The Greatness Of Christ’s Message

The Sermon On The Mount

Matthew 5:1 through Matthew 7:29

It’s easy to overlook the full scope of the “Sermon On The Mount” when we only read the first 12 verses in Matthew chapter 5. 

We end the discourse at that point and loose sight of the full discourse of Jesus. 

This can lead us to believe that it starts and ends with just a few “blessing” statements. 

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Matthew 5:1-12

Matthew 5:1-12 (LSB Strong's) 1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2 And He opened His mouth and began to teach 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 lowly, 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 have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

People - Characteristics - Disposition

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The Sermon on the Mount, particularly the Beatitudes, is a distinct discourse within Matthew’s Gospel.

Unlike the rest of the sermon, which contains many imperatives, the Beatitudes are constructed as indicative statements that describe the characteristics of believers.

They serve as a profile of kingdom citizens, rather than a list of commands.

The People

We can see the people Christ is discussing are simply identified as “Blessed”.

These people can be identified because they exhibit a happiness that shows even in difficulty.

They know their sovereign God has them in His hand and will even when shipwrecked or in jail

James 1:2-4 (LSB Strong's) 2 Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith brings about perseverance. 4 And let perseverance have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing

They are a group of people who have the favor of God on and in their life.

They are not arrogant but they know they have the favor of God on their life.

Acts 5:40-41 (LSB Strong's) 40 So they followed his advice. And after calling the apostles in and beating them, they commanded them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them. 41 So they went on their way from the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for the Name.

Their Characteristics

Jesus described these “Blessed ones” as having some very distinct characteristics.

They were, “poor in spirit”, “those who mourn”, “the lowly”, “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”, “the merciful”, “the pure in heart”, “the peacemakers”, “those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness”, “you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me”,

Jesus ended their characteristic description with “Rejoice and be glad, for you reward in heaven is great….”.

Their Disposition

With each characteristic description Jesus also described their “true disposition”.

The disposition of these “Blessed” but social outcasts was something very wonderful.

These people Jesus was describing were somewhat like those we find in Hebrews 11:13-38 that closes with the statement “of whom the world was not worthy”.

Why was there a happiness in the midst of turmoil?

Because, “theirs IS the kingdom of heaven”, “they SHALL be comforted”, “they SHALL inherit the earth”, “they shall be satisfied”, “they shall receive mercy”, “they SHALL see God”, “they shall be called the sons of God”, “for theirs IS the kingdom f heaven” and “for your reward in heaven is great”.

Are you part of the “Blessed”?

Are you one of the “they”, “them”, “theirs”

Are “you” one?

Can you answer in the first person and say “yes I am one”?

Impersonal Beginning

We first see the use of the word “Blessed” a total of 9 times in these 12 verses and well we should take notice as Christ mentioned it so many times.

First person pronouns are like I, me, my and is is clear that my conversation is pointing at myself.

If I use 3rd person pronoun words like “they”, “them”, “those”, “he” or “she” it is clear I am speaking about or to someone besides you. Not very personal you and maybe not even interesting to you.

But, when I use 2nd person pronouns like “you”, “yours” or “yourself” you will likely perk up because I am addressing you.

What I am saying or about to say is directed to “you”.

Switch From Impersonal To Very Personal

Jesus, beginning in Matthew 5:11, ceases to use pronouns that could have left room for generality in their minds to His conversation being highly directed to individuals.

He’s not talking to the person 3 rows up or 1 row back or the seat next to me.

He used a word that, out of all the crowd, specifically pinpointed “ME”.

Jesus use the words like “you”, “your”, “yours”, or “yourselves” over 190 times between and Matthew 5:13 Matthew 7:29

Even though Jesus was speaking to a multitude of of people it is as if He squared shoulders with each person, looked them in the eyes and said “YOU!”.

No one, out of the vast crowd, could avoid the fact that Jesus was speaking to them.

The response of the people can be seen in Matthew 7:28-29. They were astonished and “never heard anyone like Him”.

JFB Commentary confirms my though on the switch from impersonal to the personal address of Christ

(Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary) He began by pronouncing certain characters to be blessed—without express reference to any of His hearers—does not close the beatitudes without intimating that such characters were in existence, and that already they were before Him. Accordingly, from characters He comes to persons possessing them, saying, "Blessed are ye when men shall revile you," etc. (Mt 5:11). And now, continuing this mode of direct personal address, He startles those humble, unknown men by pronouncing them the exalted benefactors of their whole species

God Breathed

These word were not the made up sayings of some guru, mystic or philosopher.

If Yahweh Himself appeared on that mount, that day, before that crowd, this is what Yahweh, God the Father would have said.

Christ has brought us what the Father has said.

Could there ever be a greater message than one spoken my Yahweh, received by His Only Begotten Son and delivered to our eyes as ears?

Even more indelible than, that which was engraved by the finger of God on stone tablets, which were broken while being delivered to Israel.

Could there be a more “faithful” or “trustworthy” one that Christ to fulfill this task.

John 5:37 (LSB Strong's) 37 And the Father who sent Me, He has borne witness about Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form.

Who but Christ could bear such precious words.

God has secured His word that we may read it, know it, understand it and obey it.

Influencer - We Are To Be Influencers

Matthew 5:13 (LSB Strong's) 13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out to be trampled under foot by men.

In our minds, this message just ceased to be for the people who are not here, to the person in front of or next to you.

This message, just came before us, squared shoulders with us and locked eye to eye with us.

Jesus sets the context of His divine address.

If we were writing an algebraic equation it would look like this “you = salt”. 

"but if the salt has become tasteless”

I use to wonder how salt could become “tasteless” as I have never tasted salt that was not “salty” but Jesus knew and these people knew.

About 65 miles south of the Sea of Galilee is the Dead Sea and it is a source of salt but it is unlike the “mined salt” we a familiar with.

Salt from the Dead Sea is made up of a combination of sodium (salt), gypsum and other minerals.

Unlike our “mined salt” which has much higher concentration of sodium, salt from the Dead Sea could indeed loose it’s savor or saltiness.

When that occurred the remaining mixture was often spread on paths and became somewhat of a paving that people walked on.

Jesus was masterfully explaining a profound heavenly truth in a simple layman manner.

We, like salt, are to be a preservative, a seasoning, a desirable influence but we can become undesirable and unable to serve any godly purpose.

We are to season a tasteless world and give it worthwhile savor.

We, by the character of our life and the Gospel we declare, are to identity and arrest the festering rot of sin and be a conduit of purifying hope.

We, through the Gospel we preach, bring hope to a hopeless world and cleansing it’s sinful heart. 

What Do We Do With It?

If the salt has lost it’s grace to purify and bring hope

OR if the world looses it’s desire for the salt.

In either case there is NO other source of hope for the world.

Matthew 5:14 (LSB Strong’s) 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

The Greatness Of Christ’s Message

Matthew 7:28 Now it happened that when Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were astonished at His teaching; 29 for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

Astonished: comes from the Greek word “exeplessonto” which means they were astounded.

The Greek word that means to be astounded to such a degree that then almost lost their mental composure over Christ’s message.

Authority: This is more than just oratory ability, there was a “I AM” authority that flowed from His voice and presentation.