This chapter opens up revealing that Jesus had went up the mountainside. His disciples were gathered around Him as well as the crowds of people. Jesus began to teach what we know as The Sermon on the Mount. This is one sermon with multiple points; it extends throughout chapters five through seven. To open this sermon, Jesus taught about the supreme blessings of man (beatitudes). In short, God blesses those: who are poor in spirit and realize their need for Him, who mourn, who are humble, who hunger and thirst for righteousness, who are merciful, whose hearts are pure, who work for peace, and who are persecuted for doing right. Out of all of those, how many can you identify as characteristics within you?
In verses 13 through 16, Jesus emphasized that we are the salt and light: salt of the earth and light of the world. We are “preservers” just as the salt that sits on your shelf. We prevent decay. We are seasoned to enhance lives within our goodness through Christ. We are to exhibit good deeds that shine so bright that everyone comes to our Heavenly Father.
The next verses go into teachings regarding the law, anger, adultery, divorce, vows, revenge and love for enemies. I desire to extract just a few points from those verses. If you have an issue with someone or you know someone has an issue with you, you are to lay your sacrifice to God on the altar and go make amends with the person. After you make amends, you come back and present your sacrifice to God (verses 23 and 24). A lot of us do not desire to reconcile with others for various reasons. Personally, God has instructed me to go and ask for forgiveness from people that wronged me. Yes, you read that right. Doing so actually brought freedom for me. Reconciliation is for YOUR freedom. Be the more mature person every time you get a chance to. It is not easy, but it is worth it. Do not allow pettiness and drama to prevent God from accepting your sacrifices until Him. You may ask me, what sacrifices? Our sacrifices are not animals on an altar. They include anything that you will give to God: your time, your money, your service to others, your praise, your worship, your prayers. Verse 39 instructs us not to seek revenge. Friend, let God avenge you instead of setting out to “get your get back”. In conclusion, verses 44 and 45 Jesus instructed us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. You cannot achieve this type of maturity and love via living by your flesh. Love is a portion of the fruit of the Spirit. You must have the Holy Spirit within you to love someone you know is against you. Imagine seeing your enemy and God tells you to give a hug. Will you be disobedient because of your feelings? Or will you be obedient and exhibit God’s love?
Real Talk with Keve 