Blessed (Mt. 5:1-12)
HOMEGROUP STUDY NOTES WALKING IN THE LIGHT
w/c 9th January 2022
BLESSED (Matthew 5.1-12)
This term’s studies are on the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7). You might like to encourage your group to read the sermon in advance. It should only take about 10 minutes. It is always useful to have feedback on these notes, so do let me know (positive as well as negative) as this will help in the preparation of future notes.
Malcolm
(The Revd Malcolm Raby rm.raby007@btinternet.com)
The notes in RED are questions you might like to put to the group. The rest of the notes are for you to use as and if appropriate.
OPENING QUESTIONS
· The challenge of the Sermon is to be counter-cultural. What do you think this might look like for Christians in our society today?
· Is it possible to put Jesus’ words into practice or are these words hopelessly impracticable?
· “The Sermon is only intended for super-saints, not ordinary Christians like me.” How would you answer such a statement?
· Some commentators have suggested that the Sermon represents a future heavenly ideal rather than something to be lived out now. Do you agree?
INTRODUCTION (for leaders to use as appropriate)
“The Sermon on the Mount is probably the best-known part of the teaching of Jesus, though arguably it is the least understood, and certainly it is the least obeyed. It is the nearest thing to a manifesto that he ever uttered, for it is his own description of what he wanted his followers to be and to do.” (John Stott)
The essential theme of the Bible is that God calls out a people for himself; a people set apart from the world to belong to him, to obey him. To be ‘different’ in our outlook and behaviour. Yet too often the world looks at Christians today and says, “But you are no different from anybody else.”
In Matthew’s Gospel the Sermon is found towards the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. After his baptism and temptations he announced the good news that the kingdom of God had broken into history (Mt 4.17). The Sermon then is about the repentance (“change of mind”) and the righteousness which belongs to the kingdom. It is a description of what human life should look like under the gracious rule of God. And Christians should look DIFFERENT! (6.8) “Different from both the nominal church and the secular world, different from both the religious and the irreligious.” (John Stott) A value system totally at variance with that of the non-Christian world.
Is the Sermon authentic? Occurs only in Matthew, but something similar in Luke (6.17-49), sometimes called the “Sermon on the Plain”. Some modern scholars see it as “merely a collection of unrelated sayings of diverse origins, a patchwork”. But many others see these as the genuine words of Jesus, spoken over a period of time, but put together by Matthew in writing his Gospel.
Is the Sermon relevant today? Since it depicts the behaviour Jesus expects of his disciples (then and now) then it is surely very relevant in today’s world.
Is the Sermon practical? We may believe it in theory, but will it work in practice? Are the standards attainable – or just something to admire from afar? Some argue that the Early Church believed in Jesus’ imminent return so the Sermon was an “interim ethic” for that time alone – not an ethic for every day. But Jesus was speaking to his DISCIPLES, those already children of God. It is because of this “new birth” (and nothing else) that Christians have any hope of living out the Sermon day by day – and so showing that God’s grace is at work in their lives.
There are 2 major themes running through these chapters:
1 The kingdom of heaven (kingdom of God in other Gospels) which is mentioned 50 times in Matthew’s Gospel and 8 times in these chapters.
What do people usually understand by a “kingdom”?
King/ruler; citizens; boundaries; rules to live by; relationships between citizens, and between citizens and those in authority; expectations; loyalty; identity.
What is meant by the “kingdom of heaven”?
“God ruling in our lives”
It is a kingdom which is both here among us – and yet still to come!
Matthew 4:17; Matthew 12:28; Luke 22:18
2 Live a very different lifestyle. “Do not be like them” (6:8).
Matthew 5:20; Matthew 6:5,7,16, 32
What are some of the key issues addressed by the Sermon on the Mount?
Character; evangelism; salt and light; legalism and righteousness; murder and anger; adultery; divorce; swearing oaths; revenge; relationships; giving; praying; fasting; forgiveness; attitudes to wealth and possessions; trusting God; judging others …
It is easy to separate our lives into compartments: the sacred (church; prayer; Bible study; anything involving God) and the secular (the rest of our life). The former are seen as ‘spiritual’ and the latter seen as ‘worldly’. But Jesus wants to rule over ALL our lives and so his teaching embraces all we do in our daily lives.
