Jesus often communicated in parables. His first parable compared his followers to salt.
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
Jesus’ first public sermon was recorded in the Gospels of Matthew (Matthew 5) and Luke (Luke 6). His ninth and final blessing from God, called the “Beatitudes,” that Matthew recorded was:
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Read More “Blessed are You When People Persecute You Because of Me”
Jesus’ first public sermon was recorded in the Gospels of Matthew (Matthew 5) and Luke (Luke 6). His eighth blessing from God, called the “Beatitudes,” that Matthew recorded was:
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
In an earlier post we’ve already looked at what the word “righteousness” means. If you missed that one, I recommend going and reading that post first. For this verse, I want to take a closer look at what “persecution” means. In the original Greek, it is διώκω and is transliterated “diókó” (pronounced dee-o’-ko), which means to “persue with haste” or “aggressively chase.” It can be used in a positive way, such as to “earnestly pursue,” or a negative way, such as to “zealously hunt down” or “earnestly desire to apprehend.”
Read More “Blessed are Those who are Persecuted because of Righteousness”
Jesus’ first public sermon was recorded in the Gospels of Matthew (Matthew 5) and Luke (Luke 6). His seventh blessing from God, called the “Beatitudes,” that Matthew recorded was:
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
The word “peacemaker” in the original Greek is εἰρηνοποιοί and is transliterated “eirénopoios” (pronounced i-ray-nop-oy-os’), which is an adjective describing someone who “makes peace” or “loves peace.” The same word, used as a verb, is εἰρηνοποιέω and is transliterated “eirénopoieó” (pronounced i-ray-nop-oy-eh’-o), and means to “make peace” or “reconcile.” Another similar verb, εἰρηνεύω, is transliterated “eiréneuó” (pronounced i-rane-yoo’-o), means “to be at peace” or “to keep the peace” or “I am at peace.”
Jesus’ first public sermon was recorded in the Gospels of Matthew (Matthew 5) and Luke (Luke 6). His sixth blessing from God, called the “Beatitudes,” that Matthew recorded was:
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
What does it mean to be pure in heart? What does it mean that those who have a pure heart will see God? The word used in this verse for “pure” in Greek is καθαροὶ and is transliterated “katharos” (pronounced kath-ar-os’), which means “pure,” “clean,” “unstained,” “guiltless,” “innocent,” and “upright.” In Hebrew the word for “pure,” in the spiritual sense, is זַ֥ךְ and is transliterated zaḵ, meaning “pure” and “clean.”