17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20)
The Lord Jesus came to the world and the New Testament era started. He said that He did not come to abolish the laws and prophets of the Old Testament, but to fulfill them. The Lord Jesus went on to say that if a person sets aside the least of the commandments and teaches others, he is the least in the kingdom of heaven; but if a person keeps the commandments and teaches others to obey them, he will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. The Pharisees were a sect at that time. They were self-righteous people. The Pharisees kept the small things of the law, but they failed to obey the more important things in the law, namely, justice, mercy, and faithfulness. The Lord Jesus told them that they should keep the more important things of the commandments while without neglecting the small ones. The Lord Jesus taught us that our righteousness must surpass the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees in order to enter the kingdom of heaven, that is, we must obey both the important and the least of the commandments.
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)
Here the Lord Jesus talked about two great commandments, one is to love God, and the other is to love people, which is the summary of all the teachings of the law and the prophets.
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:8-10)
The essence of the law is the Ten Commandments. Here the Lord Jesus said that the Ten Commandments are all included in loving others as yourself. Love others as yourself fulfills the Ten Commandments, and love fulfills the law.
May God bless you and your family. 🙏😊
Author: michael
You are the light of the world
Matthew 5:14-16 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)
Here the Lord Jesus said that the disciples are the light of the world, and the light cannot be hidden, just like a city built on a hill cannot be hidden. A man does not light a lamp and put it under a bowl, but on a lampstand to give light to the family. The bowl is used to hold food or drink. What does it mean to put a lamp under a bowl? It means that we should not let eating and drinking, or daily living affect our lamps to shine. We should let our light shine before men, that they may see our good works, and give glory to our heavenly Father.
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
Here the Lord Jesus said that He is the light of the world, and those who follow Him will not walk in darkness, but will receive the light of life and become the light of the world.
21 He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? (Mark 4:21)
In the parallel passage here, the Lord Jesus said that people do not put their lamps under a bowl or under a bed, but on a lampstand. As mentioned earlier, the bowel represents eating or drinking, or daily living, and the bed represents marriage. Here, the Lord Jesus said that we should not let marriage affect our light to shine. We should put a lamp on the lampstand, let good deeds shine before others.
May God bless you and your family.
You are the salt of the earth
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. (Matthew 5:13)
The Lord Jesus said to his disciples: you are the salt of the earth. What does this mean? Salt has the preserving effect, and disciples must have the preserving effect in the world and bring a good influence to the world.
“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.” (Mark 9:50)
Here it is said that salt is good, we use good things to influence the world and have a preservative effect. We must have salt in our hearts and be at peace with each other. If one chooses to do evil, he will lose its taste, and you cannot make it salty again.
May God bless you and your family. 🙏😊
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:10-12)
What does it mean to be persecuted because of righteousness? Being persecuted because of righteousness means being persecuted because of God’s righteousness and God’s word, being persecuted because of believing in Jesus, being a Christian, and preaching the gospel. The Lord Jesus said blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The Lord Jesus went on to say that if people insult you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you for his sake, you are blessed, for great is your reward in heaven. We have seen that the prophets of the Old Testament were persecuted, the apostles and disciples of the New Testament were persecuted, and throughout the ages
preachers, missionaries, and Christians were persecuted. The Lord Jesus Himself was persecuted and suffered, even died on a cross.
Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. (Revelation 22:12)
Here we can see that when the Lord Jesus returns, he will bring rewards and reward everyone according to their deeds. When we pray and draw close to the Lord, we will be rewarded by the Lord. We will be rewarded by the Lord for the small things we do with love for the Lord. We will be rewarded by the Lord when we suffer and persecuted for the Lord’s sake. When we preach the gospel and help people believe in the Lord, we will be rewarded by the Lord. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, and great is their reward in heaven.
May God bless you and your family. 🙏😊
Blessed are the peacemakers
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God (Matthew 5:9)
What does peacemakers mean? Peacemaker are messengers of peace they reconcile people to God. This can be seen in the following two passages.
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)
Christ reconciled us to God, and also gave us the ministry of reconciliation to reconcile the world to God, entrusted us with the message of reconciliation, wanted us to preach the gospel to the world, and made us the messengers of peace.
and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. (Ephesians 6:15)
The Lord entrusted us with the gospel of peace, wanted us to preach the gospel of peace to those who do not know God so that they can be reconciled to God. We are the peacemakers, we are blessed, and shall be called children of God.
Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14)
Here we are to pursue peace with everyone, to be messengers of peace, and to pursue holiness. Without holiness, without a pure heart, no one will see the Lord.
May God bless you and your family. 🙏😊
Blessed are the pure in heart
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Matthew 5:8)
What does it mean to be pure in heart? pure in heart means a clean heart. What does it mean to see God? We cannot see God with our naked eyes, but we can feel the presence of God. To see God is to feel the presence of God.
Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:8)
Here it says that if we draw near to God, God will draw near to us. To draw near to God, sinners should confess their sins and repent, and those who are double minded between God and the world should purify their hearts, because the world will affect our drawing near to God. If we seek God with all our heart, we shall find Him.
Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god. (Psalms 24:3-4)
Here it says that who can ascend to God’s mountain and stand in God’s sanctuary, they are those with clean hands and a pure heart, i. e. those who are pure in heart will see God.
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. (1 John 4:16)
God is love. If we live in love, we live in God, and God lives in us, then we have the presence of God, and we can see God. May God bless you and your family. 🙏😊
Blessed are the merciful
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. (Matthew 5:7)
God is a merciful God, and He wants us to be merciful, merciful to the sinners, merciful to those who offend us, if we are merciful to others, we are blessed, we will receive God’s mercy.
