When you are poor in spirit, then God can fill you with His riches – the virtues of Christ. Poverty of spirit shouldn’t be confused with being timid or shy. Sermon on the Mount, commentary. Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount - Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. Who is likely to be more successful in the long run? Chapter 5. God will repay you, and more, for your faithfulness. These are signs of life, not a means to GET life. Regardless of what happens to you on earth, yours is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. At the same time, we acknowledge that only with God at work within us can we put Jesus’ teachings into practice on the job. Each brings a blessing from God. It can be very challenging to put our power at work under God’s control. Scholars have debated which of the two accounts is primary. not the world 7:24, 26 ("these words of mine"), 28 ("When Jesus had finished saying these things"). That is a blessing indeed! So we commit ourselves to honesty about ourselves. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." What a great promise to look forward to! “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. The world of this sermon was a real and sinful world, a world of tax collectors, unjust officials, hypocrites, thieves preying on the weak and poor, and false prophets. The Theology of Work Bible Commentary is an in-depth Bible study tool put together by a group of biblical scholars, pastors, and workplace Christians to help you discover what the whole Bible--from Genesis to Revelation--says about work. Paul captures the first aspect perfectly in Romans 12:3. 5:1 Seeing the multitudes, he went up onto the mountain. Matthew 5:1-2, Jesus ascends the mount and prepares to speak. Study the bible online using commentary on Matthew 5 and more! Giving in to things like jealously, arrogance, suspicious thoughts about others, getting offended, selfish ambition, self-indulgence, gossip, etc., leads to unrest for yourself and those you interact with. Here’s the complete text of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1–12, ESV): Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. INTRODUCTION TO THE BEATITUDES Matthew 5:1-12 INTRODUCTION The Sermon on the Mount is the greatest lesson or sermon ever delivered on human conduct. Meekness is one of the fruits of the Spirit, and you get it when you are obedient to do God’s will. 5:11-12). Matthew 5:6. It is a sorrow. The Beatitudes start off a section in Matthew called the Sermon on the Mount. And who shall stand in his holy place? “You turn us back to dust…our years come to an end like a sigh” (Ps. Chapter 5. In his story of the baptism of Jesus he shows us Jesus realizing that the hour has struck, that the call to action has come, and that Jesus must go … But God's promise of the kingdom is a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1). The world of this sermon was a real and sinful world, a world of tax collectors, unjust officials, hypocrites, thieves preying on the weak and poor, and false prophets. Then He opened His mouth and taught them…” (Matthew 5:1-2). 5. Know the Principles (Matthew 5:1-12) Jesus first teaches us the eight (nine) principles of the Kingdom of God better known as the Beatitudes. You are free to share (to copy, distribute and transmit the work), and remix (to adapt the work) for non-commercial use only, under the condition that you must attribute the work to the Theology of Work Project, Inc., but not in any way that suggests that it endorses you or your use of the work. You are not conceited, therefore making others have a hard time with you. When Jesus ascends a mountain and begins to address the crowds (verses 1-2), the reader is expected to make the connection to another teacher (Moses), and another mountain (Sinai). Sin and impurity come between you and your ability to see God. We begin today an eight-week series on the Beatitudes of Matthew 5:312. 5:1 Seeing the multitudes, he went up onto the mountain. Lessons include scripture references, reflections questions and prayer. These kinds of mercy may cost you an advantage you could otherwise have taken. Verses 1-48. If you’ve got a Ph.D. or if you’re a janitor, you’ll pay the same price for the vehicle. These beatitudes are evidences of God’s grace, not a checklist to get righteous. Our profit structure has to be much tighter around the mean, and we have to communicate enough value that a person will pay us a fair return.”[1]. Christ begins his sermon on the mount, Matthew 5:1, Matthew 5:2.The beatitudes, Matthew 5:3-12.The disciples the salt of the earth, and light of the world, Matthew 5:13-16.Christ is not come to destroy, but confirm and fulfill, the Law and the Prophets, Matthew 5:17-19.Of the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, Matthew 5:20. Thus they explained away its spiritual meaning. Through him, our sins are forgiven and we ourselves receive aid by the gift of God’s spirit (1 Corinthians 12). It aims to produce in us a genuine poverty of spirit. Many assume the term means weak, tame, or deficient in courage. He had neither an inflated self-image nor an inferiority complex, but a servant’s heart based on what Paul would later call “sober judgment” (Romans 12:3). Some businesses have found expressing sorrow to be an effective way to operate. The reaction of the platoon was amazing. [1] Virginia Mason Hospital found similar results from acknowledging their role in patient deaths.