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Jesus and the Beatitudes
June 21, 2014

In one of his first messages Jesus showed who the blessed were, and today these are referred to as the beatitudes

Matthew 5:1-12
And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

According to Jesus, the blessed are those who are poor in spirit, those who think more highly of others than themselves. Also blessed are those who mourn, those who mourn are those who love, and the love that they have for others will come back to them. The meek are blessed, and the meek are those who do not consider themselves privileged; they will inherit the earth. Those who know that righteousness is just beyond them and never give up will find righteousness and be blessed. In a Biblical example of what some call karma, the merciful are not only blessed; they will find mercy. Those who are unpolluted by this world are blessed by their clean living and will see God. Those who make peace instead of war are blessed and their noble deeds remind others of the power of God. Also blessed are those who are persecuted for doing righteousness; they will be blessed with a reward in heaven.

In today's world we like to keep score as in who has more stuff. Too many Christians think that those with the most stuff must be blessed the most, and Jesus never taught that. It's hard to consider that one might be blessed when being persecuted or suffering through a trial of another type. All we need to remember is that if God didn't have confidence in our ability to handle the situation, he would not tempt us with the persecution or trial.

1 Corinthians 10:8-13
Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

What we face in life should be a win for us, because God is faithful to us and will not allow us to face a trial or persecution we cannot handle. God will not set us up for failure; we will be set up for success. The choice to pass and be successful is ours, knowing that we have been treated faithfully.

2 Thessalonians 3:3
But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.

The blessings that are important to us are those spiritual blessings because these reflect the closeness of our relationship to God and Jesus. When we consider ourselves blessed we need to reflect how our life stacks up against what is taught in the beatitudes

All verses are from the King James Version.
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