I have lost count how many times I have read the Sermon on the Mount but the closer I look at it the more I am humbled by Jesus’ teachings. I just want to recap and then reflect on it with you before moving into verse 6:
| 3 “ Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. | The subjective internal world of faith Level 1 3 Starting from the destitute soul |
| 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. | Level 2 Coming to a realization of how destitute we are before a Holy God |
| 5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. | Level 3 Realization of destitution fosters humility before a Holy God |
| 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. | Level 4 One is now ready to be taught by a holy God |
| Where your faith has an impact on the objective heaven and earth | |
| 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. | Level 5 Before showing mercy you were shown mercy by a Holy God |
| 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. | Level 6 In Christ for the first time you start to see God in a new light |
| 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. | Level 7 Making peace is an extension of love. Congratulations you have received your passport are called children of God. |
| 10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:3-12 | Level 8 You are now on the spiritual front-line moving in enemy territory working for Gods Kingdom |
Reflection: For me Heaven is as real as earth. The invisible is as real as the visible. The greatest minds of human wisdom and knowledge have grasped this idea. Judaism certainly grasped this idea that there is an infinite as well as finite space and time ruled by an Intelligent Being (God). Without questioning God’s being and just believing that he is as it says in lots of places:
28 “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to depart from evil is understanding.’” Job 28:28
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:7
24 that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, so that you may fear the LORD your God forever.”
Joshua 4:24
Within the framework of Judaism that Jesus was walking in the tradition starts with faith as a given fact.
As Christians in Christ, we are inheritors of this faith walk. We did not come to a place of hungering for God’s Kingdom; We are on a pilgrim’s journey.
Jesus started teaching us from where we are from the subjective internal world of faith. We realized that before a Holy God our soul is completely destitute and is completely reliant on God’s grace. Having Come to a place of realizing how destitute we are before a Holy God this has fostered humility within our being standing before a Holy God. It is only now that we are ready to be taught by a holy God.
Jesus did not come to destroy the law but to fulfil it. We know the summary as well that we are to love God and to love our neighbour. A lot of people (politicians and ethicists for example) don’t realize that there is a relation between loving God and loving the neighbour. We see this in the 10 commandments that one is to love God and his neighbour. The 10 commandments gives us a boundary to work with for society. However, what have politicians and the general public done. The Golden rule has been elevated and God has been written out of the script.
This to my mind is the reason for ending up with a dysfunctional society. Society has said no to God and the effects of this has been horrendous on human activity up to the nuclear bomb (mutual destruction).
Truth for a lot of people is relative because the measuring stick is humanity (anything goes).
Let us now begin to look at Jesus’ saying below:
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Matthew 5:6
There are some basic commodities that we need to survive. Water and bread are two such basic commodities. Jesus is the perfect example of this. He was driven into the desert by the Holy Spirit and Satan only tested Jesus when he was at his weakest. Let us look at what actually happened:
“1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’” Matthew 4:1-4”
We can imagine being in this deserted area. According to Barclay the rocks are the right size and shape to look like loaves of bread! So, Jesus having fasted and sought God’s will we have Satan come up to him and talk about bread! Jesus gives us a priority lesson.
If you were going to choose between what the body needs, and God’s will; which comes first?
We need to go shopping my friends for our food. We need to follow Jesus’ example and learn to pray. When we pray God will answer us from heaven. Let’s not forget that after the temptations, angels served Jesus because he didn’t even probably have enough energy to come back to civilization.
Let us pray daily like Jesus did. Let us find places in which we are alone with God. There comes times and places in our lives when we hit a dead end. The situation looks impossible, and it is impossible but by being faithful to Christ a way opens up and our prayers are answered.
Reflection
This Week I used Scripture to interpret Scripture (The first test of Christ). As believers we belong to Christ. Jesus being the Son of God had a perfect relationship with the Father. Jesus is the perfect example for hungering and thirsting after God. What did Jesus do?
- Jesus prayed
- Jesus fasted
- Jesus read Scripture
- Jesus walked in step with his and our Heavenly Father
Praying should be like bread to our spiritual well being and reading Scripture like water quenching our spiritual thirst. Let us live by faith walking close to our Master the perfect example of how to live the life of faith. Don’t forget Jesus in his humanness needed help to come down the mountain (my view). So then my friends let us stay in step with Jesus and we have the hope that one day he is coming to take his bride (The Church)
Weaver1has's Blog 
March 13, 2022 at 4:21 pm |
Excellent Hasan and very helpful. xxxxx