[2]. This document has been generated from XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language) source with RenderX XEP Formatter, version 3.7.3 Client Academic. Mercy, in all these senses, is the driving force of Christ’s incarnation, death, and resurrection. Men and women who are hungry for power are often lonely people. In Matthew, the Eight Beatitudes were delivered by Christ during the Sermon on the Mount; in Luke, a shorter version is delivered in the lesser-known Sermon on the Plain. Note that persecution arising from unrighteous behavior is not blessed. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Then I looked to my right and saw 21-year-old Sergeant Reid B. Zachary. The more money they have, the less financially secure they feel. “After the event, I called my platoon together in a little bombed out crater, and I apologized to them. The character of the kingdom community is perfected when Jesus returns, “coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matt. The beatitudes, statements of characteristics and blessing, are part of the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus spoke and is recorded in Matthew.Each beatitude looks at different circumstances of life and how all Christians are blessed through their faith. It is the opposite of arrogance. Human life is a series of choices, and many of these involve vocation. If you are the president of a trade association, and you speak out against an unfair subsidy your members are receiving, don’t expect them to re-elect you. He was the special person that the *Jews had been waiting for. We will devote almost a week to each one. Isaiah 61:2-3 says that Jesus came with glad tidings: “To comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning.”. For me, it was wrong to take advantage of the least able, a clear violation of the biblical mandate in the book of Proverbs. If it were not for God’s grace, no one would actually be blessed. You don’t know how to “perform what is good,” as Paul says, even though that is what you want with all your heart. [1] This word affirms a state of blessing that already exists. It means that you make sure that you are not filling yourself with so many other things that you can’t hear or see how He is guiding you. Business, education, law, service industries, medicine, government--wherever you work, in whatever capacity, the Scriptures have something to say about it. Then He opened His mouth and taught them…” (Matthew 5:1-2). MATTHEW 5: v. 2 Here Jesus is teaching the disciples. Being tempted to these sins, and even unintended manifestations of these sins in thoughts or words does not make your heart impure. Matthew 5:17-48 deals with the relationship of Jesus Christ to the law Matthew 6 deals with our relation ship with God, and Matthew 7 deals with our relationship with man. It shouldn’t matter what people say or do to you. With a pure, thankful heart you see God in everything. 21:12-13). It’s the work of a moment, when you repent and give your heart to Jesus. Location in the Bible . Have you received the blessing of being filled with right relationships? It does not appear in the beatitudes. Text: Matthew 5:9 Sermon Series: Beatitudes (Matthew 5) Sermon The Tragedy of Double Vision. Matthew 5:3. The appointed gospel is Matthew 5… In fact, success represents the 1 percent of your work that only comes from the 99 percent that is called failure.”[1] Organizations don’t have the opportunity to learn if mistakes are not brought forward. Each principle is a key to living a godly life. (Later in this article, we will explore Jesus’ method for conflict resolution in Matt. This accords with Isaiah 66:2, “But this is the person to whom I will look, to the humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at my word.”  Jesus references “the poor” fifteen times in the gospels. But it does not mean that we should deny our strengths and abilities. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, unless otherwise specified. Godly sorrow comes when we see our true nature in the light of the Word of God and see how short we fall in relation to divine nature – God’s nature. 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,. ActiveChristianity® by Brunstad Christian Church aims to show how God’s word challenges and empowers followers of Jesus to live 100% according to God’s will, so we no longer need to fall in sin, but can come to a life of victory. But he discovered that the selling practices in his automobile dealerships were leading to unfair treatment of poorer customers. 18:17-19.). But overcoming these lusts leads to peace from the demands of the flesh. INTRODUCTION. The Spirit’s reason for showing us this mercy is simply that God loves us (John 3:16). Toro, the manufacturer of tractors and lawn equipment, adopted a practice of showing concern to people injured while using their products. In ancient Judaism, righteousness meant “to acquit, vindicate, restore to a right relationship.”