Key Thought: Jesus taught that His followers will live as a people of compassion and mercy while they wait for His return.

August 24, 2019

1. Have a volunteer read Matthew 5:2-16.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What does it mean to be merciful? How do we show mercy?
3. Personal Application: How do you feel about the fact that people will defame your name, speak lies against you, and accuse you of nasty things because of your faith? How could you defend yourself? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states: “Jesus blessed the meek and humble and persecuted, but these are the ones the world considers losers and useless and worthy of ridicule and abuse. Trying to be a peacemaker will get you verbally abused and a punch in the nose. The world is an angry place.” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Luke 10:25-28.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. Why did Jesus ask the young ruler what he thought was the way to eternal life instead of giving an explicit answer?
3. Personal Application: Did you ever consider if you were doing enough or good enough to be saved? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “Why did Jesus use a story with a good Samaritan stranger doing the right thing to help the man on the wayside to illustrate the Jews religious thinking that led them to not help the man?” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Luke 16:19-22.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. Is being poor a guarantee that you will go to heaven?
3. Personal Application: How can we be careful not to let money or the love of money distort our ideas on what we should focus on in life? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states, “Is there anything wrong with being rich or desiring to have good things? Can a person be a good Christian and still be well-off or is the Christian to divest himself from all riches?” How would you respond to your neighbor?

4. Have a volunteer read Matthew 25:41-45.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. Why isn’t this an illustration of salvation by works?
3. Personal Application: Why did Jesus equate Himself with the hungry, the naked, the imprisoned? Why obligation does that put on us? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study : Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

Amen!(1)

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When we consider the teaching of Jesus, it is worthwhile to keep in mind the people He was talking to and the circumstances in which they lived. Jesus had begun to attract large crowds of people from the regions where He had ministered (see Matt. 4:25, Matt. 5:1). Most were common people, living under the imperial rule of the Roman Empire, but some were the Jewish rulers and religious leaders. The existence of the common people was difficult. They had few choices for their own lives, burdened by heavy taxation and weighed down by religious tradition.

Sharing

In teaching these people, Jesus was obviously concerned with offering them a way to live well, to live with dignity and courage, whatever their circumstances. One example of this is found in Matthew 5:38-48. In the English language, these instructions—“turn the other cheek”, “give them the shirt off your back”, and “go the extra mile”—are so well known as to be clichés. But this familiarity belies the radical actions and attitudes that Jesus is teaching here.

The scenarios Jesus described were common experiences for many of His listeners. They were often violently assaulted by their “superiors” or masters. They were often indebted and lost their property to the landlords and lenders. They were often pressed into labor by the occupying Roman soldiers. Jesus taught the people to respond with integrity, to treat the oppressors better than they deserved, and, by so doing, to resist the loss of their humanity. While these oppressors tried to exert their power, the people always had the freedom to choose how they would respond and, by resisting nonviolently and responding generously, they exposed the evil of the oppression and injustice that was being done.

Compare Matthew 5:38-48 with Romans 12:20-21. How are we to live out these radical principles in our lives?

Amen!(0)

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Jesus’ longest sermon—or collection of teachings—is the Sermon on the Mount. His three-chapter survey of life in God’s kingdom begins with a statement of values that has come to be known as the Beatitudes.

Read Matthew 5:2-16 (see also Luke 6:20). What are the common features of these nine values or kinds of people described by Jesus as “blessed”?

Sermon on the Mount

Along with the deep spiritual application of these words, we must not miss the practical reading of them, as well. Jesus talked about recognizing the poverty in ourselves and in our world. He also talked about righteousness (translated as “justice” in some Bible versions), humility, mercy, peacemaking, and purity of heart. We should take note of the practical difference that these qualities will make in our lives and in our world when they are lived out. Such a practical reading is emphasized in Jesus’ following statements in which He urged His disciples to be salt and light in the world (Matt. 5:13-16).

When used appropriately, salt and light are to make a difference in the contexts in which they are added. Salt brings out flavors, as well as preserves the foods it is added to; it is symbolic of the good that we should be for those around us. Similarly, light pushes back the darkness, revealing obstacles and hazards, making a house or city safer and providing a point to navigate by, even when some distance away. Like a light on a dark night, Jesus said, “let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16, NIV).

Both these salt and light symbols point us to the responsibility of disciples to influence and improve the lives of those around them. We are salt and light when we mourn appropriately, have purity of heart, practice humility, show mercy, make peace, and endure oppression. So, Jesus begins this sermon with the call to embody these sometimes “undervalued values” of His kingdom.

Amen!(0)

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