Carey's Bible Study Notes
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sermon on the mount
life of christ: Luke 6.12-49; Matthew 5-7
galilean ministry: sermon on the mount
introduction
When we come to the Sermon on the Mount, we are coming to the beginning of the second phase of Jesus� public ministry in Galilee. Whereas the first phase centered on Jesus preaching and calling people to be His disciples, the second phase is characterized by focusing upon some of Jesus� followers and by more in depth preaching about the kingdom of God. For example, during the first phase of Jesus� ministry, we see Jesus calling people to be His disciples in general; however, in the second phase Jesus selects from the general group of disciples 12 whom He will call to be His apostles. Whereas there are certain common elements between the general group of disciples and these 12, several elements distinguish the 2 groups: (1) the 12 are supposed to be with Jesus at all times, whereas the general group of disciples may come and go at will, and (2) Jesus is going to use the 12 apostles to be the foundation for His church.
Whereas it is true that Jesus in an ultimate sense is the foundation of the church, Jesus and Paul both claim that the apostles form the foundation in another sense (Eph. 2:20). Remember that the church is composed of people, not bricks and mortar. Our church has proved this recently by worshipping in a gym and not in a traditional sanctuary. Since the 12 are the first members of this new church, they are its foundation. (Even I know that you lay a foundation before you build anything else.) Moreover, they are the foundation of the church because our faith in an intermediate sense is based upon the writings of the apostles. We have no writings from the hand of the Lord. Instead all the writings which serve as the basis for our beliefs come from the apostles: the Gospel of Matthew from the apostle Matthew; the Gospel of Mark and the Petrine letters from Peter�s influence; Luke, Acts, and the Pauline epistles (including Hebrews) from Paul�s influence; the Gospel of John, the Johannine letters, and Revelation from the apostle John; Epistle of James from Jesus� half brother, a later apostle; and Jude from the apostle Jude.
One thing to note here. Christian denominations tend towards one extreme or the other in their views on the apostles. While some faiths almost deify them by having their adherents pray to them, others almost reduce them to being of no significance at all. Both approaches and attitudes are wrong. Whereas they are still human and do not deserve worship, they nevertheless are giants who command our respect and gratitude because our knowledge about Jesus comes from them. (The number 12 is important because it shows that God is restoring all His people. At the present time, Israel is composed of only 2 1/2 tribes, the other tribes being destroyed during the Assyrian conflagration.)
the sermon on the mount (luke 6.12-49; matthew 5-7)
Jesus has just spent all night in prayer before He selects which of His disciples will become the 12 apostles. When He comes down from the top of the mountain to a level place on the side of the mountain, He chooses the following 12: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot. After selecting them, He addresses them with the Sermon on the Mount.
A more appropriate title for the Sermon on the Mount would be �Citizenship in the Kingdom of God.� Labeling it �The Sermon on the Mount� because Jesus preached it on a mountain would be like labeling all of B.F.�s sermons �Sermons in the Gym.� The title �Citizenship in the Kingdom of God� though expresses the content of the sermon. Jesus has been preaching that the Kingdom of God is near because He the King has come upon the scene. Now He is expressing what kind of life citizens in the Kingdom of God should live.
We need to be very careful with the Sermon on the Mount. The sermon is for Jesus� followers only. Its injunctions are so difficult to carry out that only Jesus disciples can carry them out. Non-Christians cannot carry them out because they do not have the Holy Spirit living within them who must give them the internal power to fulfill the sermon�s demands. Moreover, its blessings refer only to Jesus� disciples and to no one else; therefore, when Jesus blesses the poor, He is blessing His disciples. This principle will aid in interpreting correctly the sermon.
The Beatitudes (Luke 6.20-26; Matthew 5.3-12)
Jesus begins His sermon with 4 beatitudes (we are following Luke�s outline). We are so accustomed to the beatitudes that they fail to impact us to the same degree they impacted that first set of disciples. These are not sweet words of poetry dropping like honey from Jesus� lips. They are thunderclaps and flashes of lightning splitting the sky asunder. By beginning each of the beatitudes with �Blessed,� Jesus is saying that God is beginning to fulfill God�s promise of blessing to Abraham in a way He has never fulfilled it before. (Remember that I told you to keep Abraham and God�s promises to him in mind in order to understand better the NT). It�s not that God had not blessed His people during OT times; it�s just that those times of blessing don�t even begin to compare with the blessings He is now showering upon them in Christ Jesus. God�s blessing comes in 4 stages, each stage being on a much higher level than the stage before it:
Stage One
God blesses Abraham and The Israelites
Stage Two
God blesses the people through Jesus (Consummation of Christ�s Work)
Stage Three
God blesses His people by the Holy Spirit (God living in us!)
Stage Four
God blesses His people by the Second Coming
Some well-meaning Christians have reduced the word �blessed� to mean nothing more than happy. They claim that if you carry out these beatitudes, you will be happy. Whereas there is a real element of truth in this claim, the beatitudes import a whole lot more. Another translation might be �Favored are the poor, etc.� No matter what the outward circumstances may seem to indicate, the truth is that Jesus� disciples have God�s favor resting upon them. Whereas at the end of time we will completely enjoy God�s favor, the truth is also that at the present time we can experience God�s favor to a major degree because of the Holy Spirit living in us.
