PARABLES and Sayings of OF JESUS
Notes
Transcript
The Beatitudes
The Beatitudes
Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary Parables
PARABLES Stories, especially those of Jesus, told to provide a vision of life, especially life in God’s kingdom. Parable means a putting alongside for purposes of comparison and new understanding. Parables utilize pictures such as metaphors or similes and frequently extend them into a brief story to make a point or disclosure.
The classic definition of a parable is “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” At another level, a parable is a form of teaching. Telling a story is a timeless means of conveying truth
The Lexham Bible Dictionary Theology
Theology
The Sermon on the Mount is a call for the church to live according to the values of the kingdom of God. As citizens of the kingdom, disciples live under the rule of God, not society.
English Standard Version (Chapter 6)
The Beatitudes
Luke 6:20
20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Synopsis of Matthew, Mark and Luke The Sermon on the Plain
Matthew 5:3–4
3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary ii. The Advantages of Discipleship (5:3–10)
‘Beatitudes’ (i.e. statements of the type ‘Blessed is/are …’) are found elsewhere in Matthew (11:6; 13:16; 16:17; 24:46) and more frequently in Luke. They are based on a common form of expression in the poetical books of the Old Testament (e.g. Pss. 1:1; 32:1–2; 40:4; 119:1–2; 128:1), but nowhere in the Old Testament or other Jewish literature is there so long and carefully constructed a series as here.
Ps 1;1 ,Ps 119:1-2,Ps 128:1
Matt 11:6,Matt 13:16,Matt 16:17,Matt 24:46
Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.
It does not picture a man speaking blessings over a crowd of disciples, nor was David pronouncing a blessing upon the righteous. David was recognizing their blessed condition, as did Jesus.
But in the Sermon the Mount, Jesus was not blessing the people, but instead was telling them how blessed they were already—i.e., that they walk in a state of blessedness. More literally, asher is a condition of moving straight forward, prosperous, and happy.
It is not a future blessing, but a present spiritual joy and satisfaction that comes only from being at peace with God and in union with Him through a New Covenant relationship.
It is probably the foundation of Paul’s concept of being “in Christ” (2 Cor 5:17). In classical Greek, it is the word used to describe the blessedness of the gods.
He spoke to His disciples in Luke 6:20
And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
The blessed ones were “His disciples,” who were blessed on account of their faith that He was truly sent by God and spoke by revelation from God. While most of the people in Judea would have claimed to have faith in the true God, not all of them were so blessed, because “faith comes from hearing”
hose who stood before Him were called disciples because they followed Him and put His teachings into practice.
Matthew 5:3 ““Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
No doubt Jesus had in mind Isaiah 66:2 , “But to this one I will look: to him who is humble [aniy, “poor”] and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.” Even the word “tremble,” as used here, was not literal, but speaks of one who took the word of God very seriously. Kenneth Bailey comments on this, saying,
“On rare occasions the word ‘poor’ in Isaiah does refer to people who do not have enough to eat (Is. 58:7). But in the majority of cases, it describes the humble and pious who know that they need God’s grace and ‘tremble’ at His word” (Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, p. 69).
Jesus said that these humble ones who seek God already possess the Kingdom of God. What did He mean?
The majority of the people in that day had been taught that the Kingdom of God was a Jewish kingdom, ruled by God through the Messiah. Being in captivity to Rome, they longed for a great general to rise up, full of the power of God, which He would use to overthrow the Roman armies, even calling down fire from heaven to destroy their enemies. This messiah, they believed, would reverse the captivity and put all other nations into slavery to the Jews, even as the Jews had been enslaved by other nations. Their view was nationalistic and controlled by self-interest. Few thought in terms of receiving divine power in order to bring creation into the glorious freedom of the children of God
However, Jesus told them that even while they were currently oppressed and enslaved by Rome, they were already living in that blessed state, and the Kingdom of God was theirs. The implication of this was to say that they did not need a messiah to overthrow the Romans before they could live in that blessed state. The state of blessedness was independent of the political situation, their economic or social condition, or any external factor that controlled their lives.
So also could Jesus’ disciples enjoy the Kingdom as its citizens, even while living under Roman rule.
The Kingdom of God was the primary message that Jesus preached. When we read through the rest of the gospel accounts, we find that Jesus spoke of the present Kingdom as well as a future Kingdom. The Beatitudes focus upon the present Kingdom, by which the people already might live in that blessed state.
n other words, the “Kingdom” is synonymous with the blessings that it bestows upon its citizens. Men may enjoy its blessings today, without having to wait for the end of history when all things have been put under His feet. With the appearance of the King, the Kingdom had been inaugurated. Yet Jesus also spoke of the Kingdom as something that was yet to come. In The Lord’s Prayer, we read in Luke 11:2, “Thy kingdom come.”
We also know from Dan. 2:35 that the “stone” grows until it fills the whole earth. That growth period takes time. It grows not only by converting more people as citizens, but also gains territory until His glory covers the earth. His Kingdom includes all that He created in Gen. 1:1. Both heaven and earth is His Kingdom, for He owns all that He created. God created more than just people.
To be contrite means to be stricken or smitten. Those who are “contrite,” then, are those whose conscience functions properly when the Holy Spirit convicts them of sin
In Luke 6:20, the first Beatitude commends those who are “poor.” Matthew says “poor in spirit,” showing Jesus’ intent to connect this to Is 66:2, “humble [poor] and contrite in spirit.” To be contrite means to be stricken or smitten. Those who are “contrite,” then, are those whose conscience functions properly