The 4 Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke & John Matthew 1. Preparation for Ministry (3:1-4:11) 2. Galilean Ministry (4:12-25) 3. FIRST DISCOURSE: The Sermon on the Mount (5:1-7:29) 4. NARRATIVE (8:1-9:34) 5. SECOND DICOURSE: The Mission instructions (9:35-10:42) 6. NARRATIVE (11:1-12:50) 7. THIRD DISCOURSE: The Kingdom Parables (13:1-52) 8. NARRATIVE (13:53-17:27) 9. FOURTH DISCOURSE: The Sayings of Jesus (18:1-35) 10. NARRARIVE: The Judean Period (19:1-22:46) 11. FIFTH DISCOURSE: Teaching on Eschatology (23:1-25:46) 12. THE PASSION & RESURRECTION NARRATIVES (26:1-28:20) 3. FIRST DISCOURSE: The Sermon on the Mount (5:1-7:29) Matthew ch.5 1. Introduction, 5:1-2 Jesus the teacher: “And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ” Mat.23:8, 10). Jesus’ teaching has been extensively used as a manual of discipleship for new believers, particularly in recent decades of the church’s history. Matthew pictures Jesus seated on the mountain, in full view of Hs disciples who are poised ready in rapped attention to hear Him, “and He opened His mouth and taught them” (5:2). So typical of Jesus, He concludes with a graphic parable for them to take home with them to share with their family round the meal table (7:24-29). Jesus is the original and authoritative teacher, repeatedly He says (in contrast to the contemporary religious teachers of Judaism), “but, I say to you …” (5:18, 20, 22, 26, 28, 32, 34,39, 44). The apostle John begins his Gospel by describing Jesus as the Logos of God, He is the embodiment of all that John defines as the Logos/Word of God. It therefore follows that all He speaks from His mouth is also the WORD of God. How men dare to question His words, and His eternal Sonship is wicked arrogancy. Nor should we dare to question Scripture or the integrity those who wrote Scripture. I would like to say that I personally believe that the 4 Gospels do synchronise and that apparent contradictions only appear so because we do not understand fully, nor do we always have the necessary information to resolve those apparent differences. The apostle John did not tamper with His material – there were 2 visits of Jesus to Jerusalem and Jesus did rise on the third day despite the impossibility of being able to fit it all into the church calendar. The church calendar may have got the date of Jesus’ birth wrong, but the Gospel account of events are undeniably true as are the infallible statements regarding the virgin conception/birth of Jesus Christ. We need to delight
New Life Radio – Talk No 36
Derrick Harrison
16/06/2021
The Sermon on the Mount
ourselves in the integrity and infallibility of Scripture. There is no other book in the world that has such a multiplicity of ancient documents to authenticate its genuineness, it is the Book of God, authored by the Holy Spirit and as such to be honoured by reading it, believing it and obeying its precepts. 2. The Beatitudes, 5:3-12 “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” Jesus begins with beatitudes rather than imperatives. The demands Jesus makes on His disciples are to be viewed in the context of grace. Jesus’ blessings are strong affirmations, pronounced on those blessed ones whose lives are characterized by certain qualities. “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” the first blessed ones are the poor in spirit, those who recognise their complete emptiness before God and their complete dependency upon Him. The LORD says, “but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at my word” (Isa.66:2). Jesus spoke about Himself as embodying the same spirit of dependency on Father, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself” (Jn.5:19), and again, “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me” (Jn.5:30). The Psalmist David recognises the condition of poverty, But I am poor and needy; Yet the Lord thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; Do not delay, O my God” (Ps.40:17; see also Ps.69:29; 70:5; 86:1; 109:22). What a contrast we see here, those who are emptied of self-dependency now possess the kingdom of heaven! - reminding one of Paul’s words, “I know both how to be abased, and I know how to
New Life Radio – Talk No 36
2 Derrick Harrison
16/06/2021
The Sermon on the Mount
