Sermon Passages and Notes:
"Blessed..." (Matthew 5:1-20)
http://bible.com/events/49019040
Beatitude (Latin)
Makarism (Greek)
Two Statements Concerning the Beatitudes:
1) God is the acting agent behind the blessing.
2) "Blessed" is in the indicative tense.
Matthew 4:23-25
Matthew 5:1-12
1) God is the acting agent behind the blessing.
2) "Blessed" is spoken by Jesus as TRUTH.
The Beatitudes are true based on the authority of the One who spoke.
Your present experience does not define the future.
The Beatitudes are unconditional performative language. They bring into being the truth they state.
CROSS
EMPTY TOMB
The community that hears itself pronounced "blessed" by its Lord does not remain idle but acts in accord with the reign of the Kingdom of God.