An Introduction to Matthew 5:1–12 How do you think of the blessings and rewards (“beatitudes”) in Matthew 5:1–12? Characteristics of those worthy of God’s kingdom? An impossible standard that drives us to the gospel and God’s mercy seat? Something we admire in others but can’t see ourselves achieving? Motivation to draw near to God and serve others? A personal checklist
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matthew 5:6, ESV Have you ever felt hungry or thirsty? I think I can answer for all of us and say yes. Even Jesus, the Son of God, knew how it felt to be hungry. Matthew 4:2 says,
What does it mean to be blessed? Blessings are benefits received from God. God showers blessings on everyone: “For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). Yet special blessings are reserved for those who please God and do His will. In the Sermon
Text: Matthew 5:8 Structure: There is some discussion about the relationship of these statements of Jesus to each other and what to make of the collection as a whole. I once heard a speaker claim that there were no ‘imperatives’ in the beatitudes. He thought that these teachings from Jesus were only ‘descriptive’ but not ‘prescriptive’. In other words, while
Matthew 5:9 The result of Jesus’ sermon on the Mount was that the multitudes (thousands) were amazed at His words for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes (Matthew 7:28-29). His words were noticeably different to what they were used to hearing. Not only were they comforting and re-assuring but also helpful in strengthening
Text: Ecclesiastes 7:23-8:13 The further that we read in Ecclesiastes, the more we are impressed by Solomon’s pursuit of wisdom. At least 16 times in this book, he said that he sought it…he was relentless. He was wise enough to want a full measure and looked for it everywhere. He wanted to unwind every paradox, solve every riddle…and work his
Who dishonours God more, the one who does not worship him or the one who worships him wrongly? It is interesting to consider this question — and it does call for serious reflection. Artur Weiser observes that “The purpose of the psalm is to impress on the minds of the people that their cardinal mistake is, in spite of all
As Christians, we believe that “all scripture is inspired of God” (2 Tim 3:16). That statement clearly includes the Old Testament. But we also believe that the revelation of God’s will was progressive. We do not expect any given part of scripture to contain a complete revelation of God’s will for us. We should not expect the earlier inspired writers
A few Psalms are well known and easy to understand. Others are not. This one may belong in the latter category; but once we grasp it, the message is powerful. Perhaps this psalm recalls when Jerusalem was delivered from an invading army; or perhaps it was a psalm used at Tabernacles or another festival. They were not only to live
Africa is much bigger than most people realize. Africa is more varied than most people realize. It is not all tropical jungle. It does get hot here in Eswatini, although we are south of the tropics. As most of you are headed toward winter, we are moving toward summer. And it may be a lot hotter for us than in
This Psalm is a call to worship addressed to all people. The situation is a contrast to the previous psalm. In forty-six we are assured that “God is with us” even if things are going wrong and we are being defeated. But psalm forty-seven seems to reflect a time of success, when Israel ruled other nations. Its structure is interesting:
In Ezekiel 33:1-9 we read “Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, 3 when he sees the
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