Blessed are the… (Matthew 5:3)

The first portion of the Sermon on the Mount is known as the Beatitudes, which means “The Blessings.” In the Beatitudes, Jesus sets forth both the nature and the aspirations of citizens of His kingdom. His disciples haveand are learning the kind of character Jesus described.

Jesus began these famous words by simply saying, Blessed are. He promised blessing to His disciples, promising first that the poor in spirit are blessed. The idea behind the ancient Greek word for blessed is happy, but happiness in the truest, godly sense of the word, not in our modern sense of merely being comfortable or entertained at the moment.

This same word for blessed is applied to God in 1 Timothy 1:11: according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God. William Barclay said that this word “describes that joy which has its secret within itself, that joy which is serene and untouchable, and self-contained, that joy which is completely independent of all the chances and changes of life.”

I think everyone wants that kind of happiness. Jesus spoke of something that goes beyond an adrenaline jolt or being entertained out of boredom. The Beatitudes describe a life that is truly blessed, a happiness that can’t be changed by political turmoil, economic news, or personal tragedy. It is a sense of life-fulfillment that comes from right relationship to God and others, not from power or things.

Jesus knows a lot about this kind of blessedness. In Matthew 25:34, Jesus said that on the Day of Judgment He would say to His people, Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. On that day, Jesus will judge between the blessed and the cursed. We can also say that no one was ever blessed more than Jesus was; He knows what goes into a blessed life.

We also notice that Jesus said, Blessed are (present tense) and not blessed will be (future tense). Jesus described a deep happiness that can be enjoyed now as well as later. We can be sure that it is for later; but it is also for now.

Have you ever noticed that last words of the Old Testament? The last idea of the Old Testament is that of a curse. It’s right there in Malachi 4:6: Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. It is wonderful to also notice that the first word of this opening sermon of the ministry of Jesus is Blessed.

Sin has cursed the earth. It has cursed the people, the ecosystem, the politics, and the economy. Even the thoughts and dreams people have upon this earth are, in some ways, touched by the curse. Yet if we will listen, Jesus shows us a better way – a blessed way. He shows us how to live as citizens of His kingdom, instead of citizens of this cursed earth. It’s time for us to listen, to obey, and to be blessed.

Click here for David’s commentary on Matthew 5

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:1-2)

Matthew introduced one of the most fascinating characters of the New Testament: John the Baptist. Luke 1 tells how John was born by a miracle to Zacharias and Elisabeth, a couple beyond the normal age of having children. Before he was born, John was called to be the forerunner of the Messiah, in Luke 1.

This John was preaching and saying, “Repent.” John’s message included a call to repentance. Some people think that repentance is mostly about feelings, especially feeling sorry for your sin. It is good to feel sorry about sin, but repent isn’t a word focused on feelings. It is focused on action. John everyone to make a change of the mind, not merely to feel sorry for what they had done. Repentance means changing direction, not sorrow in the heart.

Is repentance something we must do before we can come to God? Yes and no. Repentance does not describe something we must do before we come to God; it describes what coming to God is like. If you are in New York, and I tell you to come to Los Angeles, I don’t really need to say, “Leave New York and come to Los Angeles.” To come to Los Angeles is to leave New York, and if I haven’t left New York, I certainly haven’t come to Los Angeles. We can’t come to the kingdom of heaven unless we leave our sin and the self-life.

The call to repentance is important and must not be neglected. It is entirely accurate to say that it is the first word of the gospel.

– Repent was the first word of John the Baptist’s gospel (Matthew 3:1-2).
– Repent was the first word of the gospel Jesus preached (Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:14-15).
– Repent was the first word in the preaching ministry of the twelve disciples (Mark 6:12).
– Repent was the first word in the preaching instructions Jesus gave to His disciples after His resurrection (Luke 24:46-47).
– Repent was the first word of exhortation in the first Christian sermon (Acts 2:38).
– Repent was the first word in the mouth of the apostle Paul through his ministry (Acts 26:19-20).

John wanted people to know that the kingdom of heaven was near – it was as close as your hand. It wasn’t as distant or as dreamy as they had imagined. This was why John was so urgent in his call to repentance. If the kingdom of heaven is at hand, then we must get ready now.

John’s main message wasn’t “You’re a sinner, you need to repent.” John’s main message was “Messiah the King is coming.” The call to repentance was the response to the news that the King and His kingdom were at hand.

There’s no better way to be ready for Jesus than to live in constant repentance.

Click here for David’s commentary on Matthew 3

And you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)

“Are you saved?” I suppose this question is asked thousands of times each day, and often both the questioner and the questioned don’t think about what it means. To be “saved” tells us there is some danger, some peril, to be rescued from. It doesn’t make sense to speak of being “saved” from nothing. If a lifeguard asks a struggling swimmer, “can I rescue you?” it makes sense. If a lifeguard asks a swimmer in no trouble if they want to be rescued, the question seems out of place.

When it comes to religious or spiritual salvation, what are people saved from? What endangers humanity so much that God would send His Son to rescue them?

One thing the Bible says God’s people are rescued from sin. When the angel Gabriel told Joseph that Mary was chosen of God to miraculously conceive and bear the Messiah, the angel gave him specific instructions concerning His name: And you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins. 1 John 3:5 explains: you know He was manifested to take away our sins. Jesus came to rescue us from sin.

We need to be saved from our sins. Our sin puts us in great danger. It is our sin that separates us from God, distorting and defacing His image in us. It makes us guilty before His court of justice. Sin ruins our relationships among other people. In one sense, the very root of sin is selfishness. That self-seeking, self-willed desire infects every aspect of man’s being and world in one way or another.

