Matthew 5:1-12; Colossians 3:12-17 Scripture Study
By Pastor Chris Simmons – Trinity Lutheran Church, Paso Robles CA
A reinforcement/supplement study to our Sunday service meant for “Building up the body of Christ… the manifold Wisdom of God made known” (Ephesians 4+3)
For Sunday, February 1, 2026
There is a lot of talk, how-to books, and even sermons on living your best life or blest life. You ask someone how they are doing, and they say I am blessed! We may end notes or emails with the word “Blessings!” and then sign our name. A person sneezes, and we respond with “God bless you,” "Bless you,” or, if you are harkening back to a German upbringing, “Gesundheit!”
How does one define living your best life? What does that look like? Is the salutation at the end of a note a nice word, passing along something that connotes fortune, happiness, or gratefulness to the hearer? What is our motivation to respond to a sneeze with bless you or God bless you? We can get into the habit of using the words “bless” and “blessed” in automatic or trivial responses.
Jesus, in the Beatitudes of Mathew 5, uses the word “blessed” nine times to give perspective to our relationship with Him and His response to our condition, which is anything but blessed as we see the reality of our sinfulness. What Jesus does not do in Matthew 5 is give us a to-do list of behaviors to make us more moral people, and thus more pleasing to God. He provides much more - perspective, salvation, and life!
The theme for this week is Starting Something New: Core Values. Jesus gets us to the core of our sin problem and provides new perspectives and blessings to all who call on him as Savior. Our greatest value is who we are as a baptized and beloved child of God. It is from that knowledge and new reality that we, in turn, value others.
May God truly BLESS your study!
~ Steve Schedler
Discuss: Think about how the words “bless” and “blessed” are used by people in and out of the church. What do you think they mean when they use those words? What do you intend for people to hear when you use them?
Matthew 5:1-12
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
The Beatitudes
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
It is important to begin a study of the Beatitudes (Latin for blessed) with an understanding of the word “blessed.” Some Bible translations use the word “happy” instead of “blessed,” but that seems to devalue the power of Jesus’ teaching. Former LCMS St. Louis Seminary Professor, Dr. Jeffrey Gibbs, in his Concordia Commentary of Matthew, guides our thinking in this way: “The adjective, 'Makarios' (blessed) in Matthew has strong connotations of present and future salvation. It does not mean 'happy,' but something much stronger, tantamount to 'saved.'” (Gibbs, 234)
Critical to our understanding of Jesus's teaching in the Beatitudes is the description of who is being addressed. It is not their standing, virtue, or attitude, but rather a status or condition. In all cases, the “who” of the beatitude is a disciple of Jesus, someone who has been called in their baptism to be a child of God. Many might be tempted to universalize the reference (to "all the poor" in verse 3), but the blessings Jesus pronounces are for those in a saving relationship with Him.
Let’s look briefly at each beatitude to gain a basic understanding of the teaching of Jesus.
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The poor in spirit are those who, before a perfect, holy God, see their spiritual poverty or spiritual bankruptcy. They have no ability to change their condition but must rely on their spiritual neediness to be met by another, namely, Jesus. Jesus is not referring to those who live in financial poverty, but rather all humanity who live in spiritual poverty. As we approach God through the forgiveness provided by Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
We who are spiritually poor see the sin in ourselves and the sin of those around us, and we mourn the damage done. It is God who then brings comfort, knowing that we are comforted both now and fully in eternity.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
The meek, often translated as the lowly, describes one who is in need of deliverance. As in the first beatitude, the description is of a condition rather than a status. As you understand your low estate due to your sinfulness, you also receive the promise that through Jesus, you have an inheritance.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are people who long for something they do not possess by their own efforts. We hunger and thirst right now for a righteousness that is not ours but given by faith in Jesus, who fully satisfies.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
As disciples of Jesus, we have been transformed by God's mercy. Jesus is our mercy in the flesh, and his mercy is perfect. As his disciples, we also exhibit mercy to those around us.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Is anyone pure in heart by themselves? We find our forgiveness, our purity in Jesus through his victory over sin. In this new reality, we now have access to and see our Almighty God fully in eternity.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Understand that the peacemakers Jesus is referring to are his disciples, those who follow him. They bring the message of peace with God offered through faith in the Prince of Peace, Jesus our Savior. In our baptism, we have peace with God, and he calls us His sons and daughters to be peacemakers.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Even in the midst of being persecuted, mocked, and looked down upon for our faith in Jesus, we are blessed in the reality that we will spend eternity with him in heaven. So, whether one dies for their faith at the hands of first-century Romans, the twenty-first-century jihadist, or faces hostility for their faith in Jesus, remember the promise of Jesus: 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. What a perspective! Our heavenly eternity with God is far greater than any earthly persecution.