Furthermore, these beatitudes are thunderclaps because everything the beatitudes promote contradicts the values of the world and of every major world religion. The world and the religions of the world claim that the rich, those with full bellies, those who laugh, and the popular are the favored in life. Christ rejects these values. His disciples who are the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and the persecuted are the recipients of God�s favor. Why? Because Jesus promises to give them the Kingdom of God and all its benefits: the presence of the Spirit right now in our lives, a dynamic relationship with God through Jesus, the promise of resurrected bodies like Jesus�, and the promise of a radically transformed universe which will be appropriate for our radically transformed bodies. Although we may experience sorrow right now to a large degree, we can rejoice in light of the fact that unspeakable joy is just about to break forth into human history with the return of Jesus.
The first characteristic of the citizen of the kingdom of heaven is poverty. Matthew rightly interprets this when he adds the phrase �in spirit.� There is nothing necessarily noteworthy about being poor; however, many times along with being poor financially, a person is poor in spirit, humble, not arrogant. That person�s heart is open to receiving the needed salvation Christ brings.
The second characteristic of the citizen in the kingdom of heaven is weeping. Whereas Matthew characterizes kingdom citizens as being �mourners,� the word �weep� has more the idea of uncontrollable sadness. They are sad because of sin in their lives and/or because of the great sorrow which permeates through life. No matter the reason, if they respond correctly to Christ, they shall �laugh!� When I think of this, I think of a person who laughs so hard that his belly shakes. Coming back from the BGCT in Austin one year, I listened to James Price and Don Tekell sharing stories about their younger years and raising their children. I�ve never seen 2 grown men laugh so hard in all my life. I really thought they might have a stroke or heart attack because they were laughing so hard. Their laughter gives a slight indication of the joy that Christ brings His people.
The next characteristic of the kingdom citizen is his hunger for righteousness, that is, he desires like a man starving to death to be right with God and right with his fellow man. God shall completely satisfy this kind of hunger.
The final characteristic is persecution for the sake of the Son of Man. Note that the persecution is �for the sake of the Son of Man,� that is, the disciple is being persecuted because of his relationship with Jesus Christ. Some Christians who claim they are being persecuted are actually getting their just desserts. With all due respect, some Christians can be some of the most obnoxious people on God�s earth. Instead of applying these principles to their situation, they need to go to people, ask forgiveness, and make reparations if appropriate or even possible. Those persecuted here are persecuted because they are sincerely operating out of their relationship with Jesus Christ. They�ve taken some steps or made decisions after careful prayer which infuriates others; they are to respond to the angry by implementing the measures Jesus outlines. Why does being persecuted for Jesus� make a person blessed? Because this kind of persecution indicates that such a person follows in the train of the prophets in the OT, along with certain kings and priests, the only true people of God in the OT. During times of persecution I can choose either to be in the company of Isaiah, Daniel, David, etc. by agreeing to be persecuted for Christ�s sake or to be in the company of the rest of the world which refuses to undergo such persecution.
Unconditional Love (Luke 6.27-38)
Introduction
At first glance, it is easy to see that the major difference between Luke�s and Matthew�s versions of the Sermon on the Mount is their length. Whereas Matthew�s version covers 3 full chapters, Luke�s version covers only 30 verses. There is a major benefit to Luke�s shorter version. Many times we lose the forest for the trees. We see so many trees in front of us, that we fail to get the bigger picture of what the forest looks like. The same applies here. Matthew�s version covers so many themes and topics that it is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. Because Luke�s version is shorter, we get a much better view of the bigger picture. For example, whereas nearly all agree that the Sermon on the Mount describes life in the Kingdom of Heaven, Luke shows us that the major characteristic of that life is unconditional love. By unconditional love, Jesus is meaning love for a person no matter who that person is or what that person has done.
Now whereas Jesus is speaking about unconditional love, He is focusing on love for one�s enemies. If a person can love his enemies, then he can love anybody. Jesus doesn�t have to instruct us to love our family or friends because such love comes naturally. We do need parent workshops and marriage enrichment weekends to help us hone our skills in these areas; however, very seldom do these kinds of events have to instruct us to love. That kind of love is assumed because even non-Christians can exercise that kind of love.
In this passage Jesus is stressing unconditional love for one�s enemies and how to respond appropriately to one�s enemies. Some rip this out of context and apply it to situations in which the person in view is not an enemy. For example, Jesus applies different rules to a member of a church who is out of line. Basically, He advises churches to take such members to the woodshed. Applying the principles in this passage to that situation can lead to constant trouble in the church. (The same is true when dealing with a wayward child. The father of the prodigal son did not indulge his son and make his life easier in the pigsty. He let him stay there until he finally came to his senses one day).
