We are going to read Matthew chapter 4 verse 18 to Matthew chapter 5 verse 2.
Tonight we're beginning our summer evening service series in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.
It's one of the most well-known parts of Jesus' teaching, including the golden rule, the Lord's
prayer, the command to love our enemies, the invitation to seek, and the promise that
those who seek will find, and all kinds of other things that you might have heard somewhere
before.
But we want to look more deeply into it and see what it has to say to us.
So tonight I want to paint the big picture and look at some of the background of the Sermon
on the Mount and sort of give you the 30,000 foot view and then we'll walk through the forest
over the next 12 weeks.
All right, so Matthew chapter 4 starting at verse 18, it's page 809 if you're looking in
one of the pew Bibles.
Here we go.
While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he, Jesus, saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter
and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen.
And he said to them, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.
Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
And going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his
brother in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets.
And he called them.
Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel
of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.
So his fame spread throughout all Syria and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted
with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics.
And he healed them.
And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis and from Jerusalem and Judea
and from beyond the Jordan.
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain.
And when he sat down, his disciples came to him and he opened his mouth and taught them.
So we're looking at tonight the introduction to the Sermon on the Mount.
Many people have admired the Sermon on the Mount throughout history.
Thomas Jefferson said that Jesus' moral teachings embodied in this sermon were the most sublime
and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to mankind.
Or Gandhi, the Indian leader who is not a Christian, said,
Christ's Sermon on the Mount fills me with bliss even today.
Its sweet verses have the power to quench my agony of soul.
He read from the Sermon on the Mount every day and found in it the inspiration for his
non-violent resistance movement.
But while some people have been inspired by the Sermon on the Mount, others have found
it intimidating.
Jesus says things like,
If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away.
Now he didn't mean that literally, but still, it's a very serious statement.
Or, if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other also.
Or, you must be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect.
Or, do not be anxious about your life.
Do not be anxious about tomorrow.
Period.
And at the end, he says,
Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my father, who is in heaven.
And, several years ago, there was an English professor named Virginia Stem Owens
at a large university down in Texas.
And she assigned the Sermon on the Mount to her freshman English class.
It was part of a, it was sort of a great books class in the history of literature and ethics.
And she asked him to write brief response papers.
Here are what some of the students wrote.
One student wrote,
Another student said,
So we might say that throughout history,
people have had a love-hate relationship with the Sermon on the Mount.
And with Jesus, himself.
On the one hand, we're attracted by its vision of the good life.
On the other hand, we're overwhelmed by its uncompromising moral demands.
Now, if you look at the Sermon on the Mount, and you take it seriously,
the one thing that is really hard to do is remain neutral and complacent.
And say, eh, whatever.
If you really read this, you can't say that.
And Jesus, in the end, he insists that there are two ways to go.
And there is no third way in the middle.
There's a narrow road that leads to life,
or there's a broad road that leads to destruction.
There's a house built on the rock,
and there's a house built on the sand.
And the house built on the rock survives the storm,
and the one built on the sand collapses with a great crash.
Jesus insists that a decision must be made one way or the other,
and you can't be neutral.
So over the next three months,
we want to dive into Jesus' Sermon on the Mount
and really wrestle with it.
And seek to hear and be affected by what Jesus is saying.
So we're going to go through it part by part.
But tonight, I want to give you the big picture.
Because when people read the Sermon on the Mount,
as well as some other parts of the Bible,
sometimes you can lose the forest for the trees.
Okay, you can ask,
well, what does it mean when Jesus says
you should not take any oaths?
Does that mean you shouldn't swear on the Bible
if you have to testify in court?
You know, if you start there,
with those kind of picky questions,
you can miss the whole point.
But I want to give us the big picture
that will help put all the details into perspective.
And the big picture theme is this.
The Sermon on the Mount describes
what life looks like
when Jesus brings us into God's kingdom
by his grace.
It's a description of life in God's kingdom
when we've been called in by grace,
by Jesus' grace.
Now, I want to step back for a minute
and sort of set this in the whole story of the Bible.
In the Old Testament,
the people of Israel were slaves in the land of Egypt.
And they were under the rule of a cruel king,
Pharaoh,
who wanted to abuse them and use them and kill them.
And they were helpless.
They couldn't do anything to rescue themselves,
but they cried out to God,
and God heard their cry,
and God came and listened to them
and brought them out.
