The Beatitudes (part 1)
Continuing through Matthew we arrive at chapter 5, the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. The first part of the sermon is commonly called the "beatitudes." It is a series of nine pronouncements of blessings upon people with particular traits. The blessings are spoken difinativly, but the corresponding promise for each blessing is to come in the future. The beatitudes call for a radically different set of traits for people than those considered normal in the world. What is more surprising, each of these traits is to be rewarded by God. This type of discourse is very similar to the Kingdom teachings found in the Latter Prophets of the Old Testament. These teachings describe an "upside-down" world where the natural and social "laws" of this world are overturned and a better world is granted as a replacement. With this in mind, the beatitudes should be viewed two ways; as an ethical teachings for right behaviors and traits; and as a promise of the coming Kingdom of God that will completely change the world we know. So on to the beatitudes...
Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
To be "poor" is to be needy. The poor cannot rely on their own work or ability to gain more in life. They are completely dependent on the grace of those who can help them. To be "spiritually poor" is to recognize one's total dependence upon God for salvation. Jesus tells these people that those who see their utter need for God will be in the Kingdom of God.
Contemporary Expression
To be poor is spirit is the opposite of being spiritually prideful. We must always recognize that we have no standing before God apart from what he was given us gracefully. We do not stand before God because of our own merit, to do so would make us spiritually wealthy. We should never act as though we have "earned" a place before God, rather we should be humble to all, those who know God and those who don't. To believe that we do not have a total need for God is to completely miss the Kingdom of God, a place in the universe totally governed by God.
Matthew 5:4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
What type of mourning is Jesus speaking of here? Building on the previous blessing, Jesus here speaks of those who mourn over their own inability to reach spiritual achievement. Those who despair over their own spiritual shortcomings will comforted when they see the grace of God.
Contemporary Expression
It is not enough to recognize our spiritual shortcomings, we must mourn over that fact. Knowing our true state should be emotionally and even physically distressing to us. However, when we reach this point we must lose ourselves in hopeless despair, but look to the hope in Christ we have and the assurance that our spiritual debts have been repaid by him, enabling us to rise above our former state.
Matthew 5:5 "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Spiritual humility to should lead to total humility. The irony here is that those who are meek, who act as though they are the most insignificant, will eventually have dominion over the who earth.
Contemporary Expression
As stated earlier, there are many Christians who are prideful, arrogant, and boastful. A quick survey of the "Christian" TV personalities proves this. These people tend to speak big about taking the world for Christ, envisioning themselves as co-regents with him over the whole world. This behavior is completely antithetical to what Jesus teaches his followers, and according to this text, will leave them in the lurch when God takes the earth back.
Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Hunger and thirst are the primary human drives. Therefore they are indicative of our most basic desires. Jesus is here telling us to make our primary drive righteousness. Righteousness is the same as holiness, it means set apart for the service of God and to be more like him. If we are not naturally righteous, we must ask God for it. God will make us righteous through his grace by conditioning us over time to become more like him. If we hunger for righteousness, if it is our main drive in life, God will grant it over time.
Contemporary Expression
Righteousness is not normally a theme of contemporary church teaching, however Jesus tells us it should be our main priority. Our main drive in life should not be intellectual achievement, wealth, prosperity, "success" by any definition, or anything but the righteousness of God. Do you hunger for righteousness above all else?
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Friday, May 23, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Teachings of Jesus
I have decided to post my inductive study of Jesus' teachings that I am going through at church with the college class. This will be an ongoing series of posts as I study through the gospels. The main purpose of this series is to explain the sometimes enigmatic teachings of Jesus in a short, understandable way. Since the goal is to be accessible, I will not post my research or unnecessary historical information. I'm starting in Matthew and will continue through the four Gospels, skipping over repetition of pericopes.
The Temptation of Jesus
Matthew 4:3-10 And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." (4) But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (5) Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple (6) and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, "'He will command his angels concerning you,' and "'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'" (7) Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" (8) Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. (9) And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." (10) Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'"
The first temptation was for Jesus to have a ministry of provision. A person would not break a 40-day fast with bread, so it would not make sense for the temptation to be an appeal to Jesus' hunger. It makes more sense that in his weakened state, Jesus could literally relate to the starving multitudes of the land. The temptation to turn the rocks into loaves of bread was for their sake, not Jesus'. He was being tempted to meet the physical needs of the people, however Jesus knows that their greatest need is not food, but God. A ministry of material provision would fail to meet people's greatest need.
Contemporary Expression
Jesus later commands his followers to meet physical needs and be generous with all people. There is no rational not to help the needy, however all giving must be done in the name of God with the purpose of bring those helped closer to God.
The second temptation is one of religious spectacle. The temple would be filled with people seeking to "encounter" God; they would be ripe for turning into followers if Jesus would simply "wow" them with a sign. Jesus knows that the type of follower who is guided by "signs" is fickle and would lack any real commitment.
Contemporary Expression
Real life is not filled with wonders and signs. Even in the Bible they are quite rare and rarely had lasting effects. Faith that is built around wondrous signs cannot be sustained during the long periods when signs are missing. It is far better to train oneself to see God working in the world in its "normal" course.
