The Beatitudes: An Introduction

Posted on August 15, 2024 by Don Merritt

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,  and he began to teach them.

Matthew 5:1-2

The Sermon on the Mount begins with nine “Beatitudes” in which Jesus describes the present reality of the Kingdom in the midst of the people who were listening to this sermon. Notice how Matthew has connected the previous section with what is about to happen: Jesus had begun His ministry, He’s been preaching and healing and the crowds have grown and grown. He looks around and there is a big crowd, so He climbs up a hill, sits down and begins to speak to the people.

His opening is a series of nine Beatitudes that break nicely into two main sections. The first section, comprising the first four beatitudes, (5:3-6) focuses on our relationship with God, the second group of four (5:7-10) focus on horizontal relationships, with the ninth expanding upon the eighth. Each is comprised of a statement identifying the character trait that is blessed by God (e.g., “blessed are the poor in spirit”) followed by a clause explaining the basis of their blessing (e.g., “theirs is the kingdom of heaven”). The section is bracketed by “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” in verses 3 and 7 which clearly define this introduction to the rest of the Sermon on the Mount discourse.

I’ve noticed over the years that people read these without an actual understanding of what the word “blessed” means. I did some research on the word to discover its meaning, and more often than I’d like to admit, people use the word in its own definition, even sometimes in some dictionaries, which, when I was in school, was strictly frowned upon. One definition said that “blessed” means “blest”. Gee, thanks for clearing that up!

The Greek word used here is makarios, which means: “fortunate, well off:—blessed, happy”. Thus, when Jesus says “blessed is (or blessed are)” He means that they are fortunate, well off, happy. When we read through these beatitudes, we need to be asking questions like, “Why would being poor in spirit make me happy, and what is the alternative to being poor in spirit?”

When we approach the Beatitudes like that, we will very likely discover a mine of great wealth to be explored. Consequently, as we go through these one by one, we will be exploring with those types of questions in mind. The reason is more than just our getting some good teaching; Jesus isn’t just teaching here, He is telling the people about the present state of the kingdom. It wasn’t that God would change our earthly circumstances if we would follow Him, it was that God would be in a close and personal relationship with the people in this age, and ultimately change the paradigm in the next age, this passage, therefore is not only messianic, but apocalyptic as well, and most deserving of our careful attention. We will kick it off when we next get together; you won’t want to miss it!

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The Way

Posted on August 15, 2024 by Don Merritt
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Kingdom, Teaching, and Healing

Posted on August 14, 2024 by Don Merritt

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.

Matthew 4:23-25

This interesting piece of text provides a transition into the next scene that covers chapters 5-7; the Sermon on the Mount, as it is commonly called. As we consider these verses,  we have a device that Matthew uses several times in the his book, that of a generalized summation of events that leads into the next scene which in turn, provides a more specific look at what has been generalized (cf. 8:16; 9:35; 12:15; 14:35-36; 15:30-31; 19:1-2).

In this particular case, we have a generalization in 4:23 that has a parallel in 9:35 that describes Jesus’ early ministry in very messianic terms, providing a sort of literary book ends to the content in between. As we move into chapters 5-7, we will have a very specific example of one of His teaching sections; the kind of teaching the people of Galilee were hearing as Jesus traveled from place to place. Then, in chapters 8-9 we will shift the focus onto the miracles He was performing in their midst, and when you put the two sections together into Matthew’s messianic context, we can see not only what was going on at the time, but what the Kingdom of Heaven is all about.

Notice verse 23 where we see that Jesus is moving through the region teaching and proclaiming the Kingdom, and healing the sick from every sort of sickness. Then in the remaining verses we find that the news of Jesus’ activities spread throughout Israel and into neighboring Syria to Jew and non-Jew alike. Then we discover that Jesus isn’t only healing illnesses, He is making the lame walk, giving sight to the blind and chasing out demons as well.

People come from every region to hear Him, to see Him and to be healed.

Before we move on, let’s pause just a moment to consider what was happening: The long awaited Messiah had come to Israel. He went out into the countryside preaching the good news of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whenever He did this, people heard God’s Truth and were healed of whatever consequence of sin that afflicted them; that is what the Kingdom of Heaven does when it is filled with the power of grace and truth, for grace and truth bring with them love, and love builds community, and community brings fellowship and healing.

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Beautiful but Deadly

Posted on August 14, 2024 by Don Merritt

There are some things in this life that are absolutely beautiful.  Some are alluring, some are natural while others are man-made.  They might catch our eye or arouse our senses.  They may seem entirely harmless… and they might be good in and of themselves…

…but they can be deadly.

