Posts with the tag “sermon-on-the-mount”

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” -Matthew 5:5 (NIV) To be meek is to exhibit a calm and soothing disposition. When we are faced with a crisis or a threat, our bodies react with the flight or fight response. Our nervous system floods our bodies with chemicals that make us ready to attack the threat or run away.Meekness represents an alternative to fighting or hiding. The Gree...  Read More

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 (NIV) One key theme in the beatitudes is the reversal of fortunes. The poor (who are assumed to be outside of God’s favor) are the ones who are blessed and included in the Kingdom. Likewise, those who mourn will be comforted. Jesus seems to be drawing on the following passage from Isaiah 61:1-3,The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord ...  Read More

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”- Matthew 5:3 (NIV) In Luke’s version of the sermon on the mount, Jesus says “Blessed are you who are poor” (Luke 6:20). The addition of “in spirit” in Matthew’s Gospel has been the source of considerable debate. One theory is that in Luke, the emphasis is on physical or economic poverty, while in Matthew, the focus is spiritual...  Read More