March 2 Reflections

The Life and Ministry of the Messiah

• Do you notice any themes or common traits of the people Jesus interacts with in this week’s reading?

• Who did Jesus choose as His followers/disciples?

• How do the Beatitudes of Matthew 5 sound different or similar to the Old Testament Law found in Exodus 20 (Ten Commandments)?

• Consider: Jesus surrounded himself with those who were marginalized or outcasts from the religious elite system. At best, they were ordinary and common, but most were despised and forgotten. Jesus chose the simple to shame the wise. In doing so, he reinterpreted their understanding of who could access the love and blessings of God. Jesus inverted the system of righteousness that had elevated the pious and rejected the humble. Instead, he humbled himself and elevated the unloved.