Power under

God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
God blesses those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
God blesses those who are humble,
for they will inherit the whole earth.
God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,
for they will be satisfied.
God blesses those who are merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
God blesses those whose hearts are pure,
for they will see God.
God blesses those who work for peace,
for they will be called the children of God.
God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way. Matthew 5:3-12

Okay, there they are, the opening words of Jesus in the first book of the New Testament. What does this say except that we are in for a wild ride. This is not what anyone expected. This is how Jesus wants His followers to behave in the world? This doesn’t have anything to do with the American Dream. It doesn’t have anything to do with success. This is a humble, broken, needy person. This is the last guy to get picked for anyone’s team. “Hey wait a minute, you take Sam; we had him last time.” This is the guy they put in right field and hope the ball never goes out there.

How long were you a Christian before you realized these words were there in Matthew, and you tried to figure out why? How long did you pass over them because you couldn’t?

This is what I mean. This is what is radical about the red letters. Jesus immediately announces a new regime. If Jesus is the king of a kingdom, what kind of kingdom is this? These people are misunderstood, maligned and pushed around, and they apparently don’t do anything about that. They’re being mocked and persecuted and falsely accused and they’re happy about that? Imagine that. I don’t think this was what any of us signed up for. Yet it’s people like this who are first in God’s kingdom, and the prime movers of the world.

This is a radical new way of changing the world by coming under people and lifting them up. This is power under people, not power over them. No one’s ever done this before. It’s understandable that this went right by people. It’s against human nature.

It’s going right by us today. It’s going right by some of you right now. I know because I’ve passed it by many times. Ask God to show you what this means, and how to apply it to your life. Who can you serve today? Who can you come under?