In the last chapter, Jesus endured temptation in the wilderness and then He began preaching that the kingdom of heaven is near. He started calling His disciples and embarked on His ministry of teaching, proclaiming the gospel, and healing to large crowds who begin to follow Him.
When He saw the crowds, He went up a mountainside and sat. The disciples came and He taught them. This collection of verses defining blessing (vv. 3-11) is called the Beatitudes. They declare that the poor in spirit are blessed because theirs is the kingdom of heaven. So what does it mean to be poor in spirit? If you’re inheriting the kingdom of heaven, it must mean you’re spiritually rich. Right? So being poor in spirit is a condition of humility and contrition, not trying to achieve on your own, but submitting to God and accepting His gifts.
Those who mourn are blessed because they will be comforted. Hmmm. I can see this from a human perspective. Sort of. But I think this verse really puts me in the mindset that I need to look at things from God’s perspective, not mine. I mourn the loss of loved ones. I mourn the sudden loss of a job, or other impact to my financial security. I mourn not getting my way, if I’m honest with myself. What I don’t mourn often enough is my own sin! This got me thinking of the cross. I’ve wept over the pain and humiliation Jesus suffered on my behalf. But now I wonder if the whip’s sting, the invasion of thorns and nails through flesh, the spitting, the nakedness, the punching and ridicule were merely uncomfortable to the Savior in comparison to the torture and absolute darkness of taking the sin of humanity upon Himself! Bearing our sin tore our Savior apart! His 100% God part couldn’t be in the presence of sin! His 100% human part was sinless until my sin (and yours) covered Him and separated Him from the Father for the first time! The stress was so unbearable, His heart gave out. There are fascinating articles about the medical views on Christ’s death. Check them out. But God promises comfort for mourning. Is there a sin from your past, you simply cannot accept God’s forgiveness? Stop right now and ask God to forgive you and let that forgiveness wash over you. Ask Him to help you forgive yourself so the enemy can never use that sin as a taunt again. Receive His comfort.
The meek are blessed because they will inherit the earth. When I read this in the NASB version, the work used was “gentle.” I LOVE that – the idea of being gentle. I think of teaching my new puppy not to jump up on me. I gently take her paws off of me and place them on the ground and say “down” – over and over and over and over again. I think of wiping my Grandson’s tears. I think of encouraging a friend or family member who is struggling. That is all Jesus, by the way!!! I can’t do any of that on my own with any regularity. I might be able to muscle through things once in a while, but this is Jesus’ character. And He will help me live out that character because His Spirit lives in me!!! He will help you too, if you have accepted Him as your Savior! His children will reign with Him for eternity! That is quite an inheritance.
Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled. God will fill you with His Word and Himself and His Spirit and His character. I pray this for my loved ones (and myself) consistently. My part is to pray and spend time with God and He will make the most of that. May time with Him be the food you have that no one else knows about.
The merciful will receive mercy. Don’t just read that quickly and move on. Be merciful. How can you be merciful? What situations are you involved in right now that are affording you the opportunity to be merciful? When have you received mercy? When HAVEN’T you received mercy, but would’ve liked it?
The pure in heart will see God. Oh, Lord, make me pure in heart. I don’t care if people laugh at me because I don’t get the joke. I don’t want to have an ulterior motive. I want to constantly consider the impact to Your kingdom for everything I do, say and think! I don’t always do that. I’m sorry. Would You help me give You one more minute of my contemplation time today? And then one more tomorrow? And 20 more seconds the day after that?
Peacemakers will be called children of God. Are you a peacemaker? Do you diffuse trouble? Do you dread conflict but understand that caring means you confront in a loving way? Are you practicing the art of turning a negative conversation into something more positive? Are you bringing Jesus’ name and Biblical principles into your interactions with others? If you are a light, people will be drawn to you. Those who want to hear about Jesus and the Bible will keep coming back. Those who don’t will find someone else to commiserate with. They may come by now and then to taunt you, but they won’t make a practice of spending a lot of time in your company.
This is a natural segue into the kingdom of heaven belonging to those who are persecuted for righteousness. If we are persecuted for wearing a cross, talking about Jesus, living a righteous life based on the Bible, we are instructed to rejoice. We are in good company! The prophets were persecuted, too.
Jesus goes on to teach that His people are the salt of the earth. Salt enhances flavor, like making fruit sweeter. Salt preserves food. Salt melts ice. But salt can lose saltiness when it contains impurities. Then salt is useless and can be thrown out.
God’s people are also light. I mentioned this earlier. People are drawn to light. Actually, the eye is naturally drawn to light in darkness. So don’t hide your light. Live out the character of the Holy Spirit. Pursue righteousness. Display integrity. Be compassionate and loving. In other words, be different than the world! People will see and God will ultimately be glorified.
(the homiletics below led to the thoughts above)
Content (not sentence, direct verbiage from Scripture, fit on one line):
1.J saw crowds, went mountainside, sat, disciples
came(5:1)
2.He began teach them(6:2)
3.Blessed poor spirit, theirs koh(6:3)
4.Blessed mourn, comforted(6:4)
5.Blessed meek, inherit earth(6:5)
6.Blessed hunger thirst righteousness, filled(6:6)
7.Blessed merciful, shown mercy(6:7)
8.Blessed pure heart, see God(6:8)
9.Blessed peacemakers, called children God(6:9)
10.Blessed persecuted because righteousness, theirs
koh(6:10)
11.Blessed when ppl insult, persecute, falsely say evil
against you bec me(6:11)
12.Rejoice, great your reward heaven, for they persecuted
proph before you(6:12)
13.You salt earth, if loses saltiness, how made salty again,
no longer good, thrown out,trampled(5:13)
14.You light world, town on hill cannot be hidden(6:14)
15.Neither ppl light lamp put under bowl, put on stand
gives light everyone house(6:15)
16.let light shine, they see good deeds, glorify Father
heaven(6:16)
Divisions (run-on
sentence OK, direct verbiage from Scripture/Principles are Aims for each
Division – a truth about God, a truth about man, a truth about God’s
relationship to man; a sin to avoid,
promise to trust, example to follow, command to obey, truth to believe):
1.Jesus taught the disciples about being blessed(5:1-12)
Principle: God’s
blessings have eternal significance.
2.Jesus taught the disciples about who they are(5:13-16)
Principle: God’s
people have eternal identity in Him.
Subject Sentence (10-word
sentence with proper structure showing exactly where you are in Scripture):
Jesus taught the disciples about being blessed, salt and
light.
Aim (“To Cause My
Audience To…” Know, See, Learn, Understand, etc.):
TCMATK God’s people are blessed and should rejoice,
living as salt and light.
Application (not
yes or no question. Meant to bring about
heart change):
1.How are your earthly circumstances transforming your
thinking about eternal blessings? How
does learning about the suffering of (contemporary) saints encourage you?
2.What thinking or beliefs need to change for you to be
salt and light? Where has your salt lost
its saltiness? In what way are you
hiding your light and how will you display it?
The Big Idea (author’s
main purpose in writing; the one thing all the other things in the passage is
about; if you couldn’t talk about it, you would still understand the passage is
trying to convey this):
The blessed are salt and light.
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