The Sermon on the Mount
Window
Lesson
#5
The Old Testament:
Now the serpent was more subtle
than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman,
Yea, hath God said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may
eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which
[is] in the midst of the garden, God hath said, You shall not eat of it,
neither shall you touch it, lest you die.
And the serpent said unto the woman, You shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day you eat
thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good
and evil. And when the woman saw that
the tree [was] good for food, and that it [was] pleasant to the eyes, and a
tree to be desired to make [one] wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did
eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. (Genesis 3:1-6)
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
and a light unto my path. (Psalm 119:105)
A new heart also will I give you,
and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart
out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26)
The Gospel – The Sermon on the Mount
And seeing the multitudes, he
went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them,
saying, Blessed [are] the poor in
spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed [are] they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed [are] the meek: for they shall
inherit the earth. Blessed [are] they
which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed [are] the merciful: for they shall
obtain mercy. Blessed [are] the pure in
heart: for they shall see God. Blessed
[are] the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed [are] they which are persecuted for
righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when [men] shall revile you,
and persecute [you], and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for
my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding
glad: for great [is] your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets
which were before you. You are the salt
of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be
salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be
trodden under foot of men. You are the
light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it
under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it gives light unto all that are in
the house. Let your light so shine
before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, which
is in heaven. Think not that I am come
to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to
fulfill. For verily I say unto you,
Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from
the law, till all be fulfilled.
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and
shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but
whosoever shall do and teach [them], the same shall be called great in the
kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you,
That except your righteousness shall exceed [the righteousness] of the scribes
and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said by them of
old time, You shall not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of
the judgment: But I say unto you, That
whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the
judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of
the council: but whosoever shall say, You fool, shall be in danger of hell
fire. Therefore if you bring thy gift
to the altar, and there remembers that thy brother hath ought against you; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and
go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy
gift. Agree with your adversary
quickly, whiles you art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary
deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be
cast into prison. Verily I say unto
you, You shall by no means come out thence, till you hast paid the uttermost
farthing. You have heard that it was
said by them of old time, You shall not commit adultery: But I say unto you,
That whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with
her already in his heart. And if thy
right eye offend you, pluck it out, and cast [it] from you: for it is
profitable for you that one of thy members should perish, and not [that] thy
whole body should be cast into hell.
And if thy right hand offend you, cut it off, and cast [it] from you:
for it is profitable for you that one of thy members should perish, and not
[that] thy whole body should be cast into hell. It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him
give her a writing of divorcement: But
I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of
fornication, causes her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that
is divorced commits adultery. Again,
you have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, You shall not
forswear thyself, but shall perform unto the Lord your oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all;
neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it
is the city of the great King. Neither
shall you swear by thy head, because you canst not make one hair white or
black. But let your communication be,
Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. You have heard that it hath been said, An
eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
But I say unto you, That you resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite
you on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue you at the law, and take away thy coat,
let him have [thy] cloke also. And
whosoever shall compel you to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asks you, and from him that
would borrow of you turn not you away.
You have heard that it hath been said, You shall love thy neighbor, and
hate your enemy. But I say unto you,
Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you,
and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That you may be the children of your Father
which is in heaven: for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good,
and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
For if you love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even
the publicans the same? And if you
salute your brethren only, what do you more [than others]? do not even the
publicans so? Be you therefore perfect,
even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Take heed that you do not your
alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise you have no reward of your
Father which is in heaven. Therefore
when you doest [your] alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the
hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of
men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when you doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy
right hand doeth: That your alms may be
in secret: and thy Father which sees in secret himself shall reward thee
openly. And when you pray, you shall
not be as the hypocrites [are]: for they love to pray standing in the
synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.
Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But thou, when you pray, enter into thy closet, and when you hast shut
thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which sees in
secret shall reward thee openly. But
when you pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen [do]: for they think
that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not you therefore like unto them: for your Father knows what
things you have need of, before you ask him.
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver
us from evil: For your is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.
Amen. For if you forgive men their
trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if you forgive not
men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Moreover when you fast, be not, as the
hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may
appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when you fastest, anoint your
head, and wash thy face; That you
appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy
Father, which sees in secret, shall reward thee openly. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon
earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and
steal: But lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where
thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will
your heart be also. The light of the
body is the eye: if therefore your eye be single, thy whole body shall be full
of light. But if your eye be evil, thy
whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be
darkness, how great [is] that darkness!
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love
the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot
serve God and mammon. Therefore I say
unto you, Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall
drink; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than
meat, and the body than raiment? Behold
the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into
barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than
they? Which of you by taking thought
can add one cubit unto his stature? And
why take you thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they
grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these. Wherefore,
if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast
into the oven, [shall he] not much more [clothe] you, O you of little
faith? Therefore take no thought,
saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be
clothed? (For after all these things do
the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all
these things. But seek you first the
kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto
you. Take therefore no thought for the
morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient
unto the day [is] the evil thereof.
Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholds you the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considers not the beam that is in your own eye? Or how wilt you say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of your eye; and, behold, a beam [is] in your own eye? You hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of your own eye; and then shall you see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast you your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Therefore all things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Enter you in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither [can] a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them. Not every one that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that hears these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. 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 5-7)
· Top Icon: Lilies of the field.
· Main Window: Jesus is in red and has a crossed halo. He is sitting on jagged cliff with his hand in the air perhaps waving at more to come up. Another possibility for his hand is a calming of the stormy clouds. There are 10 faces in the crowd including a woman (4th up)? A sparrow is flying in the air.
· Bottom Icon: Light of the world inside a house built on a rock, a sure foundation.
A two-semester class on just “The Sermon on the Mount” was one of my favorite classes in college. At first I was amazed that a simple three chapters from Matthew could in anyway last for two semesters. In reality, these three chapters have great relevance and give a strong insight into the person of Jesus and his mission. Not only do Christian theological students study this sermon in detail, but Jewish theological students as well. Out of all of the historic first century Jewish rabbis, only Jesus’ sermon has survived to this day.
One interesting point that usually comes up when considering the Sermon on the Mount is the questioning of why Jesus would pick a mountaintop to address an unusually large crowd. Based on an analysis of the crowd that lead up to this sermon, it is estimated by some that there might have been several thousand (Mat 4:24-25).
Given the state of today’s public address systems, addressing a crowd of thousands is no big deal. Back then, it was something else altogether. Some have conjured up reasons as to why Jesus would have preferred a mountain ridge or a crevice so his voice would be amplified as if he was speaking in some sort of natural amphitheater. Even others have come up with a sort of divine voice. After all, if he could multiply the fishes and bread for another large gathering (Mark 8:19), why couldn’t he multiply his voice?
My teacher brought up another distinct possibility. Most accounts of the chronology of Jesus’ life have this sermon happening early in his ministry right after he selected his disciples. This huge crowd of people seeking healing and everything else may have gotten too large (Mat 4:24-25). Certainly later in Jesus’ ministry, he directly sent the disciples out two-by-two because the crowds had gotten too large for one person (Luke 9:1; 10:1). With this in mind, it is thought that the large crowd was left at the base of the mountain and he took his disciples up on top of the mountain to teach “them” specifically the how’s and way’s of his mission - . And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying…(Mat 5:1).
As we continue looking at the subject matter of the sermon itself, notice how Jesus does not use parables which was his normal practice for the average crowd. In fact, he spoke in parables to the crowds but explained them to his disciples. And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speak unto them in parables?… All these things spoke Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spoke he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world (Mark 13:10, 34-35). This sermon deals with the life of faith in concrete terms. Perhaps he did tell the whole crowd to take no thought for your life (Mat 6:25). On the other hand, this may have been private instructions to his followers so they could learn a new way of living so they could go and spread the good news when their listeners were ready to hear.
Also, it should be noticed that this crowd expecting healing did get it after the sermon was over (Mat 8). So they either sat through this sermon and then had a big healing line OR Jesus had a timeout with the disciples and then by example started demonstrating the truth and power of his ministry.
The Sermon on the Mount starts with the famous beatitudes. Robert Schuler calls them the “be-happy-attitudes”. Actually, it is French for blessings as they all start with blessed are they who do/are such in such. These deal with the core parts of a person’s life.
Encrypted in some of them are some interesting nuggets that escape a casual reading due to their English translation. For example, Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. In Monty Python’s Life of Brian, those hearing this sermon from a distance mishear Jesus saying Blessed are the cheese makers and Blessed are the Greek. Conversations erupt among those distant people saying things like: It is not to be taken literally my dear. It means that blessed are all those who manufacture dairy products. Another pipes up with Oh, it is Blessed are the Meek. Isn’t that wonderful. It’s about time they got something for their troubles.
Similar to the humor that satirists have found in the Gospels, many have likewise missed some powerful points expressed by Jesus. Consider that the word meek is the Greek word praus – trainable. With Greek horsemen of the day, a praus horse was highly prized because it could be well trained and would go to battle with its owner unquestioned. Moses was said to have been the meekest man on earth (Num 12:3). Normally, most people would go through hundreds of adjectives before they came to the word meek to describe Moses!
Part of our Christian walk is to certainly be praus – trainable. Most older people will tell younger Christians that God has a wonderful way of training his children. They will also often say that it would have been a lot nicer had they listened to God and learned by the easy way rather than by the hard way. We do the same thing with our kids. We groan at the notion that they more often than not learn by error rather than trial. Wouldn’t it be great if they would just listen to us and somehow glean from our experience? God offers the same advice to us.
When I got up this morning, I noticed that the heavens and especially the earth were still here. According to Jesus, not one jot nor tittle of the law would pass away until all was fulfilled. Some think that all was fulfilled at the cross. Others contend that all would have to include his very own words about heaven and earth passing away before a jot or tittle was invalidated.
