Last week we saw how Jesus warned that those who chose to be his followers would be persecuted. Not only that, but this would happen to them specifically for trying to live their lives the way he taught. I suggested that this would happen because, despite the fact that Jesus’ teachings lead his followers to …
Continue reading “Blessed are those who are persecuted – now it’s personal.”
….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. We come now to the eighth (and some might argue …
Last week we considered what Jesus meant by the word “merciful”: both a willingness to forgive wrongs done to us and to show kindness to those in need. We also concluded that Jesus was not referring to people who forgive or show kindness on a handful of one-off occasions, but rather to people whose attitude …
Continue reading “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy – now it’s personal.”
Hi everyone. Let’s look at the second of the eight “blessed” statements Jesus made in Matthew 5. We’ve already seen, while looking at the previous verse, that “blessed” carried a meaning something along the lines of “This is good news for…” Who was Jesus referring to in this verse? Who were “those who mourn” in …
Continue reading “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted”
We’ve considered what Jesus was referring to when he said the “poor in spirit” were “blessed” and the “kingdom of heaven” was theirs. Now I want to think more specifically about what this means for you and me living in the 21st century. Are we poor in spirit? What would that even look like? Commonly …
Continue reading “Blessed are the poor in spirit – now it’s personal”
Hi everyone. Let’s begin our look at one of Jesus’ most famous teachings in Matthew 5:3. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This is the first of eight ‘blessed’ statements that Jesus made while speaking to his followers. Each of these statements presents a certain characteristic or quality …
Nihilist to Christian