The third temptation is of religio-political dominance. In Luke's account, Satan asserts that he has all authority in Earth, in Matthew this is implied. In neither account does Jesus refute this claim. Although Jesus would be able to exercise complete authority over the earth (ie. laws, morals, etc.) he would have to make himself subordinate to Satan. Jesus sees this as unacceptable, for submission to God is what matters above else.
Contemporary Expression
Many Christians today believe that political and social domination of our country or the entire world is the ultimate goal of the Church. However this teaching rejects that idea. People's hearts do not turn to God when the law is changed to reflect religious morals. Passing "Christian" legislation or electing "God's" candidates to public office usually turns people off to God. Domination is a desire of Satan. God desires responsive love from the world, which historically has been hindered by political domination (ie. Constantine's empire, the feudal empires of Europe, missionary domination in Africa and Asia, etc.)
Jesus Defines His Ministry
Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
After being tempted to pigeon-hole his ministry by the three themes offered by Satan, Jesus reveals what his true ministry is to be, to usher in the Kingdom of God (God's will and reign), make it accessible to people, and urge them to repent. Repentance in the teaching of Jesus best means to deliberately turn away from the earthly kingdom and consciously turn to the kingdom of God. His teachings will illuminate how this plays out in the lives of people.
Contemporary Expression
Jesus' words "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," must be the center of our lives and ministry. Everything we do in our own lives and in any form of ministry must be centered on these words. This is our mantra.
Jesus Defines His Followers
Matthew 4:19 And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
Jesus' first command to follow him contain the promise of mission. His followers will bring others to him.
Contemporary Expression
Our special relationship with God as followers of Jesus is anchored in our purpose, to gain more followers. Like ancient Israel, who was chosen to be an elect nation for the purpose of bring the world to God, we too find our identity as Christians in our purpose- to bring God to others.
The Temptation of Jesus
Matthew 4:3-10 And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." (4) But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (5) Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple (6) and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, "'He will command his angels concerning you,' and "'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'" (7) Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" (8) Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. (9) And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." (10) Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'"
The first temptation was for Jesus to have a ministry of provision. A person would not break a 40-day fast with bread, so it would not make sense for the temptation to be an appeal to Jesus' hunger. It makes more sense that in his weakened state, Jesus could literally relate to the starving multitudes of the land. The temptation to turn the rocks into loaves of bread was for their sake, not Jesus'. He was being tempted to meet the physical needs of the people, however Jesus knows that their greatest need is not food, but God. A ministry of material provision would fail to meet people's greatest need.
Contemporary Expression
Jesus later commands his followers to meet physical needs and be generous with all people. There is no rational not to help the needy, however all giving must be done in the name of God with the purpose of bring those helped closer to God.
The second temptation is one of religious spectacle. The temple would be filled with people seeking to "encounter" God; they would be ripe for turning into followers if Jesus would simply "wow" them with a sign. Jesus knows that the type of follower who is guided by "signs" is fickle and would lack any real commitment.
Contemporary Expression
Real life is not filled with wonders and signs. Even in the Bible they are quite rare and rarely had lasting effects. Faith that is built around wondrous signs cannot be sustained during the long periods when signs are missing. It is far better to train oneself to see God working in the world in its "normal" course.
The third temptation is of religio-political dominance. In Luke's account, Satan asserts that he has all authority in Earth, in Matthew this is implied. In neither account does Jesus refute this claim. Although Jesus would be able to exercise complete authority over the earth (ie. laws, morals, etc.) he would have to make himself subordinate to Satan. Jesus sees this as unacceptable, for submission to God is what matters above else.
Contemporary Expression
Many Christians today believe that political and social domination of our country or the entire world is the ultimate goal of the Church. However this teaching rejects that idea. People's hearts do not turn to God when the law is changed to reflect religious morals. Passing "Christian" legislation or electing "God's" candidates to public office usually turns people off to God. Domination is a desire of Satan. God desires responsive love from the world, which historically has been hindered by political domination (ie. Constantine's empire, the feudal empires of Europe, missionary domination in Africa and Asia, etc.)
Jesus Defines His Ministry
Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
After being tempted to pigeon-hole his ministry by the three themes offered by Satan, Jesus reveals what his true ministry is to be, to usher in the Kingdom of God (God's will and reign), make it accessible to people, and urge them to repent. Repentance in the teaching of Jesus best means to deliberately turn away from the earthly kingdom and consciously turn to the kingdom of God. His teachings will illuminate how this plays out in the lives of people.
Contemporary Expression
Jesus' words "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," must be the center of our lives and ministry. Everything we do in our own lives and in any form of ministry must be centered on these words. This is our mantra.
Jesus Defines His Followers
Matthew 4:19 And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
Jesus' first command to follow him contain the promise of mission. His followers will bring others to him.
Contemporary Expression
Our special relationship with God as followers of Jesus is anchored in our purpose, to gain more followers. Like ancient Israel, who was chosen to be an elect nation for the purpose of bring the world to God, we too find our identity as Christians in our purpose- to bring God to others.
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