And in Exodus chapter 19,
he says,
I carried you on eagle's wings
and brought you to myself.
And he said,
now you will be for me
a kingdom of priests
and a holy nation.
In other words,
set apart people for myself.
So God saved them by his grace
and brought them into his kingdom.
And then what happens next?
Then he says,
well, since you're part of my kingdom,
instead of that cruel tyrant Pharaoh's kingdom,
since you're part of my kingdom now,
I want to teach you
what it means to live with me as your king.
A life that reflects my character
and my ways
and my purposes in the world.
So he led them to Mount Sinai,
and Moses went up the mountain
to receive the law from God,
and then he gave them the law,
beginning with the Ten Commandments
and going on from there.
So the law wasn't
God saying to the people,
here's what you have to do
to live up to the standard,
and if you live up to the standard,
then I'll accept you.
No, he had already
saved them by his grace,
brought them into his kingdom,
and he gave them the law
to teach them how to live
in his kingdom.
Now, if you look at the book of Matthew,
the reason why I'm
doing all this background,
you see the same pattern
in the first chapters
of the book of Matthew.
If you want to flip back
a little bit,
Jesus' life actually follows
many of the same patterns
of Moses.
So when Jesus is born,
the people of Israel
are under the rule
of a cruel king named Herod.
Chapter 2, verse 13 through 18
describes this.
And Herod actually targets Jesus
and wants to kill him.
Just like Pharaoh
targeted the Hebrew babies
and Moses in Exodus.
But God preserved Moses
and he preserves Jesus.
Then, chapter 2, verse 13,
Jesus actually goes down
to Egypt with his family
and then he is brought back
to the land of Israel.
And Matthew points out
that that's a fulfillment
of this pattern
of the Old Testament
that follows the same pattern
as the story of Israel
being brought out of Egypt
by God.
Then you go on, chapter 4.
It says Jesus was led
by the Spirit
into the wilderness.
Well, isn't that the same thing
that happened to the Israelites, right?
When they left Egypt,
where did they go?
They went in the wilderness
for 40 years.
And Jesus was in the wilderness
for 40 days
and 40 nights.
So we see many
of the same patterns
except that
in the Old Testament,
the people of Israel
failed in the wilderness,
but Jesus is perfectly faithful
to God in the wilderness.
Now we get to chapter 4.
Jesus calls people out
to follow him.
He says, repent,
chapter 4, verse 17,
for the kingdom of heaven
is at hand.
And then he calls
his disciples
to follow him.
And eventually
he calls 12 disciples
just like there were
12 tribes of Israel.
So you see,
Jesus is following
this same pattern
of God calling people
out by his grace,
rescuing them by grace,
and calling them
into his kingdom.
Notice how Jesus
calls his disciples
in verses 18 through 22,
which we read earlier.
Jesus doesn't
set up interviews
to interview
a long list of candidates
and figure out
who's best fit
for the job.
He doesn't
recruit lots of people
to fill out applications.
He's not like
a college admissions office.
Right?
They want to recruit
as many people
as they can to apply
so that they can
lower their acceptance rate
so that they can be seen
as the most exclusive
among all the schools.
Jesus doesn't do that.
He just sees people
and he calls them
personally,
intentionally,
and effectually.
He says,
follow me
and I will make you
fishers of men.
In other words,
I will be
your resume.
I will be the one
who qualifies you
for the job.
And he says,
drop everything
and follow me.
And that's true
for everyone
who comes
to follow Jesus,
that Jesus has
called you
by his grace
into his kingdom.
You know,
if you want
to follow Jesus,
you don't have
to prove yourself.
Instead,
it's exactly
the opposite.
All that you need
is nothing.
All that you need
is to recognize
your need
for Jesus
and to cling
to him.
And Jesus says,
I will make you
what I've called
you to be.
You're not
what you need
to be,
but I will make you
fishers of men.
I will make you
what I've called
you to be.
And that is
very encouraging.
Let me just
stop for a moment.
If you're a follower
of Jesus,
this should be
very encouraging
that
God has called
you by his grace.
He's reached
out to you
personally
and intentionally
and affectionately.
He's brought you
in to his kingdom.
And he said,
I want you
to follow me.
I see you
and I will make you
what I've called
you to be.
It's a beautiful thing.
You can't live up
to it on your own.
