a geneology

in Matthew 1:1-17 we look at the genealogy of Jesus which at first glance is a boring but actually it is very exciting because each name especially before the exile has a story.

Matthew 1:1-17:

      ¹ The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
    ² Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, ³and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, ⁴and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, ⁵and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, ⁶and Jesse the father of David the king.
   
   And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, ⁷and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, ⁸and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, ⁹and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, ¹⁰and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, ¹¹and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
    ¹²And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, ¹³and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, ¹⁴and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, ¹⁵and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, ¹⁶and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
    ¹⁷So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

First remember that the Jews held genealogies in high regard so much so that john the baptist has to tell them that doesn't save them.  Second notice that this genealogies show the Jesus fulfills two requirements to be the messiah which is to be the descendant of Abraham and David.  Notice that he breaks up the genealogy into 3 sections of 14 names each.  you each letter had a number so the number of David's name is 14.

one unusual thing about this Jewish genealogy is it mentions four women 3 of whom had a bad reputation

       1)  Tamar(genesis 38)- Canaanite, pretended to be a prostitute.

       2)  rahab(Joshua 2)- sole survivor of Jericho, prostitute

       3)  Ruth(book of Ruth)- Moabite, stayed with Naomi

       4)  Uriah's wife aka Bathsheba(2 Samuel 11)- Israelite,  committed adultery with David

So by this we see Matthew is already including gentiles and show how great God's grace is no matter your reputation.

i want to challenge you, with the names between the Abraham and Zerubbabel and read their story and you will find this passage is actually very exciting

finally a new series

today we will start a new series which will be the gospel of matthew

i have a couple things to point out a couple of things about matthew before get started on it

1)  matthew is written primarily to the jews which we know because he assumes his readers know about all of their religious festivals and rituals.

2)  he proves to the jews that jesus christ is their promised messiah as such he has more prophecy qoutations from the Old Testament

3)  even though he writes to the jew also involves gentiles such as the magi.

no in between

our study today is about the last part of the sermon on the mount

¹³ "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

A Tree and Its Fruit

   
    ¹⁵ "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

I Never Knew You

   
    ²¹ "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' ²³ And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'

Build Your House on the Rock

   
    ²⁴ "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

The Authority of Jesus

   
    ²⁸And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, ²⁹ for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

first notice in these comparisons there is no middle ground. Its all black and white no gray. no room for being lukewarm. 

in the first example we are told to enter the narrow gate which is i believe to be Jesus because he said he is the gate.  now it is possible to be narrow in a bad way just like the pharisees.

in the second example we are told if you are a true disciple and teacher you will bear fruit, not that we are saved by our fruit but as James says without our works or fruit our faith is no faith

in the third example we how useless it is to build up our house in heaven because the storms of life will knock it over but if Christ builds for us then nothing can tear it down

the golden rule

today we look at the most well-known verse of the sermon on the mount in Matthew 7:12

¹²"So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

You should know this saying also appears in rabbinic Judaism and even Hinduism, Buddhism, and the saying of Confucius, but they appear in negative form. so here we Jesus is saying do be nice just so they will be nice to you but be nice because you have Jesus heart in you.

also notice the sermon on the mount is book-ended because in Matt 5:17 Jesus also mentions the law and the prophets and so i believe the entire sermon on the mount between then and now was about the law and the prophets

and so BE NICE since you have Jesus heart in you and are being made more like him

it is better to ask than to receive

today we look at a controversial passage (Matt. 7:7-11)

⁷ "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? ¹¹If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

some look at this as a blank check that if you ask for something selfish you get it. I disagree.

I think this passage is telling to ask for God's righteousness to live up to the sermon on the mount because we are unable to with our righteousness.  we not only ask but we actively seek and knock with the kind of urgency that would break down the door.

I love that the end of this passage proves what a great father in heaven we have. but i think we know that if we ask for something that is not good for he will not give it to us because i know if your son asks for sweets to eat you would buy veggies instead.

judge or judge not?

