Matthew 5, as you have probably noticed, has many little sections. Almost each paragraphs is a new topic. We can helpfully narrow it down two sections, verses 1-20 and 21-48. The first section does not seem to be connected, but the second is connected by the repeated phrase, “You have heard that it was said.”

The Beatitudes (2-11) do not seem to be an introduction. It is a broadside into our life and thinking. If the beatitudes are an introduction, it’s a mighty introduction, that shouldn’t be downplayed. The first two (verse 3 and 4) are difficult, the rest are thankfully self-explanatory.

This link, to me, is the best and most helpful way to understand verses 3 and 4. It’s worth reading. I think you’ll find it encouraging.

https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/blessed-are-the-poor-in-spirit-who-mourn

This month, good men, we are reading Matthew 5, which is the opening words of the Sermon on the Mount.

Try to read the chapter in three simple ways.

One: Read it through. Just read it to see it, to get a rough idea of what it says.

Two: Notice what is called the Beatitudes. These little phrases have great depth to them.

Three: Notice the unexpected things Jesus says after he says, “You have heard that it was said.” These sections are an ethical/moral way Jesus want’s us to see life. They are eye-opening.

Pat yourself on the back. You are reading some of the most famous words inside and outside the church. Both Christians and non-Christians know of this chapter and of Jesus’ radical, mind-stretching words.

There are three days left in the month. Try not to skip reading Mark 15 & 16 for these three days. We will see the crucifixion and resurrection differently, from a slightly different perspective, now that easter is behind us.

Below is a quote. It’s lengthy, but it is good. Very good.

“Let JESUS CHRIST be your all: 

your Wisdom to guide you;

your Righteousness to justify you;

your Sanctification to cleanse you;

your Redemption to save you. 

If you hunger, He is Manna.

If you thirst, He gives living water.

If you faint, He is the consolation of Israel.

If you pray, He is an Advocate with the Father.

If you contend with spiritual enemies, He is your Victory and Triumph.

If you live, He is your hope.

If you die, He is your gain.

If you are buried, He is your Life and Resurrection.

O let Him be the Alpha and Omega, the Center and Circumference, yes, the very All in All—your desires, loves, joys, delights, endeavors, and undertakings.

If you lack Christ, you lack all things.

If you have Christ, you lack nothing. 

In all your joys, Christ is the highest exaltation.

In all your sorrows, Christ is the sweetest consolation.

In all your gains, Christ is the greatest reward.

In all your losses, Christ is the richest compensation.

In Him, make up the loss of all we lose. All sweetness, dearness, tenderness, fullness, contentment, satisfaction, consolation, and happiness are a thousandfold more in Him than in all the relationships of the world. These are but flickering lamps—

He is the glorious Sun. These are but broken cisterns—

He is the living Fountain. These are but little drops—

He is the boundless Ocean.

Now, therefore, turn all your desires and affections toward Him, and be fully satisfied. One Christ is worth more than ten thousand worlds.”

Francis Roberts (1609–1675)

Maybe this has worked for you, maybe it hasn’t. I hope it has. To read and re-read Mark 15 and 16 has, to me, laid out layers and layers and layers of knowing, and often visualizing, how Jesus was treated, and how he was brutalized and killed.

Not only how he was treated, but also who treated him in such terrible, terrible ways. For me, the more layers, the more real it is, and the less of a distant fact or concept it all is. Then I ask myself this hard question; so what is my response?

The more I’ve read the chapters this month the more sensitive I am to wanting to be like Mary Magdalene and Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph was proactive and wanted to ensure Jesus was properly put into a tomb. Mary was proactive and wanted to ensure that no one was mistreating the body of Jesus.

I have been loved. I have been forgiven. Someone paid a very great price in my place. I want to be proactive. I need to be proactive. We all do.

May I offer two ways to be proactive in light of what Jesus suffered for you? Name your sin, confess it, repent of it. Now. Second, Be good to someone today who annoys you, or who has hurt you, or who is difficult to love. Do both of these in the name of Jesus. Do both of them because of what Jesus has done for you.

The crux of John 6 are the four times Jesus uses the word “feed.” Verses 54, 56, 57, & 58

The word can be hard to define and do. There are times in scripture that words are just like that. Theology runs very, very deep, even for the greatest scholars. Parts of Scripture reveal that God and His truth are not fully understandable. See Romans 11:33-36 and Isaiah 55:8-9

But we get a very good hint about feeding from a word tucked into verses 54-59. Look at verse 56. Find the word abide.

This is a word used almost exclusively by the apostle John. And for John it is a common word.

Take a look at John 15:4-5. There’s a hint there for all of us. Wrestle with what it means to abide in the vine. It’s connected to feeding in Jesus. It might mean the same thing.

Keep reading. Keep thinking. Keep wrestling.

Start with the first miracle, it is because of it that Jesus teaches about “feeding” on Him as the living bread. (John 6:51) The second miracle is important too because it teaches the greatness and the glory of Jesus. Don’t let the second miracle be something small. The man who walked effortlessly on water is the same man we are to feed on. Elevate and magnify Jesus as you read the second miracle.

