Introduction to The Sermon on the Mount

(Matthew 5-7)

It has been called the greatest moral teaching ever given. Thomas Jefferson called it "the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered." Harry Truman said, "I do not believe there is a problem in this country or the world today which could not be settled if approached through the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount." Mohandas K. Gandhi replied this way when asked about the solution to the issues between India and Great Britain, "When your country and mine shall get together on the teachings laid down by Christ in this Sermon on the Mount, we shall have solved the problems not only of our countries but those of the whole world." Mankind recognizes that this sermon is different. What is it about these three chapters in Matthew that people see as the answers to the questions that face us as individuals and to a greater extent... the entire world? Let's dig in and think on this together.

In the third chapter of Matthew, John the baptizer comes on the scene and preaches that the kingdom of Heaven is near. His purpose was to "prepare" the way for Jesus. He went about preaching that the Kingdom was coming shortly and that the King was already here. John was commissioned by God to herald the coming of His Kingdom and the sending of His Son. John tells the Jews that they were no longer to depend on their ancestry. While having Abraham as their father was a great thing, in this new Kingdom they were to repent of their sins and be immersed in water for forgiveness. People came from all around to hear his preaching and be baptized by him. All the while, John is pointing to the One that would come after him "whose sandals he is not fit to carry".

Jesus comes to John at the end of chapter 3 to be immersed by him. John reacts much like I do when I read these verses... “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus tells him that it is to fulfill all righteousness. I have read many commentators on this and I am still not satisfied. So, let me take a stab at it myself. Jesus comes to John and says that He needs to be baptized to fulfill all righteousness. Obviously, Jesus need not submit to a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins because he had no sin! So why does he do it?

First, I believe He does it to show His obedience to the Law. He tells us that He did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. John, as a prophet of God had made baptism a new command and Jesus kept the command to fulfill the Law. Secondly, in His baptism Jesus' identity was declared to the world. After His immersion, the Holy Spirit descended on Him and God declared that He was his son and that He was well pleased. I don't believe that it is any coincidence that at our baptism, we become sinless, the Holy Spirit is given and God claims us as His children. (Acts 2:38ff) Think about it! Jesus came declaring the Kingdom was near and demonstrated the entry requirements for us himself. (Matt 22:18ff)

In Chapter 4, Jesus begins His ministry and calls disciples to follow Him. He proves His divinity by His miracles and people begin to answer His call. It is this setting that we begin the Sermon on the Mount. When He sees the crowds that are following Him, He walks up the side of a hill, sits down and presents the "new law" of the Kingdom. Matthew gives us the text of the sermon in chapters 5-7. (remember Matthew didn't place the breaks, we did) Let's take a moment to let this sink in...

The Creator of the universe, sits on the side of hill that He formed with His hands, under the sun and sky that he made and talks to the crown of His creation about how they were to conduct their lives. I cannot imagine the emotion that He felt as He began to tell them the greatest call to action ever given. I am sure He is thinking back to the fall of man and the efforts He had made to reach out to bring people back to Him. Over and over, He had called them back to Him and over and over they had gone astray. Genesis to Matthew is filled with the story of God's reaching out and man's rejection. Now, God sits on a hill and calls mankind to live out His will for their lives. And the story begins again...

Blessed is... more on that next time.