Poor in spirit. Mourning. Meek. Persecuted. Is this a list of things to achieve so God will bless you? Or is Jesus saying something completely different?
In this teaching from Matthew 5:1–12, we look at the Beatitudes through five lenses:
- A checklist: the way to earn blessing
- A progression: the stages of a spiritual journey
- A description: what God’s blessing produces in people
- An invitation: Jesus opening his Kingdom to the people the world leaves out
- A manifesto: the foundation of a counter-cultural Kingdom, and a detox from the mindset of the one he came to overthrow.
We also unpack what “blessed” really means. And we read the Beatitudes in their setting: Jesus’ call to repent, his invitation to follow him, and his proclamation of the good news of the Kingdom.
Scripture: Matthew 5:1–12; Matthew 4:17–23; 1 John 3:1