abound: every-where and in all things, I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me” (Phil.4:12-13). “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted,” Jesus pronounces a benediction on the mourners, because they will be comforted by God. These souls are not mourning over the loss of a loved one but they are mourning over their personal sin and the state of sin around them. The Psalmist says, “Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law” (Ps.119:136). The prophet Jeremiah was broken by backsliding Israel and judgement of God which followed, he declares, “Before Me continually are grief and wounds” (Jer.6:7b). He opens his heart to mourning and tears, “Oh, that my head were waters, And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people!” (Jer.9:1). “Let my eyes flow with tears night and day, And let them not cease; For the virgin daughter of my people Has been broken with a mighty stroke, with a very severe blow” (14:17). His is a double mourning - for Israel’s rebellion and for Israel’s suffering as a consequence of God’s judgement. Jesus promises comfort to the mourner, He does not promise to remove the cause of pain, but in the midst of brokenness the Comforter comes alongside to console and strengthen. “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth,” the attribute of meekness is a character quality of God and supremely demonstrated in the life of Jesus. Another word for meekness is selfeffacement as opposed to self-assertiveness. We are told today that we must “sell ourselves” – show ourselves to be who we truly are. The meekness of Jesus is perfectly presented to us in Paul’s most important Christological passage (Phil.2:1-8). The Bible says about meekness “the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace” (Psalm 37:11). The Bible also says, about Moses - almost in parenthesis, “(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth)” (Num.12:3). To look at meekness in the context of Moses’ life is helpful. Here is a man of strong personality and a man who has a strong relationship with God and yet he is humble in his thinking about himself, he is humble in his actions towards others, patient under suffering and He is teachable. He has no sense of being better than others which meant that he was a modest and humble person and lowly in spirit. To spend so long in the presence of God and to bear continually the burden of a rebellious nation had a big impact on his character. The stoop of God to become human in the person of God, and Jesus’ stoop to submit Himself to cruel men who crucified Him demonstrates the nature of God’s character of meekness. The act of riding into Jerusalem on a donkey as the son of David and the exemplary act of foot-washing also demonstrates His meekness and the constitution of His mind. The promise of Jesus to the meek is that they will inherit the earth, thus we see how God’s kingdom is not conquered by guns, military might and cunning but by simplicity, guilelessness and meekness. These attributes of God which are
New Life Radio – Talk No 36
3 Derrick Harrison
16/06/2021
The Sermon on the Mount
exemplified in Jesus and His disciples make God infinitely attractive to those who appreciate beauty of character over muscle and forcefulness. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled,” How strange this beatitude must sound to the ears of non-Christians! Righteousness is intrinsically bound up together with the word holiness which is one of the primary attributes of God alongside love and truth. God n His inner being is holy and in His actions he is righteous. Righteousness is His holiness in action. The laws of God represent His holy character and demand integrity, truth, honesty, truthfulness and so on. The heart of the Christian has been regenerated and now reproduces the character attributes of God which results in righteous living on a personal level and in our relationship with others. The person who has been touched by God and his conscience awakened hungers and thirsts for righteousness to characterise his private behaviour as well his relationships with others. The person described by Paul in Rom.ch7 has come to recognise that the laws of God are righteous and holy, but he is powerless to live righteously before God and men. Regeneration re-constitutes our nature, enabling us to live righteously and so hunger and thirst are replaced by fulness, the promise of Jesus is now fulfilled in our life, we have deep satisfaction in the knowledge that we are now living righteously in accordance with God’s holiness. According to Jesus’ promise our lives are blessed by being filled with righteousness. There is of course a future eschatological significance to Jesus’ promise of blessedness related to His future kingdom. “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy,” This blessing naturally follows on from the promise of righteousness which not only applies to actions but also to attitudes. To be merciful to others who demand mercy of us is taken up again by Jesus in the parable of the merciful king and his merciless steward (Mat.18:23-35). This parable is about attitudes which embody mercy. God delights to. Show mercy to sinful men and women who can only come to Him pleading for mercy – casting themselves upon His benevolent kindness and tender mercy. God delights to show mercy to the penitent sinner, the returning