Pray for understanding and dig in!
Matthew
Chapter Five
Jesus
had done a significant amount of healings.
People were bringing their sick, diseased, paralyzed, possessed,
mentally ill and pain filled to Him and He was healing them all!
Therefore
large crowds came from all over to follow Him.
(chapter 4:25)
What
did He do when He looked out and saw the crowds? Vs1
Who
came to Him?
What
did He do when they came? Vs2
In most of the beatitudes, if we look at
the reward, we can see what the first part is referring too.
What
did Jesus say about the “poor in spirit”?
vs3
Based
on what is theirs, what do you think “poor in spirit” means?
What
did Jesus say about those who mourn? Vs4
Based
on this, what do you think that mourn means?
What
did Jesus say about the meek? Vs5
What
do you think meek means?
What
did Jesus say about those who hunger and thirst for righteousness? Vs6
Based
on how they will be blessed, what do you think it means to hunger and thirst
for righteousness?
What
did Jesus say about the merciful? Vs7
What
does it mean to be merciful?
What
did Jesus say about those that are “pure in heart”? vs8
What
does Jesus mean by “to be pure in heart”?
(See what David prayed in Psalm
51:10-11.)
What
did Jesus say about the peacemakers? Vs9
Based
on the reward, what would being a peacemaker be?
What
did Jesus say about those persecuted because of righteousness? Vs10
What
do you think it is to be persecuted for righteousness sake?
What
would this look like in today’s world?
The
beatitudes are actually attributes of a faith filled life. They go together to show what a child of God
looks like. Much like the “fruit of the
Spirit.”
In
the past verses Jesus referred to the blessed as “those”. Who does He refer to being blessed now?
Vs11
When
are these people blessed?
What
should they do when this happens? Vs12
Why?
Who
else had been persecuted this way?
For
argument sake…let’s look at the beatitudes as titles for the sermon that Jesus
preached right after. See if you find
any correlation between the “title” and the teaching.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit” (the
humble & submissive)
What
are those that follow Jesus? Vs13
What
does He say about it losing its flavor?
What
are those that follow Jesus? Vs14
What
does Jesus say about a town on a hill?
How
do you think that relates to Jesus followers?
What
does He say about where to put a lit lamp and how it is effective? Vs15
How
do these analogies relate to us? Vs16
Who
is to get glorified by our deeds?
“Blessed are those who mourn” (those who
hurt)
Did
Jesus say that He came to abolish, get rid of, the law & prophets?
Vs17
What
did He come for?
When
will the law be abolished? Vs18
How
much of the law will remain until then?
What
will happen to anyone who sets the law aside and teaches others to? Vs19
What
will happen to anyone that practices and teaches the commands?
How
righteous (in Jesus teaching) did they have to be to enter Heaven? Vs20
What
do you think that this means? (This
would be a good place to stop and pray for God’s wisdom to understand.)
Judging
by everything else that He taught previously, verses 3-16, what would “a
righteous one” look like?
“Blessed are the meek, (strength under
control) for they will inherit the earth.”
What
sin and law did Jesus bring up? Vs21
What
did He say about that sin? Vs22
According
to this verse, what comes before that sin?
Read
Romans 3:23. What does this tell
us?
According
to Jesus example, how important is it to address your wrongs when you realize
them? Vs23-24
What
can happen if you don’t settle matters quickly? Vs25
When
Jesus talked about being thrown in prison, how long would one be there?
Vs26
Was
Jesus concerned about money? Why else would He say this?
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst
for righteousness, for they will be filled, satisfied.”
What
sin did Jesus bring up next? Vs27
How
did He redefine it? Vs28
Where
did this sin originate?
Do
you see a pattern here?
Can
you fill in the word in this sentence? Outward sin is the result of
___________ sin.
What
would be better than to allow ourselves to willingly sin? Vs29-30
Could
we still sin without an eye or a hand?
What
do you think Jesus point is with this teaching?
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will
be shown mercy.”
What
was the next subject that Jesus brought up? Vs31
What
did Jesus say about this? Vs32
Jesus
had been getting to the “heart” of the issue in this entire segment; He spoke
to our attitudes and motives. How do you
think that verse 32 lines up with being a “heart” issue?
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they
will see God.”
What
subject did Jesus bring up next? Vs33
What
did He say about making them? Vs34-35
What
else does Jesus say not to “swear by”? vs36
Why?
This
verse gets to His point. What does He
say about “swearing to God”? vs37
Explain
what you think this means:
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they
will be called children of God.”
What
has the law said? Vs38
What
does Jesus say about this law? Vs39-40
What
else did He say? Vs41-42
(See explanation of the second mile
below)
These
verses relate to” the heart”; explain how:
“Blessed are those who are persecuted
because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of God.”
What
did Jesus say was the law regarding neighbors and enemies? Vs43
How
did He change that? How should we respond?
Vs44
Why?
Vs45
How
does God treat the evil and the good?
When
God provides the sun to warm the earth, help the crops to grow, and give light,
does He leave anyone out?
When
He sends rain to water the earth and crops, does He leave anyone out?
What
did Jesus ask? Vs46
How
did He answer the question?
He
makes the same point again. What did He
ask this time? Vs47
What
do you think His point is in all this?
What
types of people do you think of as unlovable?
Now
let’s get personal, think about your life…who do you think of in your life that
you find unlovable or difficult to love?
How
did Jesus tell them to be? Vs48
What?? What do you think that means?
Remember, the underlying message in this
teaching is from verses 17-20.
Do you feel like you learned something after studying
this chapter more closely?
What stood out to you the most in this
chapter?
Excerpt taken from The Biblical
Second Mile Christian by Charles Shong
During those days, a Roman official
could require any subject of the Roman Empire to bear a burden or carry a load
for one mile. Some claim that several hundred years before Christ came, the
Roman Empire enacted a law that forces every male Jews, young and old, to carry
any Roman soldier’s burden when ordered anytime, anywhere. No doubt such a law is true, as a man called
Simon was compelled to carry the cross for the Lord Jesus Christ to Calvary for
the crucifixion. Roman soldiers had no qualms in compelling anyone to do
anything whenever they saw fit. They are the masters and others are their
slaves. It was a privilege to be Romans during those days and they had special
privileges and treatment above the people they ruled over. If you were a male
Jew, living under the Roman Empire during that time, what would you have done
if you were compelled to walk a mile
carrying the burden of a soldier?
That soldier who approached you to compel you might be very rude and crude.
Soldiers were not known to be polite anyway and being soldiers, they are prone
to violence. The burden he threw on the
ground, which you were supposed to pick up, could be very heavy and even very
dirty and smelly. You could probably smell his sweat on the dirt and sweat stained
backpack he threw on the ground. You might be very busy having commitment to
fulfill that day. However, this soldier
came along to mess up your day by compelling you to take a detour for a mile
walk with his dirty heavy backpack.
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