The Beatitudes Lesson 1

Blessed (5:1-2): What does Blessed Mean?

Q. What does it mean to be blessed?

A. To receive benefits from Jesus by coming to him and obeying his teachings.

Matthew 5:1–2 ESV

1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

I. What does Jesus Want to Give You?

Matthew 5:1 ESV

1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

*How many of you have ever been on a mountain? What was it like?

Can you imagine being on a mountain and seeing Jesus sitting down wanting to give you something?

What do you think he would want to give you?*

I am going to read you the first few things he said to his disciples and I want you to see if you can tell me a word he uses a lot

Read Matthew 5:2-11 and emphasize the word Blessed

These verses are called The Beatitudes which means “blessed are”

Just like the disciples went to Jesus and he desired to give them blessings

So we should go to Jesus because he wants to give us blessings as well

II. What does it mean to be blessed?

a. a definition

What does it mean to receive a blessing, or to be blessed?

To receive something that makes us happy

*What has been your favorite gift you have ever received

How did the gift make you feel?

How did you feel about the person who gave you the gift?*

b. Physical Blessings

1. What is physical blessing

God created humans and his desire was to give them all creation for us to enjoy as a blessing (like your favorite gift).

Genesis 1:28–31 ESV

28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Literally all creation God has given us as a blessing to make us happy

2. There is a better blessing

*Now, can you remember a gift you have recieved that you used to play with a lot but don’t play with so much anymore?*

Gifts like toys, and games are fun and we are happy when we get them

But sooner or later, they won’t be so fun anymore and we will be wanting something more

All of creation is a gift to us but it cannot make us happy forever

This is to show you that there is a greater blessing than anything this world can provide

This is the blessing Jesus gives to his people

c. Spiritual Blessings

The blessings Jesus can give you is better than anything the world can give you (toys and games)

This blessing is laid out in the first Psalm

Psalm 1:1 ESV

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

1. Sin stops us from receiving the blessings Jesus gives

First we see who is not spiritual blessed:

Those who follow the counsel of the wicked

Stands in the way of sinners

And sits in the seats of scoffers

Sin, or disobedience to God, is what will stop you from receiving the blessings from Jesus that are better than what the world has to offer

Sin is when we take the blessings of his creation and disobey him with it

Because we are sinners from birth, God’s enemy, the devil, can trick us into believing it is a blessing to live in sin

*Can you recall a time that you did what was wrong because you thought it would be good for you?*

But the truth is, sin only leads to the opposite of blessing, unhappiness

*How did it make you feel when you got in trouble? Unhappy and guilty.*

So if spiritual blessings that Jesus can give you is NOT sin, what is it?

2. Obeying Jesus’ Word will give us his blessings

Psalm 1:2 ESV

2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

Spiritual blessings is coming to Jesus on the mountain and listening to his word, and it becoming your delight

So much so that you meditate on it always

*The favorite gift that you mentioned earlier, did you spend a lot of time with it?

Well the gift of Jesus and his Word can become your greatest delight that you always want to be learning and understand more since it brings such great blessings*

3. What the blessing of Jesus looks like

And next, we see the results of going to Jesus for the blessings he gives through his word

Psalm 1:3 ESV

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

Jesus can bless you and make you fruitful, or useful, to God and to everyone around you

*Who here likes grapes?

It is wonderful to pull a nice juicy grape from the stem and enjoy its flavor

But have you ever pulled a mushy grape that was dead?

It was not very useful, but only good for being thrown away*

So while it is good to enjoy the blessings this world has to offer in toys and games

It is much better to obey Jesus and do what he says and be useful to him and to others

You will live a much happier life when you pursue this above all things

4. The start of the beatitudes

And this is exactly how the sermon on the mount begins

Jesus teaching his followers his Word which promises blessings to those who live it out

Matthew 5:1–2 ESV

1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

And we will go over what he taught that we need to listen and obey in order to receive such happy blessings.

III. Jesus is our Example and He Gives us the Power to Obey

1. Jesus denied sin and waited for the blessing from God to be fruitful for Him

Jesus tells us to listen to his word, and obey for blessings

But he did it first when he walked this earth

Especially when he was tempted by the devil to sin

Matthew 4:1–2 ESV

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

Jesus was tempted by the devil to receive blessing or good things outside of God

First food, But Jesus answers with the word of God

Matthew 4:3–4 ESV

3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

Then relying on safety not from God

Matthew 4:5–7 ESV

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

Again Jesus answers with the word of God that you don’t put yourself in harms way to try and force God to protect you

But the greatest temptation came when the devil offered to bless Jesus with a kingdom not from God

Matthew 4:8–10 ESV

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ”

But once more Jesus relied on the word of God to tell the devil he would wait to be blessed by God with a kingdom through his worship of God

2. Jesus gives us the power to obey through his kingdom

And God did bless Jesus with a kingdom when Jesus, in worship and obedience, died to forgive sinners like you and me so we can join his kingdom and be blessed forever with a relationship with God through the forgiveness of our sins

Revelation 1:5–6 ESV

5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

If you turn away from your sins and believe that Jesus died to forgive people of their sins

Then you can join him in his kingdom and live the blessed life of obedience to him

And always be fruitful to him and to all those around you

Conclusion

And so now, we can approach Jesus on the mountain

And look for blessings from him

Who tells us truth in how to enter and live in his kingdom

And receive all the blessings that come from being with him

Matthew 5:1-3 “1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed...