1. The Life of Christ – Lesson 7
January 10, 2018
Matthew Chapters 5-7
Luke 6:20-49
The Life of Christ – Lesson 7
The Sermon on the Mount

2. What did Jesus preach?
Jesus preached something other than “the law and the prophets” which had been proclaimed “until John.” What He preached was the “gospel of the kingdom of God.”
Luke 16:16; 4:42-44; Matthew 4:23; 13:10-11; 16:16-19; Luke 8:1

3. “Blessed”
It’s the effect of God’s approval on your life - that if you submit to His will by faith, God will extend His favor to you and bless you.
It’s not circumstantial (in terms of earthly things; 6:19-34) nor is it something that is affected by how you feel. It transcends all fleshly experiences. James 1:12; 1 Peter 3:14; 4:14; Revelation 14:13

4. “Blessed”
Psalms 32:1 – “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, who sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!” (Romans 4:7-8)

5. “Blessed”
Psalms 1:1-3, “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.”

6. “Blessed”
Psalms 94:12, “Blessed is the man whom You chasten, O Lord, and whom You teach out of Your law.”
Psalms 106:3, “How blessed are those who keep justice, who practice righteousness at all times!”
Psalms 112:1, “Praise the Lord! How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments.”
Psalms 119:1-2; 128:1; Isaiah 30:18

7. “Blessed”
Not unlike the idea of the “blessing” that was so often set in contrast to the “curse” in the OT which depended on faithful obedience to God’s will. Deuteronomy 11:26-28

8. “Blessed” A divine attribute:
1 Timothy 1:11, “… according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God …”
1 Timothy 6:15, “… He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords …”

9. “Blessed are the poor in spirit …”
What does it mean to be “poor in spirit”?
Does it mean to be of little worth or value?
Does it mean to be unspiritual or lacking in spirituality?
Is it a lack of self-worth?
Is it to lack talents and abilities spiritually?
Is it simply a form of humility?

10. “Blessed are the poor in spirit …”
What does the word “poor” mean?
Two words in the Greek language for “poor”:
One refers to a man who has to work to provide his own needs but has little to show for it. Not rich …
The other means to be a “beggar (as cringing)” (Strong). To cower or hide in fear or shame due to the need to beg for sustenance.

11. “Blessed are the poor in spirit …”
Vincent’s Word Studies: “While ho penees is one of narrow means, one who ‘earns a scanty pittance,’ ptoochos is allied to the verb ptoossein , ‘to crouch or cringe’ and therefore conveys the idea of utter destitution, which abjectly solicits and lives by alms …”

12. “Blessed are the poor in spirit …”
“… Hence, it is applied to Lazarus (Luke 16:20,22), and rendered ‘beggar.’ Thus distinguished, it is very graphic and appropriate here, as denoting the utter spiritual destitution, the consciousness of which precedes the entrance into the kingdom of God, and which cannot be relieved by one’s own efforts, but only by the free mercy of God.” (Vincent's)

13. “Blessed are the poor in spirit …”
Not the one who barely has enough but the one who has nothing and is utterly destitute.
“Poor in spirit …”
Not poor physically …
The inner man – Job 32:8; 2 Corinthians 4:16
Not what a man has but what he is!

14. “Blessed are the poor in spirit …”
What does the word “poor” mean?
“Poor and helpless … someone in abject poverty, utter helplessness, complete destitution … contrasted with penes (3993) , one who may be poor but earns his bread by daily labor” (Zodhiates)

15. “Blessed are the poor in spirit …”
The “poor in spirit” are the:
Spiritually “needy.” Psalms 40:17; 70:4-5; 72:12-13; 109:22-27; Isaiah 29:17-19
“Contrite and lowly of spirit.” Isaiah 57:15; 66:1-2
Ones with a “broken” or “crushed” spirit. Psalms 51:17; 34:18