prodigal, the weeping prostitute, the maimed, the broken, the sinner and the rebel. We have to trust in the merciful and kind nature of God that He will receive us in our wretchedness and not speak words of rejection to us. The prodigal had to trust in the nature of his father to forgive him. Each one of us has disqualified ourselves, we have made ourselves unacceptable to God because of our sinfulness and so each one of us, like the prostitute in Lk.7 have to implore Jesus’ forgiveness with uncontainable tears of repentance. Did Jesus ever turn away a repentant sinner? When the guilty adulteress was hauled up before Jesus, He refused to pronounce judgement but rather (it was His prerogative), He chose to extent “loving kindness and tender mercy” towards her. King David, guilty before God, pleaded with Him to show mercy towards him, “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions” (Ps.51:1). Remember, how I spoke about the Gospels and how they were formed as a direct result of the preaching and ministry of Jesus. He is speaking here to new disciples and therefore to give these blessings of Jesus an evangelistic interpretation is not out of order. Jesus was teaching on the Mount, and He was calling forth disciples, affirming them in their new found faith and He was challenging them to live according to His teaching. It is true that this teaching provided a manual of discipleship for future followers of Jesus but here Jesus is forming/making disciples as He is
New Life Radio – Talk No 36
4 Derrick Harrison
16/06/2021
The Sermon on the Mount
teaching. One is reminded of Jesus’ words just prior to His departure and recorded by Matthew, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mat.28:19). The Gospel (the euangelion) is about forgiveness and requires mercy and kindness in its application. In Romans ch.1 the apostle Paul describes the awful sins of the people of the port city of Corinth, identifying homosexuality and lesbianism and describing them as leaving “the natural use into that which is against nature” (v26). The chapter is full of content material about how this all came about and the key role of God in it all and His judgement, but also the attitude of those who are equally sinful in other areas of life. These people endorse those who engage in these practises. I am asking the question about showing mercy towards these people. How should the church handle these matters? Blessings are promised by Jesus to those who show mercy to those who come seeking forgiveness. The disposition, or the bent of our heart is to constantly desire to extend mercy to the marginalized and the poor, to embrace those who have been abused by cruel and wicked men and women. We have a merciful God, and the disposition of our heart is to show how wonderful is God’s forgiving nature. “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God,” this verse has been adopted as the text for the mystics. This blessed state of heart purity has the most amazing promise attached to it, that they will see God! Jesus is declaring that a pure heart is the condition for intimacy with God. This is one occasion in the Scripture where purity is predicated of the heart. The heart is the focus of the personal life, the very centre of our being. Jesus said later, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Mat.15:19). To be pure in heart means to be pure throughout, “He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully” (Ps.24:4). The outcome of inward purity is the realization of the mystic vision of God, “Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart” (Ps.73:1). One is reminded of the words of Job when he is confronted by the vision of God, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye sees You” (Job 42:5). “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God,” This is the only time in the NT when this word appears. I think this is the most practical of the beatitudes, but to exercise mercy is equally practical towards others. The active endeavour to achieve peace among fragmented and opposed people is the remit of God’s children. We ought to be known and marked out as peacemakers, - peacemakers between brothers who need to be reconciled and people groups who also need reconciliation. Showing kindness and mercy are basic ingredients for reconciliation. The subject is too big to be properly dealt with here, it certainly may include the exercise of discipline in certain cases which will include conditions which need to be monitored. Surely, Jesus’ statements beg explanation and require Him to return to such pronouncements at some future occasion when He may illustrate truth by means of a parable. Later, in this same chapter, Jesus advises a man to make peace with his enemy, “Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison” (Mat.5:25).
