Matthew 5 Devotional

Blessed Before Anything Else

““Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”Matthew 5:3 (BSB)

Jesus sits down on the mountain and begins, not with a command, but with a blessing. The kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor in spirit, those who come to God with empty hands (5:3). Mourners will be comforted, and the hungry for righteousness filled (5:4-6). Before asking anything of his disciples, he tells them what they already are to the world: its salt and its light (5:13-14).

Then comes some of the most searching teaching in the Bible. Anger is treated like murder, lust like adultery, and love must reach even enemies, until the standard is the Father's own perfection (5:22, 5:28, 5:44-48). No one meets that by trying harder. But Jesus came to fulfill the Law, not to set it aside (5:17), and Paul says God did through his Son what the law could never do (Romans 8:3-4). These commands describe the life of people already blessed. The Father sends sunshine and rain even on those who oppose him (5:45), and his children can start by praying for someone who has wronged them.

To think about: Who is the hardest person for you to love right now, and how might being blessed by Jesus free you to pray for them today?