I am sorry that I haven't had time to upload Bible studies more frequently. I think I have this deficit taken care of now and my goal is to upload at least one weekly until I can get internet access at home. Once I have that, things will go much more smoothly.

I am going to start a series on The Sermon of the Mount. It is taken from Matthew Chapter 4 through 8.

Jesus did not preach a lot of sermons and this is one of two that have been recorded. There is the sermon on the mount and a sermon on the plain that is recorded in Luke. A sermon is a speech that is given to a group of people to teach them religious truths or to interpret scriptures. These aren't your typical Sunday sermons that the preacher has written in his office, then delivers to a waiting congregation.

The Sermon on the Mount was unplanned and Jesus used many parables to communicate his point to his listeners. This is his preferred method of teaching. A parable is a story about everyday occurrences that also illustrates a spiritual truth. Usually Jesus would tell the story then explain the deeper significance of the story to the people.

The Sermon on the Mount is about the righteous life and the righteous heart. You may ask "Aren't these the same thing?" The answer is no. Righteous means doing what is right, conforming to a divine or moral law. Jesus was addressing many of his comments to the Pharisees, the Saducees and the members of the Sanhedrin. These were the leaders of the Jewish community.

God gave Moses a set of instructions and laws pertaining to living a righteous life so that His chosen people could live in accordance to his will. All of us know the Ten Commandments, but there are 643 other laws laid down covering everything from restitution for murder to what to do if you goat falls down a well on the Sabbath! Then humans, being human, interpreted these laws. Needless to say, it was a very complicated system!

The leaders of the Jewish faith were very strict in observing the letter of these Laws. They were also constantly on the lookout for people who were breaking them. They also were very showy in their public religious observances. But... They were breaking the spirit of these Laws in there hearts. Jesus compares and contrasts these leaders actions to the behavior of a person whose heart was for God and truly righteous. Repeatedly he uses the words "You have heard" to introduce the standard teaching of the religious leaders. He follows this with "But I tell you" to emphasize the spiritual truth that he is teaching

Text Part 1
Matthew 4:23-28
Jesus went throughout the Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain , the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. Large crowds from the Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed Him.

The Sermon on the Mount happened early in Jesus' ministry. He had just called his disciples and begun his public ministry. He was still in the Galilee, which was considered a backward and uneducated place. Think Podunk, USA or someplace that Jeff Foxworthy would use in his "You know you're a redneck" routines! He would walk into a new village, go to the synagogue and teach. He was doing many healing miracles at this time, because the purpose of a miracle is to cause people to believe in God or increase their faith. The word of these miracles spread throughout Judea and into non-Jewish areas also.

These people weren't following Jesus to learn spiritual truths as a rule. They wanted either to receive a healing miracle for themselves or to witness a miracle. Jesus' reputation must have spread rapidly because early on he was drawing large crowds. This was amazing because there was no mass communication or easy transportation during this time period. This makes the size of these crowds extraordinary.

Text Matthew 5: 1-12
Now when he (Jesus) saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him and he began to teach them, saying:
Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kindgom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted,
Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted bcause of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

This passage is described as "The Beatitudes. Beatitude means either the joy of heaven or a declaration of blessedness. They describe someone that has been richly blessed.

Yet if you look at the persons described in this passage, you may have a hard time seeing them as blessed! We have the poor in spirit, the mourners, the unfairly persecuted, the lied about... that doesn't sound very blessed to us.

In Jesus' time, these people may have been considered cursed. The religious leaders of that time taught that misfortune was a sign of God's disfavor, a punishment either for personal sins or of the sins done by an ancestor. Yet here Jesus is saying that the poor in spirit, the sad, the ones so beaten down by life that they just want to give up will inherit the kingdom of heaven. The ones who mourn and are depressed will receive comfort from God. The ones who chose to live a life for God, who are striving to be heart and soul in accord with God's plan for them, they will receive all that they wish and more from God.

I want you take a minute and think about how our world views success. You have to be tough, strong, a real go getter, not afraid to take chances or step on toes in order to be successful in our world. Yet here is Jesus saying,that the meek or gentle, the merciful, the pure in heart and the peacemakers are the ones that will be successful in the eyes of God. They are the ones that are blessed.

I want you to take a minute and think about the news. There are many stories of Christians being persecuted. The Christians in Africa and China pop into my mind right now. When my kids were in school, prayer was banned in the school building. There were a group of Christian Junior High and High School students who felt that prayer was important and wanted to pray on school property for their school and their friends. At this time there was a movement called "Meet you at the Flagpole" Kids would come to school early and meet at the flagpole and join hands to pray. I remember one November morning. Man it was nasty. Dark, cold, pelting rain, a perfect day to stay in bed, right? But it was flagpole morning and since they were coming in early, they either had to walk or get some parent to give them a ride. So, I was one of the drivers and I watched a group of 25 junior high students gather at the flagpole to pray. In the cold, in the dark, they got up early (can you imagine getting a teen out of bed early?) Were they persecuted? Yes, maybe not much, but they were. Were they happy to be there? Definitely. Did Jesus describe them near the end of the beatitudes? I believe so.

Thank you for reading this study. Please leave me a comment or ask questions. Once again I apologize for the long delay. I am going to try to do everything in my power to make sure that it doesn't happen again, Love Diane