Heads Up

Jesus said, “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” Jesus establishes the authority of the Old Testament by insisting that not even the smallest part of it (iota, dot) will be lost until it is…

The eight beatitudes that begin the Sermon on the Mount are probably its best-known portion, with the possible exception of the Golden Rule found in Matthew 7:12. But in a sense, they are only the introduction, describing the kind of people the rest of the sermon is for. The main body of the sermon actually…

The fifth, sixth, and seventh of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5, beginning with “blessed are the merciful,” describe the inner character of the Christian. He is merciful, pure in heart, and always ready and anxious to make peace.

The standards set in the opening verses of the Sermon on the Mount are unlike anything that is known or can even be dreamed of by the old humanity. Left to ourselves, our natural beatitudes would go something like this: Blessed are the rich, for they have it all and have it all now; blessed…

The Sermon on the Mount is found in Matthew 5-7, and it is the best-known and most extensively studied discourse in the world. It has been the subject of thousands of books and articles. Matthew’s account is a shortened report of many things Jesus must have been teaching in these days. It can be read…

In many texts, Jesus explains in greater detail and with other images what it means to be his disciple, but the command to follow him, which occurs in the middle of Matthew’s account (4.19) of Jesus’ calling these first four disciples, is most basic.