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 The beatitudes, according to Meier, "mirror Jesus himself, the truly happy
man, the embodiment of the joy the Kingdom brings."
• Key Word: makarios, "blessed,"
orig. described the gods who sat on Mt. Olympus;
• Text Summary: Jack Dean Kingsbury
Through the call of Jesus Messiah . . . the disciples
of Jesus become sons of God and brothers, who are given to share in his company and so to
live in the sphere of God’s gracious rule. As they follow Jesus, he imparts to them
his teaching. The content of his teaching is the will of God, so that it is binding on the
disciples and on the church for all time to come. In teaching the will of God, Jesus
teaches the law, and in the process intensifies and radicalizes it even to the point where
he, the Son, places himself above Moses. Whether it is a matter of the law or of the
tradition of the elders, the word of Jesus is consequently what is normative for the
disciples and the church.
How would Jesus’ opening
lines impact a post-modern community of Christians?
• How would successful, “together” Christians
hear this passage?
• Notice who gathers around Jesus. (1) The disciples-an
intriguing assortment of persons that reflect a variety of temperaments. (2) the oxloi, the crowds. Presumably they have come to receive healings and
exorcisms. Most if not all of these people form the amharetz, the people of the
land, the common folk, those most in need of good news.
Comment on Matthew - We’ve returned Luke to the gospel coat rack; time to
acquaint our listeners with Matthew’s portrait of Christ. Why not point out
Matthew’s teaching lesson plan of five blocks of narrative + teaching or his interest
Jesus fulfillments?
• Move into the text - note the
beatitudes’ qualities: present to future, passive and active; lead listeners on your
personal interest and discoveries of this lesson.
• Personal Confession - I used
this block to tell honestly a moment in my life when I experienced spiritual poverty. This
might help others to find their place in the text.
• Move back into the text to
discover the meaning of the 1st beatitude - Blessed are the poor in spirit . . .
for those who don’t have it together, for those who are painfully aware of their need
of God.
• A new year and a new gospel is a
great time to begin a new adventure with Jesus. Suggest how listeners might begin
afresh with Matthew’s disciples.
• Pronounce a “blessing”
on all those who know they need God’s sustaining, comforting, encouraging
intervention.
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