Rachel Workman:
Matthew
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Mark
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Luke
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John
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3 “God blesses those who are poor and
realize their need for him,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 4 God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. 6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. 7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. 9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. 10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
11 “God blesses you when people mock
you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things
against you because you are my followers. 12 Be happy about it! Be very
glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient
prophets were persecuted in the same way.
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I think it's safe to say most people are
seeking a blessing. We want to be blessed in our relationships, finances,
children and so forth. I do. One verse that stands out to me is God blesses
those who mourn, for they will be comforted. That tells me no matter what I'm
blessed with I will have mourning. I am blessed because I do realize my need
for Jesus. I do need to work on being more humble. I do seek justice. I am
merciful to others. My heart isn't as pure as it should be. There is still
work that needs to be done there. I do work for peace. We are all persecuted
for doing right. The world is ready to
persecute anyone who does good. I've learned to recognize that for what it is
and not dwell on it. But in some countries it could cost you your life to do
the things we do everyday in Christ. All in all I'm a very blessed woman.
Beyond measure really.
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20 Then Jesus turned to his disciples
and said,
“God blesses you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours. 21 God blesses you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. God blesses you who weep now, for in due time you will laugh.
22 What blessings await you when people
hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you
follow the Son of Man. 23 When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for
joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their ancestors
treated the ancient prophets that same way.
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John Burnett:
Matthew
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Mark
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Luke
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John
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3 “God blesses those who are poor and
realize their need for him,[a]
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 4 God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. 6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,[b] for they will be satisfied. 7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. 9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. 10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
11 “God blesses you when people mock
you and persecute you and lie about you[c] and say all sorts of evil
things against you because you are my followers. 12 Be happy
about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And
remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.
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There are some great
promises in these verses when we show humility. I like the Matthew
version “…and realize their need for Him.” When we realize there is
nothing we have or can do to justify ourselves, then and only then can we
realize our need for Him. V6 is another favorite but we have to be careful
to not cross the line towards a hateful revenge. Vengeance is mine says
the Lord and He being the only just judge will provide justice better than
anything we can. God is just but thankfully He is also merciful.
If he gave us justice we deserve, we would all be condemned. He is
merciful to those who realize their need for mercy and thus show mercy to
others. V10-12 are verses that we will need to remember in the near
future. Christians are being persecuted worldwide and it is happening
in the US now as well. When the government list evangelical Christians
as terrorist, you know that it will not be long before the persecution
starts. The “Be Happy” verb is comparable to a fist pumping,
jumping for joy. When I discuss Christ on the forum I read, I get
all kinds of hateful jokes and false accusations made against me. Those
guys think that they are getting to me but they are actually blessing me,
which is ok with me.
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20 Then Jesus turned to his disciples
and said,
“God blesses you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours. 21 God blesses you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. God blesses you who weep now, for in due time you will laugh.
22 What blessings await you when people
hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you
follow the Son of Man. 23 When that happens, be happy! Yes,
leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their
ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way.
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Mike Grimm:
Matthew
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Mark
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Luke
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John
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3 “God blesses those who
are poor and realize their need for him,[a]
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 4 God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.
Jesus began His sermon
with words that seem to contradict each other. But God’s way of living
usually contradicts the world’s. If we want to live for God we must be ready
to say and do what seems strange to the world We must be willing to
give when others take, to love when others hate, to help when others abuse.
By giving up our own rights in order to serve others, we will one day receive
everything God has in store for us.
6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,[b] for they will be satisfied. 7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. 9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. 10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
11 “God blesses you when
people mock you and persecute you and lie about you[c] and say all
sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. 12 Be
happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And
remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.
Each beatitude tells how
to be blessed. “Blessed” means more than happiness. It implies the fortunate
or enviable state of those who are in God’s kingdom. To Jesus, “blessed” means
the experience of hope and joy, independent of outward circumstances. To find
hope and joy, the deepest form of happiness, follow Jesus no matter the cost.
In the kingdom of
heaven, wealth and power and authority are unimportant. Kingdom people seek different
blessings and benefits, and they have different attitudes. Are our attitudes
a reflection of the world’s selfishness, pride, and lust for power, or do
they reflect the humility and self-sacrifice of Jesus our King?
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20 Then Jesus turned to his
disciples and said,
“God blesses you who
are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours. 21 God blesses you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. God blesses you who weep now, for in due time you will laugh.
22 What blessings await
you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil
because you follow the Son of Man. 23 When that happens, be
happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And
remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way.
Jesus startled His
listeners by pronouncing blessings on the hungry. In doing so, however, He
was in line with an ancient tradition. The Old Testament is filled with texts
proclaiming God’s concern for the poor and needy.
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There are at least four
ways to understand the Beatitudes. (1) They are a code of ethics for the
disciples and a standard of conduct for all believers. (2) They contrast
kingdom values (what is temporary). (3) They contrast the superficial “faith”
of the Pharisees with the real faith Christ wants. (4) They show how the Old
Testament expectations will be fulfilled in the new kingdom. These beatitudes
are not multiple choice – pick the ones you want and forget the rest. They must
be taken as a whole. They describe what we should be like as Christ’s
followers.
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