Week 8: November 14th – 20th
Bible Text: Matthew 5:3-12
Key Verse: Luke 6:20-26
Matthew 5:3-12 Blessed are: This section is known as the Beatitudes. The word “blessed” also can be translated as “happy”. So Jesus now declares people blessed in light of God’s coming rule. The Beatitudes create what they declare. Jesus makes the new world of God’s rule actual now in this broken world. Yet it also remains a promised future. Notice that they do not depend on faith or even on knowing Jesus. This is one way God creates salvation.
Matthew 5:1 – 7:29 The Sermon on the Mount: is the first of five great discourses in Matthew. It contains three types of material: 1) beatitudes, 2) ethical admonitions and 3) contrasts between Jesus’ ethical teaching and Jewish legalistic traditions.
Matthew 5:3-12: “How does Luther understand God’s spoken Word?” Luther understands God’s spoken word as creative power, not information. When God speaks, God’s word creates what it declares. God’s word called the universe and everything in it existence. The Beatitudes create reality.
Luke 6:20-26 Luke’s Sermon on the Plain: apparently parallel to Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. Although this sermon is much shorter than the one in Matthew, they both begin with the Beatitudes and end with the lesson of the builders.
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Monday: Devotional Reading – Time for prayer & adoration:
Read through the scripture several times, just listening to the words.
Tuesday: Literary Reading – Listen for literary content:
Focus on the text, itself.
Wednesday: Lutheran Theological Reading – Read from a Lutheran perspective:
Reflect on the convictions, insights and expectations that rise particularly from our Lutheran Heritage.
Thursday: Historical Reading – Read with an ear for History:
Reflect on the historical situation.
Friday: Catch up on missed reading time
Saturday & Sunday: Day of Rest
For More Detailed Reflection Questions please check-out the link "Daily Reflection Questions" link.
Scripture descriptions are taken either in full text or edited text from “Lutheran Study Bible” from Augsburg Fortress.
