Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Introduction:
So the Story Goes…
From 222 to 235 AD, Alexander Severus Was the Emperor of Rome
He Was Not a Christian…
But He Was Extremely Impressed With One Saying/Rule of the Christians
So Impressed That He Decided to Have it Inscribed in Gold on the Wall of His Chamber
It Went Something Like This:
Matthew 7:12 (NASB)
“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
To This Day We Still Call This Christian Way of Life:
The Golden Rule
Matthew 7:12
This is the Final Teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount
He Ends With the Golden Rule
Jesus Wasn’t the Originator of This Command
It Was Taught in Many Different World Religions Before and After Jesus
Hinduism
Buddhism
Confucianism
Several Greek and Roman Ethical Teachings
And Also Jewish Rabbinic Teachings
But, it Was Almost Always Taught in the Negative Form
“Don’t Do to Others What You Don’t Want Them to Do to You.”
Jesus Changed it to a Positive Commandment
Robert Mounce (1921-2019) - “In its negative form, the Golden Rule could be satisfied by doing nothing.
The positive form moves us to action on behalf of others.”
It’s a Wonderful Thing to Not Treat People the Way You Don’t Want Them Treating You
But Even Better Than That is to Treat People the Way You Want Them Treating You
Matthew 7:12 (NASB)
“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
Jesus Uses the Word “Therefore”
That Means What He’s Saying Corresponds to What He Previously Said
What Had Jesus Previously Taught?
Well, There’s an Immediate Teaching
And There’s the Ultimate Teaching
Last Week We Looked at the Immediate Teaching:
How We Need to Be Persistent in Our Asking, Seeking, and Knocking Toward the Kingdom
Essentially, Our Top Priority Ought to Be His Kingdom
Living According to the Kingdom Standards
And Spreading the Good News of the Kingdom to Outsiders
And if the Kingdom is Our Top Priority, God Will Bless Us With What is Good
God Promises to Give His People the Holy Spirit to Help Us Live Righteously Toward Him in His Kingdom
So Jesus Just Taught That God Graciously and Lovingly Provides For His Children What We Ask For/Need/Want
And Now His Children Ought to Turn Around and Do the Same to Others
But Then You’ve Got the Ultimate Teaching:
The Entire Sermon
Let’s Quickly Review What Jesus Has Taught Us in His Sermon:
He Began With the Beatitudes
Characteristics of Citizens of His Kingdom
We are to Be Salt and Light in this Tasteless, Dark World
He Told Us That We Must Have Greater Righteousness Than the Scribes and Pharisees if We Want to Be Citizens of His Kingdom
This Became the Theme of His Sermon
How to Have Greater Righteousness Than Them
He Taught Us the True Intention of the Old Law (the Law the Scribes and Pharisees Had Twisted)
“Don’t Murder” Was Supposed to Include “Don’t Remain Angry, But Reconcile Instead”
“Don’t Commit Adultery” Was Supposed to Include “Don’t Lust”
Divorce Was Never Meant to Be an Option, Except For Fornication
“Don’t Make False Vows” Was Meant to Teach Us to Be Honest All the Time, Not Just When We Make a Vow
“An Eye For an Eye” Was Meant to Teach Us Not to Retaliate When Wronged
“Love Your Neighbor” Was Supposed to Include Everyone, Even Your Enemies
Then He Taught Us Not to Practice Our Righteous Deeds in Order to Be Seen and Glorified
Don’t Give to Those in Need in Order to Be Seen
Don’t Pray in Order to Be Seen
Don’t Fast in Order to Be Seen
Then He Taught Us to Store Up Treasures in Heaven and Not on Earth
Be Generous With What You Have, and You Will Be Generously Rewarded in Eternity
Then He Taught Us Not to Worry About Our Daily Necessities
If We Seek First the Kingdom and His Righteousness, God Will Provide For Us What We Need
Then He Taught Us Not to Judge Others Harshly or Hypocritically
Then He Taught Us About Persistence in Asking, Seeking, and Knocking Toward the Kingdom
When Jesus Says “Therefore” in the Golden Rule Text…
He is Saying, “Keeping in Mind All That I Have Taught You, Treat Others the Way You Want Them to Treat You.”
He is Summarizing the Entire Sermon
The Primary Characteristic of a Citizen of Jesus’ Kingdom is That They Treat Others the Way They Want to Be Treated
The Way We Have Greater Righteousness Than the Scribes and Pharisees is By Treating Others the Way We Want to Be Treated
The Lifestyle of a Citizen of Jesus’ Kingdom Can Be Summed Up Like This:
Citizens of Jesus’ Kingdom Treat Others the Way They Want to Be Treated
Is it Sticking Yet?
As it Relates to Others, This Sermon Summarizes Who a Christian is
And This Verse Summarizes the Sermon!
But Not Only Does it Summarize Jesus’ Sermon…
He Says it Summarizes the Whole Old Testament!
Matthew 7:12 (NASB)
“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
39 Books of the Old Testament, as it Relates to Human Relationships, Can Be Summarized in 13 Words in the NASB
As the Story Goes,
A Gentile Approached Rabbi Hillel (110 B.C. - 10 AD)
He Promised Hillel He Would Convert to Judaism if Hillel Could Teach Him the Law While Standing On One Leg
How Do You Teach Someone 613 Laws While Standing On One Leg?
Rabbi Hillel Said, “Whatever you do not want someone to do to you, do not do to your neighbor.
This is the whole Law; the rest of it is just explanation”
Hillel and Jesus Seem to Be On the Same Page
That Simple, Yet Profound Command is What the Law is All About
All the Rest of it is Just Explanation/Expounding Upon it
Jesus Began and Ends His Sermon With Talking About the Law and the Prophets (OT)
In 5:17-20, Jesus Explained That He Had Not Come to Abolish the Old Law But to Fulfill it
He Fulfilled the Law By Obeying it Perfectly
He Fulfilled Every Messianic Prophecy
He Fulfilled the Sacrificial System
He Fulfilled the Old Covenant Between Israel and God:
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