Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Synoptic Gospels 1: Messenger of the Covenant (4)
Pray Psalm 48.12-14.
Walk about Zion,
And go all around her.
Count her towers;
Mark well her bulwarks;
Consider her palaces;
That you may tell it to the generation following.
For this is God,
Our God forever and ever;
He will be our guide
Even to death.Sing Psalm 48.12-14.
(Cwm Rhondda: Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah)
Walk about the blessèd city, see her beauty, see her power.
Count her ramparts, filled with glory, look on every mighty tower.
Tell her glory to the nations: God will guide her evermore;
God will guide her evermore!
Read Matthew 5.1-12; Luke 6.20-23; meditate on Luke 6.20-23.
Preparation
1. What did Jesus promise to those who heard Him?
2. What kind of people are they to whom such things come?
Meditation
The context and content of these passages lead me to think they are two separate messages. Matthew’s version occurs on a mountain, while Luke’s has Jesus coming down to a level place (Lk. 6.17). And Luke adds both less and more content than Matthew. So although the two accounts harmonize well, they appear to have occurred at different times.
But in each, the offer of blessing is generously made. This reminds us that, from the beginning of His covenant with Abraham, God has led His people by the promise of blessing. He made promises to them of land, bounty, influence, protection, and favor as they followed Him like Abraham. Here Jesus is the Messenger of the covenant, offering blessing to all who will receive His Word and follow Him. He stands in the place of God, holding out much desired blessings and showing them who are the people upon whom such blessings fall.
We do not earn these blessings by becoming such people. Rather, as we follow Jesus and walk the path of His commandments (1 Jn. 2.1-6), He shapes us by our faith and obedience to be like Him—humble, meek, strong in the face of adversity, and all the rest. And thus we realize the promised blessings because our spirits are enriched in Jesus and the Kingdom of God is our abode.
Hunger and thirst for Jesus and the promises of God’s covenant, all of which are fulfilled in Him (2 Cor. 1.20). As you do, you will be completely satisfied because the more you delight in Him as the desire of your heart, the more of Himself He gives you—and all the blessings and promises that entails (Ps. 37.4).
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
We need a new perspective on the Christian life. And if we can gain it, we will be more like Jesus.
His message was not one of health, wealth, and multitudes of happy thoughts; but of truth.
My mom used to say, “There are two sides to every pancake.”
And this bit of wisdom usually fell as I was about to be lectured on a topic of importance.|
Regardless, it is true. Jesus taught likewise.
You will be poor in spirit, and you will mourn;
but you will be part of God’s Kingdom and you will be comforted.
You will probably be reviled, persecuted, abused and accused falsely; but take heart, your great reward is in heaven. And you are following in the footsteps of many previously reviled prophets and people; so, rejoice and be exceedingly glad. Jesus, The Blessing, is blessing you.
The Beatitudes are set up, like the LORD’s Prayer, in the same pattern as The Ten Commandments.
Matthew 5.3-5 encompasses all the blessings that befall us as we are in Christ Jesus (Ex. 20.1-11).
“For He shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those who condemn him” (Ps. 109.31).
Verses 6-12 recount the blessings we receive as we do His will and live in Him (Ex. 20.1-17).
“Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD!
Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart!” (Ps. 119.1, 2).
We are called to hunger and thirst for God.
However, being hungry and thirsty are two very unpleasant circumstances insistent upon driving us to seek food and water. Being hungry and thirsty for righteousness comes with its own promise of satiety.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matt. 5.6).
But again, it’s a new attitude. A new perspective on the Christian life.
“Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you,
and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake.
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
For indeed your reward is great in heaven.
For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets” (Lk. 6.20-23).
Living in the here and now, with Christ’s perspective on life, anticipating the there and then, when all things are made new, we must seek the other side of the pancake. For thereupon the truth resides.
“Have mercy on me, O LORD!
Consider my trouble from those who hate me,
You Who lift me up from the gates of death,
that I may tell of all Your praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion.
I will rejoice in Your salvation” (Ps. 9.13, 14).
In Jesus, The Blessing of the Covenant.
Reflection
1. How would you explain the idea of blessing to a non-Christian friend?
2. What are some ways that you experience the blessings of being in a covenant relationship with God?
3. Which of the blessings of God’s covenant will you use today to encourage a fellow believer?
Those are blessed indeed whom Christ blesses, but those must be dreadfully miserable who fall under his woe and curse! What a vast advantage will the saint have over the sinner in the other world! and what a wide difference will there be in their rewards, how much soever the sinner may prosper, and the saint be afflicted here! Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Luke 6.20-26
Pray Psalm 48.1-11.
Pray that Jesus will continue to shape you into the kind of person who knows all the promises of God’s covenant. Pray for your church, that it may become more the Body of Christ He intends.
Sing Psalm 48.1-11.
(Cwm Rhondda: Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah)
Great is God, now greatly praise Him in the city of the LORD!
Holy she, His lovely mountain, great and glorious by His Word!
God her King is great within her, He, her Stronghold ever sure!
He, her Stronghold ever sure!
Earthly kings, amazed and wond’ring, look upon the Church with fear.
See them flee in dread and anguish, knowing that the LORD is near.
For the city of the Savior God will keep forevermore!
God will keep forevermore!
For Your grace and lovingkindness we proclaim Your matchless worth!
As Your Name is, great and boundless, let Your praise fill all the earth.
Let Your people sing rejoicing for the judgment of Your truth;
for the judgment of Your truth.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: Our Read Moore podcast is concentrating on praying the psalms to seek revival—why we should and what we might expect. Do you ever wonder about what God’s will for you is? Patrick—echoing Paul—makes it clear, as you can see in last week’s Crosfigell. Our current ReVision series, “Pray for Your Church”, teaches us how to pray for the ministries of our church, beginning with worship. And new in our bookstore, our book, The Ongoing Work of Christ shows us how the book of Acts provides a template and footprint for all who take up the work of building Jesus’ Church.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