Next, Jesus is not speaking about feelings here but rather about actions. He never commands them to feel because you cannot command feelings; rather He commands that they perform certain actions: bless, pray, give clothing, turn the other cheek, etc. You may be seething inside but still be able to carry out these injunctions. The wonderful thing is that many times when we carry out these injunctions, our feelings follow sometimes afterwards.
Finally, Jesus bases this command upon God�s attitude towards you and me. In Matthew�s version, Jesus claims that because God shows unconditional love, we too should exercise unconditional love. We see evidence of God�s unconditional love in nature. This past week Corsicana was inundated with rain. It was wonderful Sunday morning to get up and see the glorious sunny day God was sending us. The truth though is that not only were people in church that day going to enjoy the glorious weather but even those who refused to honor God on that day got to enjoy the weather on the golf courses or parks. When God sends the rains, it does not rain just upon the fields of the righteous; it hits the fields of the unrighteous next door to the fields of the righteous. Not only have a number of righteous people been blessed by the surge in the stock market; even the Donald Trumps have benefited greatly. Before we turn up self-righteous noses at those people who take God�s grace for granted, we need to remember that God showed even us unconditional love when we were His enemies (Rom. 5:6-11). As a result, the way God treated us while we were in rebellion, that is, before we became His children, should serve as the model for the way we treat our enemies.
specific instructions
First, Jesus lists 4 specific actions we are to do to our enemies: love them, pray for them, bless them, and finally do good to them. When they treat us with anger, we are to respond in loving kindness. A while back I made a decision which I believed God wanted me to make. That decision seriously angered a person who responded by shooting off a letter to me informing me what a sorry person I was. (The truth is that we are probably all even sorrier than what people think!) I wrote back and informed them that I was sorry for the way they felt, and then I wished God�s blessings upon their lives. We do not have the right to retaliate. Judgment is God�s prerogative and His alone. What�s even more true is that God is a much better judge than I. If you think that you can discipline another person better than God can, then you are seriously deluded. We need to respond with love and then pray for that person.
Next, Jesus gives 3 specific examples of the way to love people. First, we are to turn the other cheek when a person strikes us on the right cheek. This blow is probably not a violent one but rather a blow meant to insult the person. We�ve all seen movies about the 18th century in which a man would take his gloves and challenge another man to a duel by striking another man�s right cheek by backhanding him with those gloves. Such a blow is not that hard. If he had struck him on the left cheek, the blow would have hurt much more. Jesus secondly talks about the person who is forced to give up his outer garment (the long flowing robe worn by people in Jesus� day). Jesus said to surrender the inner garment which hugs the body and is necessary for survival from the elements. Third, Jesus demands that if we lend money to someone who turns out to be an enemy, we should not exact repayment but rather let the debt stand. (Again, this should not be applied to banking institutions. Other principles apply to them).
Jesus speaking hyperbolically to make a point! Repay evil with kindness. I�ve seen evil people repaid with kindness who get so mad at being treated kindly, that they finally come to their senses and realize that they are the ones at fault, not the ones they�re angry with. It leads to repentance, which should be the goal all along. On the other, kindness does not always result in repentance on the part of your enemy. Sometimes your kindness only hardens them more; however, if you do not repay them with kindness, they will probably not have the chance to repent. Your kindness only gives them the chance to repent; it does not guarantee it. You will never know though until you respond with kindness.
Jesus next gives a summary statement of the way we should treat all people: �As you would that others treat you, do to them likewise.� In all circumstances I need to try to put myself in the other person�s shoes and ask myself how I would want to be treated if I were in that situation. I then need to treat that person accordingly.
In the next section, Jesus challenges us to live a more excellent life. Whereas it is easy to love one�s family and friends because even non-Christians can do that, Jesus calls us to a superior lifestyle which non-Christians cannot produce because they lack the necessary power from the Holy Spirit. By our living such a life in front of non-Christians, they will be impressed and recognize that only God could produce such a life. Such a life will validate our claims to be God�s people and also will lead others to Him (Matt. 5:16).
Next to last, Jesus challenges us to reject a censorial spirit. He is not referring to being wise or evaluating people or situations; to do that could prove disastrous. Rather He is exhorting us not to have a critical spirit which always looks down on others or condemns others because they are not like us. Rather He is challenging us to be merciful and accepting as God Himself is merciful and accepting.
To conclude this section, Jesus provides a motivation to exercise mercy and unconditional love by using an illustration from everyday life. Normally when a person would buy a bushel of grain, the merchant would quickly fill a basket with the grain and level off the top. After a while the grain would settle and you would discover that the basket was not as full as you thought it was. Jesus says that a generous merchant though will fill the basket and then shake it to make the grain fill up the empty places, then press down hard on top of the grain to pack it even tighter so that he can pour more grain into the basket. Then at the end instead of leveling off the top of the grain, he pours more until it forms a heap on top of the pile of grain. Now that basket is full. Jesus says that the person who shows mercy will receive that much mercy, if not from men then absolutely from God. On the other hand, if a person is unmerciful, then he can expect to receive that much un-mercy from people and absolutely from God. To put it simply, what goes around comes around�in full!