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Jesus\'s Sermon on the Mountain

(2008-01-07 08:24:09) 下一个
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"

I believe Jesus is telling all people of sins, there is hope, for there is a kingdom of heaven to look up to.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted"

Jesus is telling all people of opposed, that they will be comforted by God. Some people may question why bad things happen to good Christians. I believe that Christians should not believe that they are specially favored by God in blessings. Actually in difficult time, we can be reminded how Christ suffered for us and strengthen our faith. We are weakest when we are happy and comfortable. Many people came to faith or renew their faith when they are in difficult time. That is what happened to me. When I had insomnia, I read the Bible and Streams in the Desert. I finally survived the diffcult time and built my trust in God only.

"Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inhert the earth"
Is Jesus teaching the kings how to be a true leader. I am just wondering about the phase of inherting the earth. Probably, he is not referring to king alone. He is teaching to people who are in a leadership position and tell them to be humble and patient. He talks to the opposed first, and now he talks to the elite. 

"Blessed are those hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied"
Have you ever troubled by your desire. There is always someone who is richer, prettier, and more famous than you. This kind of thinking make you feel discontent with your life. Here, Jesus is telling that only you seek righteousness from him, you will be satisfied. It says that our God will mostly satisfy your spiritual needs. God will not answer you if you say, please make me very rich. Our God is not a materialistic God. God will take care of you based on your needs. But you will not feel satisfied if you hunger for materials goods.

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy"
God is telling people to be merciful, then we will receive mercy from him. Therefore, Christians should show God's love through loving others. That is why many true Christians support all kind of charity organizations and help people of less fortunate.

"Blessed are pure in heart, for they shall see God"
God is estabilishing a higher standard for us. Not only we shall be merciful, we shall also be pure, without much desire for material goods. In such a highly materialisitc society, it is inevitably very hard for Christians. But Christians should remember how children behave. They had no idea of material possessions, and they are truly joyful. We shall all behave like Children in front of God.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God"
Truly, our Lord is a Lord of peace. I think there is a double meaning in peacemakers. One has to make peace with other people, and also with himself or herself. Therefore, how to make peace with other people, God already told us to be humble, patient, and merciful. To make peace with oneself, we shall have a pure heart. Only if we can make peace in these two aspects, we can be called sons of God.

"Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for there is the kingdom of heaven."

"Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me."

"Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
God is telling people that for those of you are persecuted because of him, you reward is in heaven. I greatly admire those people who dedicate their lives to God. I think they are special missionary sent by God.

"You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men."
Salt preserves food, so that it cannot be corrupted. Jesus is telling his people that you should stand up against being corrupted. If you are so corrupted, then there is nothing good come out except being despised by people on earth.

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;"

"Nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house."

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

Jesus is telling us we are the light, and we should shine people man. If you are a Christian, you should not hide your virtue. In stead, you should be put on the lampstand, and it gives light to all people on earth. God all told us how to shine. We should do good works so that people worship God because of it. That is how I became Christians. I saw the good works by many true Christians and became a believer.


"Do no thin that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets, I did not come to abolish but to fulfill."

"For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished."

"Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

Christ says that he is not coming to abolish the old law, but to fulfill. The essense of the old law is the ten commandments. Therefore, who ever advocate the old law of the ten commandments should be honored. But Christ is also establish a new covenant so people can be saved.

"For I say to you that unless your righeousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven."

Here the  scribes and Pharisees refer to the hypocratic Christians who just talk about law with out righteousness. Therefore, I believe doctrine is less important than the true spirit of Christianity.

to be continued.....












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lilly1234 回复 悄悄话 Thank you for your comments. Very true indeed.
上心 回复 悄悄话
Especially in these two sentences bellow:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"

"Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth"

They seem be quite opposite or against our worldly (Linear, buy & sell, more & less) way/logic of thinking, as if 物极必反, aren't they?

Normally we would think those who are poor in spirit, would be having a LONGER way/time, or have much less chances to go up to heaven, wouldn't we? Just like some people who had Near-Death experience (whether having accidents or terminating illness), would feel, touched by or even See God or Light personally or directly and believed in first than rest of us, who are living in rather Normal/stable Life. This is quite a challenging point of view, especially for our regular Church goers, who feel pretty safe by just GOING there every Sunday 例行公事, or by being a member of Church or so called Christian, but not feel Hunger or Poor in spirit at the same time, when we should have our 海绵吸水似 Enlightening moment.

Here, again, normally we would think whoever are more muscular, more powerful, richer or more armed, should have more shares for the ownership of the earth, but not the gentle ones, who would be given their shares of this earth by God, more gracefully & directly. I bet many of us wouldn't even want to believe in such a sounding UNFAIR statement, since our hearts are polluted, buried or wicked by inherited earthly views already.
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