New Life Radio – Talk No 36
5 Derrick Harrison
16/06/2021
The Sermon on the Mount
The prize of the activity of the peacemaker is reconciliation, the restoration of loving relationship and unity in the church. Matthew contains the only words spoken by Jesus about the church. Jesus’ primary instruction regarding the church is about church discipline, the objective of which is to gain reconciliation among brothers and sisters who are quarrelsome and hostile to one another – this was not always achieved, not even by the apostles. “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” The remainder of the blessings apply to those Christians who are persecuted. This beatitude is different because persecution is something which is imposed on the church from outside. Jesus refers to persecution again when He sends out the 12 disciples on mission (10:16-39). Luke also refers to Jesus’ words about persecution (Lk.6:22-23). We know how persecution accompanied the spread of the gospel from the book of Acts and the letters of the apostle Paul. It appears that with the blessings which accompany the realization of the kingdom there will also be persecution. “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake,” persecution is also intensely personal, and it is false accusations. Persecution is not based on social justice! It is unfair and vindicative and this is where the Christian calls upon those Christ-like qualities which Jesus is promoting in His teaching on the Mount and later demonstrated in His persecution/crucifixion, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Lk.23:34). The secret of bearing pain is to suffer for Jesus’ sake. Martyr’s die in the presence of Jesus. “Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you,” This is the final blessings resulting from persecution. The Martyrs of the church are continuing a long line of witnesses which goes back to the prophets of old, even to Abel who was martyred because of the offering he brought to God. Today, Christian men and women are being crucified and beheaded by fanatical and hateful men - simply because they have chosen to follow Jesus. The blessings for the martyr do not concern the kingdom of heaven but reach into heaven, “your reward is in heaven” where Jesus wipes away all tears and celebrates the victory of those who are coming out of the great tribulations of sufferings on the earth. These intense and sufferings are signs of the end times and the near return of Jesus Christ and we read that he who endures to the end, will be saved! 3. Salt and Light, 5:13-16 Christians are salt and light, salt to the earth and light to the world. Firstly, the gospel comes with penetrating power and in its powerful beam of light people are transformed from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. Secondly, Christians who retain their saltiness have a powerful effect upon others. People bring transformation to a community not through social programmes of help. I do believe in social action that is spearheaded by the gospel. I believe with all my heart that William Booth was right in linking care for the human person with the compassion of God manifested in the gospel. The life of God is manifested in those attributes Jesus has been teaching about and the light of God is His life shining out from His children into the world. Jesus had turned His attentions from the blessings of His children to their responsibilities, - “you are the salt” Jesus is not speaking a blessing He is making an emphatic statement. Salt is a metaphor which is applied to
New Life Radio – Talk No 36
6 Derrick Harrison
16/06/2021
The Sermon on the Mount
people. Salt is a preservative against decay, and it gives taste to food. Christians are like a moral antiseptic in society, and they are the savour of God’s life in the community. “You are the light of the world” is again an emphatic pronoun. The Bible teaches that the world is in darkness and Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life” (Jn.8:12; 9:5; 12:35). The disciples of Jesus bring His light into the world. The idea is taken further as Jesus describes the light set on a lampstand to give light to the whole house. Those who have received the light of the gospel cannot but shine their light into the world! It is the nature of light to illuminate. 4. Fulfilling the Law, 5:17-20 Jesus switches attention from the crowd of disciples, from each individual disciple, to speak about Himself. Before He gives His views about the Law, He affirms the fact that He has come to fulfil the Law in its entirety. His audience were well versed in it and they had layers of interpretation of each law. They discovered that there were 613 commandments in the Pentateuch (248 positive and 365 negative), Jesus ongoing conflict with the religious leaders comes to a head in ch.23. In this section of the Sermon Jesus makes plain to His disciples His views about the Law and gives important teaching which is also important for us and for our understanding of salvation. He explains that He came with a mission from God, not to abolish (this is a strong word), but to fulfil the Mosaic Law, the Pentateuch (which is its meaning here). In Scripture the 5 books of Moses are entitled as “the Law.” The Jews spoke of the “former Prophets” which included the books from Joshua to 2 Kings and “the latter Prophets” which were the books we refer to as prophecy. The entire OT is referred to as, “the Law and the Prophets.” Jesus said that He came to fulfil the Law which will confirm the truth of the Torah. In Rom.13:10; we read that, “love is the fulfilment of the law,” pointing to the fact that Jesus did not simply keep the law, but He fulfilled it in every part. He was the embodiment of God’s law, the laws of God were written in His heart, he fulfilled all righteousness. There was complete conformity and compatibility between the Law of God and the life of righteousness which Jesus lived. It was necessary for Him to fulfil all righteousness (3:15) in order for Him to be the spotless Lamb of God sacrificed on our behalf, so there is a vital aspect of Christ’s fulfilment of the Law and the gaining of our salvation. In v18, Jesus speaks very directly, “Truly, I say to you,”1 the word truly means “amen” and is normally spoken in the context of a congregational response to someone leading worship. The particular use by Jesus was that instead of it occurring at the end as a response, he puts it at the beginning of important sayings. Matthews has 31 references to this usage (John has the word 50 times), except the one exception which comes at the end of the Lord’s Prayer. These words in the mouth of Jesus demonstrates His understanding of Himself as the Christ. The prophets could say as the mouthpiece of God, “Thus, says the Lord” and the apostles may say, “It is written” but Jesus, “I say to you.” Jesus affirmed the written Scripture as having permanency as the word of God in contrast to the created world which will pass away (v18). He affirms that the most miniscule projection of a letter in the Hebrew alphabet found in the Scriptures has total permanency, giving to us Jesus’ understanding of Biblical inspiration and His affirmation that all will be fulfilled. Jesus was continually fulfilling Messianic Scriptures from the OT which of course was to be expected in
1
“I say to you” – 5:18, 20, 22, 26, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44.
New Life Radio – Talk No 36
7 Derrick Harrison
16/06/2021
The Sermon on the Mount
that he truly was the Messiah. Nevertheless, it is wonderful how Scripture bore witness to His Messiahship. His fulfilment of this role was part of His fulfilment of the Pentateuch. Jesus’ understanding of the Law was radically different from the Pharisees and the scribes who were expert in the Law and its interpretations, their understood was that keeping the Law had to do with keeping regulations, whereas for Jesus it was a matter of keeping the commandments of God in depth by radical obedience. Jesus proceeded to expose the hypocrisy of these Law keepers. Jesus is going to lay out authoritatively how these commands of God should be understood. 5. Applying the Law, 5:21-48 The first commandment Jesus considers relates to murder (5:21-26). Jesus confirms the law says emphatically that anger is the cause of murder and is equally open to judgement -surely, Jesus is referring to God’s final judgement. Therefore, the one who is angry will be judged according to their rash speech and that person, when he worships must reconcile with his brother before he makes an offering to God. It is not only a matter of personal anger but about provoking anger in another person – hence the need for immediate reconciliation. Thee second commandment concerns adultery (5:27-30). Again, Jesus confirms the law but takes it to a deeper level giving it a much wider application as in the previous case. The root of adultery is lust. It is the lustful look, which leads to the sinful act. In the ancient world a married man could have sexual relationships as long as they did not involve married women, but married women had to be chaste before marriage and totally faithful to their husbands. Jesus makes no distinctions based on sex and accuses the man of adultery. Jesus speaks again His word of authority, declaring that the lustful look of the eye is wrong in itself, breaking the Law. So, with the hand as the eye, if it offends cut it off. The third command concerns divorce (5:31-32). Jesus assumes the practise of divorce according to the Law. The bill of divorce was a protection for the woman which states her rights to marry another man. A woman could not divorce her husband. Jesus calls on His disciples to appreciate the true meaning of marriage, which was a union for life, nevertheless, Jesus recognised that marriage could be dissolved due to fornication – sexual intercourse between unmarried people but the word applies to all sorts of sexual sins. The divorced woman is made to commit adultery and the man who remarries her commits adultery. The fourth command concerns oaths (5:33-37). Jesus considered that it was important that the word of His disciples could be relied upon. Speaking truth was a feature of early Quakerism. George Fox took these words (only found in Matthew) quite literally, insisting that Friend’s word was undeviating and true, - let your yea be yea and your nay be nay. Moses, in the Law, gave specific instructions about taking oaths (Lev.19:12; Num.30:2; Deut.23:21). An oath is a solemn statement affirmed to be true before God and such vows must not be broken. To invoke the name of God is to confirm the integrity of the promise. Jesus says His disciples are not to swear at all. George Fox obeyed this teaching of Jesus and refused to swear an oath on the Bible, he insisted that his word was a sufficient testimony to his speaking truthfully without the need to speak an oath on the Bible. The word of the disciple is truth and does not require an oath to bolster it or give it authenticity.
New Life Radio – Talk No 36
8 Derrick Harrison
16/06/2021
The Sermon on the Mount
The fourth command concerns retaliation (5:38-42). This advice of Jesus about passive response in the face of aggression is possibly the most famous of all Jesus’ sayings ad is a central characteristic of Christian attitudes, remarked on by non-Christians and appears to make Christians look weak and anaemic. Actually, not to retaliate to provocation – by a slap on the jaw-bone or the removal of a disciple’s tunic (by legal means) is not a passive response but a very costly one! How hard it is when disciples find themselves embroiled in legal proceedings, especially when it involves their own family. Christians do face injustice, they face lies and cover-ups, legal abuse, medical blunders – as do ordinary men and women in the world. Often, these matters are complex and call for proper heart responses. God calls for our responsiveness to Him first, our embrace of His providences and His will – it is our personal responsiveness to God that will determine our ability to handle abuse and injustice. Jesus exemplified this attribute of character when He submitted Himself to the atrocities of the cross, the unjust treatment of Pilate and the religious authorities, He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living” (Isa.53:7-9). This clear advice of Jesus runs counter to the Mosaic Law concerning retaliation in like kind – an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. This retributive action conveys a clear message to the aggressor – don’t mess with me because you will receive exactly the same treatment as punishment for what you have done to me! Christians will oppose the laws of their government when they contradict Christian truth and they will submit to the punishment meted out to them, even though it is unjust, - surely, this is not passivity. There is a long tradition of persecution of the disciples of Jesus which began with the martyrdom of Stephen and the apostle James, later Peter and Paul and the remainder of the apostles suffered martyrdom except perhaps the apostle John who miraculously survived concentration camp on the island of Patmos (cf. Richard Wurmbrand in Romania) Nevertheless, John was not spared from going through, “the great tribulation” as did many in the churches of the Revelation. Many Christians suffered under the Lutherans and Catholics because they baptized new disciples by immersion instead of infants and because they refused to take up the sword and kill. Anabaptists (and associated groups), Quakers and others, were persecuted and imprisoned. The fifth command concerns love for enemies (5:43-48). Moses gave Israel a new commandment in addition to the ten commandments from Sinai – the commandment to love the LORD (Deut.6:5). Later, in the Song of Songs we encounter the agape love of God in the context of the bridal paradigm. Jesus extends agape love, “Honour your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Mat.19:19), and that is revolutionary, but here Jesus extends agape love, even further, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your
New Life Radio – Talk No 36
9 Derrick Harrison
16/06/2021
The Sermon on the Mount
Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (vv43-45). Matthew ch.6 6. Practical Discipleship: Christian living (6:1-34). Spirituality/godliness is more than keeping and obeying the law, although Jesus has made it very clear that He is firmly committed to the Law. Service to God includes much more than keeping the Law. Jesus refers to 3 activities – giving, prayer and fasting. a). Almsgiving (6:1-4), giving anonymously to the poor. Jesus exposes the public show of religious piety and apparent generosity practised by the religious elite, boosting their reputation rather than seeking to alleviate poverty. Jesus says that the identity of the giver be kept secret rather than the hypocritical donor sounding a trumpet to alert people regarding his generosity. Jesus speaks out again, “Truly I say to you” – such hypocritical people have their reward here and now. Now, the disciple must give in complete secrecy – the right hand moving secretly without the left-hand knowing. John Stott writes, “Christian giving is to be marked by self-sacrifice and self-forgetfulness, not by self-congratulation” (Stott, p131).2 Almsgiving is done anonymously but it is seen by, “Your Father” (note the ongoing references to “your Father”3 – it is obvious, that for Jesus to be inclusive of their own relationship with Father was a very significant teaching for them. Jesus constantly spoke about “My Father” and He constantly spoke to His father in their presence and therefore to say to them that God is your Father would have had an amazing impact on their lives. Jesus has opened up the Godhead to them! b). Prayer (6:5-15), which is directly linked with “your Father” in heaven. Again, Jesus emphasises that prayer like alms must be practised in secret rather than on the street for all to see how pious you are! This public display of supposed spirituality was totally hypocritical. Jesus gives simple and practical to His disciples about private prayer directed to “your” Father. Prayer is about praying in your secret place to Father who is there waiting for you. The angel Gabriel came in unto Mary to announce the coming of the Christ Child – he came into her private space that she had set-aside for her meeting with the Lord. Father has omniscient knowledge of your needs before you ask Him! Jesus gives to His disciples a prayer which has become a model prayer, a liturgical prayer for all Christians. We call it the Lord’s Prayer but really it is the disciples prayer addressed to their Father in heaven. It is a prayer which focuses entirely on their Father, (here we have a further example of clarity and conciseness which originates with Jesus and is reproduced by Matthew. These characteristics make Matthew’s Gospel so suitable as a teaching manual for new disciples), “Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. 2 3
John Stott, “The Message of the Sermon on the Mount.” “Father” – 6:1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 14, 18 (2), 26, 32, 7:11, 21; etc.
