Matthew 5: 1-10
Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

This is a beautiful passage where Jesus exposes the power of God on a very deep and personal level. You don’t need to be strong to inherit the Kingdom of the Heaven, indeed if your strong you cant even enter it. Only if you are weak and you seek a saviour can you even know it exists. We live in a society that highly prizes strength and power however Jesus tells us that only those who allow themselves to be cut by the pain of the unrighteousness that fills us and surrounds us will be comforted. Jesus came to start a kingdom that would afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. All these attributes, meekness, mercy, purity of heart, humility and persecutions would be curses and not blessings if not for the power of God which exists and which they reveal. By Revelation in 2 Cor 12: 9-10 Jesus told Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” and Paul said: “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
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Matthew 28: 18-20 “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”"

They were commanded to go to all nations in their generation… Jewish fishermen, tax collectors and a killer of tax collectors (Simon the zealot) were to go to every nation. I can’t imagine the feeling these guys had in the pit of their stomach when Jesus was lifted up into heaven after those words. I believe the reason they didn’t go straight back to fishing and hiding behind closed doors is right in the passage. Firstly they realized that their problem was a lack of obedience. Secondly that they didn’t need to worry about tomorrow, Jesus was with them every step of the way. Obedience to the mission without worrying about tomorrow… that’s how amazing things get done. Since the age isn’t over, the promise still stands and that is so encouraging.

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