Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount

Introduction: I went to Youth Ministry conference many years ago now. And there was a speaker there that everyone was really excited to hear. He was doing some great work in inner city Philadelphia and began making a name for himself on the conference circuit.

When it was his time to speak, he got up, walked to the podium. Opened his Bible to Matthew 5 and started reading. Every word deliberately and passionately. When he got to chapter 6, the murmurs began. Is he really going to read the entire Sermon on the Mount.

Chapter 7 and people were upset. No commentary. No exposition. Just the words of Jesus.

When he got to Matthew 7:27, he concluded by saying, this is the greatest sermon every preached and he sat down.

Silence. No clapping. You could hear a pin drop.

People were upset. They wanted a sermon from this guy. Not Jesus.

I have to admit that as we begin our study on the sermon on the mount, I considered doing just that. For an introductory sermon, I’d just get up and read the entire thing, say, “This is the greatest sermon every preached” and sit down.

Because the truth is, the sermon on the Mount is considered the greatest sermon ever preached.

It came from the mouth of Jesus. To be fair, Matthew’s account is likely a summary of a sermon that lasted all day.

This sermon more than any other is about life in the Kingdom of God.

But it makes us uncomfortable because more than any other sermon, it exposes us to x-ray of Christ’s words. It’s like a mirror that reflects back at us who we truly are and what we truly are.

We see whether we are truly walking to the walk instead of just talking the talk.

This sermon makes us face ourselves. And when we find ourselves wanting, it points us back to Jesus to make us whole again.

But what is this sermon all about?

How does it apply to us?

First this is not how you are saved.

This is the evidence of your salvation.

Not saved by works but for works. And those works are evidence that you have been transformed by the power of the Gospel.

Transition to the Text:Turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew 5.

Introduce:

Big Idea: JESUS tells His PEOPLE what makes for the GREATER life.

Perhaps the most famous words of the Sermon come right at the beginning. We call them the beatitudes. Beatus is the latin word for happy or blessed.

But they summarize the attitudes that must be in our lives in order for us to live the greater life.

Read:

Matthew 5:1–12 ESV

1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 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 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.

Big Idea: JESUS tells His PEOPLE what makes for the GREATER life.

1. The GREATER life recognizes Jesus’ AUTHORITY.

Explanation: To understand this we have to go to the end of the passage:

Matthew 7:28–29 ESV

28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

We live an age where we disdain authority. Nobody can tell me how to live my life.

But over and over again Jesus commands us to live lives that bring glory and honor to Him.

Even for those people in the first century, this sermon was the most counter cultural thing they could possibly imagine.

Telling some to be poor in spirit in the age of self-esteem? Nope! Yet Jesus repeatedly calls people to humility.

Mourning? Only for sinners who deserve it right? Nope, John 16:33

John 16:33 ESV

33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Meek? Nope I need to be strong! But the truth is 2 Cor 12:9

2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Hunger and Thirst for righteousness? But what if I’m already perfect? THe christian life is the constant pursuit of righteousness. For holiness and to be sanctified by God.

Merciful? But what if they deserve wrath? So do you! In the rest of the sermon, Jesus raises the bar on these things.

Pure in heart? Ok now we’re uncomfortable. Because we all no we aren’t pure in heart.

Peacemakers? This is more than just not causing trouble but intentionally entering into the troubles of others in order to help bring peace. It’s more than just minding your own business.

And finally persecution? What? I thought following Jesus was to lead to the easy life? How is it blessed to be persecuted for Jesus?

Acts 5:41 ESV

41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.

The people who heard this sermon would have walked away having had their entire world turned upside down.

They had been told their entire lives that if they just kept the law, God would bless them with family, health and money.

But Jesus tells them that the greater life is not about the law but the lawgiver.

For thousands of years the people of Israel awaited their Messiah King and they expected that he would restore their nation to the former glory under David and Solomon.

Application: Following Jesus is about understanding that His way is better. It won’t be easy this side of eternal life. It’s going to be hard, it will be filled trials and tribulation. It will be a daily taking up your cross. But it’s better!

And He modeled that life for us.

Because if anyone epitomizes the atitudes of the beatitudes it would be Jesus. He did all of those things perfectly and now calls us to do them as well.

John 15:20 ESV

20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

So what do we do with this? Especially when you are honest with yourself and you stair into this mirror? We all know that we don’t measure up.

2. The GREATER life is one of daily SURRENDER.

Explanation: As we flip through the sermon on the mount, in many of our Bibles we have nice headings that tell us what that section is about.

Salt and Light

The Law

Generosity

Prayer

Fasting

Laying up treasures in heaven

Anxiety.

Judging others

Matthew 7:1 is the most misunderstood and misapplied passages in all of scripture.

Ask and it will be given

The Golden Rule

A tree and its fruit.

Matthew 7:21-23 is the scariest of all passages in the Bible.

And finally building your house on the rock.

This sermon is filled with coffee cup verses. But at the end of the day Jesus is calling each one of us to surrender all and follow.

And we give lip service to surrender, but do we actually do it.

We sing the great hymn, I surrender all.

I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.

But then we get depressed or downtrodden and our world falls apart because we stop surrendering to Jesus.

We start having a string of really good days where we are killing it at work. Our family is awesome! Bills are paid and things are just awesome. And we stop surrendering to Jesus and stop being humble and start thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought. We start feeling entitled to days like this.

We get to a point in our spiritual walk where we know enough. We stop surrendering to Jesus’ call to hunger and thirst for righteousness. We know the Bible and know all the Sunday school answers. We get baptized and think I’m good. Stop going to church regularly, stop thinking fellowship with the peons that aren’t as spiritual as us is important.

People harm us and rather than embracing and extending mercy, we stop surrendering to Jesus and we just want justice, judgment and wrath.

And we can even convince ourselves that we are pure in heart. Pure in our motives.

We stop surrendering to Jesus in being a peacemaker which at a minimum means you shouldn’t be a troublemaker which some of us can’t even do that.

And then we get to persecution. No matter how many times we read in scripture that persecution and trials will come our way, we still want to act surprised as if Jesus has let us down.

That’s people’s biggest complaint against God. If God is good and loving, why does He allow suffering? Even if we entertain that a good and loving God shouldn’t allow HIs people to suffer, you still have to deal with the fact that the Bible tells us that God is loving and good….and He allows suffering. So in the universe of the Bible, a good and loving God allows suffering.

But it’s always for a purpose, that you might learn to trust in Him to carry you through it.

Surrender.

Illustration: We often think of surrender in the context of war. The battle is clearly over. The victors have conquered their foes. And to avoid further bloodshed the beaten surrender. They wave the white flag. They throw themselves on the mercy of the victors.

Often that still led to death, enslavement, and continued atrocities.

But not so when we surrender to Jesus.

We will find grace upon grace.

One of the greatest books ever written about the sermon on the mount is a book called the “Cost of Discipleship” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Incredible book that talks about how the Sermon on the Mount is a call to surrender to the conquering king.

He points to one of Jesus’ parables:

Luke 14:28–33 ESV

28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Application: Following Jesus should cost you something. It’s more than just getting to go to heaven one day. It’s daily.

Matthew 10:38 ESV

38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

Like I said, the Sermon on the Mount is powerful call to follow Jesus no matter the cost.

Response: Are you SURRENDERING to Jesus’ AUTHORITY?

Summation:

Closing Illustration: imagine it’s the year 2050 and it’s illegal to be a Christian. If you were on trial for for being a follower of Jesus, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

As we enter this season of studying the sermon on the mount I invite you to stare intently at the mirror of God’s Word.

Are you a Christian?

Let’s pray.