The Sermon on the Mount has been a bedrock scripture for Christians through the centuries. Whether one sees it presented on an idyllic hillside seating thousands of followers, or as a personal teaching session between Jesus and His disciples, the message outlines what is expected in discipleship.
Beginning with the “Blesseds,” the Beatitudes are not promises but instead are descriptions of how the Christian will deal with the issues of life, coupled with the realization that rewards will come to the faithful. Those who recognize their spiritual poverty, who sorrow for their sin and hunger for righteousness will be satisfied. And the meek, those who are merciful, the peacemakers and those whose hearts are pure will be rewarded.
But Jesus continued by giving direction for dealing with the circumstances of life. Here, at the onset of His ministry, He outlined a lifestyle which pushed past the point of merely believing an idea into actually living out that belief. Sins of the heart were not acceptable even though they are “unseen.” Jesus identifies them as the seeds of actions which hurt and destroy. (Matt.5:21-42) There were no shortcuts to obedience, no technicalities that excused wrong behavior. Jesus came to clarify the law - to complete it. He gives those who would follow Him their purpose. “You are the salt” - to purify. “You are the light” - to illuminate.
Jesus had three years to prepare His disciples for the task of spreading the gospel, the good news for all mankind. The pitfalls would be many. They were common folk, not the learned of the Temple but everyday workers - fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot, men and women armed with the teachings of the synagogue and a heart for their Master, save one. They carried with them the strengths and the weaknesses of all of us and their call to service echoes today as we deal with the events of daily life. For this is where most of Christ-Followers are - not on the foreign mission fields or in high theological positions, but in the everyday chaos of living in the world of the first century or the twenty-first.
Join us, then, as we look beyond the Beatitudes to the Blueprint for the Christ Follower.
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