Today we look at what may be the most taken out of context passage Matt. 7:1-5

¹ "Judge not, that you be not judged. ² For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. ³Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? ⁵You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

Now before look at this passage let's look the very versatile word judge in the Greek. according to www.blueletterbible.com lexicon there are 6 Greek words in the new testament that are translated to judge.

the first one is

kritēs

which means:

1) one who passes or arrogates to himself, judgment on anything

a) an arbiter

b) of a Roman procurator administering justice

c) of God passing judgment on men

d) of the leaders or rulers of the Israelites

Now is Jesus against that? I don't think so because that would be a contradiction to when Jesus told Pilate that he had authority to judge from God.

The Greek word here is:

krinō

 which means to condemn to write them off

You in 1 Corinthians 5 there is man in a sin that Paul says to expel but even that was not a final decision because in 2 Corinthians 2 he says welcome him back because he learned his lesson.

now in verse 6 i think relates to this because it is telling us to judge but no hypocritical but discernment which is a gift of the Holy Spirit.

don't worry?

today we look at the last part of Matthew 6

²⁵ "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁸And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ³²For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.     ³⁴ "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

First, you will notice that this scripture begins with therefore so we need to ask "what is the therefore there for?" I think the therefore points back to our previous about treasure because not only do we hoard treasures to brag about them but we also store up because we worry about tomorrow.

Second i would say be weary of the KJV here because it take no thought, which worked in king Jame's time but today we can take that sentence to an extreme of oh! i can't think about my life here on earth

Also, I would warn against using this passage as a excuse for laziness especially the illustration about birds and lilies because birds to work they gather food and train to go south.  plants work to convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into food through photosynthesis but what they don't do is excessively store up food and clothing.  the rich fool in the parable was not condemned for building up barns to store the food he was condemned for trusting in his food a himself the way he should have trusted God.

now i think the best illustration of this text is a story in Luke 10

 ³⁸Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. ³⁹And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. ⁴⁰But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." ⁴¹But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, ⁴²but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her."

Note Martha in this text doing something good and right but her mind is divided in those things.

i think take no thought is the opposite what Jesus is saying here because when we trust god with these things we can think of other things

treasure hunt

Today we look at Matthew 6:19-24

      ¹⁹ "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, ²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
    ²² "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, ²³ but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
    ²⁴ "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money

Now I feel I must point Jesus never condemned riches what he is warning about here is storing up riches just for the sake of having them because you will lose them at the end of your life but it is not wrong to store up food, or emergency provisions or even belongings after all before Jesus began his ministry he was a carpenter who built belongs.  It also says in proverbs 6

⁶ Go to the ant, O sluggard;
   consider her ways, and be wise.
⁷ Without having any chief,
    officer, or ruler,
⁸she prepares her bread in summer
   and gathers her food in harvest.

so storing up food for a rainy day is not only good but also wise.

I think what Jesus is warning us is best expressed in verse 24 especially in the NIV that word money begins with a capital letter because in that culture money was an idol called Mammon.  The question here do you own your money or does your money own you?

acts of righteousness

Today we finally start matthew 6:1-18

Giving to the Needy

   
    ¹"Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
    ² "Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ³But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

The Lord’s Prayer

   
    ⁵"And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ⁶But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
    ⁷"And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. ⁸Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ⁹ Pray then like this:

    "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. ¹⁰ Your kingdom come, your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread, ¹²and forgive us our debts,
   as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³And lead us not into temptation,
   but deliver us from evil.
    ¹⁴ For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, ¹⁵ but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Fasting

   
    ¹⁶"And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ¹⁷But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, ¹⁸that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Now this scripture is not you that if anyone sees your giving you have sinned.

I believe this isn't teaching how to give but rather why you give.  Do you give because you want to get peoples attention or because you want to help.