5.3-12
1st century Palestine was an occupied country with a diverse group of people – but they all needed to hear of Jesus’ radical new way of living, just like we do today. The Jews were an oppressed people living in an occupied land and longing for the Messiah to appear. It was a land full of tension and pressure, inhabited by people who had very different religious and political beliefs, living side by side.
What does it mean to be “blessed”?
The people described: the 8 qualities listed should all be present in our lives. They are not for an elitist set but qualities that should characterise all Christians. All these qualities should be evident in our lives – just like all the 9 “fruit of the Spirit” mentioned by Paul in Galatians 5.22-23.
The qualities commended: when Jesus speaks of “poverty and hunger” these are spiritual states rather than physical – poor IN SPIRIT; hunger and thirst FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS. So we can reasonably deduce that all the qualities listed are spiritual.
The blessings promised: “Blessed” comes from the Greek “makarios” which is often translated as “happy”. But Jesus is not referring to how people might feel (“happy”) but about what God thinks of them. It is the second part of each Beatitude that describes the blessing. “The eight qualities together constitute the responsibilities, and the eight blessings the privileges, of being a citizen of God’s kingdom.”
Are the blessings for now or for the future? Probably both! We can enjoy the first-fruits now, but the full harvest is yet to come.
You might like to rewrite each Beatitude by inserting specific situations in your life. For example: Blessed are the peacemakers = Blessed is the person who helps A & B to reconcile their differences.
What about PERSECUTION? Is persecution inevitable for Christians today? In what ways might we be ‘persecuted’? How should we react?
However hard we might try to make peace with some people, they refuse to live at peace with us. Not all attempts at reconciliation are successful. There is a clash between two irreconcilable value systems. Jesus tells us react by …. verse 12. Rejection and slander may well come our way and we are not to seek persecution, but nor should we look for universal popularity. There will be times – however uncomfortable – when we have to stand up and be counted for our faith.
Citizens of the Kingdom
As we look at our society today, who are the people considered to be “blessed” – successful; celebrated; those who have “made it”?
Think of Mary, “highly favoured” by God – and what that meant for her …..
· within a few months of her encounter with Gabriel she went on a long/difficult journey (over 70 miles) to Bethlehem – Joseph, as a descendant of David, had to go there to comply with a Roman demand that people register in their home town. Mary usually depicted as riding on a donkey (even that would have been uncomfortable) but no mention of a donkey in the biblical narrative!
· Ridiculed, judged and threatened for carrying a child outside marriage (penalty under the law was stoning, though rarely carried out)
· Would Joseph end the betrothal contract?
· Possibly discarded and thrown out of family home
· Shunned and rejected by her own community
· Shortly after the birth of Jesus had to flee to Egypt as a refugee
· Saw her own son nailed to a cross
READ Matthew 5:3-12. Here are the qualities that should be found in followers of Jesus. How do they differ from the list made earlier?
Consider briefly the meaning of each Beatitude. How easy is it to live this out?
POOR IN SPIRIT (Luke 18:13)
Not about having a negative self-image. Rather an acceptance of our standing before God – I am spiritually empty and need God in my life.
MOURN (Matthew 26:75)
Really about mourning the state of the world and my own sinfulness.
MEEK (John 13:5)
Not to be seen as weakness; gentleness/submission. Rarely valued in our society.
HUNGER & THIRST
Have you ever really felt hungry and thirsty? It may be that we only hunger and thirst for righteousness when we are facing tough situations, for then we know we cannot rely on our own resources.
MERCIFUL
To show compassion to someone who is in your power/control.
PURE IN HEART
Someone with pure actions, pure motives, pure words. God offers to make us pure in heart (Ephesians 1:4) but we have our part to play too (Colossians 3:5-10).
PEACEMAKERS
Is there a difference between keeping the peace and being a peacemaker?
Peacekeeper wants things to be calm but does not address the underlying problem.
PERSECUTED
Have you ever suffered in any way for your faith? Did you feel blessed?
· There are many examples of Christians suffering for their faith in other parts of the world. One report recently claimed that some 340 million Christians throughout the world were facing persecution of one kind or another.
PRAYER
These notes were written just before Christmas so the situation with Covid/Omicron may have caused further changes in the way we meet. However, do spend some time praying for the current Covid situation; for our Government as they make crucial decisions affecting so many people; for those working for the NHS; for ourselves and our own personal responsibility; for our church leaders as they react to advice from the Diocese and the Government.
At the start of a new year, pray for your group that you may grow in love for one another.
Consider how “blessed” we are, and how we should respond to those in more challenging situations.