seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Luke 6:12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: 14 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
20 Looking at his disciples, he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when people hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when people hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
Good morning and Merry Christmas!
Yep.... here's a list of the disciples who were named Apostles. Dr. Luke says they were chosen out [Apostles] of all the people who were followers [disciples]. Matthew, the guy who wrote the Gospel is named Philip in these verses. I noticed once again that there were two men named Simon in the bunch. One was called Peter by Jesus and the other was Simon the Zealot.
I did a little research this morning into the identity of Simon the Zealot. Different translations call him different things. One particular article brought up the fact he became an evangelist and he spread the Gospel in Egypt before being martyred in Persia. There was a Jewish political party named the Zealots. The Bible doesn't say if he belonged to that party or if he had a real zest for the Gospel. The article also called Simon a Canaanite. That might be a clue, considering Canaan was the Land of Promise. He might have been a hardline Canaanite who accepted Jesus as Messiah. The Zealots were very, very protective of the law of Moses. Simon the Zealot believed Jesus to be the one they had all been waiting on. That says volumes... right?!?
This is the sermon on the mountainside. Everyone talks about it but I don't think a lot of people have actually read it. If they did, wouldn't there be more questions about wealth running the church? Sure, God put the finest articles in His Temple, but they were donated by the people who made them. They weren't purchased from Amazon and paid for out of the donations meant for the poor. If you have lots of fancy stuff in your temple, you will probably have a very, very plain place in Heaven.... right? According to verse 24. a lot of humans are getting their comfort and joy right here and now.
When will you get your comfort and joy?
Please pray for my family. My oldest was just diagnosed with COVID. She's had one shot and she's in really good physical shape, she says it's like the worst cold she's ever had, but she's got that COVID cough, she's exhausted and mean as a hornet. My youngest has been off work for a couple weeks. She got COVID at work [she is a nursing assistant]. She went back to work yesterday. I hope she is done with it now. And finally.... My ex is in the hospital, COVID got him. He was found non-responsive at home and he's still in the hospital. Hubby and I are doing just fine... so please close with thanksgiving about that.
Merry Christmas!