Matthew
5:13-20
"You are the salt of the earth;
but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no
longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor
does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and
it gives light to all who are in the house. "Let your light shine before
men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who
is in heaven. "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets;
I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. "For truly I say to you, until
heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from
the Law until all is accomplished. "Whoever then annuls one of the least
of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least
in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called
great in the kingdom of heaven. "For I say to you that unless your righteousness
surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of
heaven.
Jesus
speaks in parables many times, and sometimes it's hard to understand his meaning.
Who is he talking to in this passage? He's talking to those whom he has promised
the kingdom of heaven; the comforted, those who will inherit the earth, those
who will be sated, those who are persecuted, those whom will be shown mercy, those
who will see God. Those people are the salt of the earth. Those are the people
that are the light on the hill. By losing your saltiness you lose all the attributes
that make you blessed.
What
happens to a candle flame when it's covered by a bowl? The flame goes out.
Tell
us what you think it means to let your light shine.
Answer:
I believe letting your light shine refers to the way you live your life. Our faith
is a light within us, Jesus is that light. We must live day by day as He has taught
us. Living a faithful life makes us stand out among unbelievers. Our faith, or
light, shows through us by our actions and words. We do not want to hide this
light, we must live in such a way that people notice we are different and that
difference is a good thing. In this way we are giving glory to God and will have
many opportunities to share the Gospel with others.
Go
back over the Beatitudes. Are you fulfilling those blessings? Go blessing by blessing
and list how you can change to be blessed in the ways that God has promised. Be
real and apply these blessings to your everyday life. Our purpose here is that
we are trying to be more like Jesus. In doing this we must evaluate our hearts
- our lives - and change a little bit everyday.
Answer:
Blessed
are the poor in spirit: I need to work on being humble before God, in acknowledging
that EVERYTHING I have or have accomplished is from Him.
Blessed
are those who mourn: I do find comfort from God in my mourning or sadness.
Blessed
are the meek: Hmm, well many times I am not meek! I need to work on this, to be
more quiet and allow
God to work through me.
Blessed
are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: I need to seek God's will for
all things in my life. I have a tendency only to do this for the big things, but
God can work miracles through even the smallest events in an ordinary day. So
I need to work on seeking His will and listening for His prompts throughout every
day.
Blessed are the merciful:
I am good at mercy for people who are ill or hurting, but I think there are other
types of pain which people suffer that I do not address. I need to work on seeking
out people's pain which might not be obvious. Be more in-tune to unspoken messages
which the people around me display and take those opportunities to share God's
love and grace.
Blessed are
the pure in heart: I can always improve in trying to get worldly things out of
my heart and mind and concentrate more on heavenly things and trying to live the
life God wants me to live.
Blessed
are the peacemakers: Hmm, well I hate to admit it, but sometimes I join gossip
conversations. This is certainly not being a peacemaker! I must work hard on not
allowing myself to be drawn into this type of activity.
Blessed
are those who are persecuted: I have not had to deal with persecution, praise
God!
Prayer Focus
Pray
that God will point out situations in your life that will make it obvious where
you need to change. Also pray for the courage to change and pray for support from
those around you.
The
Law
Jesus says that he has come to fulfill the law. What law do you think
that is?
Answer: When I think
of "The Law" I think of all the laws and instructions which Moses gave
to the children of Israel during their wandering in the desert. These were laws
given to Moses by God on Mt. Sinai. God gave the Israelites these laws so that
they could "be holy." 'For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves
therefore, and be holy, for I am holy'. Leviticus 11:44 These were the instruments
which allowed them to approach a holy God. They were required to offer sacrifices,
observe food laws and be separate from people who worshipped idols. Jesus is the
perfect personification of everyone of the Jewish sacrifices required in the Old
Testament Law. He has fulfilled the Law by His life and death. He has paid the
death required for us, sinful people, to approach a most Holy God.
He
then goes on to talk about people that break the commandments and teach others
to do the same will be the least in the kingdom of heaven. If you read these passages
continuously I believe the commandments that he speaks of are what we will learn
of in the next few studies. But, not only must we follow and teach these truth,
we also musn't be like the Pharisees who lived to obey the law as one would to
follow a to-do list in their planner. Our want and our need to follow Jesus' commands
must be from our heart. Our righteousness must be from the heart or we will not
see the kingdom of heaven.
