Matthew 5 - Blessed

Matthew 5:1-12 (NIV)

Today’s passage comes from Matthew 5, and up until this point Jesus has been announcing the Kingdom. And for Jews at this time, there would have been a wide range of expectations for what Jesus meant by “The Kingdom.” As word has spread about Jesus, people begin to gather around him to hear his teaching. They are being oppressed by the romans, they are dealing with Jewish tax collectors and royalty who have sold out to Rome, as well as religious leaders who are convinced that Messiah will only come once Israel gets it’s act together.

So when a crowd gathers on a mountain side to hear Jesus teach, he is speaking into all these narratives and presumptions about what the kingdom is supposed to look like.

You and I be also bring presumptions to the table when it comes to Jesus and his kingdom, we have our own ideas of what it should like like when Jesus is in charge. And if we are honest the words from Jesus’ sermon on the mount will challenge and shape us. Just like it has for all the generations before us.

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1. How do you react at Jesus saying, “Blessed are those who mourn?” There is blessedness in seeing the pain, seeing injustice and brokenness in the world. The comfort of God is available to us as we mourn. Where in your life do you need to acknowledge pain, injustice or brokenness?

2. The word righteousness here means "rightness," "justness"—that things would be right—in our lives and in the world. What are you seeing or experiencing today that needs to be set right? How do you thirst for righteousness?

3. Our desire for things to be set right cannot proceed without mercy, purity of heart, and the desire for peace. Where in your life can you extend mercy, where in your life can you be an agent of peace?

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