Good morning and welcome to the Panhandle. Pull up your chair, open up your Bible and sit a spell. Today we start a long section in Matthew's Gospel know as the Sermon on the Mount. It is in this time of teaching that Christ Jesus gives the beatitudes and the golden rule as well as what many call the Lord's prayer. So for the next couple of months we will be in Matthew 5-7.
The Beatitudes found in Chapter 5, set before us a template for the Christian life. They teach a philosophy of life, a standard of behavior, a spiritual resource of divine power. They leave us awed and at times dismayed, because the Beatitudes demand absolute, undiluted perfection. Of course the only person who ever lived the kind of life envisioned in the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount is our Lord, Christ Jesus. He lived this life openly – before His family, His friends, His foes, His heavenly Father – day after day, every moment He drew breath on this earth. Thus He demonstrated that the principles embodied in the Beatitudes were not the empty idealism of a dreamer. They were tested in the red hot crucible of a life that ended at Calvary.
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).
This morning in our study through Matthew's Gospel we have come to the Sermon on the Mount. The Gospel of Matthew is the teaching Gospel, and in it Matthew presents Christ Jesus as the Teacher. The context of Chapter 5-7 shows that, pressed by the crowds, Christ Jesus withdrew to teach—an act which let those who were most sincerely interested gather to listen.
“When He was seated” expresses the symbol of the rabbi who sat to teach, a phrase similar to our references to a professor’s chair. It designates this message as a presentation of the essence of Christ Jesus’ teaching. The phrase, “He opened His mouth and taught them” has special significance in the Greek. It is used of an oracle or of intimate teaching, making clear that Matthew wants us to see this Sermon as the summary or the essence of Christ Jesus’ teachings.
It is important that we not only recognize God’s saving grace but also His transforming grace; both His forgiving grace and His enabling grace. In our fear of works-righteousness we have minimized “the righteousness which is from God by faith” (Philippians 3:9). Yes, the Sermon on the Mount doesn't present the way to salvation but instead the way of righteous living for those who are in God's family, contrasting Christ Jesus' new way of life with the old one of the Scribes and Pharisees.
Because there is so much here we will be in Matthew 5-7 for quite some time. As we open Chapter 5, I am going to be looking at critics of the Sermon on the Mount, ignorance of the Sermon on the Mount and finally the importance of the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 5:1-3
When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.
2 He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
1. Critics of the Sermon on the Mount.
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 weakening 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 to be out of date by those who relegate its relevance to the past. It is also considered irrelevant by those who would defer its relevance to the future. Albert Schweitzer, the most outspoken proponent of this view, believed that the Sermon on the Mount is a part of Christ Jesus’ “interim ethic.”
“Interim Ethic” is: an interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus as principles pronounce for governing the conduct of the disciples during the anticipated brief span of time before the coming of the second advent and the passing of the terrestrial world.
The dispensational: a. the divine ordering of the affairs of the world. b. a divinely appointed order or age. The dispensational view of the Sermon on the Mount, on the other hand, assumes that Matthew 5 – 7 constitutes the “law” that will not be in effect until the tribulation before the millennial Kingdom.
In presenting this sermon, Christ Jesus called for a change in the thinking of the people about the kingdom of God. He rejected the more popular messianic expectations and outlined the creation of a new covenant community of God’s people, a disciples’ community. In contrast to the revolutionary zealots preparing persons for guerrilla war against the Romans, Christ Jesus prepared disciples in grace and sent them out in missions of healing.
Christ Jesus is calling you out of this world, He is calling you to change your perceptions, He is calling you to a way of living totally foreign in today's society. He is calling you follow Him. Wont you do so today?
I believe one reason there are critics of the Sermon on the Mount is because of the ignorance of the sermon.
2. Ignorance of the Sermon on the Mount.
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 a visitor from outer space landed in a typical Christian community, having read the Sermon on the Mount en route, they would more than likely conclude that they 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 a 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” (Matthew 7:12)
Now I know that most of us might have a difficult time with those questions as well. Yet we must know that the Sermon on the Mount is the guiding principles of Christ Jesus' teachings, and truths. It is His statement of the kingdom's moral principles. It is a detailed revelation of the righteousness of God, and while you may not know chapter and verse (yet), you must know that its principles are applicable to all who call themselves a Child of God. Are you a Child of God? Does your life show it?
While the Sermon on the Mound is maligned and often misunderstood it is a very important passage. Again it is these three chapters that show us how we must try and live our lives as Christians.
3. Importance of the Sermon on the Mount.
The Sermon on the Mount found her in Matthew has been more widely discussed than any other piece of literature of equal length.
Some Christian scholars have 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.
“on to a mountain.” Matthew indicates that Christ Jesus went up on to 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. Isaiah 13:2 of the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible), has oros (or-os) and pedinos (ped-ee-nos') combined to denote a level, flat mountain.
So, Christ Jesus and the disciples probably gathered on a plateau, or flat grassy area, a natural amphitheater, while the multitudes gathered round them. 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 the disciples and those gathered 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 heard by the multitude ~ When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; (Matthew 7:28). The Disciples didn't rope the area off, and there was no social distancing on that mountain, no one was kept away.
Remember Christ Jesus did not preach a salvation sermon, but instead taught how one should live after becoming a Christ follower. This is not about entrance into the Christian life. In today's vernacular, it is about a lifestyle choice.
“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 you are about to hear is of paramount importance. The same Greek phrase is used to describe one who pours out of his or her mind and heart truths that are central and dear to them.
We are not asked to imitate Christ Jesus through our own power. We are told to invite Him into our lives so that He, by His indwelling Holy Spirit, might live His life in us. This is the genius of the Christian message – the Christ who gave His life for us also gives His life to us.
When you apply Christ Jesus' teachings to your life, those who do not have a personal relationship with Christ Jesus will flock to church to see what they are missing. Ask yourself, is your life drawing people to Christ Jesus or pushing them away?
Well it looks like our time is up for today. Thanks for dropping by and I pray I see y'all next week. Until then may the bless and keep you and yours.
Biblesurfer
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