You can't qualify
it for it
on your own.
You can't prove
yourself
because we are
all sinners
and we all fall short.
But he has called
us into his kingdom.
So now
we come to chapter 5.
The Sermon on the Mount.
And what Jesus does here
is he tells us
this is what it means
to live in
my kingdom.
This is actually
the first of five
large sections
of Jesus' teaching
in the Gospel of Matthew.
Chapter 5 through 7
is the Sermon on the Mount.
Chapter 10
he sends the disciples
out on mission.
Chapter 13
is parables
about the kingdom.
Chapter 18
is teaching about
the community
of believers.
Chapter 24 and 25
is about the coming
of the Son of Man.
The point is
there's these five
large sections
of Jesus' teaching
and many people think
and I think it's likely
that Matthew
deliberately arranged
his book this way.
That just as there
were five books
of Moses
in the Old Testament
that comprise
the law
or the teaching
for the people
of Israel.
In Matthew
Jesus has five
large sections
of teaching
that summarize
his teaching
for the church
for those
who follow him.
And it's reinforcing
this theme
of Jesus
as sort of
the new Moses
the deliverer
and the teacher
of God's
renewed people.
So chapter 5
verse 1
seeing the crowds
he went up
on the mountain
again
just like Moses
went up Mount Sinai
Jesus goes up
the mountain
and then he sat down
that was the typical
posture of a teacher
back then
and he
and his disciples
the word disciple
simply means
a student
or a follower
means someone
who listens.
His disciples
his students
came to him
and he opened
his mouth
and taught them.
Jesus is deliberate
and earnest
and his words
have weight
and authority
to them.
So just like
Moses
taught the people
of Israel
how to live
as God's people
rescued by his grace
and brought
into his kingdom
Jesus
is teaching
his disciples
he's teaching us
what it means
to live
in his kingdom
when we've been
brought in
by his gracious
call.
So
from this
we can see
a couple of things
that the Sermon on the Mount
is not
and some people
think this is what it is
but it's not this
the Sermon on the Mount
is not
a list of
general ethical
principles
that are common
to all religions
and that can be
put into practice
apart from
belief in Jesus.
Now it's true
there are parallels
to many of the
individual teachings
in other religious
traditions
that's true
but that's not
actually
the main point.
It's not simply
meant to be
a general list
of ethical principles
set up
that are
just as relevant
apart from Jesus.
It's not like
you know
if you
go to a Chinese
restaurant
and get
fortune cookies
at the end
they have
those little
sayings
those little
proverbs
on them
you can sort
of take it
or leave it
and they don't
you know
there's one at a time
and you never know
what you're going to get
and they're totally
random
that's not what
the Sermon on the Mount
is.
It's not a random
collection
of wisdom
for life
that you can sort
of take what you
like
and leave the rest
and it's not
something that we
can simply admire
from a distance
like a beautiful
sunset.
Jesus is describing
what our lives
can and must
increasingly look
like when we're
part of his
kingdom.
It's marching
orders from the
king
if you want to
put it that way.
It's an authoritative
teaching for us
who are Jesus'
disciples.
So that's sort of
the background
leading up to the
Sermon on the Mount.
Now let me
briefly walk you
through chapters
five through seven.
So again if you've
got a Bible
this is a good one
to flip through.
There are two
major parts to the
Sermon on the Mount.
There's first a
general part.
Jesus starts in
chapter five
verses three
through sixteen
by telling his
disciples who
we are
in general
as people saved
by his grace
and belonging to
his kingdom.
So if you read
the Beatitudes
in chapter
verse three
through twelve
they all start
with this word
blessed
or blessed.
In other words
we're
to be blessed
means to receive
God's favor
and his delight.
Means that God
delights in you
and that you
share in that
joy and delight.
And the first
Beatitude
is the key
to all the rest.
It says
blessed are the
poor in spirit.
In other words
blessed are those
who admit
that they have
nothing
to prove
themselves to
God.
Again
we come
empty handed
and Jesus
gives us
his joy
and delight
and blessing.
And then
Jesus goes on
to say
blessed
are
the poor
in spirit.
Those who have
nothing in themselves
and find everything
we need in Jesus.
And he goes on
to say blessed
are those who are
persecuted.
Who have nothing
in this world.
But who love
Jesus and belong
to the kingdom
of heaven.
