Scripture to Read: Matthew 5:1–2
Over the next three months, we have the privilege to walk through the Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew 5, 6, & 7. As we start in Matthew 5:1–2, we need a little context. Jesus had called His disciples to follow Him. According to Matthew 4:23–25, “Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. 24 The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them. 25 Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.” So, Jesus was teaching and healing and because of the healings, people started bringing many other people to Him who needed to be healed. We know Jesus did not come to heal everyone physically, for if He had, then He failed miserably. But Jesus came to heal every person's soul (our minds, wills, and emotions). That is why we read in Matthew 5:1–2 that when the crowds kept coming, He went up on a mountain, sat down, and began teaching everyone there. Jesus knew the crowds came for healing, but He began to share with them His Word, for He knew His Word could set them free. In ministry today, we use different events to bring in crowds but it’s never just to draw a crowd; its purpose is to feed them the “bread of Life.”
Challenge & Application
· We know Christ came to heal our souls; so, how have you experienced Christ’s work in your life today?
· How is God using you to share His Truth with others, knowing His Truth transforms lives?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!