Jesus saw and then acted. He saw the crowds and went up the mountain, sat down and began to teach. No one had a Bible, no one had their laptop or their iPad to take notes. All they had were their ears and eyes, a mind to take in the teaching and they would then be expected to act upon that teaching. Today we carry our electronics with us to worship, we mull over passages, look up cross references but do we take time to really listen? Over and over through Matthew we will come across this phrase: “he who has ears better listen.” So how are your listening skills today?

Jesus began by saying “Blessed are.. followed by.. then you are.” It is because of this transformation we become His followers and can share these truths with others. That is the measure of being a disciple of Christ. Jesus also said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.’ If we want to be a true disciple we must look inwardly to our heart and then observe our actions. Matt Skinner wrote: Jesus “greater point is that righteousness encompasses the focus and state of mind that motivates and sustains one’s actions.” Perhaps that is why Jesus said “be careful” in how you reveal your inner righteousness because the world is watching. We ask: What do they see? What do they hear? What do they then surmise? The better question is what does God see, what does God hear, what then does God know about our heart?