Discuss:
Take some time to discuss the commentary on each beatitude. How does Dr. Gibbs’ emphasis that “blessed” has a strong connotation to present and future salvation shape your understanding?
What is the challenge for the hearers of these blessings of Jesus who see them as a moral code, something we do for God and for our fellow man? Can they become a burden to bear as a disciple strives to please God? Where does that leave such a person? If it is up to us to rectify all these conditions, why do we need Jesus?
What does it mean for you that in and through a perfect Jesus, you are blessed in each of these conditions or situations that you find yourself facing? What opportunities might that provide as you live out life with the reality that, because of Jesus, you are fully and completely good with God?
Colossians 3:12-17
12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
It is very important that, as we read scripture, we do so with an understanding of the whole of scripture. Challenging or difficult passages are made clearer by considering other passages. At first glance, it would appear that we have to do something, “put on” something as St. Paul begins this section of Colossians. It would be helpful as we study Colossians 3 to also look at Galatians 3:27:
“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
In our baptism, we have put on Christ. Scripture teaches that baptism is fully something that God does for us. It is a complete gift which “works the forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal life to all who believe.” Luther’s Small Catechism
God teaches us in Galatians 3 that, in that baptism, we have put on Christ, and we were dressed up in Jesus, not by any work of our own, but through the work of God in and through the water and the Word. That gives us some perspective when in Colossians 3, St. Paul speaks to us “putting on” the characteristics he mentions. All those characteristics or qualities flow from the fact that in baptism Christ was poured out on us.
Discuss:
How might compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, that are bearing with one another and forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, inspire what you value at the core of your walk with Jesus?
How does love (see 1 Corinthians 13; 1 John 3:1, 16-18, 4:7-12) bind everything together?
What is Paul’s encouragement when it comes to the word of Christ in Colossians 3:16? Do you have a favorite way of hearing that word in addition to reading it (songs/hymns/spiritual songs)?
What connections do you see between the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 and these words of Paul in Colossians 3?
How does a life of thankfulness speak into these characteristics/qualities Paul lists and to the blessings of Jesus in Matthew 5?
Prayer
Do you struggle with your own value, feeling you come up short of God’s expectations? Ask God to reveal His word & counsel, which reminds you that in Jesus, you are fully and completely loved by your heavenly Father.
As you look to define (or refine) your personal core values, where do you need God to lead and guide who and what you value? Ask God for wisdom as you seek to make a difference in the lives of those around you that comes from the overflow of what God has done for you in Christ.
Gracious God, we give you thanks and praise for the value that you have placed on us. In our baptism, you made us your children and called us to love one another. May we value what you love: forgiveness, kindness, peace, and humility. We pray that through our words and actions, others around us might know the peace that is theirs in Jesus. Thank you, Father, for the blessing of salvation, our life eternal that gives perspective to the life we live each and every day. May everything we do be done in the name of Jesus, sharing his love in a world that so desperately needs to hear that Good News. In the name of Jesus, who is our peace. Amen.