Now in this passage we also have the word hypocrite.  The greek word for hypocrite is "hypokritēs"
which means a play actor or someone who puts on a mask like in the greek theater  so what Jesus is saying don't put on a mask of righteousness when your heart is full of deceit and wickedness like the pharisee.

are you perfect

Today we look at Matt 5:21-48

Anger

 ²¹ "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' ²²But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire. ²³ So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵ Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. ²⁶Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

Lust   

    ²⁷ "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' ²⁸But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

Divorce   

    ³¹ "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' ³² But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Oaths   

    ³³"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' ³⁴But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, ³⁵or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil.

Retaliation   

    ³⁸ "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' ³⁹But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. ⁴¹And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. ⁴² Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Love Your Enemies   

    ⁴³ "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' ⁴⁴But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸ You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Today i decided to do these together since they basically have the same message which is we cannot measure up to God's standard.

This text shows God cares about the spirit of the law as well as the letter.

In reading this passage you will notice most of it is about our relationship to other humans who are made in God's image. I have written before that I like to think of our christian life like a cross, the vertical  beam representing our relationship to God, and the horizontal beam representing our relationship to others. You need to have both or else its not a cross its a stick.

Now I need to clarify when you become a christian you are declared perfect by God because of the cross but as you live on earth you are being made perfect which will be at the Resurrection.

I pray that you put your faith in Jesus Christ so you will be made perfect

my favorite passage of scripture (Matt. 5:17-20)

I know everyone has a scripture that they instinctively turn to (if i am wrong let me know). Mine is Matthew 5:17-20)

¹⁷ "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹ Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

This is my favorite passage because it debunks the idea the old testament was nailed to the cross with Jesus and was made obsolete. So how did Jesus fulfill the law and the prophets? I think he fulfilled in 3 ways:

1. He fulfilled every one of the 109 prophecies in the old testament ranging from genesis all the way to Malachi

2. He kept the law perfectly and is the only one to do it

3. We are told the ceremonial laws were shadows and types on Jesus

I think its funny when people say I'm gonna skip the old testament and yet in Matthew 1 you start with a genealogy which mentions people in the old testament

verse 18 debunks the idea we can pick and choose which scripture to obey. Not even the smallest tip on the smallest letter will disappear from the law until the end

salt and light

today we look at Matthew 5:13-16

¹³"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.     ¹⁴ "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

In this passage Jesus says we are salt and light.

Salt was used for 2 main purposes in Jesus day one was to add flavor to foods and that's what Christians are supposed to do add the spice to life in music, though not in a sinful way. After all we Christians are not called to redeem just souls but are to redeem all that sin has stolen including music, art, and other activities

in ancient time salt also preserved food so we help preserve this creation of God's. After all we were made from the dirt of the earth so in fact we are connected to this physical Earth

But there is a warning here that if we lose are saltiness or in other words become impure we are not good anymore

if notice that salt increases thirst so in other words not only should you thirst after righteousness but also make others thirst after God's righteousness

we are also the light of world so we reflect the God's light like the moon reflect the sun's light

matt. 5:10-12

today we look at what may be the most taken out of context beatitude of them all in Matthew 5:10-12

¹⁰ "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.     ¹¹ "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

This applies only when you are persecuted for righteous not for being a jerk, and pointing every little sin you see. Now this beatitude does not mean you should reject a compliment if you get your GED or something

This is a bid paradox as well to have joy if you are hated and lied about. we are lied about all the time in the media just like they were in the apostolic age. there were 2 main lies then

1. They said they were cannibals because of the terms of communion with eating flesh and blood Christ

2. They said Christians were incestuous because they gave a holy kiss and called each other brother

One has to wonder are we blessed here in America, because we don't see that kind of persecution here

I think we are persecuted here. I think when you endure insults, rumors, and false charges you are being what I call a small martyr like John the apostle who was the only one not killed for their faith

The main Jesus says we will be blessed when we a persecuted for his sake is look at the company of prophets that puts us in from Abel in genesis to Zechariah in 2 chronicles. So we are in good company when we are persecuted

will we have peace

Today we look at matthew 5:9 which is the 7th beattitude

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Since I don't think Jesus is talking about the Peacemaker that clint eastwood used, what kind is he talking about. Well I think he is talking about the hebrew shalom which means an inward peace. Now this is a peace only God can give.

