The Sermon on the Mount

The Sermon on the Mount (and other tales)

Jesus' Ministry to Israel: Mt. 4:12-11:1

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Matthew 14-17

RGQ #10-11

Jesus' Miraculous Ministry

• How do the events in Matthew 8-9 connect to the sermon? To the kingdom of Heaven? (cf. Mk 5-6)

• A note on discipleship: Mt. 8:18-22

Commissioning the Disciples

18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

• Here Jesus lays out requirements for discipleship in light of the Jesus' teaching and ministry in ch. 4-9.

• Jesus commissions the 12 exclusively to Israel in Mt. 10, setting up the response to Jesus in ch. 11-20.

• Like in Mark, the disciples should be prepared to suffer for the sake of the kingdom, should expect persecution, and should lay everything down in order

to follow Jesus.

Concluding the Sermon

Mt. 7:1-12

• Disciples should not be judgmental, but also must make discerning judgments about others (pearls before swine).
• Jesus ends the sermon with the Golden Rule, a culmination and summary of his ethic.

Mt. 7:13-27

• Ultimately, one can either accept or reject Jesus' teaching, there are only two options: Believe and obey Jesus' teaching, or reject it and face judgment

The Messiah Commissions his Disciples

"No one can perfectly perform the vision of the sermon (except Jesus), but this doesn’t mean it’s irrelevant to our lives. By faith and through grace Jesus is inviting us into a practical life of discipleship. We participate in and (imperfectly) imitate his Father-trusting, kingdom-awaiting way of being in the world."

- J. Pennington

• Why 12 disciples? Where does he send them?

• How does Jesus' teaching on discipleship in Matthew 10 compare with Mark's theology of discipleship?

7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’[c] 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,[d] cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. 9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics[e] or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Jesus and the Law

Humility and Wealth

Mt. 5:17-48

• Jesus notes that he has come to "fulfill" the law in v. 17--bringing it to the completion to which it pointed
• How does this affect how Christians view the OT?
• The Kingdom ultimately demands a greater righteousness than even the Pharisees, a higher level of complexity.
• This is seen most clearly in the antitheses: "You have heard that it was said...but I say..." (Mt. 5:21-48) ending with enemy love, perhaps the most characteristic teaching

The Beatitudes

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons[a] of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Mt. 6:1-34

• Jesus then commands that good deeds be done not for human praise, but the pleasure of God (charity, prayer, and fasting)
• v. 19-34 highlight the importance of serving God over mammon--do not worry about material needs, especially in the communal context of the church.

Q: What do we learn about the kingdom and its people from the beatitudes?

The Beatitudes

"Jesus’ teachings – central of which are the Sermon – have as their primary purpose the forming of people into a new way of being in the world that accords with God’s reign/kingdom. Therefore, we may describe Jesus’ modeling and teaching as a kind of resocialization – an intentional re-forming of our habits, desires, affections (a proper ordering of loves), a re-making of disciples to be like their Father God (“be holy as I am holy”), to be god-like/god-ly."

Beatitudes (5:3-12)

• The kingdom is given by grace, not earned by merit.
• Tension between present suffering and future KoG.
• The follower of Jesus is radically opposite of what is considered admirable or attractive by this world.
• Poverty, meekness, peacemaking, mourning, etc.

Significant theological themes:

A closer look at the sermon...

1. The Sermon can be seen as the inaugural address for the kingdom of God--demanding radical obedience and righteousness

2. Jesus establishes himself as a prophet like Moses, or perhaps even a new Moses through re-interpretation of the Mosaic (notice the mountain parallel as well).

3. Jesus fulfills the law--he clarifies commands and raises the expectations of the law for those who would follow him.

Mt. 5:21-48

• Can we actually do this stuff?

Mt. 6:9-13

• What is the focus of the Lord's Prayer? How does it relate to v. 19-34?

Mt. 7:13-27

• What seems to be the theme here? Should we be concerned? Where does grace come in?

A Brief Outline

1. Jesus' authority in teaching and interpretation of the law (ch 5-7)

2. Jesus' authority in healing (ch 8-9)

3. Authority given to the disciples (ch 10)