But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:13)
God loves mercy, not sacrifice. The Lord Jesus is merciful to the sinners. He came to call sinners to repentance. Only those who are sick need a physician. When they know they are sick, they will go to the doctor to be healed. When they know they have sins, they will confess their sins and repent and receive God’s forgiveness and God’s mercy. God wants us to be merciful to others. God does not like us being self-righteous and judging others. He doesn’t want us to stand in his position to judge others. Only God can judge people. God wants us to be merciful to others. If we are merciful to others, we will receive God’s mercy.
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)
God wants us to act justly, to be merciful, to be merciful to the sinners, to be merciful, to forgive those who have sinned against us, and to walk humbly with him. May God bless you and your family. 🙏😊
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:6)
What does righteousness mean? Righteousness is the righteousness of God, God manifests His righteousness in the Bible. The words of the Bible are the words of God, they are the righteousness of God.
Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the word of righteousness. (Hebrews 5:13)
Here it says that the word of the Bible are the word of righteousness, the word of the Bible are the word of God, and the righteousness of God.
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)
Here it says that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word of God, the spiritual food, If we hunger and thirst for righteousness and hunger and thirst for God’s word, we will be blessed, and we will be filled. This is spiritual satisfaction.
Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. (Isaiah 55:1-2)
Here God wants those who are thirsty to come to the waters; to eat and drink the good things He has given them for free, and to be satisfied. The water here refers to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, and God Himself. If we listen to God’s words and seek after God, we can eat good things, be satisfied, have God’s presence, and receive the joy from God and the joy in our spirit. 🙏😀
Blessed are the meek
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5)
Here it is said that blessed are the meek, why they are blessed, because they will inherit the land.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:29)
Meekness or gentleness and humility are often used together. The Lord Jesus is the Son of God, the Lord of lords, and the King of kings, but he is gentle and humble in heart. We should learn from the example of the Lord Jesus and learn his gentleness and humility in heart.
Wait on the Lord, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. (Psalm 37:34)
Here it is said that those who wait on God and keep his way will inherit the land, meekness and humility are connected with keeping God’s way and obeying God.
The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever. (Psalm 37:29)
Here it is said that the righteous will inherit the land, and the righteous are those who practice righteousness, those who practice the righteousness of God, and those who practice the words of the Bible. Those who practice righteousness will inherit the land and live on it forever. The Lord Jesus will come again soon, and when he comes again, he will reign on earth for a thousand years, after that there will be new heaven and new earth, the righteous will dwell in it forever, the meek will dwell in it forever.
May God bless you and your family. 🙏😀
Blessed are those who mourn
Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
What does mourn mean? Mourn is mourn for one’s sins, seeing one’s own sins, mourn for the sins, confess and repent before God, receive God’s forgiveness, receive God’s comfort.
For this is what the high and exalted One says—he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. (Isaiah 57:15)
Here it is said that God dwells with those who are humble and contrite in heart, just as water rushes down from mountain tops and accumulate in the lowliest places, so does God give grace to the humble. God is with those who mourn for their sins and humble in heart, and revive their souls.
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. (2 Corinthians 7:10)
Here we see that there are two kinds of sorrows, one kind is sorrow according to God’s will, mourn for one’s own sins, confess and repent and receive God’s forgiveness, lead to salvation. The other kind is worldly sorrow, sorrow about worldly things, is not profitable spirituality, it brings dead.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. (Revelation 21:4)
In the future, God will live with people in the new heaven and new earth. There will be no more tears, no more sorrow, no more pain, no more death, and everything will be new. Praise the Lord.
May God bless you and your family.
The sermon on the mount
Matthew 5:1-12 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Here the Lord Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven on the mountain, here is the Beatitudes of the Gospel of the Kingdom, namely eight blessings. We study one blessing every time. The first blessing is blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. What does it mean to be poor in spirit? It means that you know that you are spiritually poor and that you need God, so you will seek after God.
Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. (Luke 6:20)
Here the Lord Jesus said that you are blessed if you are poor. Poor people know that they are poor and needy, and they are more open to the gospel, rich people feel that they have everything and cannot see their spiritual poverty. They feel that they do not need God. If we don’t have God and Lord Jesus in our life, we are all spiritually poor whether you are rich or poor. If we know that we are spiritually poor and we need God, we will seek God. If we seek God and seek His presence with all our heart, we will find Him. With God’s presence, the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven is within us, is in our hearts, the kingdom of heaven belongs to us, we will become spiritually rich.
May God bless you and your family.
Jesus heals the sick
Matthew 4:23-25 23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis,[a] Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.
Here we see that the Lord Jesus taught and preached the gospel of the kingdom in the synagogues of Galilee, the synagogue was the place where the Jewish people gathered. Besides teaching people, the Lord Jesus also performed miracles, healed people of various diseases, and cast out demons. Because the Lord Jesus performed miracles, healed the sick and cast out demons, many people followed Him.
The Lord Jesus not only healed the sick and cast out demons in the times of the Bible, but also perform miracles in the present age.
17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”” (Mark 16:17-18)
This is the promise of the Bible, those who believe will have signs following them, they lay hands on the sick, and the sick will be healed. This is also my experience, I have prayed for the healing of different people, the Lord healed them, thank the Lord.
May God bless you and your family. 🙏😀
