March 6-13: Matthew 5:1-12 God Blesses Those...
There are at least four ways to understand the Beatitudes:
- They are a code of ethics for the disciples and a standard of conduct for all believers.
- They contrast Kingdom values (what is eternal) with worldly values (what is temporary).
- They contrast the superficial "faith" of the Pharisees with the real faith that Christ demands.
- They show how the Old Testament expectations will be fulfilled in the new Kingdom.
Which of these 4 best explains your understanding? And why?
Blessed refers to a state of favor with God, whether happy or not with one's circumstances. A person who is blessed may experience both joy and hope in times of mourning, hunger, brokenness and persecution.
Of the "blessed" attitudes in vs. 1-12, which have you experienced; either in yourself or someone else?
Feel free to share your own observations or ask questions you may have.
posted by DJ @ 10:15 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Picking from the four options I would say that Jesus' instruction here is more of a code of ethics for his disciples and a standard for all of us to live by. I think this frame of mind is how I've always perceived this passage, and it was interesting to consider the other options, but what I really took away from reading it this time that was new and different, sort of fell astray from any of these choices. That being the intended connection to sin in each verse. That the order in which he presents them is in correlation with how we should handle sin. First, we mourn and have sorrow for our sins and the sins of others. This is more passive, versus what it is followed by, actively combatting sin and looking to be filled with God's righteaousness. Then the outward demonstration of Christ, expressed in mercy, which can help with some of the worldly consequences of sin. Each of these seems to progress to yet another level of how we are to deal with sin, and this was new to me and gave me good insight into how I handle and deal with sin daily.
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I had not thought of this verse as a process through our sin (and moving towards God). Thank you for sharing your thoughts. This is really helpful.
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