The Teachings of Jesus: 4 weeks in the Life of Christ (Day 4)

Sunday, March 23rd, 2008
by Justin

Matthew 5:1-12

The Beatitudes
1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
3″Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11″Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Jesus begins His Sermon on the Mount here in Matt. 5. Present were his disciples and all these people who had followed him from Galilee. Chapter 4:25 says “large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.” So seeing all these people, Jesus went up on a hill and began to teach. Jesus didn’t preach but taught them. This shows Jesus’ humility and patience. Something that I need to have wen working with the middle schoolers and children and Saylorville and Northview. I need to be one who teaches, not just preaches.

But Jesus didn’t just start teaching everyone. He narrowed in on His disciples but He knew that everyone else was listening. Jesus began His teaching with a series of “Blessed are…” phrases. Now its interesting that Jesus starts off this way. I think He is preparing them for a road that isn’t going to be easy. So He assures them that everything is going to be “ok”! They are going to win!

There are 8 “Blessed are…”’s and some believe that they are steps. You move up each step, accomplishing a curtain virtue and then you move to the next. And if you study this passage with that in mind, you could actually believe it. But I have a see these as marks of a Christian. If you are a true follower of Jesus, these marks will be noticed in your life.

• Poor in spirit (humility)
• Morners (compassionate)
• Meek (meek)
• Hunger and thirst for righteousness (seeking for the right thing to be done)
• Merciful (giving those what they do not deserve)
• Pure in heart (habitually no practicing sin…see 1 John 3)
• Peacemakers (not war makers; not fighters over stupid stuff)
• Persecuted (a promise)

Now I do have a tendency to believe if the previous 7 are true, Jesus is saying that #8 is promised. When that happens, when you start going through persecution because of this radical, against the norm style of living, He assures them of that they are going to be persecuted. But He also gives them hope! “Rejoice!” “Be Glad!” v. 12.

Why?

Great is your reward in heaven. And He places these same young boys, these same common people, these same…disciples, followers, learners, in the same category as the prophets of the Old Testament. Can you imagine their faces at this point? Because what happened to most of the prophets of the Old Testament? They DIED! They were KILLED, MURDERED, SLAIN! And Jesus says “Rejoice and be glad!” I bet their world was rocked?