Beatitutes

Beatitutes [∞]

Reed K MerinoAuthor Top contributor Bob Jones But when He taught the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), He was addressing His DISCIPLES (5:1-2; Luke 6:20), which means it was NOT parabolic talk, but part of the process in which He was explaining things clearly for His disciples (Mark 4:34). So, for example, "turning the other cheek" means PRECISELY what it sounds like - no retaliation, which is the way that all the earliest Christians understood, taught and practiced it.he

I'm sorry Reed, but we are talking past each other because we are not on the same page.

Please permit me to explain my foundation.

1. Everything in the NT has a foundation in the OT.

2. One cannot understand scripture unless it is read as Jesus taught on the road to Emmaus. It all speaks of him.

3. The Gospels capture the teaching of the apostles in the Jewish church at 10-15 year intervals. They differ, because with time they learned to read the scripture the way Jesus taught on the road to Emmaus, aided by the Holy Spirit. They threw the gospels over the fence to the Greek church which did not wish to read Hebrew.

4. When Jesus taught the disciples, they did not understand, and they forgot. They required the Holy Spirit to remind them and lead them in truth.

5. The disciples did not get saved by teaching before the cross. Even their teaching was insufficient to save them.

Concerning the Beatitudes.

It is wonderful that people understand the plain teaching. This does not negate the fact that it all speaks of Christ... ALSO. The reason it is there is not to make people better people by nice teaching, but because the disciples remembered it, and saw that it spoke of Christ.

We see a parallelism that is not a mistake. Ch 5 he went up the hill. Ch 8 he came down. He said, then he did.

Blessed are the poor in Spirit. He healed a leper. Who is more poor in Spirit than a leper? But this is not the end. The law of leprosy speaks of Christ.

The leper is covered with leprosy symbolizing Christ bearing our sin. He is cast outside the camp, as Jesus was on the cross.

He shaves his head; hair being a symbol of authority. It get this meaning from the word for hair שער by formation means 'chief ש()ר of the flesh (ע).' Jesus 'lost his authority' on the cross indicated by the separation from the Father in his cry: Why have you forsaken me?

The leper tears his clothes/works, as a symbol that the works of Jesus before the cross were unfruitful; he died alone as per prophecy.

The leper covers his mouth. This is done when a prayer goes unanswered: "Remove this cup". When the leper is fully covered with leprosy from head to toe, he is declared clean. When Jesus fully bore our sin, he shed it in resurrection.

The leper goes through a ceremony similar to consecrating a priest. In resurrection, Jesus became our high priest.

Each beatitude teaches a simple lesson, but ALSO speaks of Christ in the prophetic riddle. Jesus was NOT a moralist, but a savior.