![]() ![]() ![]() Once you've discussed the context a bit, I'd ask your students a few questions: Several of these insights are inspired by Skye Jethani's book, What if Jesus Was Serious? A Visual Guide to the Teachings of Jesus We Love to Ignore - a great resource if you're interested in exploring the Sermon on the Mount in greater depth with your youth. Salt was more precious in Jesus' time, before the existence of refrigerators and other preservatives. Salt is both a preservative that prevents food from decaying and an enhancer that makes it taste better. Although we know the Kingdom of God will one day come more perfectly when Jesus returns, Jesus was already proclaiming that the Kingdom of God had come during his first earthly ministry (Mark 1:15). The Kingdom of Heaven (aka The Kingdom of God) is anywhere - in heaven or earth - where God's rule is established. When Jesus refers to "the Kingdom of Heaven," he's not just talking about going to heaven. Instead they are meant to point to the kinds of people who will end up experiencing a life of flourishing in Jesus' kingdom. In most cases, we don't necessarily need to "try" to do them. The Beatitudes (which is just a Latin word for "blessings") are not meant to be a list of rules that we perform in order to earn Jesus' approval. The word "blessed" is not the same word that would be used to say something like "God has blessed me with so much." Another way to translate it would be "fortunate" or perhaps even "lucky." It's a way of saying that you're in the right place to experience a good and flourishing life. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. ![]() Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. This bookends well with what the prologue of Episode 1 of The Chosen Season 2 showed about the production of Scripture also being a process and should hopefully expand the way that your youth look at their own ability to contribute to Jesus' ongoing work today. For the most part, I want to focus on what seems to be the main thrust of the episode - that Jesus' moments of powerful teaching were not, as we might assume, simply an overflow of his own divine genius, but were rather the fruit of the collaboration of his entire team of disciples laboring together with him. But we'll hit on Judas only briefly below ( see my other post to explore how The Chosen adapts Judas' character). I've been looking forward to seeing how The Chosen would handle Judas' character and Episode 8 definitely left me intrigued. More than that, however, Episode 8 finally allows us to meet the last and most notorious of the 12 disciples, Judas Isacariot. Episode 8 is The Chosen Season 2 doing what The Chosen does best: providing emotional context for a Bible scene (the Sermon on the Mount). ![]()
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