NOTES: 1] LK's 'level place' is clearly a level spot on MT's 'mountain'. 2] Here, disciples means all Jesus' followers. 3] I think it was William barclay who stressed the 'Beatitudes' are congratulations on a present state of being rather than a hope of future blessedness. 4]  LK's form of the 'Beatitudes' is probably closer to the original than MT's because it's harder. MT may have blunted some of it to make it more palatable.

WARMING UP:  Do we have some personal set of 'beatitudes' of our own, or will those of Jesus do?

TREASURES OLD & NEW: Afterthoughts from, follow-up to last week’s Group, or since?

EXPLORING GOSPEL:

17-19    Can we identify why we ourselves have come to Jesus? Is it because we believe his teaching, are hopeful of being healed (or, thankful for healing received) think he has the right ideas for a better world, did we just fall in there somewhere,....? Are we happy to be just 'one of a crowd', or would we rather stand out a bit, be chosen for a more leading role? Are there any ways in which we've experienced being 'touched' by Jesus in some way, or have touched him?

20-23    Can we see any reason at all why the poor (not MT's 'poor in spirit') should feel blessed? Won't they need a lot of convincing? Have we grasped yet that God's Rule (Kingdom) is a present event, not a future expectation? Have we been grasped by it? What difference has that made to our life? If the Kingdom were only a future expectation, could we have any serious hope that it could make any difference here & now?
             Can we really expect the hungry to feel satisfied? With what? Why should they congratulate themselves on being blessed? Have we ever been hungry enough to ponder that, seriously? If we've ever been sad, is there / was there any sense of feeling blessed enough to laugh, let alone feel comforted?  If this isn't to be mere 'pie in the sky' how does this - or any of the others - become true for anyone?
              Have we ever felt at all blessed when someone hated us, for any reason at all, including our being a disciple of Jesus?  Has that  kind of thing ever made us 'leap for joy'?  Isn't this Rule of God business just a bit too topsy-turvy? Isn't what Jesus says a bit too hard to take on board?
 
24-26    If what Jesus teaches here is the complete antithesis of  our culture / most cultures, how can we accept it, let alone expect others to do so? Does Jesus deserve to have followers if he teaches this sort of thing? What makes him worth following, even with teachings like this?