But I do think we need to work for peace on earth after we are called to redeem creation not just human souls, after jesus came to redeem all that sin has infected even creation. Even though we are by Jesus in matt. 24 war will not end until he comes back there will be peace in between those wars

But this peace Jesus is talking about is an inward peace that only he, through Jesus Christ can give

do you see God

today we study Matthew 5:8

⁸"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Now I have trouble with this verse because I do not know what pure in heart means. Well the word pure comes from the Greek word "katharos"  which means according to blueletterbible.com lexicon

clean, pure

a) physically

1) purified by fire

2) in a similitude, like a vine cleansed by pruning and so fitted to bear fruit

b) in a levitical sense

1) clean, the use of which is not forbidden, imparts no uncleanness

c) ethically

1) free from corrupt desire, from sin and guilt

2) free from every admixture of what is false, sincere genuine

3) blameless, innocent

4) unstained with the guilt of anything

We are purified by the Holy Spirit by fire like John said in Luke 3 right before baptizing Jesus and this purifying helps us to produce fruit in keeping with repentance

Notice that pure also means not mixed which flies in the face of our wanting to create a compartment for God in our heart. After all the great commandment says love the lord your God part of your heart right? NO it says in Matt 22:37

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Note that this purity is not mine but Jesus Christ's purity imparted onto me just like Joshua the high priest in Zech. 3. After I admit in my flesh I have impure thoughts if you can say you haven't but if you do you deceive yourself and the truth is not in you as john said in his epistle. But i am in Jesus Christ so i know when God looks at me he sees Christ's purity and righteousness, not my sin, and thank God for that. If you have not done so I encourage you to ask God to show you grace on the basis of  his son Jesus Christ who died on the cross and impart his purity and righteousness on to you.

the government

Today I have decided to take a break on the sermon on the mount since yesterday was president's day and talk about Romans 13:1-7

       ¹Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ²Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, ⁴for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. ⁶For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. ⁷ Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

In this day and age we sees Christians wanting to throw off the chains of our government because we are citizens of God's kingdom.  We see from this passage we see that is not the case the government is also God-given.  From verse 2 and 3 we see that the Apostle Paul is envisioning a government that does its job and we see that policemen who are honorable in exercising their authority are a good thing.  Can you imagine a country where murder, and theft was legal.  We do not reject our earthly citizenship from the U.S.A when we become Christians.  Yes we are to obey God rather that man when they come into conflict but that is the exception not the rule. As uncomfortable as this is to read in verse 6 and 7 that we should pay our taxes. One passage people refer is in the gospel of Luke chapter 3

¹² Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, "Teacher,  what shall we do?" ¹³And he said to them, "Collect no more than you are authorized to do." ¹⁴Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages."

he is not knocking their occupation he is knocking the corrupt practices they were known for.

In 1 peter 2 it says

 

    ¹³ Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, ¹⁴or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. ¹⁵For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. ¹⁶ Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. ¹⁷ Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor

its interesting he says honor the emperor. The emperor at the time was Nero a nutcase who legend says would kill peter, yet peter says to honor because his authority comes from God. Plus submitting to the government can help silence rumors Christians that are false.

I don't think i stopped being a citizen of this great country when I gave my life to Jesus. Instead I am grateful he put in a country where we can gather openly without fear of being arrested or martyred for out faith

blessed are the merciful

Today we finally look at the 5th beatitude in Matthew 5:7

Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.

Now first off this is not talking about salvation by works like some could take this.  This is referring to sanctification which is the process we are make holy until the end, not justification which is when we are declared righteous by on the basis of Christ's sacrifice.

At first this beatitude seems easy mostly because our sees mercy as a feeling, But when had mercy he didn't just have a feeling but he was moved into action by that mercy. In James 2 it says

So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

but I would say this can read without works mercy is dead too. 

