Savior Sermon

WELCOME

INTRO

Magnum Opus = a large and important work of art, music, or literature, especially one regarded as the most important work of an artist or writer. = (Latin - “great work”)

Christian = a follower of Christ, someone who believes in Jesus

To miss the point of the Sermon on the Mount is to miss the key stone of Jesus’s teachings. This message is considered the magnum opus of Jesus’s teaching ministry; it was the greatest sermon of all time. It contains the famous Beatitudes, the model prayer, and the Golden Rule. Even secular people can’t ignore its teachings.

Big Idea: God teaches that an internal righteousness is what produces external acts of righteousness.

Application Point: Jesus’s purpose in preaching this sermon is to bring us to a mature understanding of God’s law.

3 Chapters… Matthew 5-7

Does this interest you?

Do you want to hear what He has to say?

Might this be important…?

MESSAGE

The Setting

Context of Sermon in Matthew

Matthew - begins | attention to the sins of God’s people = (name / Jesus)

Matthew - ends | attention to messiah’s death

Matthew 1 = genealogy - legal right to rule Israel

Matthew 2 = Jesus has come as the God man

Matthew 3 = Repentance is necessary for kingdom entry

Matthew 4 = Jesus is morally worthy to rule

Context of Sermon in Bible History

Jesus = long-awaited Messiah

Davidic Kingdom Promise

Context of Sermon in Christianity

Matthew 5:1 ESV

1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

Jesus calls His Disciples...

Start of His ministry…

Matt 5-7 = what kingdom living looks like

Matt 23-25 = when the end comes

making and being disciples of Christ !!

While the exact location of the Sermon on the Mount is not certain, there is a site in Israel today that has been commemorated for more than sixteen hundred years; it is on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, between Capernaum and Gennesaret. The backdrop of Christ’s message was the beautiful scenery of water and mountains. Matthew 5:1 says that he “sat,” as a traditional rabbi would have done when he was about to teach. While his message was very unique to his hearers, he made it clear in verse 17 that he wasn’t there to “abolish the Law or the Prophets.” His purpose in coming was not to do away with the old covenant, nor was it to give a “new” definition of how to become righteous. He wanted the Jews to understand what God’s standards have been all along. This explains the verses that say, “You have heard that it was said ... but I tell you ...” Jesus is not giving anything new here, but he is calling them to a more mature understanding of God’s law.

Young child with a hot stove… obedience / understanding … religion / righteousness

They thought external compliance with the works of the law were sufficient to please God.

Do we do the same thing some times?

The Subject

Jesus demands a righteousness exceeding that of the religions leaders of His day… “religion”

Matthew 5:17 ESV

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

The Righteous Demands

not human effort

hearts by grace

The Pharisees taught and propagated an external-only compliance. They claimed that people could be righteous because of their actions, but this type of preaching completely ignored purity of heart. Their actions could have been right while their hearts were corrupt. Jesus now explains that true righteousness, God’s righteousness, righteousness that is evident of God’s kingdom, would have to go beyond the superficial externals of the Pharisees. God demanded an internal righteousness that would produce external righteousness.

Personal standard of purity / religious … right-ness?

Matthew 5:20 ESV

20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

The Righteous Evidence

exceeding “religion”

attitudes

desires

ambitions

relationships

The Seriousness

Matt 7.21-27 = Don’t know EVERYONE… Be DOERS of the Word !

Matthew 7:24–27 ESV

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

Limited Options

life

destruction

Fruitful Evidence

trusting in Christ = fruit

trusting in self / religion = no fruit

Eternal Consequences

now / later

CLOSE

Exalting Jesus in Matthew The Portrait of Jesus in Matthew 8

In response to Jesus' teaching, do you see an "exceeding righteousness" to your life? Do you have a new heart? If not, God's judgment now hangs over you. But the good news—the gospel—is that it doesn't have to be that way. The good news is that you can withstand the judgment of God so long as you are in Christ, who has already been judged (Rom 8:3). Place yourself totally, completely in Him. Don't rest in yourself; rest wholly in the Savior. That is the gospel.

Big Idea of the Message: God teaches that an internal righteousness is what produces external acts of righteousness.

Application Point: Jesus’s purpose in preaching this sermon is to bring us to a mature understanding of God’s law.

Main Idea: Kingdom citizens must manifest a righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, and this righteousness only comes about as we are changed by God's grace and power in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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