In the Sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7 Jesus flips everything on it’s head and offers a description of what it looks like to be a Christian and be set-apart, and Jesus lived this out in his life.
In Matthew 5:1-2, what Jesus does is a parallel of Moses on Mount Sinai, as Jesus is giving us a new law and a new way of living.
First four beatitudes, Matthew 5:2-7
- Blessed are the poor in spirit
- Acknowledge spiritual poverty
- Entrance card to the kingdom of God – I have nothing!
- Salvation is a gift we receive with humility of a child
- It’s flipped because our starting point is ‘I have nothing’
- Blessed are those who mourn
- Sorrow at our own sins/failure – contrition
- Understand the depravity of our sin – sweetness of grace
- Comfort of Jesus for all who mourn their sin.
- It’s flipped, as the more we know/feel our sin/depravity then the more Jesus comforts and is close
- Blessed are the meek
- The opposite of what the world applauds
- Understanding of yourself before God and man
- Jesus demonstrated what ‘meek’ looked like in his life
- It’s flipped because the meek get it all
- Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness
- Christians are to be ambitious people spiritually
- Righteousness for all people/whole community
- Go after the justice and reign of God
- It’s flipped because it’s not about what I achieve but about righteousness for others