Reading for Today:
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Genesis 9:1
Chapter 9 1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
–10:32
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Psalms 3:5-8
5 I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for Jehovah sustaineth me. 6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of the people That have set themselves against me round about. 7 Arise, O Jehovah; save me, O my God: For thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; Thou hast broken the teeth of the wicked. 8 Salvation belongeth unto Jehovah: Thy blessing be upon thy people. Selah Psalm 4 For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
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Proverbs 1:23-27
23 Turn you at my reproof: Behold, I will pour out my spirit upon you; I will make known my words unto you. 24 Because I have called, and ye have refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man hath regarded; 25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, And would none of my reproof: 26 I also will laugh in `the day of' your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; 27 When your fear cometh as a storm, And your calamity cometh on as a whirlwind; When distress and anguish come upon you.
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Matthew 5:1-26
Chapter 5 1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into the mountain: and when he had sat down, his disciples came unto him: 2 and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying, 3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain 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. 10 Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye when `men' shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you. 13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men. 14 Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do `men' light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and it shineth unto all that are in the house. 16 Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. 17 Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed `the righteousness' of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. 21 Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 but I say unto you, that every one who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of the hell of fire. 23 If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, 24 leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art with him in the way; lest haply the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid the last farthing.
Notes:
Genesis 9:6
6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: For in the image of God made he man.
For in the image of God. The reason man could kill animals, but neither animals nor man could kill man, is because man alone was created in God’s image.
Genesis 9:1
Chapter 9 1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
6 the everlasting covenant. This covenant with Noah is the first of 5 divinely originated covenants that are described as “everlasting.” The term “everlasting” can mean either 1) to the end of time and/or 2) through eternity future. It does not include eternity past. The other four such covenants include the following: 1) Abrahamic (Gen. 17:7); 2) Priestly (Num. 25:10–13); 3) Davidic (2 Sam. 23:5); and 4) New (Jer. 32:40).
Matthew 5:3
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed. The word literally means “happy, fortunate, blissful. ”Here it speaks of more than a surface emotion. Jesus was describing the divinely bestowed well-being that belongs only to the faithful. The Beatitudes demonstrate that the way to heavenly blessedness is antithetical to the worldly path normally followed in pursuit of happiness. The worldly idea is that happiness is found in riches, merriment, abundance, leisure, and such things. The real truth is the very opposite. The Beatitudes give Jesus’ description of the character of true faith. poor in spirit. The opposite of self-sufficiency. This speaks of deep humility of recognizing one’s utter spiritual bankruptcy apart from God. It describes those who are acutely conscious of their own lostness and hopelessness apart from divine grace (9:12;
Luke 18:13
13 But the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote his breast, saying, God, be thou merciful to me a sinner.
). theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Notice that the truth of salvation by grace is clearly presupposed in this opening verse of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus was teaching that the kingdom is a gracious gift to those who sense their own poverty of spirit.
Day 5: Why did Jesus preach the Sermon on the Mount?
Matthew records five important discourses: the Sermon on the Mount (chaps. 5–7); the commissioning of the apostles (chap. 10); the parables about the kingdom of heaven (chap. 13); a discourse about the childlikeness of the believer (chap. 18); and the discourse on His second coming (chaps. 24; 25). Each discourse ends with a variation of this phrase: “when Jesus had ended these sayings.” That becomes a motif signaling a new narrative portion.
The Sermon on the Mount is a masterful exposition of the law and a potent assault on Pharisaic legalism, closing with a call to true faith and salvation (7:13–29).Matthew is keen to show the error of the Pharisees for the benefit of his Jewish audience—not for personal or self-aggrandizing reasons. Christ expounded the full meaning of the law, showing that its demands were humanly impossible (see 5:48). This is the proper use of the law with respect to salvation: It closes off every possible avenue of human merit and leaves sinners dependent on nothing but divine grace for salvation (see Rom. 3:19, 20; Gal. 3:23, 24). Christ plumbed the depth of the law, showing that its true demands went far beyond the surface meaning of the words (5:28, 39, 44) and set a standard that is higher than the most diligent students of the law had heretofore realized.
From The MacArthur Daily Bible Copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson Bibles, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc, Nashville, TN 37214, www.thomasnelson.com.
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