A jot is the smallest of the Hebrew letters. A tittle is the smallest little decorative mark used in Hebrew text. Normally one who speaks in such absolute terms is a legalist. In fact Jesus goes on to say that anyone wanting to enter the kingdom must be more righteous than the Pharisees! At this, I’m sure the disciples all swallowed hard. No one was more observant and righteous than the Pharisees of the first century. These guys formed such a literal and legalistic system of religion that Jesus later described them as straining for a gnat and swallowing a camel (Mat 23:24).
If the disciples/crowd just heard Jesus say that even the decorative marks would not be invalidated and that their righteousness would have to supersede that of the Pharisees, I’ll bet that many of them may have wanted to go home. However, if you read the rest of the sermon, you’ll discover that Jesus’ idea was to transcend the legalism of the law; that is, to be naturally better than the Pharisees – to get a new heart. In this, he goes on to seemingly add commandments.
For example, everyone has heard that you shall not commit adultery but Jesus goes on to add that even looking on another is to commit such in the heart (Mat 5:27-32). This kind of logic is called ‘Fencing the Torah’ in Judaism. Thus if something is wrong, then steps leading up to it must be wrong, too, and should be avoided. In a kind of reverse twist to this, some Christians flatly reject this notion based on the example of Eve. In the garden, the serpent asked her about the forbidden fruit. Eve goes on to say that they were not allowed to eat it nor touch it. Thus, when the serpent got her to touch and observe the fruit without consequence, it was easier for her to fall to the real sin of eating it. Thus, for Christians of this belief, Jesus added to the laws of Moses by declaring adultery to be also a matter of the heart.
I’ll bet the disciples/crowd got an interesting kick out of take no thought for your life (Mat 6:25). Life, even today, requires a bit of planning. Back then, failing to properly plan for a winter meant starvation. I have, however, met Christians that literally seek to live this way.
I met a poorly dressed couple at a mall in Anniston, Alabama, who came up to me and declared that they lived by faith. I promptly said that I did too quoting the just shall live by faith (Rom 1:17). They cheered like a bunch of Amway salesmen and started telling me about their lives. The woman declared that they only had to eat peanut butter twice the previous week.
Perhaps this is the real way God wants us to live. Instinctively, I doubt it. I’ve seen many who sell all and take their families to ‘who knows where’. Many times, these families totally fall apart. Harrison Ford’s movie Mosquito Coast is a great example of this, although his reason for leaving normal humanity was not based on Jesus’ words. Some try and return home to friends and family while trying to explain their failure. To be sure, some do well with a lifestyle like this and they become saints like Mother Theresa.
If you consider the lilies of the field and the birds of the air, they do survive because such is provided for them. In a similar way, squirrels have enough nuts stored in multiple locations that they often only eat a fraction of what they store and the rest is a part of the ecosystem of new plants and trees. To extrapolate Jesus’ idea further, if a squirrel took no thought – as the faith-walking people of Anniston - they would starve unless they had other friendly squirrels who had made peanut butter from their nuts. In fact, they survive on the goodness of others who have planned.
So the birds of the air benefit from all of the trees that have grown due to all of those misplaced nuts. The lilies of the field are fertilized by the decaying trees. The skies have breathable oxygen for birds to fly through thanks to trees. The circle of life depends on events that lead up to each point of the circle. In my mind, the very circle that brought us all to our current point will survive in one way or another. With God’s care, the cycle of life is probably nicer considering that he rains on the good and bad alike (Mat 5:45). Trusting in God’s creation is more in keeping with Jesus’ suggested way of life – in my opinion.
Based on the Jewish view of being a chosen people to bless the world, Jesus sends his followers out as lights unto the nations and as salt of the earth. To be sure, it would be a very dark world without light and grits would be very bad without a little salt and butter. On the other hand, too much light can blind and burn. Too much salt can a ruin a meal and in larger quantities be an outright poison.
Perhaps we all have known or been a Christian who is too salty or not salty at all. Such probably do more harm to the body of Christ than a host of nonbelievers. A professing Christian who lives a different secret life is simply a hypocrite. On the other end of the spectrum, a professing Christian who blazes a blinding trail of hellfire and brimstone is probably not much better. Jesus said a good light shines enough to illuminate a room so all can see (Mat 5:14-16). Jesus said good salt was such that gave flavor and made better (Mat 5:13).
Speaking of these concepts, the bottom icon of this window shows a light illuminating a room. If you look closely at this icon, you’ll notice a similarity to the bottom icon of the nativity window. It is like the two concepts are merged into one idea. This illuminated house is certainly built on a rock and/or a wise foundation (Mat 7:24-27).
Summary
If you have never read a book about the Sermon on the Mount, I would highly recommend it. In this short chapter, I have only covered a scarce few of the nuggets and jewels in Jesus’ sermon. I personally feel it was given to the disciples who were sent to give it to the people who were to become followers who were to take it to even more. The fact that you are in a body of Christians and reading this series is testimony to the fact that it worked. Go be salt and light yourself.
Roy Gilbert Fellowship Class
