Salt & Light

Jesus started His Sermon on the Mount by giving eight Beatitudes or characteristics that should be present and obvious in the lives of Christ followers. These are:

• Poor in Spirit

• Mourning

• Meekness

• Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

• Merciful

• Pure in Heart

• Peacemakers

• Persecution for Righteousness’ Sake

There’s a ton to learn from and go over in those, and we have looked at them in more depth over the past couple of months, but that is not the end of His sermon, rather it’s just the intro. So, let’s look at what else Jesus has to say to us.

Matthew 5:13

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.”

Persecution

This week we reach the end of the Beatitudes, and this first section of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount ends on a bit of a surprising note. It’s all about suffering and persecution. Let’s jump into it. 

Matthew 5:10-12 ESV “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

The final things that you are blessed for are persecution, suffering, slander and accusations. I don’t know about you, but if I was trying to start a new religion or reframe an old one, I’m not sure that I would make it a defining bullet point that those who follow it can expect and even be guaranteed difficulty and persecution. It seems a bit counterintuitive, right? Yet that is exactly what Jesus did, and it wasn’t only here in Matthew that He speaks this way.