Mathew 5:3-16
Mat 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Mat 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Mat 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Mat 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Mat 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Mat 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Mat 5:10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Mat 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Mat 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.
Mat 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.
Mat 5:15 No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
Mat 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
The Essay on Light In The Darkness
We begin our assembly with the sign of the cross. In the name of the father… The theme reminds us that Jesus’ light shines upon us and we must radiate light and love to the people around us so it can lead us to the path to God. On the Epiphany, the arrival of the Magi highlights the beginning of Jesus’ mission to guide us to God in Heaven. God Moves in a Mysterious Way by William Cowper God ...
Observation of Matthew 5:3-16
My observation of Matthew 5:3-16 brings to the foreground a number of significant teachings by Jesus which outline both the physical and spiritual attributes required to enter into His Kingdom. Gromacki (1974) suggests these teachings are just as relevant today as in Christ’s day. To enter into the kingdom one must not have a Pharisaic type of righteousness; rather one must be clothed in the imputed righteousness of God.
There are a number of words which stand out as being reparative with “Blessed” being the one most dominant. Some would suggest that blessed means fortunate or happy in a sense that all will go well for those who live for God, this not being entirely correct as it fails to include the religious context, which should be closely linked with the promise enumerating the blessing and is thus best translated as “God blesses” (Osborne 2010) which means fundamentally, to be approved of or to find approval, hence when God blesses, he is approving (Carson 1978).
Augsburger (1982) suggests that the word “blessed” or the “supreme blessedness” incorporates the meaning of wholeness and of an holistic peace expressed by the Hebrew word shalom.
There is an exchange between God and man a give and take or rather a cause and effect, Jesus teaches that those who follow these laws (cause) will be blessed (approved by God the effect) and be given rewards (effect) for their obedience (cause) to Him. The list of rewards ranging from the Kingdom of heaven, inheriting the earth, receiving mercy, seeing God and being called the children of God.
There is a definite distinction between the use of the words “are the” and “are those” with “are you” the emphasis being on “you” The “you” directed directly at the disciples (Jackman & Philip 2009) for they are the ones who go out and proclaim the new kingdom is at hand and will be persecuted for doing so.
Mat 5:6 suggests that those who search for righteousness will be filled but there is a distinct possibility those who are righteous will be persecuted as suggested in Mat 5:10. Jesus compares the disciples to the prophets who had come before them, to serve as warning that they too would be persecuted as the prophets had. To be compared to the prophets would have been a great honour. The disciples are then compared to the salt of the earth and to the light of the world, two metaphors used by Jesus to distinguish between the general followers and the disciples for they are to be an example of how the life in His new kingdom is to be lived and to not hide the fact they are followers of Jesus. He does however utter a warning “if the salt has lost its taste, it is good for nothing, but to be thrown out to be trampled underfoot” a suggestion that if we are to turn away from God the same will happen to us.
The Essay on God Temptation Spirit Jesus
Temptation. Introduction: Temptation is a vast topic. The bible is filled with temptation from cover to cover, mostly about how God dealt with our problem of sin and giving us victory. God deals with temptation and we deal with it too. It is reality that everybody gets tempted from time to time by the devil. Jesus also was tempted but never sinned, temptations goal is to lure you away from God. ...
The use of the verb “they will” indicates an action in the future, in this instance suggesting a promise from God. The word “for” the conjunction between the “cause” and the “effect” in the first eight beatitudes is fairly dominant only to be used on two further occasions in Mat 5:12 and Mat 5:13. The conjunction “but” also seems to precede two negative actions on two occasions in Mat 5:13 (has lost and thrown out).
To summarise my observations on Mat 5:3-16 it could be said that those of us who humbly submit ourselves entirely to our God the Father, obey the teachings of His Son Jesus Christ and be filled with the Holy spirit, to work within us through times of trial, and to be a guiding light to the world by being a living example of the order of the new kingdom we will someday be united with our Father in His everlasting kingdom.
An outline of Matthew 5:3-16
Mat 5:3-16 begins with the Beatitudes, these reveal the moral and spiritual qualities of those who would become members of God’s Kingdom. The Beatitudes or blessings are each correlated with a condition (Carson 1978) with the reward outweighing the condition, As suggested by Carson (1978) “each thing promised grows naturally out of the character described, for instance the person who hungers and thirsts for righteousness is filled with righteousness, the merciful are shown mercy etc”.
The first four blessings relate to those who depend entirely on God, those who are poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek and those who hunger. The following three outline those who live entirely for God and how attitude must lead to action, they are the merciful, the pure in heart and the peacemaker the remainder of the blessings refer to those who are persecuted for God, giving up their lives for Him. Wiersbe (2007) suggests that “the character of a Christian is character that flows from within” building on ones character one is to portray the life of a Christian, in Matthew 5:13-16 we are taught by way of metaphor how those who live in his kingdom are supposed to be by way of being a light to the world, by way of being steadfast and honourable (the salt of the earth).
