Instructs Chapel 1

The Sermon on the Mount

We’re going to look at Jesus’ most famous sermon as given to us by Matthew these next 4 weeks

Jesus was Jewish and speaking to a Jewish audience, Matthew was Jewish and he’s writing to a Jewish audience and they both had an agenda, a message they were trying to communicate.

So we must see this sermon from a Jewish perspective if we are going to get from it what was intended. That’s my job

V1, the crowds, 4:23-25

The setting, a mountain, Moses

A re-giving of the law or better yet, a clarification of what it was always intended to be.

Jesus came to fulfill, V19-20 repeated phrase

A theme, the kingdom of heaven, but here and now

He is the king, his is the kingdom, his followers are the members,

Salt and light, v16, both are to be seen and influence others

You have heard it said, from the law, but actually

Anger, murder obviously wrong, but anger is too. Why? The root cause

Lust, adultery wrong, but lust leads to adultery

Divorce legally, but marriage is a covenant commitment

Oaths flows from the divorce, be people of our word

Revenge, trust God, not passive but active with compassion

Love for enemies, why? How? People created in God’s image who are not in the kingdom,

So now back to Beatitudes or great blessings, their is a condition and then a reward,

Blessed means happy, satisfied, complete in God and it’s not circumstantial as we shall see.

Poor, yes financially, they were open, but this is a spiritual reality, destitute, bankrupt, in desperate need, saving

Mourn, over our sin yes, but also how this world is, power rules and rules poorly, every man for himself etc. not kingdom

Meek, power under control, use power properly, to love God and love others

Righteousness, right with God, in themselves and others

Merciful, we received mercy from God, now extend mercy

Pure in heart, not deceitful and deceptive, not out for own gain, truly caring for others, again love God love others,

Peacemakers, peace with and between people, but true peace only comes from right relationship with God through Jesus, helping others to know Him

The persecuted, for being right with God and trying to help others to be right with God, for sharing about Jesus, for righteousness’ sake v10, and on my account v11,

Why would we do this? Why endure persecution?

Because Jesus is who He said He was, He claimed to be God, He claimed to be the only savior, the only way to God, and He proved it not only by His death, but by His resurrection.

If you truly understand your sinfulness and separation from God, if you truly believe in Jesus and what He did in life and on the cross and by that you have salvation and life, you will endure persecution.

The purpose of the beatitudes is to help us know how to enter the kingdom and how to live in it.

The purpose of the rest of the sermon is to help us see how sinful and far away from perfect righteousness we are.

We need Jesus’ perfect life and we need His sacrificial death if we are ever to enter into the kingdom now and for eternity.