Take this gorgeous tiger for instance, God outdid Himself in the design, it’s simply beautiful, but I don’t think I’d want to walk up and pat him on the head.

Kitty, kitty, kitty!

That beautiful creature just happens to be a killing machine…

More often, we become entranced by things of beauty and make them more important than they really are in our lives.  I really enjoy old Victorian architecture; it is beautiful.  Every little detail can be a work of art, and nobody can say it’s immoral.  The question is how important will I allow it to become in my life?

I know people who define life by discovering Victorian treasures in unusual places, who live for the day that they can buy their very own Victorian… be careful what you wish for.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, I can enjoy things, I can appreciate their beauty, but when a “thing” or a pleasure becomes the object of life, I will die spiritually just as certainly as I would die physically if I walked up to a sleeping tiger and patted him on the head.

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Calling Disciples

Posted on August 13, 2024 by Don Merritt

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.

Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them,  and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Matthew 4:18-22

As we continue with Matthew’s account of Jesus, we come to the time when He began calling disciples, and no matter how many times I read these accounts whether it be here in Matthew or in one of the other Gospels, I am always struck by the fact that Jesus called and they came immediately. No excuses, no arguments, nobody had to “pray about it” (so they could avoid saying no): Jesus called, they responded.

This short account begins with the calling of Peter and Andrew, two fishermen who were out on the Sea of Galilee fishing. Jesus calls them and says that He will make them fishers of men. Notice they had nets in the water at that moment and they just left them there and went with Jesus. Let’s be clear, they were fishermen, not sportsmen; fishing wasn’t their hobby, it was their livelihood. When they just left everything and followed Jesus, they lost their business. They also left their boat behind… they sacrificed greatly to follow Jesus, and they did it without hesitation.

Next, Jesus called John and James who were fishing with their father, and once again, without hesitation, they left not only their profession but they left their father to follow Him. If walking away from your livelihood is big, turning your back on your family is bigger still. There is a cost to following Jesus; we may not like to talk about it, but it is true nevertheless.

So to recap, these four disciples responded to Jesus immediately, and in doing so, they gave up everything they had in this world to follow Him. In our day, what do we give up to follow Him? Cussing? An hour a week?

Yet often we say following Him is too hard!

Next time, we’ll see how His early ministry was doing; see you then!

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A Day of Opportunity to Shine

Posted on August 13, 2024 by Don Merritt
donmerrittonline.com

I don’t know about you, but I’m a morning person. Many people that I know say that I get up way too early, but what’s so early about 4 am? It’s a bit like getting to the ballpark in time to watch batting practice; if you haven’t seen batting practice, you haven’t really seen the game… Right?

Right!

Every day brings opportunities to serve others, to meet the needs of others who might need comfort or a helping hand in some way. It’s an opportunity to get necessary chores done, to learn something new, and to spend time alone with our Lord Jesus Christ and to build that all important relationship with Him.

It’s also an opportunity to grow spiritually.

OK, I know what some are thinking, and yes, I’ll admit that every day also brings its challenges, irritations and difficulties.

Yet, I find that when I’ve gotten to the ballpark of a new day early enough for batting practice, those challenges, irritations and difficulties are much easier to deal with, because my mind is in a much better place, than if I lay in bed dreading getting up.

Even so, a number of people have told me that being up until late at night does the same thing for them that being up early does for me, and while that is hard for me to imagine, if that’s your way, then that’s fine. The really important lesson to all of this is that we all need our quiet time to reflect, recharge and to grow with Him. In our time, this might require that we make a special effort to secure our quiet time to ensure that it isn’t drowned out by the chaos of daily life.

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Jesus Heads to Galilee

Posted on August 12, 2024 by Don Merritt

When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali—to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
    the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,
    Galilee of the Gentiles—
the people living in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
    a light has dawned.”

Matthew 4:12-16

As the first section of Matthew’s Gospel draws to its close, Matthew inserts some transition, and in so doing, he continues his pattern of linking the story of Jesus with Israelite history; in this case using geography as his means. It would seem that Jesus heard that John had been arrested, and then headed for Galilee. Let’s not be too hasty to assume that He did so because He feared arrest or danger Himself; there is something much greater in play here, for John’s arrest put an end to his mission to “prepare the way of the Lord” and thus, with everything in readiness and the fullness of time having arrived, it was time for Jesus to step into center stage.

In fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy found in Isaiah 9:1-2, Jesus travels to Galilee, but He doesn’t resume His residence in Nazareth, He sets up shop in Capernaum which will be His base of operation during His Galilean ministry. Notice the inclusion of the tribes that once lived in this region, among the very first to be taken into captivity, along with the reference to “Galilee of the Gentiles” with its obvious reference to the universal nature of Jesus’ messianic mission and its fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham.

There is also the observation that these are people, both Jew and Gentile, who are living in darkness, in the very “shadow of death” for whom a new light is beginning to dawn. This is not only the dawning of hope, but it is also the dawning of the truth of God’s redemptive plan coming into its final phase of execution. Matthew sums the whole first section of the book up in one wonderful sentence:

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Matthew 4:17

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Where Should We Place Our Trust?

Posted on August 12, 2024 by Don Merritt

Some time back I came upon a scene; this tree grabbed my attention because it was unusual…

The unusual thing about the tree isn’t the scar, but how well it has done in spite of the injury it sustained.  I’m not sure exactly what happened to the tree, my first thought was a lightning strike, but who knows?  It seems likely that whatever happened was storm related in some form…

We all deal with storms in our lives, sometimes literally, other times the storms are of a different sort.  Many of these are caused by our own actions and choices, many are not.  More important than anything else is how we respond to them.

When times are tough, do we let the circumstances keep us down; do we let circumstances defeat us?  When we are hurt by life’s storms will we dwell in our pain or rise again from it?  One of the most difficult lessons in life, at least in my life, was learning that we do have this choice.

Even more important than learning that we have a choice in how we respond to damaging storms in life is learning that we need not try to recover all on our own.  It may sound overly simplistic to some, but we can turn much of this over to our Lord, for His strength is greater than ours. We can rely on Him, we can lean on Him, we can trust in Him.   Living a Christian life is a life of setting self aside and serving the Lord Jesus Christ, and dealing with times of trouble is no different, so it stands to reason that He will sustain us all the more when we put our trust in Him and keep on serving others instead of serving ourselves.

Some may question this, but all I can say to them is “Come and see”

Incidentally, isn’t it interesting that medical science has noticed that people of faith have much greater survival rates from injuries and traumas than those who are not of faith?  It seems the same is true for heart attacks and strokes. Where should we place our trust?

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Sunday Sermon Notes: August 11, 2024

Posted on August 11, 2024 by Don Merritt

Ecclesiastes 2:17-26

With verses 17 ff. we continue the Teacher’s warm and cozy view of our lives under the sun, this time we are talking about work. In verses 17-23, we see a very high concentration of markers making it more clear than at any time before this that we are talking about life “under the sun” which he repeats no less than five times. Could something be in the works here?

The main point in this passage is that we might work diligently all our lives, we might achieve great things, as Solomon surely did, and yet even though we might act with wisdom and knowledge and skill our entire careers, the day will come when we turn our accomplishments and fortunes over to someone who may or may not be wise, and who certainly did not earn them. He concludes that this is not a good situation, using the term “meaningless” no fewer than three times in the process.

Solomon isn’t the only person to make this observation, and over the centuries many volumes have been written about great reputations and fortunes that were squandered by foolish heirs on riotous living. What do we get from all of our hard work under the sun? We get stress, grief and anxiety, and in the end, we leave it all behind… meaningless!

Something happens in verse 24:

A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God

At first, we might think that Solomon’s rant is continuing, but then we see something different, eating, drinking and finding satisfaction “in their own toil” is a gift from God; this doesn’t seem to follow. This is because 24 and 25 are transitional verses:

A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?

Ecclesiastes 2:24-25

Our vantage point is no longer “under the sun”; from here through 3:22, Solomon gives his counterpoint to life under the sun, a contrast that makes this adventure of ours a most excellent adventure, rather than a depressing one, for there really is a ray of hope for better things.

To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. (v. 26)

By linking wisdom and knowledge with happiness, Solomon is making a distinction that this time, wisdom and knowledge are not vanity, as in the previous verses, for these are not the vain strivings of merely human wisdom and knowledge, but of a divine gift. This person, who is pleasing in God’s sight, understands the difference between that which is eternal, and that which is not, and their priority is in the right place, thus they can find happiness even in this life. By contrast, the one who is not pleasing in God’s sight does not find this kind of happiness and deep satisfaction, for if they have obtained even human wisdom, they realize that all is for naught in the end, no matter what they do. They come to recognize that they have merely been chasing the wind.

Approaching the next chapter, we see that Solomon is going to develop this new theme more fully; actually, he will take on a persuasive structure.

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The Son IS

Posted on August 10, 2024 by Don Merritt
donmerrittonline.com
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