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GOSPEL
LECTURE 12
THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT (Matthew 5-7)

  1. To be able to identify beatifies (The characteristics and rewards of those who are blessed).
  2. To understand Jesus' concept of righteousness as it related to:
    a The Old Testament law;
    b. Three Jewish acts of piety; and
    c. One's confidence in God attitude toward others.
  3. To identify three admonitions with which Jesus concluded the sermon

 Content of Lecture

Setting: This body of material is identified by the first verses of Matthew 5. (TN1) While there is a crowd of people in the area, Jesus focused His comments on His own disciples. While many divergent topics are covered and some people find no theme or continuity, the sections of this sermon are ad related to the "Righteousness of God's Kingdom."

I. The Citizens of The Kingdom:

Beatitudes -

The Characteristics and rewards of Citizens of the Kingdom: One key to understanding this section is to properly explain the meaning of the word translated "blessed" (Makarios). The term means someone is uniquely favored by God or truly well off, in spite of obvious difficulties.

The beatitudes describe the characteristics of Kingdom citizens, along with their rewards:
Characteristics
  1. Poor in spirit (DQ2)
  2. Those who mourn (DQ3)
  3. The meek (DQ4)
  4. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
  5. Merciful
  6. Pure in heart
  7. Peacemaker
  8. Persecuted for righteousness sake
 Rewards
  1. Kingdom of Heaven
  2. Comfort
  3. Shall inherit the earth
  4. Shall be satisfied
  5. Shall receive mercy
  6. Shall see God
  7. Called Children of God
  8. Kingdom of Heaven

B. The Similitudes (5:13-16): Two examples of how Christian living affects the world

1. Like salt
2. like light 5

II. The Righteousness of the Kingdom:

Righteousness of the Kingdom in comparison to the Old Order (5:1748~; The key idea of this section is that one must exceed Pharisaical righteousness in order to enter the Kingdom of God. While many legalists emphasized external righteousness based primarily on behavior, Jesus emphasized motivation and attune.

Old Order
  1. 'You shall no kill"
  2. You shall not commit adultery'
  3. "Give a certificate of divorce
  4. "Do not swear falsely'
  5. "An eye for an eye" (TN7)
  6. "love your neighbors"
 Jesus' Challenge
  1. "Do not be angery"
  2. Lou shall not lust"
  3. "Avoid divorce" (TN6)
  4. "Do not swear"
  5. "Overcome evil USA good"
  6. "Love your enemies"

B. Righteousness demonstrated in worship without hypocrisy (6:1-18):: Jesus stressed that acts of piety such as giving aims, prayer and Fasting should not be a public display; they must be acts of devotion to God

1. Giving alms (6:1-4)
2. Prayer (6:5-15) (DQ8)

3. Fasting (6:16-18) (DQ9)

C. Righteousness demonstrated devotion to God (6:19-34):

1. Metaphors related to undivided loyalty a Treasure (6:19-21) b. Light (6:22-23) c. Slavery (6:24)

2. A challenge to undistracted trust (DQ10)

a. Don't worry.

b. Seek the Kingdom

D. Righteousness demonstrated one's attitudes toward others (7:1-6)

1. The danger of being judgmental (7:1-5)

2. The necessity of discernment (7:6) (DQ11)

III. Activities of The Kingdom (7:7-12~:

A. Prayer (7:7-11)

B. Application of the Golden Rule (7:12)

IV. Summons of the Kingdom:

Jesus concluded the sermon with a series of appeals and warning:

A. Two ways(7:13-14)

B. Two Dangers(7:15-23)

1. False prophets (7:15-20)

2. False assurance (7:21-23)

People who have done great things by their own estimation are condemned because they have not obeyed God (v. 21) In John 6:29, Jesus said the work of God is to believe in the one He has sent. How can people call Jesus Lord and not believe in Him? Would Judas lme fit into this category?

C. Two bailers (7:24-27) (DQ12)

Assignment

Read Mark 2:1-3:6 and locate four reasons Jesus was opposed by religious authorities such as Scribes and Pharisees.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

DQ2 How can a person who has realized their I spiritual poverty be truly weu oh?

DQ3 Under what circumstances Is a person who mourns Firmly weu off?~

DQ4 In what sense is meekness a virtue? What does it mean to be Pure in heart"?

DQ5 What do the analogies of salt and light suggest about the influence Jesus' disciples (or citizens of God's Kingdom)?

DQ8 At are some of the essential element of prayer suggested in the model prayer of Matthew 6:9-13?

DQ9 Is fasting still a valid practice for Christians? What might be some benefits of fasting?

DQ10 Can you locate reasons from this passage that eliminate the need to worry?

DQ11 Which is more important, being non-judgmental or having discernment?

DQ12 What is the basic distinction between the Wise and foolish builder? Did they both have equal opportunity? How do you account for the different results in their lives? What are the implications of this conclusion to Jesus' sermon?

 

TEACHERS NOTES

TN1 The Gospel of Luke repeats much of the content of the Sermon on the Mount but suggests a different historical setting. In the Lucian account, Jesus stood on a "[eve! place," leading to the designation of this section (Luke 6:17-49) as the "Sermon on the Plain."

One way of explaining similarities and differences in the Two accounts is to suggest that Jesus adapted common themes to different occasions, in much the same way that a politician will use standard phrases and ideas but adjust his material to the particular setting.

Unique to Luke is a series of "woes" which balance the statements of blessing (Beatitudes).

TN6 Matthew is the only Gospel writer to include the "exception clause", providing a possible basis of divorce in the case of sexual infidelity

TN7 This is commonly known as Lex Talionis the law of equal retribution.

Updated Thursday, February 24, 2000

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