Sermon On The Mount | Part 1: Beatitudes
August 10, 2019      |     By: Sam McVay, Jr.      |      Category: Primers      |      Location: Wichita
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The Sermon on the Mount has been called the “Constitution of the Kingdom of Heaven”.

It’s teaching, from the greatest teacher to ever walk the planet, is antithetical to the core values of the kingdoms of this world.

It will take the power of the Holy Spirit to understand and to walk out the revelations in the Sermon on the Mount.

Disciples of Jesus will make the teachings and priorities of the Sermon on the Mount the core culture of their character and lives.

The “pre-amble” to the kingdom constitution is a listing of what are called the Beatitudes.

Beatitudes - Blessings guaranteed by certain heart conditions or circumstances.

Take note that the Beatitudes, as well as the whole Sermon on the Mount, will show the priorities of the King of the eternal Kingdom of God.

Blessing in Amplified Version:
“Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous–with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) ....”

Matthew 5
B1
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

B2
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

B3
5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

B4
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

B5
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

B6
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

B7
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

B8
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

B8-Explanation
11 Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Bonhoeffer Explanations
(Matthew 5:3) The poor in spirit are those who have accepted the loss of all things including their own selves for His sake.

(Matthew 5:4) Those who mourn are those who do without what the world calls peace and prosperity. Mourning means to refuse to be in harmony with the standards of the world.

(Matthew 5:5) The meek are those who give up claims to their own rights for the will of Christ.

(Matthew 5:6) Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are those renouncing all claims to personal achievement, who wait for God’s reign of righteousness.

(Matthew 5:7) The merciful, having given up claims to their own dignity, become men for others, helping the needy, sick, outcasts–all those who need any kind of ministry.

(Matthew 5:8) The pure in heart become that by giving their hearts completely to the reign of Jesus. Under His rule, He purifies their hearts with His Word.

(Matthew 5:9) The peacemakers renounce all violence and maintain fellowship where others would break it off.

(Matthew 5:10) The persecuted for righteousness suffer for any just cause, and will be rejected by the world, but God’s kingdom belongs to them. To this motley crew the world says “away with them” and God agrees with the world. But He intends them for the kingdom of heaven, where their reward is great.