The Beatitudes

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how the Sermon on the Mount that was given by Jesus in the "Book of Matthew" did not replace the Mosaic Law, but rather elaborated on it. It analyzes what the Beatitudes did for followers at the time and for Christians today by examining each of them individually, as well as their connection as a whole. It looks at how Jesus gave the Beatitudes as the prime example of how his followers should be and not just how they should act. It shows how the first four concern God giving us grace in our own lives and how the latter four are how we should use that grace to work in the lives of others.

From the Paper:

"The second Beatitude is, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."6 This Beatitude is second because it's referring to a person mourning over sin that leads to repentance, not the mourning over something such as the loss of loved one. The poor in spirit become those who mourn because spiritual poverty leads to godly sorrow.7 When one mourns over sin, they become blessed because they realize that through repentance those sins are forgiven. This is the second phase of spiritual blessings because now one is no longer just acknowledging that he is spiritually poor, but rather he is mourning over it. We are constantly aware of the world's sin and mourn over it. In fact, in the entire New Testament there is no record of Jesus ever laughing; he experiences many other human emotions, but not laughter."

More papers on The Beatitudes:

• Analytical Essay # 86849 : "The Beatitudes in Matthew"
• Comparison Essay # 103555 : "The Beatitudes"
• Research Paper # 106806 : "The Beatitudes in the Gospel of Matthew"

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