

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

poor in spirit - those who know they need God's help, they need Jesus.  Those who know they are sinners and need the Father, Son and Spirit to guide them to... the kingdom of heaven - here on earth (now) and in the future after death (in heaven)

⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

those who mourn - anyone that has sinned, anyone who is broken hearted, anyone that see's the sin of the others and the world, anyone who knows that Jesus is the only way.... they shall be comforted - they know that Jesus is the best path, you can accept his forgiveness and healing and know that in the end he will conquer Satan.  In the end, Jesus will win.  Your can rest in that comfort. 

⁵ “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

the meek - gentle, humble, those who do not overly assert their opinions/thoughts for themselves... shall inherit the earth - because they trust the outcome of events are in God's hands

⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

righteousness - the way God intends our life to be, the 'right' way to living, being, thinking …for they shall be satisfied -  my study Bible says that those will be satisfied by responding to His invitation and being in relationship with him.  I don't disagree but I think our true satisfaction will be in heaven where all will be righteous and all we will see and know will be righteous.  I think this is wanting righteousness for all people/the world, not just yourself.

⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

mercy - the more you forgive and show kindness, the more you will receive - I think of big picture and my own world 

⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

pure in heart - at first I think of the innocent - like children.  My study Bible says it's for those who pursue purity in every aspect of their life.  I suppose this is for your personal life. They shall see God -  Rev 22:4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 

⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons^[a] of God.
blessed are the peacemakers - the ones that who promote God's peace - to include their inner and outer peace, personal and community... sons of God - a special name, to be called his child, 

¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
those who are persecuted - those who are wrongly treated because of their faith - when we choose God over people/culture, when we make a stand for our faith... theirs is the kingdom of heaven - their reward is heaven - they will shout and dance when they get there and there will be no more persecution 

¹¹ “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
those who withstand evil, hate, torture (because of Jesus) by others - this is very strong language about people who are fight against Satan's workers … your reward is great in heaven - I imagine the harder you fight for God and against Satan, the greater your reward will be ***prophets in all of history have been persecuted

Reading this can be overwhelming.  Like a giant to do list.

For me it is better to start small - first start with a prayer to open my heart to listen and learn from the Spirit of God.  

So take a moment of silence to settle your heart.

Then ask God to help you listen and learn.

For today,  pick out one or two things that stand out to you.

***I want to note - I could read this every day and every day something different could stand out to me - that is why we call it the living Bible (a mystery of God).  

Things that stand out to me today:  

1. I praise God that I was born and live in America where I can freely worship God.  I am not a fighter and am glad that God has placed me in a peaceful place.  

2. My church is struggling between righteousness and peacemaking.  It makes me question which one is more important to God when it come to a group of believers.  For now, I believe that God has a pretty high standard and that he has made that clear in the Bible.  For now, I think that it is better to error on righteousness over peacekeeping. Almost righteousness comes first (if it is for God) and then peacekeeping. Lead with righteousness.  But when I switched to peacekeeping and then point to God, I feel comfort in that too.  I think God would prefer to have a few striving for righteous over many peacekeepers who are open to sin. But then I think it takes peacekeeping, and then speaking the truth in love, then righteousness.  And in the end, isn't that for us all - peace from each other, love from God, peace in my heart when I accept Christ, then righteousness.   So until the end, I think all believers should be striving for righteousness in their personal walk with God.  But I also think the Bible says to speak the truth in love.  And I believe that Jesus did that too.  So, my last thought is speak out about righteousness in a peaceful way.  But we all make our own choice. My friends at church choose their own path; but I think our standard/goal is try and choose the hard path of Jesus which is narrow but righteous.  Our high standard is to be righteous.  Can we agree on that? Can we be honest with each other about our imperfections?  Can we learn from history of what not to do?  Should we strive for that?                                                  God help me to listen and learn. Amen

Looking at the Sermon on the Mount....
     What stands out to you? 
     Any thoughts on my thoughts?  
     Maybe pick one thing to work on this week?