Scriputre Reading: Matthew 5:3
Key Verse: Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5: 3).
Meditation: Most sermons preached on the beatitudes come across as strong exhortations to produce this list of eight virtues. Since most of us fall short, we generally leave church feeling guilty or spiritually inferior. But Jesus did not address His disciples in terms of super expectations.
The people Jesus called “blessed” in verses 1-4 were the small, the weak and the defenseless people of His day. These were people who actually could do very little, humanly speaking, to change their status. He actually declared those who were humble minded, who mourn and who are meek as blessed without demanding anything from them. Jesus was not affirming their social status in life, but by calling them blessed’ He was actually saying, “I am on your side,”“I am with you.” This word, "blessed" in Hebrew suggests a person who is loved, chosen and who is inseparably linked to God. It is both a word of affirmation and exclamation from God himself.
Jesus’ radical teaching ran counter-culture to the thinking of His day as well as to ours today. *The social upper class of Jesus’ day, and even the priestly autocracy, had been invaded and conquered by Greek pagan culture. Much like our present western culture, they taught that the rich and successful were truly blessed of God. Jesus corrects this distorted teaching about blessedness by informing us that the “poor in spirit’ the humble-minded people who readily admit their need for God, are the truly blessed. People who quickly admit they are completely helpless without God’s help are the very ones who will inherit it all at the end.
Thought for the Day: The truly blessed people are those who feel their spiritual poverty deep enough to make them cry out to God.
* I have a problem with this, the Greeks were not to blame for "Success=blessed" thinking.
It can be found in the keeping of the laws in the Halacha. In this collection there are laws found in the Old Testament as well as Talmudic and Rabbinic Laws.
Jesus often referred to the Pharisees as keepers of the law.(Luke 11:37-44)
They were so knowledgeable about the words that they over looked the heart of their Creator.
In several places Jesus speaks to their pride. Even Paul was a Pharisee. He was trying to stop the church because he felt the members were violating the Laws. (Galatians 1:11-15)
Key Verse: Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5: 3).
The people Jesus called “blessed” in verses 1-4 were the small, the weak and the defenseless people of His day. These were people who actually could do very little, humanly speaking, to change their status. He actually declared those who were humble minded, who mourn and who are meek as blessed without demanding anything from them. Jesus was not affirming their social status in life, but by calling them blessed’ He was actually saying, “I am on your side,”“I am with you.” This word, "blessed" in Hebrew suggests a person who is loved, chosen and who is inseparably linked to God. It is both a word of affirmation and exclamation from God himself.
Jesus’ radical teaching ran counter-culture to the thinking of His day as well as to ours today. *The social upper class of Jesus’ day, and even the priestly autocracy, had been invaded and conquered by Greek pagan culture. Much like our present western culture, they taught that the rich and successful were truly blessed of God. Jesus corrects this distorted teaching about blessedness by informing us that the “poor in spirit’ the humble-minded people who readily admit their need for God, are the truly blessed. People who quickly admit they are completely helpless without God’s help are the very ones who will inherit it all at the end.
| Luke 18: 9-14 |
Thought for the Day: The truly blessed people are those who feel their spiritual poverty deep enough to make them cry out to God.
* I have a problem with this, the Greeks were not to blame for "Success=blessed" thinking.
It can be found in the keeping of the laws in the Halacha. In this collection there are laws found in the Old Testament as well as Talmudic and Rabbinic Laws.
Jesus often referred to the Pharisees as keepers of the law.(Luke 11:37-44)
They were so knowledgeable about the words that they over looked the heart of their Creator.
In several places Jesus speaks to their pride. Even Paul was a Pharisee. He was trying to stop the church because he felt the members were violating the Laws. (Galatians 1:11-15)
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