Reading With the People of God #11 BlessedSample

Focus of the month: (The Beatitudes)

This month, we’ll start each day by reciting the opening Beatitudes from Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. As we reflect on this timeless and powerful introduction to the most famous sermon ever preached, our prayer is that it takes root deep in our hearts, reminding us of our identity and calling in Christ’s kingdom—and that by month’s end, we’ll have these words memorized and alive within us.

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

- Matthew 5:3-12

Introduction to The Sermon on the Mount

Moses was selected by God to bring to Him the people He had chosen to be His own. It was from a mountain setting that Moses was given the Law, summarized by the 10 Commandments, to conform God’s people to His mind and His will.

And the LORD said to Moses, I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to My words that he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. See Deuteronomy 18:15-19 for the full quote.

In the Sermon on the Mount, we see that one greater than Moses (Hebrews 3:3) has come and is on a mount sharing God’s mind and will with those soon to be living by grace through faith as a chosen people. As Jesus taught the people, echoes of the commandments can be heard, but the Teacher expounds on the Law. The people of grace will live with the commandments etched on their hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). External conformance to the Law will not suffice, God’s people must be pure of heart, gentle and merciful. Cleansed from the inside out, God’s people will live to please God and not themselves. Their standards will seemingly be upside down from the world; they will not be conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing of their minds (Romans 12:2).

In Matthew 4:17, Jesus says; Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. Now He is telling us in the Sermon on the Mount what citizens of that kingdom will be like; they will be like Jesus, the King of the Kingdom. Matthew 5-7 lays out principles for godly living and teaches us the things that God values.

* Introduction contributed by Jinet Troost