“Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them…” (Matthew 5:1-2)
Today, we begin a new series that we will continue to explore every Thursday on the beatitudes.
The word Beatitude is from a Latin source which means blessedness. During Jesus’ famous sermon on the mount which lasted for three chapters (Matthew 5-7), He made eight conditional promises for certain specific traits of true righteousness.
The Beatitudes constitute the introduction to Jesus’ sermon on the mount. Jesus begins each of those statements with “Blessed are,” hence the term Beatitudes.
Jesus’ goal for His long sermon on the mount was to deal with a certain prevalent false spirituality in His day. Most of the Jews were diseased with a sense of self righteousness through the outward observance of the law of Moses.
Since Moses received the law on Mount Sinai, Jesus also ascends a mountain to break down the true spirit behind the law of righteousness. Jesus’ intent is to help His audience mature from a shallow, outward show of religion to a deeper, inner spirituality that draws a person closer to God.
As we explore these lessons every Thursday for the next eight weeks, may the Lord draw us into deeper fellowship with Him.
Remain inspired!
https://joelkwesibaidoo.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-beatitudes.html
