SM-I Syllabus SM-II-Syllabus SM-III Syllabus SM- Introduction
An Introduction to The Sermon on the Mount
Luke reveals how the rather significant following
of Jesus, that lead to the Sermon on the
Mount, was created.
And he came down with them,
and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude
of people went out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre
and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; And they
that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed. And the whole
multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out from him, and healed them
all. And his lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said… (Luke 6:17-20)
If the accounts of Matthew 5-7 and Luke 6 are
accounts of the same sermon, preached at the same time (I believe this to be the
case. DRY), then the setting seems to have been on a level plain or plateau on
the side of the mount. This would have created a natural amphitheatre affect.
The mountain on which this sermon was delivered is thought to be the Kurun
Hattin (“Horns of Hattin”), on the road from Nazareth to Tiberias
(McClintock and Strong, Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature).
About the mountain setting of Galilee, Matthew
Henry stated,
The
place was a mountain in Galilee. As in other things, so
in this, with all possible ease, honour, and state, and there corrupted the law;
our Lord Jesus, the great Teacher of truth, is driven out to the desert, and
finds no better pulpit that a mountain
can afford; and not one of the holy
mountains either, not one of the
mountains of Zion, but a common mountain;
by which Christ would intimate that there is no such distinguishing of holy
places now, under the gospel, as there was under the law; but that it is the
will of God that men should pray and preach everywhere,
anywhere, provided it be decent and convenient. Christ preached this sermon,
which was an exposition of the law, upon a mountain, because upon a mountain the law was given; and this was a solemn promulgation of
the Christian law.
The Impact of the Sermon on the Mount
Nothing says more about the affect that The Sermon on the Mount had on those that heard it than what Matthew
recorded in summation, “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these
sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one
having authority, and not as the scribes” (Matthew 7:28-29).
It wasn’t His speaking abilities that most
affected the multitude, but rather it was His message. It was an authoritative
message, something new as well as fresh. It wasn’t the new interpretation or
spin on something old, as would have been the case when a scribe might offer a
new perspective on Jewish law and tradition. Jesus’ message had substance to
it, and it was the substance that mattered most.
Let us remember that the substance of this great
lesson, today, can produce awe in those that give it their attention. There is
nothing quite like it. The cross might have been Jesus’ defining moment in
life, but when considering His instructive ministry, The
Sermon on the Mount is truly the pinnacle.
Concerning the Beatitudes
What so makes the Beatitudes stand out is their
paradoxical nature. By paradoxical, I mean that they are seemingly
contradictory.
“Blessed” is translated from the Greek word makarios,
which means “happy.” Happiness and poverty don’t normally go together.
But then again, Christ was redefining certain concepts and ideas, as they would
relate to the kingdom of heaven. In a spiritual context, such a contradiction of
terms can compliment each other.
Being blessed, in this sense, is how God views the
person. Take for instance, Matthew 5:4, “Blessed are
they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.” Naturally, in our sorrow we do
not subjectively feel “happy” or “blessed.” But if we think in objective
terms, from God’s vantage point, as well as from our vantage point for the
long run, it will make sense. We are “blessed” whether we realize it or not.
This kind of disposition says something about the child of God, and the benefit
is for now, as well as for the future.
The Beatitudes are not a magical formula, where if
a child of God does “this” then “that” will come. The blessings of the
Beatitudes are that in possessing the desired disposition, one has acquired the
spiritual insight or benefit of being a citizen in God’s kingdom.
The Importance of the Beatitudes
Every faithful child of God will strive to live the Beatitudes on a daily basis. These are daily qualities of life. They are attitudes “to be.” They define who the child of God is.
Every
faithful child of God is expected to manifest the qualities of the Beatitudes as
a citizen of the heavenly kingdom. These qualities are not
recommendations for living. When the totality of the New Testament is
considered, it is found that these qualities are essential and integral to
living the Christian life. We cannot merely pick and choose the ones we desire
to incorporate into the fabric of our lives. In order to have one’s
“conversation (manner of life/citizenship) in heaven” (Philippians 3:20),
one must possess these qualities.
In
the Beatitudes, the dichotomy between “saint” and “sinner” are most
clearly defined. While inhabiting the world, we must not live by
the world. Sometimes we struggle with knowing whether or not something is
worldly. The Beatitudes constitute a line of demarcation. These attitudes,
truly, distinguish the child of God from one of the world.