[1] The righteous are those who maintain right relationships—with God and with the people around them. The Beatitudes are followed by a summary statement of the basic character of the Christian’s life as salt and light. Home| Outline| Commentary| Background| Sources; Matthew 5:1-12, the blessings of the way. We know how difficult it is to work with people who cannot learn, grow, or accept correction because they are trying to maintain an inflated picture of themselves. But Jesus includes the possibility of “persecution for righteousness’ sake.” This arises from the previous seven, because the forces that oppose God’s ways still hold great power in the world. Luke renders this as “blessed are the poor” (Luke 6:20). Thus the beatitudes are first of all declarations of God’s grace. On the basis of right relationships, those who commit infractions are acquitted of guilt. “Clean hands and pure hearts” denote integrity, singleness of devotion, undivided loyalty. It does mean that you get your strength from God, not from yourself, to be quiet when you should be quiet, and bold when you need to be bold. When these fruits grow in you, you will spread peace like a river around you. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” Matthew 5:7. Jesus does not say, for example, “Only the pure in heart may enter the kingdom of heaven.” This is good news because the beatitudes are impossibly hard to fulfill. That in itself makes you a blessed person. As long as you have this hunger, then, according to Jesus’ own words, you will be filled. The content. If there is some conscious sin or impurity that clings to you, that you are not willing to overcome, then you cannot see God. Consider the second beatitude, “Blessed are those who mourn” (Matt. Produced by TOW Project, Theology of Work Project Online Materials, 10 Key Points About Work in the Bible That Every Christian Should Know, Beyond Rank and Power: What Philemon Tells Us About Leadership, “Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit, for Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:3), “Blessed Are Those Who Mourn, for They Will be Comforted” (Matthew 5:4), http://ethix.org/2007/10/01/caring-about-people-employees-and-customers, http://ethix.org/2011/01/11/dr-gary-s-kaplan-determined-steps-to-transformation, “Blessed Are the Meek, for They Will Inherit the Earth” (Matthew 5:5), http://ethix.org/2008/10/01/the-truth-as-i-know-it, “Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness” (Matthew 5:6), “Blessed Are the Merciful, for They Will Receive Mercy” (Matthew 5:7), “Blessed Are the Pure in Heart, for They Will See God” (Matthew 5:8), http://ethix.org/2004/04/01/ethics-at-flow-automotive, “Blessed Are the Peacemakers, for They Will Be Called Children of God” (Matt 5:9), “Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted for Righteousness’ Sake” (Matt 5:10), An Orienting Community That Practices the Ways of God’s Kingdom: Acts 2:42-4:32, Working in a Fallen World (Psalms 90, 101), Vocation in the Context of Community (Acts 13:1-3), The Kingdom of Heaven Has Come Near (Matthew), Working as Citizens of God's Kingdom (Matthew 1-4), The Kingdom of Heaven at Work in Us (Matthew 5-7), "Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit, for Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 5:3), "Blessed Are Those Who Mourn, for They Will be Comforted" (Matthew 5:4), "Blessed Are the Meek, for They Will Inherit the Earth" (Matthew 5:5), "Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness" (Matthew 5:6), "Blessed Are the Merciful, for They Will Receive Mercy" (Matthew 5:7), "Blessed Are the Pure in Heart, for They Will See God" (Matthew 5:8), "Blessed Are the Peacemakers, for They Will Be Called Children of God" (Matt 5:9), "Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted for Righteousness' Sake" (Matt 5:10), Salt and Light in the World of Work (Matthew 5:13-16), Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread (Matthew 6:11), Store Your Treasure in Heaven, Not on Earth (Matthew 6:19-34), “Do Not Judge, So That You May Not Be Judged” (Matthew 7:1-5), Do to Others as You Would Have Them Do to You: The Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12), Paying Taxes (Matthew 17:24-27 and 22:15-22), Living in the New Kingdom (Matthew 18-25), The Laborers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16), Parable of the Two Sons (Matthew 21:28-32), Parable of the Tenants (Matthew 21:33-41), The Great Commandment is a Great Framework (Matthew 22:34-40), Parable of the Faithful Servant (Matthew 24:45-51), The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), Jesus' Death and Resurrection (Matthew 27-28), Theology of Work Commentary Volume 4: Matthew through Acts, Theology of Work Bible Commentary - One Volume Edition, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. 9 of Matthew 5:1-12, Thomas Watson because we ’ ve been able to manage our costs with. 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