A Verse
Luke 11:28
Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.
A Comment
In a response to a blessing being pronounced on his mother, Jesus shifts the focus of the audience to hearing and obeying God’s Word. It was not that Jesus’ mother was not blessed, but that the pronouncement of blessing by the woman in the crowd was lacking. While in the ancient context, one’s status as blessed might have had something to do with physical family relationships, in the Kingdom of God, the blessed one is the one who hears the Word of God and obeys it. In other words, it is not the one with a physical claim to a blessed status that is ultimately blessed in the kingdom of God, but instead, the one who hears the good news of the kingdom, the Gospel preached by and about Jesus, and responds with faith and repentance, that is truly blessed by God.
A Prayer
O’ LORD, grant us to be hearer and doers of Your word. Let us be blessed as those who have received the good news of Your grace in Jesus. Grant this for Your glory and our good. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
A Blessing
Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.
Who is Blessed by God?