New Life Radio – Talk No 36
10 Derrick Harrison
16/06/2021
The Sermon on the Mount
And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen” (6:9-12). Jesus links everything to do with the disciples to Father, - His name is to be hallowed, prayer is focus on His coming kingdom, His will, His provision, His forgiveness, His providences, His deliverances, and supreme power and glory. What a prayer of exaltation and honour to Father is this prayer! – and at the same time expresses concern for the welfare of Jesus’ disciples regarding their daily needs and their forgiving hearts. Kingdom disciples are still dependent on Father for their daily needs. c). Fasting (6:16-18), again the religious elite use the practise of fasting to show their public audience their religious piety. Secrecy is enjoined as with prayer and giving. This material is only found in Matthew). The one prescribed fast in the Law was on the Day of Atonement (Lev.16:2931), but other fasts cam, providing security. Jesus e to be observed and private fasting also took place which was a normal disciplinary activity usually associated with prayer (see Lk.18:12). Jesus assumed His disciples would fast because he said, “when you fast.” Normal social relationships will be maintained emphasising that this exercise is entirely before God alone. d). Possessions (6:19-24), Jesus forbids the materialism which binds our hearts to the earth. Disciples are to invest their wealth in the Kingdom of heaven and then their hearts will naturally gravitate there. One is reminded of the community of goods among the disciples at Jerusalem which followed the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Paul speaks of the love of money; he has coined a word which literally means “money-lust,” – “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1Tim.6:10). Jesus demands of the rich young ruler that he gets rid of his riches as a condition of discipleship. I contrast to this young man was the case of Barnabas sold hi estate on Cyprus and laid the proceeds at the apostle’s feet. The Bible provides other examples of total giving, including the poor widow woman who gave her all to provide for the work of God. The following verses naturally follow on from this one. e). Anxiety and Trust (6:25-34), Jesus points to the pointlessness of anxiety/worry. It is presumed that money safe-guards the future, providing security. Jesus’ parable of the rich fool who was a farmer who purposefully planned to provide for his future security was called a fool by Jesus (Lk.12:16-20). One is also reminded of Jesus’ later instructions to His disciples before He sent them forth on mission in ch.10, “freely you have received, freely give.” Literally, Jesus said, “You have received gift-wise so give gift-wise” – the literal meaning of charismata can be translated as “grace gifts.” Jesus’ disciples have to learn not to provide for themselves but rather, open their hearts to the generosity of God for His provision which is the tangible expression of His love and faithfulness. This portion of Scripture is particularly beautiful as Jesus calls on His disciples to consider Father’s providing for His creation, Jesus turning to His attentive disciples says, “Your heavenly Father feeds them” (6:26). Having established Father’s provision for the birds of the air and His clothing them with beautiful and colourful plumage Jesus slowly turns to them and exhorts them to trust their
New Life Radio – Talk No 36
11 Derrick Harrison
16/06/2021
The Sermon on the Mount
Father for drink, food, and clothing and to have no cares for the morrow – “how much more shall he clothe you of little faith?” (v30). I think Jesus’ teaching here is the high point of His teaching on the Mount, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (6:33-34). Matthew ch.7 Having identified the anxiety of disciples about their own future provision, now Jesus addresses the judgemental attitudes of disciples towards others. 7. Judging, 7:1-6, “Do not judge” refers to the passing of harsh, adverse and hasty verdicts on the conduct of others. It does not forbid the use of our objective critical thinking which may be done with tolerance and objectivity. We are not to be blind, but we are not to write people off by our hasty judgement, rather, we are to be generous rather than harsh in passing an adverse judgement. Jesus was clear about this, the present imperative gives the sense, - “Don’t make a practise of judging.” Our criteria of judgement may indeed, but entirely subjective and distorted due to a great wooden beam in our own eye. Bitterness, hurt, lack of knowledge may contribute to our misjudgement of others. It is a dangerous and risky business to pass judgement on others. Only God has comprehensive knowledge and