— Edited

Hello Everyone, If you were to preach through Matthew 5:1-12 (The Beatitudes), what would be your main points? These main points would be determined by the central ideas of this passage.  The needs of your congregation would shape your imperative theme, which is the particular response from them that you expect to achieve from your message. Please read the following summary of Matthew 5:1-12, which provides these answers for you. (a) Introduction (5:1-2) – Matthew 5:1-2 serves as an introduction to the Sermon on the Mount by offering the immediate context in which Jesus delivers this discourse, while the previous passage (4:23-25) describes the general context of His public ministry of preaching, teaching, and healing throughout Galilee.  In 5:1-2, Jesus withdraws from the crowds and sits on a hilltop so that His disciples become the primary recipients for this discourse. The attention Jesus gives to teaching His disciples contributes to the overall movement toward the training of the Twelve for the Great Commission. Literary Evidence for the Structure – Dale Allison’s comparison of the commonly proposed broader introduction (4:23-5:2) and conclusion (7:28-8:1) to the Sermon on the Mount reveals enough common literary elements to identify them as an inclusion.  Both passages discuss the great multitudes that followed him (4:25, 8:1), His ascent and descent on the mountain (5:1, 8:1), His teaching (5:2, 7:28), and the opening of His mouth to speak and the conclusion of His words (5:2, 7:28). (b) Predestination: The Beatitudes – Divine Blessings Take Effect through Kingdom Principles (Luke 6:20-23) (5:3-12) – Matthew 5:3-12 is popularly entitled the Beatitudes,  a pericope in which Jesus pronounces blessings for members of the kingdom of Heaven.  The Beatitudes lay a foundation for the Sermon on the Mount by giving the characteristics of those who are true disciples in this heavenly kingdom.  Interpreted in light of the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20), the Beatitudes describe the blessings (μακάριος) that God has predestined for those who are willing to obey the call to take the Gospel to the nations.  Because some of the Beatitudes have close parallels to Isaiah 61:1-3 and several psalms, it reveals that they are delivered in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, predestined by God to offer Israel hope of redemption and restoration of its kingdom.  In this passage, Paul explains that God has elected or predestined the church to divine blessings. Alluding to the theme of predestination, Osborne follows the popular view that the blessings of the Beatitudes emphasize divine intervention in the life of the disciples rather than human bliss.  These beatitudes describe those whom God has predestined to walk in victory in the kingdom of Heaven in that they describe those who are equipped to fulfill the Great Commission. Charles Quarles believes Matthew portrays Jesus as the new Moses in 5:1-2, so that the Beatitudes become “pronouncements of salvation.”  Jesus is the “spiritual deliverer” and Israel is being blessed to go forth and conquer.  Davies and Allison say that the commandments in the Sermon on the Mount “presuppose God’s mercy and prior saving activity.”  The theme of predestination in the Beatitudes means that God has predetermined these blessings upon those who become members of the kingdom of Heaven and endeavour to fulfill the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20). The Beatitudes express the original purpose and intent of God’s plan of redemption for mankind.  These blessings operate in the lives of those who follow the kingdom principles as disciples of Christ in taking the Gospel to the nations. The Jews listening to this discourse lived under the Mosaic Law so that the blessings and curses of the Law were emphatically clear in their minds. The scribes and Pharisees taught them that obedience to Jewish legalism and traditions brings God’s blessings and that disobedience brings curses. Therefore, Jesus teaches the laws of the Kingdom of God by explaining the true ways to receive God’s blessings. The Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount serve a similar role to Moses laying down the Ten Commandments to introduce the Mosaic Law and its civil statutes so that the children of Israel would be prepared to take their journey into the Promised Land. The Beatitudes lay a foundation for the Sermon on the Mount by giving the characteristics of those who are predestined to become disciples in this heavenly Kingdom.  