Matthew 5:1-6

“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.”

Whenever we encounter greatness there is a tendency to compare that person to some great person of the past. We see it in the sports world as we continually evaluate the heroes of the present in our desire to find the GOAT, or the Greatest Of All Time. Sometimes there is no doubt. Some athletes, like Tiger Woods, stand alone, and even as he ages, he remains the standard for excellence. It was that way with the gospel writer, Matthew, as he recounted the ministry of Jesus. For him the GOAT was Moses, and as he begins his gospel he wants his reader to know that Jesus was cut from the same cloth. Like Moses he barely escaped death as an infant and found a refuge in Egypt. Like Moses Jesus came out of Egypt and became a leader of God’s Chosen People. And when Jesus came into Galilee and crowds gathered, like Moses he ascended a mountain and brought a special revelation from God. Moses had given the Law, and in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus presented the Nine Beatitudes. In Jesus grace triumphed and the law was trumped! He understood that true greatness already resided in the hearts of those he called as disciples. They were blessed as they were, and not for what they could be, and they would be the light of the world.   

Thought for the Day: How was Jesus the GOAT?