Sunday, January 4- Matthew 5:1-12

1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,
-Healings from chapter 4 draws the crowds. Now he uses that opportunity to preach.

2and he began to teach them saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
-As opposed to the falsely rich in spirit like the pharisees.

4Blessed are those who mourn,for they will be comforted.
-Wonder what they mourn for. Broken for God's kingdom?

5Blessed are the meek,for they will inherit the earth.
-Great blessing for humble people.

6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst
for righteousness,for they will be filled.
-What an amazing hunger.

7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
-What a great reward.

8Blessed are the pure in heart,for they will see God.
-Great motivation for purity.

9Blessed are the peacemakers,for they will be called sons of God.
-Never thought of peace making to have such high regard with God.

10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
-This I expect.

11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
-This is kind of backwards to logic, but it kind of makes sense. Nice to know we can hold our heads up when this happens.

12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
-More to be glad about when tough things happen come in life.

-Who aren't the blessed in all these? The people who do the opposite. We should want to be blessed, and God wants to bless us. We should consider these things carefully.