infinite compassion, but His judgement is true. The dangerous of my distorted judgement of others faults may result in harshness and open the disciple to the charge of being a hypocrite – blind to one’s own faults but ready to hastily judge others faults. It is true that the plank must be removed from the eye before the speck can be removed from the other person’s eye. Clear vision is essential if correct judgements are to be made without partiality. Jesus continues His advice by speaking about the casting of pearls before swine (this material is unique to Matthew), - does not this require discernment in judgement? The holy things are those things set apart for God, and those things have not to be trafficked with the world, but they are to be used in the service of God. The servants of God are not to make hasty and prejudiced judgements, but they are to exercise wise discernment in the dispensing of the good news of the gospel to others. The pearls of the gospel are to be freely shared with those disciples who are hungry for truth, integrity of conscience and transparency. The Scriptures speak about the judgement of God against sin in the lives of men and women and it is truly a fearful thing to make judgement against other disciples in the light of the fact that we each one stand before God by virtue of the grace of God alone. 8. Prayer, 7:7-11, Jesus has already spoken about prayer, including His disciples in relationship with His Father. To “ask” and to receive assumes on their relationship of intimacy with Father who abundantly provides for the needs of His children. There is a procedure recognised here regarding persistent and believing prayer, - ask, seek, and knock and there is a firm promise of answered prayer,
New Life Radio – Talk No 36
12 Derrick Harrison
16/06/2021
The Sermon on the Mount
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened” (7:7-8). Matthew records Jesus’ words that asking in prayer brings forth good things in life. These verses can also be found in Luke with one significant difference, Jesus promises His disciples that those who ask will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Lk.11:13). 9. The Golden Rule, 7:12, “Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” This verse can be applied to the whole of Jesus’ teaching on the Mount. God reciprocates our actions upon ourselves this can be a positive principle or a negative one. Pour out blessings upon others and you will be blessed indeed. Judge people hastily and you will bring poverty to your soul. As the disciples of Jesus, we are called to bless others and so will be blessed by God. 10. True and False Discipleship, 7:13-27, Jesus calls for whole-hearted discipleship and denounces false disciples. Jesus’ judgement is itwo ways in life, - Jesus commands men to enter the narrow gate. This picture inspired John Bunyan to describe the Christian life as beginning with a clear choice which led him inevitably to the cross where his burden rolled from off his back and from there his life is viewed in the context of a journey to the celestial city. Bunyan also describes false disciples who seek to divert Christian from the way, those who are treading a wide road which leads to destruction. Jesus also speaks of false prophets who are dressed in sheep’s clothing giving the appearance of being harmless but in reality, they are ravenous wolves. Perhaps these disciples will have occasion to recall Jesus’ words in the future when the church is ravaged by false teachers (Acts 20:29). The sure way to recognise false ministers is by their fruit (Gal.5:22-23), their fruits and their manner of life will in the end betray them. Genuine fruit can only come from one genuine source. The life of God cannot be counterfeited. Trees cannot bear fruit contrary to their nature. – the fruit is the test of the tree. Words don’t count for anything, even those who speak the name of the Lord counts for nothing, it is the doing of the will of God, the bringing forth fruit that counts with God. The criteria for making judgement is authentic fruit bearing. Before Matthew concludes Jesus’ teaching, He leaves His disciples with a parable about a man who builds his house on sand and another wise man who builds his house on the rock and so Jesus’ listeners had a parable to take home with them to share with their families. 11. Conclusion, 7:28-29, “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” Jesus the teacher was entirely unique as was His teaching and the manner in which He taught His doctrine. In contrast to contemporary teachers, He was teaching with authority as of Himself, - “I say unto you,” a fact noted in each of the Gospels (Mk.3:28; Lk.12:37; Jn.6:47, etc.
New Life Radio – Talk No 36
13 Derrick Harrison
16/06/2021
