Blessings and Attitudes
Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” Matthew 25:34
Before Jesus began His ministry, He went out to a mountainside and prayed all night. We don’t know all that He prayed, but He probably asked His Father to help Him as He chose His disciples for that’s what he did when morning came (Luke 6:12-16).
The following day Jesus gave the teaching we call the Sermon on the Mount. A crowd gathered on a plateau or plain just below him. The mountainside, which made a good amphitheater, enabled Him to deliver His message to the “great number of people” who had gathered (Luke 6:17-18).
Jesus sat to preach (Matthew 5:1). Note the preacher at that time sat while the congregation stood. The disciples may have sat at his feet, a sign that they were His disciples.
We call the first part of His sermon The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12). The word beatitude means “supreme blessedness or happiness.” The list of Beatitudes is sometimes referred to as the Ten Commandments of the New Testament. The Old Testament’s Ten Commandments consisted of a list of do’s and don’ts, but the Beatitudes, sometimes called Be Attitudes, consisted of character traits—who we are versus what we do.
Jesus’ words probably sounded encouraging. All those blessings! “Blessed” is sometimes translated “Happy.” But wait, what’s that about being poor, mourning, being meek and pure? I can be a peacemaker, but that next one—persecuted?
Did the disciples wonder what they had signed up for? Do we wonder what we’ve signed up for? We want to be happy, blessed and rewarded as God promised. But does Jesus really expect us to live like that? It seems impossible!
Yes, it is impossible without the Holy Spirit living inside us. These traits are not temporary feelings; they describe a spiritual transformation that begins when we are born again, made new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). These Be Attitudes are produced in us as fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
Have you asked God to make you a new creation? Are you living the blessed, impossible life by the power of the Holy Spirit?
DIG DEEPER:
The list of Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-14 and Luke 6:20-22 differ. What did Matthew include that Luke did not? Why do you think their lists are different?
When Jesus Christ returns in glory, what will He give to the “sheep” on His right hand? Why? Which attributes described in the Beatitudes had they displayed? Do you display the attributes described in the Beatitudes?
Read Matthew 5:20-41. How does Jesus go to the heart of sin when He says, “You have heard, but I say…?” How does He interpret the Law? Do you see a need to change the way you live? Are you more concerned with behavior or character?
Nancy J. Baker