Matthew established something important in chapter four. Quoting Isaiah, he wrote that the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light (Matthew 4:16). That passage was Matthew’s way of announcing the arrival of Jesus as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s...
Sodium chloride in its chemically pure form does not actually lose its saltiness. That is a fact of chemistry. But in first-century Palestine, salt was rarely pure. It was commonly mixed with other minerals, and it was quite possible for the sodium chloride to be...
Before Jesus tells his disciples what salt does, he tells them what it is being sent into. He does not say you are salt. He says you are the salt of the earth. That word earth is not incidental. It is the whole field of play. Not the salt of the church. Not the salt...
Step back this morning and look at the whole window. All eight beatitudes together. The sermon asked a beautiful question: who is the portrait? Daniel Doriani observes that the Beatitudes are not only a description of the disciple — they are also a portrait of...
Notice what Jesus does in verse 11. He shifts from third person to second person. Not blessed are those – blessed are you. It becomes personal and direct. He is no longer describing a category of people. He is speaking to the disciples on the hillside –...
