A Whole New Way

Matthew 5:1-3


1Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."


As we dive back into our study of Matthew after a few weeks of holiday divergence, we are standing right in the heart of the message of Jesus as we read what has come to be known as The Sermon on the Mount." Recognize that the title is man made, not a part of the original text.

 When Jesus begins His public ministry, He does so at a time when the world is in turmoil. The Romans have a firm (and punishing) grip on almost everything. The Jews are somewhat disorganized and being governed by sects rather than by the Torah. The Pharisees have risen up as the ruling class among the Jews and the faith that they practice does not resemble the Judaism of the Old Testament very clearly. Now the Son of God comes onto the scene and His message is radical. His message is almost revolutionary. His message is counter to what anyone would expect.

 The Jews were looking for a Messiah. But they had defined Him in their own minds as someone who would free them from their Romans masters. They were looking for the world domination that had defined the reign of King David. God had another plan in mind.

 Jesus opens the pages of His ministry with words that certainly do not fall into line with world domination. He begins to preach a message of submission and humility. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." This is not what the Pharisees had in mind at all. "Poor in spirit" means that you are completely aware of your helplessness before a mighty God. "Poor in spirit" doesn't take over the world, but instead bows to serve. "Poor in spirit" recognizes the need for a Savior from the spiritual poverty that besets us all. Jesus has come to reshape our worldview in a whole new way. And the reward for that attitude? The kingdom of Heaven. It's totally worth it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv
Read more

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl
Read more