Jesus did not come to seek the rich and noble; rather He came to offer a kingdom for poor, hurting humanity. These beatitudes describe those whom God has prepared His kingdom. Just as God predestined the children of Abraham to be His children, so does Jesus more accurately identify the true children of God in order to set them apart for the work of the Kingdom of God, namely, the work of the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20). Literary evidence for the theme of the Beatitudes is the frequent use of the word μακάριος (blessed, happy), which is found nine times in 5:3-12, supporting the theme of God’s intent to redeem mankind through His divine blessings made available through the Atonement. Matthew places the word μακάριος in front of each verse for emphasis. In the Creation Story (Gen 1:1-2:3), which also carries the theme of predestination, God blesses (בָּרךְ) His creation in a similar manner so that it might fulfill its divine destiny (1:22, 28; 2:3; 5:2). Quarles identifies additional literary evidence for the theme of predestination in the Beatitudes. He explains that the fronting of the Beatitudes in the opening of the Sermon on the Mount means that the righteousness obtained in Matthew’s first discourse is result of God’s divine blessings rather than righteousness being a requirement to receive these blessings.  This list of blessings ‘determine’ the characteristics of those who are obeying these sayings (Matt 7:24-27). A member of the kingdom of Heaven can be known by the fruit of these divine blessings expressed in his life and character (Matt 7:16). The characteristics of justification by God in the kingdom of Heaven have been predetermined or predestined in the Beatitudes. Central Ideas - Here are proposed statements expressing the central ideas in Matthew 5:3-12 emphasizing the predestination of those members of the kingdom of Heaven: Exegetical Idea of the Text—Jesus taught His disciples the principles of divine blessings predestined for those who serve in the kingdom of Heaven. Theological Idea of the Text—God has predestined blessings for those disciples who serve Him as a witness that the kingdom of Heaven has come. Homiletical Idea of the Text—Because the Kingdom of Heaven has come, disciples of Jesus are called by the Gospel to walk in God’s blessings in order to fulfill the Great Commission. Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures proposes that the theological framework of the Sermon on the Mount reflects the thematic scheme of the Beatitudes.  In addition, it proposes that the Beatitudes are embedded into the narrative sections in Blocks 1-5 as imperative (homiletical) themes.  In other words, Jesus expounds upon the virtues of the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount; then He demonstrates these virtues in the narrative sections as He trains His disciples to carry out the Great Commission. Since the time of Origen, scholars give random examples of how Jesus demonstrates the virtues of the Beatitudes in the narrative sections that follow the Sermon on the Mount as He trains His disciples to implement the Great Commission. However, there is enough literary evidence to suggest that Matthew shapes the homiletical themes of his narrative material to follow the thematic scheme of the Beatitudes. The Gospel of Matthew concludes with the Great Commission after Jesus demonstrates these virtues and exhorts His disciples to do the same. Because these virtues serve as the homiletical theme of the narrative sections, the Beatitudes create Matthew’s homiletical structure. Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures proposes the following thematic scheme for the Beatitudes by associating it with the theological framework of the Sermon on the Mount as well as the narrative sections: Matt 5:3  Predestined-Called-Justified-Indoctrinated in 5:1-48 & 4:12-25 Matt 5:4  Divine Service in 6:1-18 and 8:1-9:38 Matt 5:5  Perseverance amidst Cares/Persecutions in 6:19-34 & 11:2-12:50 Matt 5:6  Perseverance amidst Offenses in 7:1-20 & 13:54-14:33; 15:29-16:12 Matt 5:7      Perseverance amidst Offenses in 7:1-20 & 14:34-15:28; 16:13-17:27; 20:17-34 Matt 5:8  Glorification in 7:21-27 and 19:3-20:16; 21:1-22 Matt 5:9  Glorification in 7:21-27 and 21:23-22:46 Matt 5:10  Glorification in 7:21-27 and 23:1-39 Matt 5:11-12  Fulfilling the Great Commission in 26:1-28:20 In summary, the homiletical ideas of Matthew’s narrative sections reflect the Beatitudes. Specifically, the thematic scheme of the Beatitudes matches the sequence of key virtues Jesus demonstrates and teachings in each narrative section.