I have many 'favorite' verses in the Bible, but if I was to chose just one verse or portion of the Bible above all others, it would definitely be that of Matthew chapters 5 to 7; these verses present Jesus' Sermon of the Mount. There's just something about reading that sermon and imagining Jesus pronouncing those words that fills me with peace when I read. In His sermon, Jesus portrays a clear and direct picture of our journey as christians and our duties both to God and men. Beyond just the actual words of the sermon, I find the sermon to be the boldest sermon ever preached, a revolutionary sermon, when I study the context under which Jesus' preached this sermon.
In this study/post we won't dig much into the actual sermon of the mount but into Jesus' background leading to that sermon. See, often times in the Bible, the most amazing facts are seen not necessarily when just reading a verse, but when studying the context and perhaps historical background leading to the text. This is definitely the case for the Sermon of the Mount. This being said, and now referring strictly to the sermon on the mount content (Matthew 5-7), I once heard a Pastor discussing that if all we had of the Bible was only those 3 chapters, we'd still have the entire gospel message and essence of the Bible. Something to think about... after having read multiple those chapters, I definitely agree with the statement.
Now... let's get to it. From the gospel books in the Bible, it is clear that Jesus was the Son of God and that he made miracles, healed the sick, helped the poor, and preached the gospel (among other things). The thing is that Jesus did not spent his entire life doing these things. According to the book of Luke, Jesus began his ministry when he was about 30 years old. Let's read:
"Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli..." - Luke 3:23
The question is, what He did all the years before then? Who was Jesus before? What was his background? The answers to these questions is what makes the 'Sermon of the Mount' the boldest, most revolutionary sermon ever preached.
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A Quick Background on Jesus - the Son of God made man
The first step into grasping the brilliance and amazingness of Jesus' sermon of the mount is to understand that Jesus was just a regular man with the same biological composition and learning capabilities than that of you or me. He was the Son of God, he was God made-man, but still... a man. Speaking about Jesus, the Bible says:
"And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him." - Luke 2:40
"...and Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." - Luke 2:52
Right away from these texts we learn that, as a man, Jesus did not had the omniscient mind and capability he had as God. He grew both in strength and in wisdom (knowledge). Just like you and me, He learned from his life experiences and His parents. Furthermore, a look at the book of Mark in the Bible comes to show that Jesus learned, just like us, a trade - a skill for a living; Jesus was a carpenter. Mark 6:3 says, speaking of Jesus:
Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? - Mark 6:3
Besides being a man that learned and had a living trade, Jesus was not and did not grew as a 'wealthy' person. From the Bible we learn that He was born under very poor conditions, he was actually placed upon birth in a manger. We also know that Jesus didn't grew in the best of towns or neighborhood. Let's see these facts in the Bible:
"For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” - Luke 2:11-12
"The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, 'Follow Me.' Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote — Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said to him, 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?' Philip said to him, 'Come and see.'" - John 1:43-46
Now we start getting a picture of Jesus in His pre-ministry phase. A man, a carpenter without any financial wealth who grew up in Nazareth which, by the text, we can safely state it wasn't a very good place. This was Jesus' life before his ministry which means that, as far as personal life and profession, this was Jesus' (professionally speaking) for the better part of almost 30 years. Now we need to understand Jesus in His spiritual journey with His Heavenly Father.
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Jesus and His Spiritual Journey
Although not directly explicit in the Bible, we can infer that Jesus came to the realization of His responsibility and future ministry at the age of twelve when he visited Jerusalem's temple. Let's read from the Bible:
"His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it; but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, 'Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.' And He said to them, 'Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?' But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them." - Luke 2:41-50
Here we have a twelve year-old Jesus acknowledging that He has a responsibility and commitment to His Father's (God) business. Now, from twelve years old to 'almost 30' when he began his ministry, there's a huge time gap. What did Jesus did in between? The best way to answer this is with an analogy...
Imagine one day you get a call from the President of the United States asking you to lead and speak during a presidential ceremony or perhaps to address the nation from the White House... would you prepare for such an event? Would you make sure that your speech is spotless, free of errors, and practice it in your mind over and over and over? If you're a normal person, you'll be terrified of embracing such a task... Jesus was asked to come and save what was lost. He was tasked with redeeming humanity, with preaching God's news, with demolishing the wrongful traditions and teachings of the jewish people and open the doors of heaven to everyone. This was a HUGE task, and it took Jesus almost 20 years to prepare. Jesus' ministry was no joke; as a man growing in wisdom, he had to prepare every single day and connect with His Father in heaven before he could pronounce one single word of salvation to His people.
...and it was after almost 20 years of preparation, after baptizing and after spending 40 days and 40 nights fasting and connecting with His Heavenly Father, that Jesus the carpenter from a 'bad town', stood up to the crowds and preached the 'Sermon of the Mount'. The boldest sermon ever preached.
