Sunday, March 27, 2016

A Sermon of Attitudes (pt. 1)

The Beatitudes are a favorite study of many and rightly so, because they take us to the very heart of the type of people that we are to be as the kingdom of God. The beatitudes are set by placeholders seen in the word “blessed.” 
As a modern term, we see the idea of happiness; but, it is closer to the idea of those whom God approves. Of what kind of individual does God approve? Matthew 5:3-12 lays out the character traits that we should each desire. Verses 1-2 set the stage almost literally as Jesus “Seeing the crowds, went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them…” [ESV]. Jesus sets forth the very foundation for which the rest of the Sermon on the Mount will teach by each of these attitudes that we should be. Therefore, we might call the Sermon on the Mount, the Sermon of Attitudes.

- Wayne Rodgers