Jesus sits on a mountainside and turns the world upside down: the poor are blessed, the meek inherit the earth, and persecution becomes cause for rejoicing. Christ calls His followers salt and light, then makes a shocking claim: He hasn't come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it, and unless our righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees, we'll never see the kingdom. 

The Rev. Lance O'Donnell, pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Oconomowoc, WI, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Matthew 5:1-20. 

To learn more about St. Paul's, visit splco.org.

The Gospel of Matthew bridges Old and New Testaments, presenting Jesus as the promised Messiah who fulfills the Law we could never keep and establishes His kingdom of grace for all nations. Written by a tax collector transformed by pure grace, Matthew reveals Christ as the true Son of David and Emmanuel (God with us) who challenges us with the crushing demands of the Law in His Sermon on the Mount to the sweet comfort of the Gospel in His death and resurrection. From royal genealogy to glorious resurrection, this verse-by-verse study proclaims the One who conquered sin, death, and the devil for us, now delivering forgiveness, life, and salvation through Word and Sacrament as He remains with His church always, even to the end of the age. 

Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.