Four times Jesus uses the word, “feed.” (John 6:54, 56, 57, & 58) And this is the supreme challenge of John 6. Even the disciples said, “This is a hard teaching.” (John 6:60)

See the connection to the first miracle. They ate and had their full. (John 6:12). This is not like communion, where we eat a piece of bread in remembrance of Jesus. (Luke 22:19 & 1 Corinthians 11:24-25) Jesus is teaching us to feed on him, as the Israelites fed on the manna in the wilderness. (John 6:31 & 49)

How then, do we feed on Jesus and drink his blood (John 6:53-56)? That’s THE BIG question. And it is best not answered too quickly.  Our first answer might be right, but a better answer is a deeper answer. 

Last Sunday in the sermon I gave you the string of four verses from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:24-27, 5:6, 6:33, & 6:9-10). And every week you see the two banners in church with the the prayers on them.

It’s all connected. Those two prayers are spiritually deep, and they should be prayed regularly as we grow as disciples of Jesus. And the four verses in Matthew run deep, and there is a direct connection to John 6. Jesus, who says, feed on me, also says to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to seek first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness, and to pray carefully to a hallowed God for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done.

It’s all connected. Seek God. Hunger for and feed on the person of the living bread. And trust that the Holy Spirit is at work answering BIG spiritual prayers.

This is part one of two.

The sixth chapter of John has two short parts and one long part. The two short parts are sweet, familiar stories. The long part is not familiar and is generally difficult.

The long part is worth reading and rereading all month. It’s worth it because Jesus says “feed on me.” We should count how often He uses the word “feed.” And we should note it and see its emphasis throughout the section.

We cannot reach the depth the truth of what Jesus is saying. But we can catch a good glimpse of it if we put some time into it.

It is okay to interpret this section in connection to communion, but it is not okay to stop there. It’s not okay to say that Jesus is only talking about taking communion on Sunday mornings. More on this later.

This chapter might frustrate you. Know up front that this is a deep, deep chapter. But it is also very insightful and helpful chapter to grasp how important Jesus is to be to us on a daily, living-real-life basis. More on this later too.

Go slow. Keep reading. Keep thinking. The more you read it over time, the more you’ll see.

In the conversation between Jesus and the possessed man, read Mark 5 from verse 7 to 13.

Now reread it looking closely and see that the demon possessed man refers to himself in the singular. Then notice that when he says his name is Legion, he begins to refer to himself in the plural. And Jesus will also do this in verse 13.

This sentence is where a change begins… “My name is Legion, for we are many.” No human can talk that way. The demon refers to himself in the both the singular (“my name is”) and the plural (“we are”).

My (singular) name is Legion (plural). Try it yourself. Say your name _________, and then say “I am more than a thousand people.” That is a nonsensical statement.

In the story of the father and daughter, there is the sweet truth about her sleeping. In the story of the woman bleeding, there is the profound truth that Jesus’s power is inconceivable, it is impossible for him to ever have more or less power (or goodness or love or grace).

But in the story of the man with the legion, there is a terrible truth. The demon world is non-sensical and illogical to us. It is twisted and incomprehensible beyond human reasoning.  It is convoluted and tangled and impenetrable to our God-given minds. This is an important truth.

It is a terrible truth, which is why Christians should trust nothing said about demons that is not in the Bible. What we might think we know via movies, books, experience, or the internet should always be seen through the lens of a singular demon saying he, himself, one demon, is more than a thousand demons. What we think we might know might be just one one thousandth of the real truth of evil.

The demon world is darker than we can imagine, more wicked than we can imagine, and more twisted and deceiving than we can imagine. The most important word in that sentence is deceiving. 

If all this is heavier than what you wanted to read this morning, end this moment by reading Colossians 1:13-14 and James 4:7. You are in very good, very safe hands (Colossians 1:13-14), and this truth is greater than the wickedness of a thousands demons (James 4:7).

Our God reigns (Psalm 99:1).

In the miracle of the woman being healed, she believes all she needs to do is touch his clothes. Notice she doesn’t believe she needs to touch Jesus himself.

When she touches his clothes she is healed. And Jesus notices power has gone out from him.

Connect those dots. Jesus knows that power has gone out from him. But all she touched was his clothes. The WOW factor is pretty high here.

The bigger WOW is that Jesus has infinite power and it can never be diminished. It can go out of him, but he will always be fully full of divine power, for all the fulness of God dwells in Jesus (See Colossians 1:19).

Here’s a mind-boggling thought. Jesus’s power is beyond measure. It is infinite. Being infinite, it cannot be increased. And being infinite, it cannot be reduced. WOW.

We are reminded here of the inconceivable greatness and goodness of Jesus. A man walking the earth fully possessed all the power of the universe and far beyond that.

Tomorrow… A deeper truth about Jesus and the Legion.

In each of the three stories in Mark 5 things are said that reveal deeper truths.

For example, in the story with the father and daughter Jesus says that the girl is not dead, but sleeping. We know she is actually dead because the adults around her know she is dead. The testify to that fact. But Jesus says she is sleeping, and to Jesus she is, in fact, sleeping.

This is a sweet truth. Spiritually speaking, when someone dies, in God’s eyes they are sleeping. Death has been conquered for believers and children. Death is a fearful thing. Sleep is not. Death is an end. Sleep is not.

Let us see things through the eyes of Jesus, not through man’s eyes.

Tomorrow… A deeper truth about the woman healed from her bleeding.

Friday… A deeper truth about Jesus and the Legion.