Bible Commentary

As Jesus and his disciples strolled along the streets of Jerusalem, they observed ways that the Jews in the Roman-dominated city were violating laws expressed in the Torah. In this series of lessons we have considered Jesus’ response to major violations dealing with murder, adultery and divorce. These major problems were existent but not as common for the average Jews as the two issues we consider today: oaths and retaliation. It was not difficult for our Lord and his disciples to hear these issues discussed among the common Jews of their day.

In this lesson series, distinct means “living above the norm.” When Jesus teaches about sexual purity in his lifetime, he was challenging his listeners to live above two lifestyles.

When I was a kid the only time I heard the word “fast” was from Catholic friends sometime around Easter. They talked about giving up chocolate or movies until after Easter. Made no sense to me! But Isaiah’s words are faith underlined, in capital letters, highlighted in red, shaped in the bold action of living, leaving religious words and usual rituals behind.

Reading the prophets from Israel’s most volatile and tragic period of history uncomfortably reminds me of our tumultuous world. Our world resembles the eighth century BC when Judah and Israel were on the brink of collapse and exile.

Road rage. Workplace hostility. Conflict management. These are phrases that have entered our common language. While some people run from anger and conflict, others seem to embrace it. In our study today, we don’t need to hide from conflict, but we can appropriately and carefully work toward reconciliation.

In my church, when a candidate is baptized, the pastor has the candidate remain in the water after immersion for further instructions. He places a pinch of salt on the candidate’s lips and encourages the new member to become salt in the world to create a taste for the gospel. He then takes a votive candle to hand to the person being baptized with encouragement to become the revelation of the light of the saving knowledge of God to his or her world. The brief ritual amplifies the candidate’s acceptance of the new life that baptism represents.

What do you expect from God? The answer to that question depends on how you see God.

Luke meticulously lays the foundation that Jesus is God’s promised Messiah, pointing to an angelic revelation to both Mary and Zechariah, the heavenly hosts revealing to lowly shepherds that this “promised one” is born in a humble animal shed in Bethlehem, the startling affirmation of Simeon and Anna at the Temple, Jesus’ impressive visit with the scholars at the Temple when he was only 12 years old and Jesus’ baptism by the unorthodox prophet John.

Our text for today’s lesson focuses on what are called the Beatitudes of Jesus. Each beatitude begins with the translation of the Greek word makarioi for blessed. It has the meaning of “happiness” and describes what Jesus intends for those who become disciples of his word.

Written roughly 70 years after the crucifixion, John approaches the story of Jesus unlike Matthew, Mark or Luke. John does not deal with the genealogy, birth, baptism, temptation or ascension of Jesus. John does not report Jesus’ parables, but carefully follows a theme of Jesus’ “I Am” teachings and records more details of his death. John carefully puts together Jesus’ miracles, calling them “signs” and treating them as unique windows into the true nature of Jesus as Messiah for all the world.