Today, we started the spring semester of the Soul Sisters, the women’s Bible study that I help with each spring and each fall. While we usually study a book of the Bible, we chose a different path this spring. For starters, last fall we studied the first book of the New Testament, Matthew, and it was difficult to complete the entire study during our twelve week window. Therefore, we chose to do a deeper dive into the Sermon on the Mount, one of the most studied passages of Scripture in the entire Canon.
After having had a month off from our study, from Thanksgiving until the first of the year, it’s time to get back in the rhythm of our daily routines. There are three times of the year that we drift into changes of habit and we have just completed the longest of the three time periods. The other two times are when our kids get out of school each May or early June and we try to adjust to a summer pattern, generally a time of holiday and less rigid timetables. Then, when kids return to school, we experience another period of adjustment as we get back into the fall routine of school. In fact, even when our school years are decades of years behind us, our minds and bodies still remember the pattern of behavior that was instilled in us during our childhoods.
So now that we are ready to get back into the weekly study, it is important that we pay attention to even the little things that God has to say to us through His word. The Sermon on the Mount is one of those areas of study. I believe that what God is trying to teach us in this section of Matthew is that we are set apart, holy, if you will, and God is reminding us that we are different from unbelievers – the unsaved.
Jesus is fond of giving us illustrations of how He expects us to act and live in the world. He reminds us in various ways that He believes in what theologians refer to as the “upside down kingdom.” The way that Jesus expects his followers to act is in direct opposition to the way that people of the world operate.
In the Sermon on the Mount, the message starts out with the Beatitudes. This small section of Scripture is a listing of the behavior that God expects from us, along with the reward that people with these attributes will receive. The problem is that there is confusion as to the audience that was to hear the sermon and when the rewards would be received.
Jesus starts his message being followed by a large crowd. However, He then removes Himself to a private area with his disciples and begins to teach them. So one of the first questions becomes who the real audience was. Was Jesus teaching His disciples or was the crowd continuing to follow Him and intended to hear the lesson?
But then, a bigger question needs to be asked. Are the Beatitudes things we are to aspire to or do we already have these traits as children of God? After all, Jesus doesn’t tell us how to acquire these attributes – merely we are to have them. The longer I study the Beatitudes, the more I believe that God has already endowed believers with these attributes. But we have to learn to develop our God given gifts and use them for the advancement of the kingdom of heaven. This is a perfect illustration of the “upside down kingdom.” After all, more is expected of us.
Tonight’s verse highlights the Beatitudes found in the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. The writer of this Gospel tells us, in Matthew 5:1-12, “Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
My encouragement this evening is that as children of God, made in His image, we possess God given gifts and it is important that we realize what an honor that is. My prayer is that we will endeavor to grow in our faith and to hone those gifts that we have already been endowed with as His children. After all, God promises us an eternal reward in the future. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…