Jesus once told a parable that illustrated this very concept to peter. The context is peter wanted to how many time he would have to forgive his brother so Jesus told this parable in Matthew 18

   
    ²¹Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" ²²Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
    ²³"Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. ²⁵ And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' ²⁷And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. ²⁸But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, 'Pay what you owe.' ²⁹So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' ³⁰He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. ³¹When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. ³²Then his master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ³³ And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' ³⁴ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. ³⁵ So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."

so in light of this parable how can I not forgive someone for a sin against me when we have been forgiven a whole life of sin.

we are hungry people

today we look at Matthew 5:6

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied

history has shown we are hungry people hasn't it?  Look at Genesis 3 our first Adam the dolt ate the fruit he wasn't supposed to.  If you look at Matthew 4 the temptation that was brought to Jesus was to eat something he shouldn't have.  This was a temptation because in his human nature Jesus got hungry.

We see this is each beatitude builds off the one before you do the one in response to the one before.  So you realize you are sinful you mourn that sin then you realise you are meek.  so in response the the first 3 beattitudes you hunger for righteousness.

i think there are couple things to remember about this beatitude

Notice Jesus uses a picture of something that happens everyday and like a good baptist I can relate being hungry.  If we are told we can't eat we get mad.  We need to want righteousness everyday.

Also note it is Jesus righteousness that we receive not necessarily the one we hunger for. Sometimes people want to piggyback a pastor's righteous but the only righteousness we piggyback is Jesus righteousness

blessed are the meek

today we look at the 3rd beatitude in Matthew 5:5

(on a side note after reading this could you give me some input on my blog like how i am doing and how i can improve)

blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth is so counter to how i was raised because i was raised to believe the strong inherit the earth.

of course we must realize meekness is not weakness anyone want to call Jesus weak?  anyone... anyone...
yeah i didn't think so. also the bible days moses was meek does anyone want to call the person who went toe to toe with the most powerful man on earth at the time weak? i didn't think so.  but when got angry it was against the pharisees as a whole never against a insult to him but against social injustice and hypocrisy. i admit i have a problem with this because i have a temper when i am insulted but thank God i am getting better at. in this i ask a question in this parable from Luke 18

      ⁹He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ¹⁰"Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.' ¹³But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' ¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

who do you identify with the pharisee or the tax collector? i admit sometimes i act Pharisaical but thankfully less than i used to

blessed are those who mourn

today we look at Matthew 5:4 the second beatitude which is built off the first because once you realize your sinfulness you mourn that sinfulness like the tax collector in parable from last week's study

now this beatitude does mean that you be a grouch because i have a hard time picturing Jesus as a grouch

You know i have noticed that the church does not like to mourn for our sins or the dead. I was confused because the church teaches us to be when someone dies and is in heaven, but that is not Christlike because Jesus mourned for Lazarus and he knew he was bringing him. if we do not mourn our sins how do we show God we are sorry for our sins.  this is also a continual thing not a one time thing because we constantly sin

matthew 5:3

It is time to start the beatitudes which are statements that begin with the word blessed, which i think should be translated happy because blessed seems like a old fashioned word

the first beatitude is this:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

I first feel a need to say what this does not mean first because i think with all the beatitudes we tend to take them out of context and misinterpret them. You will notice as we go through them that these verse are not to be taken alone and they are in this order for a reason.

Being poor in spirit does not mean to think we are zeroes. I think since God sent his son to die for us implies value.  Sure the image of God in us is fractured but we are still made in the image of God. It also does not mean to be like Eeyore the donkey.

Being poor of spirit means realizing that spiritually we are bankrupt.  I think the best example i can think is a parable Jesus told of the pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14

⁹He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ¹⁰"Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.' ¹³But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' ¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

I think another false notion about being poor in spirit is that we need only be poor is spirit once but sometimes we think we deserve grace but if we deserve grace its not grace