Welcome To The Sermon On The Mound?

On May 26, 1961, the Reverend Paul Brooks Leath preached an unusual sermon at the 104th annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in St. Louis, Missouri. The large crowd in Kiel Auditorium that morning listened attentively for almost half an hour as Leath quoted the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5 – 7. When he had finished, many convention messengers rushed to the public relations booth to purchase a copy of the message.

"It’s a strange thing: the book has never been so accessible. According to Guinness Book of Records, L. Ron Hubbard’s writings of scientology have been translated into 65 languages; the Koran is supposed to be read in Arabic so it hasn’t been translated as much; the Book of Mormon is in about 100 languages. But 2,656 languages have all or some of the Bible. Some 65 million copies of the Bible are brought or distributed in the U.S. every year--nothing else is a close second. The average house has at least three. People cheer the Bible, buy the Bible, give the Bible, own the Bible-they just don’t actually read the Bible. According to George Gallup: One Third of those surveyed know who delivered the Sermon on the Mount. Fewer than half can name the first book of the Bible; 80 percent of born-again Christians believe the phrase God helps those who help themselves is in the Bible (it’s Ben Franklin, if you’re curious)." (Article People of The Book, pages 37-40 from Leadership Edition Winter 2008).

Tonight we start a series on the Sermon on the Mount by looking at critics of the sermon, ignorance of the sermon and finally importance of the sermon.

I. Critics of the sermon.

The Sermon on the Mount has attracted its critics. Along with praise from the greatest minds both inside and outside of Christendom, the Sermon on the Mount has received more opposition, distortion, and dilution than any other piece of literature, yet it has outlived all the accusations. 

For instance, the German philosopher Nietzsche concluded that it has a “debasing effect on man.” But his plea for a “master morality” and the evolution of the “superman” lost its popularity when the world saw in Hitler the result of such a philosophy. 

The Sermon on the Mount is still judged out of date by those who would relegate its relevance to the past. It is also considered irrelevant by those who would postpone its relevance to the future. Albert Schweitzer, the most outspoken proponent of the former view, believed that the Sermon on the Mount is a part of Jesus’ “interim ethic,” which was relevant only during the interim between the time it was delivered and Jesus’ death.

The dispensational view of the sermon, on the other hand, assumes that Matthew 5 – 7 constitutes the “law” that will not be in effect until the period before the millennium.

I believe one reason there are critics of the Sermon on the Mount is because of the ignorance of the sermon.

II. Ignorance of the sermon.

The greatest opposition to the Sermon on the Mount continues to be the neglect of its teachings in the lives of Christians. The sermon has become the flag under which the lives of many Christians sail instead of the rudder that steers their course. 

If the proverbial visitor from Mars landed in a typical Christian community, having read the Sermon on the Mount en route, he would more than likely conclude that he had landed in the wrong place. 

At a Christian summer assembly, some simple questions on the Sermon on the Mount were asked of a group of students between the ages of seventeen and twenty-four.

• Only 37% knew that the Sermon on the Mount is recorded in Matthew 5 – 7; 35% merely indicated that it is found in the book of Matthew.

• 21% gave the wrong chapters in Matthew; 7% left the question unanswered; none of them indicated that the shorter form of the sermon is also found in Luke 6:20-38.

• Most of them (91%) knew that Christ Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount; only 8% indicated that they did not know; 1% said that James preached the sermon.

• Almost half (48%) could not quote a beatitude – Matthew 5:3-12. Typical beatitudes listed were “Blessed are the poor in heart” and “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall obtain peace.”

• More than 20% could not quote the Golden Rule, Answers like “Be ye kind to one another” and “Love thy neighbor as thyself” were common. "In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matt 7:12 NASU.) or in the King James, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.”

So you see the sermon has its critics and for the most part even Christians are ignorant of the sermon. Now let’s see in brief the importance of the sermon.

III. Importance of the sermon.

The Sermon on the Mount located in Matthew 5 – 7 has been more widely discussed than any other piece of literature of equal length. Some Christian scholars have emphatically asserted that the best-known fact about Christ Jesus is that He gave the Sermon on the Mount. 

Mahatma Gandhi, a great leader outside the ranks of Christianity, praised the sermon as the unadulterated message of Christ Jesus. Parts of the sermon have even been taught in the name of science and psychology

Matt 5:1-2
5:1 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them, saying:
 
“Into a mountain.” Matthew indicates that Christ Jesus went up into a “mountain” to deliver the sermon. On the other hand, Luke pictures the scene as a “plain.” Even though there is no relationship between the Greek words for “mountain” and “plain”, there is reason to believe that both of them speak of the same locality. 

In Isaiah 13:2 of the Septuagint, oros (or-os) and pedinos (ped-ee-nos') are combined to denote a level, flat mountain. So, Christ Jesus and the disciples probably gathered on a plateau while the multitudes gathered on the outskirts of it. 

Even though the exact location cannot be identified, it is not unreasonable to believe that such a place can be found in the mountain range between Tiberias and Nazareth.

“When he was set.” The Jewish rabbi often preached while walking around or standing, but when he wanted to teach his class something of utmost importance, he sat down to speak. Christ Jesus was getting ready to say something to which all disciples should pay attention.

It has been said that the Sermon on the Mount “was spoken into the ear of the church and overheard by the world The Sermon on the Mount is addressed primarily to the disciples of Christ Jesus. It was to them He directed His teaching, because they followed Him for love and learning, while others attended Him only for cures and out of curiosity. Christ Jesus taught His followers, because they were willing to be taught, because someday they would understand what He taught, and because they were to teach others

Even though this discourse was directed to the disciples, it was in the hearing of the multitude (Matt 7:28). No bounds were set about this mountain, and no one was kept away. 

The sermon is the description of how one should live after becoming a Christian; it does not describe entrance into the Christian life. When a person accepts the challenge to follow Christ Jesus, they take upon themselves the demands of discipleship set forth in Matthew 5 – 7.

“He opened his mouth.” The Greek phrase used here is not just a fancy way of saying “he said” or “he spoke”; it is used to describe solemn, dignified utterances. It signifies that what one is about to hear is of paramount importance. The same Greek phrase is used to describe one who pours out of his mind and heart truths that are central and dear. 

Conclusion: History reveals that when Christians take seriously the demands of the Sermon on the Mount, spiritual revival has resulted. When Christians apply the teachings to their lives, unsaved people will flock to church to see what they are missing. The teachings of Christ Jesus in Matthew 5 – 7 are intended to be the rudder that steers the course of Christians rather than the flag under which we sail.