What IS a ‘Beatitude’?

While the definition of ‘beatitude’ is ‘supremely happy’, for us it has come to mean the part of Matthew 5 that begins with Christ saying ‘blessed are’. It happened when Christ gathered his disciples-and what is described as a ‘great crowd’ and began to teach in what is the greatest ‘sermon’ in history.

While no one really knows where this took place, tradition says it was on Mount Eremos, a hill near Capernaum. Likewise, no one really knows when He did this, though He had amassed quite a following even this early in His ministry, His teaching and healing miracles gathering people from ‘Galilee to the Decapolis, and from ‘…Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordon’.

The sermon will be recorded by Matthew and covers chapters 5-7 (Luke will give ‘excerpts’ in His gospel in chapter 6), the ‘Beatitudes’ have become one of the most quoted parts of scripture. And for the next 11 days we will explore these great sayings, and see if maybe, just maybe they can enrich our own walk with the Lord, and indeed make US ‘supremely happy’.

Scripture:
Matthew 5:1-12
Luke 6:20-22

Prayer: Father, I ask that you open my heart and mind to these words of Your Son, Jesus. That these words will enter into me, strengthen and teach me about Your ways, bless me and allow me to take them and use them to glorify You.