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Notes on the Sermon of the Mount
Without entering into much details, and you can read this all over the gospels (or feel free to contact me and we can further discuss), the jewish people thought of themselves as being favored by God just because they were jews. They believed that just because of their race, they had gained access to heaven and the favor of God. They also believed that those with a congenital disease or a disability had been 'rejected' by God or were not in God's favor. So a jew, in good health, and happy... was thought of as being in great stand with God. A rich jew... uuffff!, even more blessed and favored by God. But, Jesus knew better. As He stood before that crowd, and about to pronounce the first words of his first 'big' sermon... He said:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven..." - Matthew 5:3
Whoa... these words must've felt like a refreshing dew to the people. Within the context of the verse, we can easily replace the word "blessed" with the word "happy"... the verse can just as easily say: 'happy are those who recognize they are unhappy, because the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them..." These were not just mere words... these were strong and refreshing words to the soul. Jesus is saying that the Kingdom of heaven belongs to everyone, contrary to the popular belief that only those healthy and perhaps rich jews, which "had the favor of God", were deserving of the Kingdom of God. There's a clear example of such belief in the Bible, let's read it:
"Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, 'Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?' So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ 'And he answered and said to Him, 'Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.' Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, 'One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.' But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, 'How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!' and the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, 'Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.' and they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, 'Who then can be saved?' But Jesus looked at them and said, 'With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.'"- Mark 10:17-27
In this verse have a healthy, rich man who 'follows' the law of God asking Jesus what he needs to do to inherit eternal life. Aside from the keeping the law, Jesus asks him to sell everything he had and give it to the poor but the man seems reluctant to do so. As the young man went away sad because he didn't want to do such thing, Jesus comments that it would be hard for those with riches to enter the Kingdom of heaven. The reaction we get from the disciples is very unique; in astonishment they ask "who then can be saved?". Knowing what we have discussed about the mindset and beliefs that the jewish people had, we can easily know why they would ask such a question. In their minds, a young, healthy, law-abiding, and rich jew should've been candidate number one to earn the favor of God; so they immediately think... 'if a guy like that can't enter heaven, then who can?!'. Clearly, there was a huge misconception of God's expectations to inherit eternal life... and here comes Jesus and boldly state that the Kingdom of heaven belongs to everyone, even the unhappy. Even those who thought they were undeserving or rejected by God...
In chapter 6 of the book "Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing" by Ellen G. White, we read the following statement regarding the 'Sermon of the Mount':
"His words had struck at the very root of their former ideas and opinions; to obey His teaching would require a change in all their habits of thought and action. It would bring them into collision with their religious teachers; for it would involve the overthrow of the whole structure which for generations the rabbis had been rearing. Therefore, while the hearts of the people responded to His words, few were ready to accept them as the guide of life."
Notice how it says: "...would involve the overthrow of the whole structure..."; talk about a revolutionary sermon. Not only Jesus radically and instantly begins demolishing wrong popular beliefs, but He makes an assertion during his sermon, six times to be precise, that definitely spoke about His divine authority. In chapter 5 of Matthew we see 6 times assertions like the one we'll read below...
"You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment" - Matthew 5:21-22
Jesus the carpenter, the poor man who grew up in one of the worst towns in the area and who is barely 30 years old, is saying to the jews who believed were favored by God and who believed had the true word of God rightly interpreted and followed... He is saying to older men, to Rabi and church leaders, He is saying to a people that have grown for generations under very strict and specific 'spiritual rules'...
"You have heard... but I say..."
Let those words sink in. "You have heard... but I say". We see registered in the Bible verses such as the one below:
"...and they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority."- Luke 4:32
In one single sermon, Jesus managed to:
Demonstrate His divine authority
Deliver the entire gospel news
Summarize the essence of the Bible and the Law
Demonstrate the true character of God
Give light and hope to those without it
Provide a life guide for all of us
... and many other things.
For instances like this the term "mind-blown" was created. When you think of Jesus' sermon at the light of His background and the historical beliefs of the jewish people... the sermon of the mount easily leaves one speechless. To have been sitting on that hillside listening to the words that came out of His mouth must've been an extraordinary experience. Jesus was speaking. Throughout His Sermon, there was a very key, main message and line of thought... LOVE.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life..." - John 3:16
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Conclusion
Jesus' sermon of the mount will forever be the most bold and revolutionary sermon ever preached and there's much to learn and discuss of it. Definitely topics for future discussion. The Creator of everything that surrounds us made Himself man and voluntarily gave all that He owned... for you. He would rather risk loosing everything for you... than living with everything without you. Never forget.
God bless you and your family, and until next one!
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