The Poor in Spirit

Oct 10, 2021 | by Pastor Josh Tate | series: BLESSED

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The sermon on the mount spans three chapters (5-7) in Matthew. If you have one of those Bibles that prints the words of Jesus in red then you will find that those chapters are nearly a solid block of red ink. I say “nearly” because the actual content of the sermon is sandwiched between two small bits of commentary about who was in the audience. In the opening verses of chapter 5 we are told that the “disciples came to Jesus… and He taught them,” (Matthew 5:1-2) and then if we fast forward to the very end of chapter 7 we read, “And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching…”

The disciples mentioned in chapter 5 and the crowds mentions in chapter 7 are two distinct and separate groups within the same audience. The crowds are listening in as Jesus instructs the disciples. They are not the ones to whom Jesus is directing his remarks, but they are nevertheless the beneficiaries of His teaching. That’s the way a lot of non-believers are introduced to the truth of Jesus and His Gospel. Out of curiosity or skepticism or maybe even by happenstance they hear the Word of God being taught to believers and they come away “astonished” at what they’ve heard.

This Sunday we’ll be embarking on an eight week study through the beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) which are the opening lines of the sermon on the mount. These words are rich stuff for us Christians to feed our souls on, but I am praying that some non-followers of Jesus will also be in the audience.