Matt 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when
He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2
Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: 3
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be
comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall
inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. 7
Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. 8
Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. 9
Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for
righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute
you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your
reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt
loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to
be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14
You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket,
but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see
your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. 17
"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not
come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly,
I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no
means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19
Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches
men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and
teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness
exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means
enter the kingdom of heaven.
What a great blessing it is to be taught by Jesus Christ.
What a great blessing it is to see and understand Jesus
desires His disciples to be blessed.
Now, understand most of the kings of the earth who have
ever lived cared only for what their subjects could give them – and they could
have cared less about the condition of their subjects. In fact, many, and
probably even most earthly rulers have thought it best to not only keep their
subjects down mentally, weak physically, and impoverished economically, but to
also keep them in a downtrodden state spiritually, so that all their weakness
remains continually apparent even to themselves, lest they rise up at some
point to oppose the one who rules over them. Despotism has always been the
pre-dominate trademark of the rule of man. And despotism is not old-fashioned
or ancient; it was practiced more in the 20th century than in any prior time in
history.
Consider Jesus the ‘anti-despot.’
By His glorious teaching to the down-trodden He begins to
unfold and reveal the heart of God for His people. This, He says, is the way to
live a blessed life – and this is the chief message of His sermon on the mount.
How fitting then, that Jesus would begin by teaching how
blessed we may be according to the principles of God’s heart, as revealed
through this message. Everything He teaches is a paradox compared to the
thinking of man. It is inside-out and upside-down, and yet it is immediately
the most comforting and blessed set of words ever known to man.
-Pastor Bill
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