Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before men so they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Darkness belongs to the underworld. Evil is called “the works of darkness.” Light is of God, Who wants everything exposed in the light. Yeshua stated this early and often during…
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Matthew 5:13a “You are the salt of the earth;” Need we go any further than that? Of course, Yeshua goes on to explain his own statement. But, before we study His explanation, let me offer a few thoughts. This is a metaphor. What does “salt” represent in this metaphor? When salt is added to any…
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Matthew 5:10 Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Do you remember why this verse is in quotes? These are the words of Yeshua, as quoted in the book of Matthew. From Matthew 5:3 to this verse, there are eight Beatitudes. But, I…
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Before we move on to the rest of the Sermon On The Mount, let’s take a few moments to review. When translated into English, each of these seven verses start with the word “blessed.” The usual word for “blessed” in Hebrew is Baruch. It connotes a “bent knee” or submission. But the Hebrew equivalent to…
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Matthew 5:9 ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Today we answer the question we ended with last time. What does it mean to be called ‘sons of God?’ First of all, the biblical term ‘son’ applies equally to male and female. Sons of God are those who have the…
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Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Today we begin our study of the 7th and final, of the initial 7, Beatitudes. Each of these first 7 specifies a character trait followed by a promised reward. The “peacemakers” will shout for joy. What are peacemakers, and why will…
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Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Take a moment with me. Let’s contemplate what it means to be “pure in heart.” One of the nuances of the word for “pure” connotes clear and transparent. We pray in agreement with King David … Psalm 51:12(10) Create in me a…
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Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Rabbi Trail: Some rabbis want to “throw us ‘Messianics’ a bone.” (I have to put “Messianics” in quotes because everyone who believes in any promised Messiah is really a “Messianic.”) Many rabbis believe the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, is the promised…
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Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Last time, we dealt with what it means to (and by what means we) have a clean heart. Today, I want to deal with the other part of the verse. Matthew 5:8b … for they shall see God. Also last time, we…
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Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. There is so much contained in the few words of this verse, we could stay on it for a long time. I’m especially intrigued by two words. In the TLV translation above, they are translated as “pure” and “see.” The Greek word…
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