His Story: A journey through the greatest story of all time
The Bible isn’t just an old book—it’s God’s story, and it’s still alive today. His Story takes you chapter by chapter through Scripture, combining simple readings of God’s Word with prayer for every listener and occasional reflections on what the passage means for our lives right now.
Whether you’re brand new to the Bible or have been reading it for years, this podcast is a space to slow down, hear God’s Word spoken, and be reminded that His story is also our story.
His Story: A journey through the greatest story of all time
Jesus Spells Out the Upside-Down Kingdom
A quiet hillside becomes the stage for the most searching vision of human flourishing ever spoken. We walk through Matthew 5 and let the Beatitudes, the call to be salt and light, and the hard words on anger, lust, oaths, retaliation, and enemy love work on us—not as slogans, but as a new way of being shaped by a faithful King. The message is uncompromising and strangely gentle at once: blessing meets broken places, and holiness reaches beyond rule-keeping into the motives and desires that steer a life.
We start where Jesus starts: with a list of blessings that overturn our instincts. Poverty of spirit receives a kingdom. Mourners find comfort. The meek, not the aggressive, inherit the earth. Then we move into the public life of disciples: preserving good like salt, revealing truth like light, living so that God gets the credit. From there, the line tightens. Jesus fulfills the Law and the Prophets and raises righteousness beyond performance. Anger becomes a matter for reconciliation before worship. Lust is exposed as heart-level unfaithfulness. Marriage and speech demand integrity. Retaliation gives way to radical generosity. Love crosses enemy lines, reflecting the Father who sends sun and rain on all.
We don’t pretend this is easy. We name the impossibility of self-powered virtue and point to the One who embodies every word he speaks. The King who teaches is the King who redeems, draws near in mercy, and gives a new heart. Along the way, we offer grounded practices: initiating repair when relationships strain, choosing simplicity in speech, setting wise boundaries for purity, and taking the second mile when wronged. The aim is not flawless performance but growing wholeness—“be perfect” as a call to become complete in love. Stay to the end for prayer and a look ahead to Abraham’s costly faith in Genesis 22. If this journey helps you see Jesus more clearly, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review to help others find the show.
The Bible isn’t just an old book—it’s God’s story, and it’s still alive today. His Story takes you chapter by chapter through Scripture, combining simple readings of God’s Word with prayer for every listener and occasional reflections on what the passage means for our lives right now.
Whether you’re brand new to the Bible or have been reading it for years, this podcast is a space to slow down, hear God’s Word spoken, and be reminded that His story is also our story.
Welcome back to His Story, a journey through the greatest story of all time. Today we sit with the crowd on the hillside as Jesus opens his mouth and begins to teach in Matthew 5 the start of the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5 launches the most famous sermon ever given, the Sermon on the Mountain, a manifesto of the kingdom of God. The Beatitudes are a portrait of the Christian life. And the blessings are countercultural, poverty of spirit, meekness, hunger for righteousness. Jesus teaches as the greater Moses, speaking from a mountain. The Beatitudes are both descriptive of God's people and prescriptive, shaping how we live. Christ calls his followers to be salty and light, a community distinct, yet engaged. Let's get started. God, thank you so much for this day that you've given us. May we rejoice and be glad in it. Thank you for providing us your word that we can read, that we can understand through your Holy Spirit, and especially for today, the very words of Jesus as He taught about the kingdom of God so many millennia ago. God, we love you and we thank you for all that you provide. We love you so much for loving us and for saving us. And may today's message speak deeply to our hearts. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him, and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you, and persecute you, and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfil them. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council, and whoever says, You fool, will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. You have heard it said, you shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out, and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce. But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. Again, you have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn. But I say to you, do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply yes or no. Anything more than this comes from evil. You have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, but I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his son rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect. This is the Word of God. The Sermon on the Mount begins with blessings that flip the world upside down. The poor in spirit inherit a kingdom. Those who mourn find comfort, the meek, not the aggressive, inherit the earth. The Beatitudes aren't about personality types, but kingdom values. In Greek, the repeated word makarui, blessed, flourishing, truly well off, it's not surface happiness, but deep approval from God. And then Jesus calls his followers salt and light, preserving, illuminating, distinct. He insists he hasn't come to abolish the law, but fulfill it. And he raises the bar. It's not just murder, but anger. Not just adultery, but lust. Not just a loving neighbor, but also enemies. The chapter closes with a staggering call to be perfect, which means complete or whole, as your father is perfect. This is no watered-down ethic. It's life shaped by the king who embodies every word he speaks. I love that in the Beatitudes, Jesus speaks to almost every condition that humans experience at some point in time or another. Whether you're rich or you're poor, you will eventually mourn. Whether you have a lot of great things going on in your life or not, you will need to have mercy shown to you and to show to others. There's just so much meat in this passage where Jesus just over and over raises the stakes, and at one point even says, almost in a mocking way, if your righteousness isn't as good as these scribes and Pharisees, then you're never going to make it into heaven. And it leads to the question, well, then who can make it to heaven? In fact, there were people that asked that later in Jesus' ministry, and that's when he reminded them that he is the way, the truth, and the life, and that nobody comes to the Father except through him. God, thank you so much for this passage in Matthew 5, where we hear the words of Jesus speaking to your heart, speaking to what matters most. It's not just following the law, but it's actually having a heart that is changed. And the only way that a heart can follow you is if you redeem it. So, God, I pray for those that are listening to this right now and for anyone else who doesn't know you in this moment that you would draw them to yourself, that you would redeem their lives, you would save them for eternity, and that they would follow you as a result. God again, thank you for your word. Thank you for always providing for all of our needs. And in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Next time we'll step into Genesis 22 and watch Abraham's costly faith as he offers Isaac in sacrifice. Until next time, remember, Jesus wrote the greatest story ever told, and that includes loving you and me completely. See you next time.
