In Luke 6 Jesus preaches a very similar sermon. It may be the Sermon on the mount from a different man’s point of view, or Jesus preached this content more than once. In any case, there is something very interesting about Luke’s account. As with much of Luke’s gospel, there is an edge to Jesus’ [...]
Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:12 As I come to the end of this beginning (the Beatitudes) I can’t help but notice once again the upside-down nature of the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus tells us that the proper [...]
Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Matthew 5:11 When I read this I think, didn’t we just talk about persecution, why is Jesus repeating Himself? Since Jesus is doing it again, I am drawn to the [...]
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:10 Welcome to following Jesus, now die! What a crazy way to climax this amazing set of character builders. Just for fun, did you notice that we have had seven Beatitudes to this point? Seven is God’s perfect [...]
…they will be called the sons of God. Matthew 5:9 OK – now that is a big promise! Peacemakers will be called the sons of God. Interesting since the one and only begotten Son of God carries the title Prince of Peace. This promise raises a couple of questions for me. First, who is doing [...]
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. - Matthew 5:9 Not “Blessed are the Peace lovers.” Not “Blessed are the Peacekeepers.” The word is “Peacemaker.” This word, “Peacemaker” interests me. It only appears once in all of the Greek New Testament. It comes from (you guessed it) two Greek root [...]
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. ~ Matthew 5:9 Peacemaker? What peace is Jesus referring to? Is it simply tranquility, or the cessation of hostility? Is it some sort of détente like we had with the former USSR when they could no longer afford to maintain a cold war? [...]
...for they shall see God - Matthew 5:8 To this point, I have been talking about our approach to the Father. Pure hearts allow us to draw near to Him, but there is more. There is another dimension to seeing God, and we must not miss it. Here is a question for you to ponder? [...]
Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God ~ Matthew 5:8 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: ~ Hebrews 12:14 Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and [...]
Four times in Matthew’s telling of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells us we can expect to be treated in direct relationship to the way we treat others. The first shows up here, in the beatitudes. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. ~ Matthew 5:7 The next is in the Lord’s [...]