Before his career in politics, Abraham Lincoln was a prominent citizen of Springfield, Illinois. One day, his neighbors heard Lincoln’s children screaming in the street. Alarmed, one of the neighbors rushed out of his house, and found Lincoln there with his two sons, both of whom were crying uncontrollably. “Whatever is the matter with those boys, Mr. Lincoln?” he asked. “Just what’s the matter with the whole world,” answered Lincoln, with a note of sorrow in his voice. “I’ve got three walnuts, and each boy wants two of them.”

Lincoln’s remark has the ring of truth about it. The source of almost every evil in the world is self-willed desire. God’s plan is to change our hearts from self-interest and to give us access to the power we need to defeat sin. Jesus came to rescue us from sin and the tyranny of self will by His plan of grace.

Have you received God’s grace today, to make you less of a self-willed person? Go to Jesus and ask for His grace. You don’t deserve it, but grace is given without looking to our deserving. Through Him we have received grace (Romans 1:5). He can save you from the penalty of sin, from the power of sin, and ultimately, from the presence of sin.

Click here for David’s commentary on Matthew 1

But his bow remained in strength,
And the arms of his hands were made strong
By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob
(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
By the God of your father who will help you,
And by the Almighty who will bless you (Genesis 49:24-25a)

Genesis 49 records Jacob’s wonderful, prophetic blessing pronounced over the sons of Israel. This section from the blessing over Joseph presents at least two beautiful things to notice.

The first is the picture behind the phrase, the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob. Earlier, Jacob poetically described how Joseph’s enemies were like archers who shot at him (49:23). Yet Joseph was not defeated, because his bow remained in strength. Why did his bow stay strong? Because his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob.

Consider this picture: a father helps his son to shoot with bow and arrows. The son isn’t strong enough to skillfully handle to bow, so the father reaches around him, places his stronger hands on his son’s smaller hands, and helps him shoot the bow. The idea is that God’s hands were on Joseph’s hands, giving him strength and skill to work the bow expertly. God was there, even when Joseph did not know it. This is true also for you.

The second wonderful thing is found in the five great titles Jacob used for God in these verses. These titles show that Jacob did come to an understanding of who God is. As you read these, ask yourself: “Do I know God this way?”

– The Mighty God of Jacob: He is the God of true power and might, and the personal God.

– The Shepherd: He is the God who faithfully and tenderly cares for His people.

– The Stone of Israel: He is the God who is the stable foundation for His people, both individually and collectively.

– The God of your father: He is the God has an amazing record of faithfulness in past generations.

– The Almighty: He is the God who can do anything, who is powerful and sovereign over all. It is this Almighty, wonderful God who will bless you, bringing His goodness and grace to your life.

Taken together, this is much better than when Jacob earlier referred to God as the God of Abraham or the Fear of his father Isaac (Genesis 31:53). Those titles focused on how God related to Abraham and Isaac, not on how God related to Jacob. Now, in Genesis 49, these five wonderful titles for God shows that Jacob knew who God was for himself.

The same God Jacob promised would make Joseph bend the bow with strength and skill is the God revealed in these five wonderful titles. God wants you to know Him this way, both by the truth of His word and the experience of your life. Do you know Him?

Click here for David’s commentary on Genesis 49

So they said, “You have saved our lives; let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.” (Genesis 47:25)

Because God moved through the wisdom and bold action of Joseph, the Pharaoh of Egypt had lots of grain through seven years of terrible famine. In first few years, people sold everything they had to buy this grain. Before the famine was over, they sold their land and agreed to heavy taxation in the future to get the grain they needed to survive (Genesis 47:23-24).

In those days, one-fifth – that is, 20% – was considered heavy taxation. In fact, the hungry people who agreed to 20% taxes thought that rate of taxation made them servants or slaves of Pharoah. Many people in the western world today would be thrilled to be taxed “only” 20%. According to some sources, an average person in the USA can expect to pay more than 33% of their income in taxes over their lifetime, and most tax rates in Europe are significantly higher.

Still, in the days of Joseph and ancient Egypt, the people thought it was a good deal to pay 20% taxes for the rest of their lives. Why did they think it was a good deal? Because they recognized that Pharaoh and his grain had saved their lives.

Why were they willing to become servants to Pharaoh? Because he was, humanly speaking, their savior. He and his grain saved them, preserved their lives. If it wasn’t for the grain that Joseph wisely stockpiled because of the divine interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream, the streets of Egypt would have been filled with the withered bodies of the starving and dead. There was no other food to be found in the time of famine. Receiving Pharoah’s grain was the only way to live. Having received Pharaoh’s food, gratitude brought them to humbly serve the one who saved their lives.

Dear believing brother or sister, do you see the analogy to your relationship with God?

By His sacrificial death and victorious resurrection, Jesus Christ has rescued all those who put their trust in Him. Without Jesus they were lost and destined for eternal separation from God. There is no other way to come in right relationship with God: For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5).

Considering all that Jesus has done for us, it makes sense that we would gratefully serve Him.

The people made this arrangement with Joseph hoping to find favor in the sight of Joseph and Pharaoh. This points to a wonderful truth for all those who have put their trust in Jesus Christ. He not only saves our life (You have saved our lives), but He also gives us His favor.

In the riches of God’s grace, He does more than rescue the believer. In Jesus, God then lifts the believer up to a place of favor and blessing.

No wonder we are God’s grateful servants!

Click here for David’s commentary on Genesis 47