The Essay on The Image Of Jesus
The image of Jesus can be viewed from many different perspectives. Each individual person has developed his or her own images of Jesus the Christ. Every individual has been shaped or formed in some way, whether they comprehend it or not. We have all had individuals enter and exit throughout our lives that have made a significant impact on us, explaining who we are and our future destiny. Being a ...
As Osborne (2010) suggests Christians are characterised by making a difference by both word and deed.
An outline of Mathew 5-7
The Sermon on the Mount is possibly one of the best known and most taught scriptures, divided into three main outlines, the attitude of the disciples (Mat 5:1-48) the character of the disciples (Mat 6:1-34) and the integrity of the disciples (Mat 7:1-29).
As suggested by Osborne (2010) it be may be considered as Jesus’ magnum opus.
“When Jesus saw the crowds he went up the mountain and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak and taught them saying (Mat. 5:1-2, NRSV).
Augsburger (1982) suggests this is the beginning of the Jesus’ training for his disciples, outlining the lifestyle and characteristics demanded of them as citizens of His new Kingdom.
* The Attitude of the Disciples begins with the Beatitudes (Matthew. 5:3-12, NRSV) emphasising God’s blessings and promises. Jesus tells us this to motivate us and remind us to serve the Lord out of love and not for reward. In Mat 5:21-48 each new teaching begins with the words “you have heard it said” suggesting these teachings have been taught previously, Jesus then Said “but I say to you” suggesting a reinterpretation of the laws presented on Mount Sinai.
* The Character of the Disciples (Mat. 6:1-34) begins with a warning, that when practising ones piety this should not be done to gain favour in the community but rather be practised internally to serve God. Giving is to be an act of worship and compassion, not a statement of worth. Prayer should be to seek favour of God and not of men practised behind closed doors praying to the father in secret. Carson (1978) suggests the remainder of Mat.6 serves as a reminder that life in the kingdom will not be a simple one, but one of many hurdles and many tests.
* The Integrity of the Disciples (Mat. 7:1-29) sums up Jesus’ teachings on the Mount He teaches us not to judge and to persevere in our search for God. Jesus tells us there is only one path leading to the kingdom a narrow one requiring unquestionable commitment our lives committed to Christ should bear witness to his testimony and our faith should be built on solid foundations (Osborn 2010)
The Essay on Adam And Eve God Sin Jesus
1. Eden and the Expulsion a. ) Eden, interpreted through the reversal of the curses, is given to Adam and Eve, like a gift from God. Eden offers them food, "and the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out from the ground - trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food," (Genesis 2: 9) and a place to live a simple life. Adam's task is to work the land, and in return he would be provided ...
A single sentence summary of Mathew 5:3-16
For those who submit themselves entirely to God, for those who commit themselves to do his works, for those who humble themselves and who are persecuted for the will of God and for those who show the way to the lost there will be everlasting reward in the kingdom of God.
Five significant words
1. God: The creator of all things. The beginning and the end. All things created are for his glory and are to magnify his holy name without him there is no Kingdom.
God the father sent his son to give us the new law and a new covenant, to die for us so we may have eternal life with god the father in his kingdom.
2. Kingdom: Our divine resting place, to join the saints who went before us, to be called home by our creator and to live with him in his kingdom and to worship him continually. The kingdom given to those as a gift for those who glorify his name and make it known here on earth.
3. Blessed: To receive God’s blessing is to be approved by God, to be approved by God we must succumb to the challenges he has laid out before us, humble ourselves to him and not to the world, to observe the laws God has given us through Moses and to obey the laws of his son Jesus Christ who brought to us the New Covenant. To be approved by God there is no greater blessing.
4. Reward: Our reward from God is to be called the children of God, our reward will be to see God in heaven, our reward will be to inherit the earth but the best reward of all will be the kingdom of heaven.
5. Light: You are the light of the world, be an example to those around you, show them that there is no greater God than God himself, be an example and set the precedence of how we as humans aught live according to the will of God. As Jesus is the light of all people the light shinning in the darkness so too are we to shine so that no darkness will overcome us.
References
Augsburger, MS 1982, The Preachers Commentary: Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN.
The Essay on God Theory Evolution Light
Creationism is the theory that man, the earth, and the rest of the universe was originally created rather than randomly exploding from nothingness into chance existence. Of all the generations thus far to inhabit the Earth, we have the least excuse for not recognizing the quiet presence of The Scientific Mathematician who set everything into motion around us. We should be in awe, not presumptuous ...
Carson, DA 1987, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount: And His confrontation with the world, Backer Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI.
Gromacki, RG 1974, New Testament Survey: Backer Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI.
Jackman, D & Philip, W 2009, Teaching Matthew: Unlocking the Gospel of Matthew for the Bible Teacher, Christian Focus Publications, Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland.
Osborne, GR 2010, Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Matthew, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI.
The Holy Bible (New Revised Standard Version) 2009, Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN.
Wiersbe, WW, 2007, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: The New Testament, David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO.
