Jesus Taught Them

I believe the Lord is leading me, beginning today, to focus for a while on the teachings of Jesus Christ, and how he connected with the people, and how he related to them. And I believe he wants me in the book of Matthew right now until he leads me somewhere else. For the past nine years the Lord led me to primarily use Bible Gateway’s “verse of the day,” although extending it beyond just one verse, often including the whole chapter the verse was in. So, I believe it is time to do something different. I know God will lead me.

When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2 He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:1-9 NASB1995)

So, who are “the poor in spirit”? They are the humble of heart, mind, attitude, and self-evaluation. They are those who recognize that they were born with a sinful nature and that they are in need of deliverance from slavery to sin. So they are those who know that they need the Lord, not just to forgive their sins, but to rescue them out of their addiction to sin. So, by biblical faith in Jesus Christ they choose to deny self, die to sin, and obey God and his commandments, all in his power and strength and wisdom.

The same applies with those who mourn, for this is not just about weeping over the loss of people we love, but this is about weeping over our sins to the point of genuine repentance. We don’t just feel sorry that we sinned, but we grieve so much that we ever sinned that we want that deliverance. We want to be set free from that bondage to sin so we can now serve God with our lives and walk (in conduct) in holiness and righteousness, living to please God in doing his will, as led by and as empowered by God’s Spirit.

And who are the gentle? They are the meek. But remember with me here that Jesus was regarded as meek, but he was not weak on faith or truth or doctrine or on sin. So this is about “exercising God’s strength under his control, i.e. demonstrating power without undue harshness” (Bible Hub). But there were certainly times which called for Jesus to be harsh when it came to people, especially those claiming to be of God, living in hypocrisy and in deliberate and habitual sin against God. Sometimes we have to be strong.

Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are those who, in truth, want to be delivered from their addiction to sin so that they can obey God and his commands and live holy lives, pleasing to God. For righteousness has to do with what is approved by God, i.e. that which meets with his judicial approval. It is all that is deemed right by the Lord, such things as true repentance, submission to God, surrender of our wills to the will of God, and walks of faith in obedience to our Lord in the power of God within us.

Yes, the merciful are the compassionate, the caring, and the sympathizing, who put their emotions into action in reaching out to other people in their times of need to try to help them as best they know how to do. But mercy is never to go soft on sin, or to make allowances for deliberate and habitual sin in the lives of those professing faith in Jesus Christ. And compassion is not withholding the truth from people who need to hear it just so they won’t feel bad. So we need to be those who speak the truth, but who speak it in love.

And the pure in heart are those whose lives are surrendered to Jesus Christ, to doing his will, who do not make moral compromises to please the flesh. They are unadulterated in thought, words, and actions, when it comes to believing in Christ, and to doing his will, and to speaking his truth. They don’t soft-pedal the gospel to make it less offensive, and they do not pacify themselves or others in living sinful lifestyles. They are not those who just talk the Christian walk, but they live it, in practice, by the grace of God.

And to be peacemakers has nothing to do with making compromises of truth and righteousness in order to make peace with other people who object to the teachings on repentance and obedience to God and to his commands, which are necessary components of faith which saves. Peacemakers are those who help others to make peace with God via dying with Christ to sin and walking in obedience to his commands by God-persuaded faith in Jesus. And we are not those who willfully pick fights to deliberately stir up trouble.

All whose lives are surrendered to God in humble submission to him in obedience to his commands in holy living, who fit with these qualifications listed above, belong to the Lord. We have the comfort of knowing our God is with us, and he will be with us through all our trials. And as long as we remain in him, in obeying him, and in no longer making sin our practice, we have the hope of salvation from sin and of eternal life with God. But all who live in sin, in disobedience to God, will not inherit eternal life with God.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22] 

Blessed Are You  

Based off Luke 6:20-49 NIV 1984

An Original Work / August 29, 2012

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

“Blessed are you; blessed are you 

Who are poor for God’s kingdom is yours.

Blessed are you; blessed are you 

Who are hungry, you’ll be satisfied.

Blessed are you; blessed are you 

Who weep now, for you will laugh with joy.

Blessed are you; blessed are you 

when men hate and reject you because of Christ.”

“Rejoice in that; rejoice in that day 

And leap for joy; great your reward.

But I tell you; but I tell you 

To love those who hate you; do them good.

Pray for those who; pray for those who

Treat you wrong and say kind things of them.

Do to others; do to others as you would 

Have them do; have them do to you.”

“If you love those; if you love those 

Who love you, what praise is there for you?

Because Christ is; because Christ is kind,

Be merciful, just like He is.

Forgive others; forgive others 

Their offense against you; be ye kind.

Hear My words and; hear My words and 

Put them into practice, then you’ll be fulfilled.”

https://vimeo.com/115046573

Jesus Taught Them

An Original Work / April 25, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love