It's a pretty
amazing promise.
Right?
I mean
almost everything
else in this world
you have to
qualify for
in some way
or other.
You have to
prove that you're
eligible for this.
And Jesus
says
if you've got
nothing
I've come
to give you
everything you need.
and I've
come not just
to give you
bare subsistence
but I've
come to
bring you
joy and
delight.
Because I'm
the fountain
of those
things.
So we're
blessed
as part of
Jesus'
kingdom.
Then
verse 13
and 16
this is
again
sort of
the more
general part
about who
we are.
He uses
three metaphors
the salt
of the earth
the light
of the world
and a city
on a hill.
And all
three of
those
metaphors
were used
in the
Old Testament
for the
people of
God.
And all
three of
them remind
us that
as Jesus'
followers
we're not
taken out
of the
world.
Jesus isn't
talking about
leaving
this physical
universe
but he is
calling us
to be
distinct from
the patterns
of the world
that we live
in.
And Jesus
explains this
further later
on in the
Sermon on
the Mount.
If you read
through the
sermon I
encourage you
read through
the whole of
chapters 5
through 7
sometime this
week and
just notice
some of the
general patterns
that run
through these
chapters.
And you'll
see there
were two
contrasts that
stuck out to
me.
Two of the
contrasts that
stuck out to
me here when
I read it
through.
So on the
one hand
Jesus says
if you're
my disciples
you are not
to be
just like
the religious
people of
the day.
The Pharisees
and scribes.
In chapter 6
he describes
them as
hypocrites
who do their
good works
in order to
gain praise
from other
people.
Or as
self-righteous
critics who
are always
looking for
minor flaws
in other
people but
are blind
to their
own more
serious
failings.
And Jesus
says that's
not what
life in
God's
kingdom is
meant to
be.
It's not
simply what
people might
stereotype
religion to
be.
On the
other hand
Jesus says
don't be
like the
Gentiles.
Don't be
like sort
of the
secular
world.
Who are
ultimately
self-centered
in their
life apart
from God.
Jesus calls
his disciples
to a
higher
standard
than
either
traditional
religion
or
the
secular
culture.
Now
Jesus says
I'm calling
you to
something
greater
than both
of those.
Your
righteousness
must surpass
the Pharisees
and scribes
because it's
dealing with
your heart
before God
and your
love must
be greater
than the
people of
this world.
It must
extend even
to your
enemies.
So Jesus
calls us
to something
greater than
life in this
world.
To life in
God's
kingdom.
So that's
the first
major section.
Jesus saying
this is who
you are
and this is
what your
relationship to
the world
is meant to
look like.
The second
section of the
Sermon on the
Mount is
starting at
chapter 5
verse 17
and going
to the
end of
chapter 7.
And this
tells us
how we're
to live
in God's
kingdom in
more particular
areas.
So the
point is
our identity
as disciples
of Jesus
should shape
every part
of our
lives.
And you
know if you
read through
this sermon
it's very
comprehensive.
Jesus
teaches on
anger,
lust,
marriage,
divorce,
truthfulness,
love,
forgiveness,
prayer,
giving,
fasting,
worrying about
money,
worrying about
the future,
being judgmental
of others,
and asking
God for
good gifts.
I mean
that's a
pretty
comprehensive
list of
a lot of
things that
we deal
with.
He teaches
about inner
attitudes and
motives as
well as
external actions
and relationships.
So if you
want to
learn
practically
what does
it mean to
be a
Christian?
If you
want to
grow in
your life
with Jesus
read this
sermon on
the mount.
Dig into
it because
it'll get
at lots
of different
parts of
your life
and you
won't be
able to
escape
without having
nearly your
whole life
changed and
impacted by
Jesus.
If you're
meeting with
somebody
maybe who's
a new
Christian who's
just starting
to follow
Jesus,
this could be
a great
passage of
scripture to
read through
together and
talk through
together.
It's where
Jesus began
with his
disciples.
Matthew put
it right at
the start of
his gospel.
And it's not
a bad place
for us to
begin either.
As we teach
one another
what does
it mean to
live in
the kingdom
of God
by the
grace of
Jesus Christ.
Now I'm
not going to
go through
this second
section in
detail.
The rest of
chapter 5 is
about obeying
God's law
from our
heart.
Chapter 6 is
about trusting
God as our
father.
And chapter 7
is about living
in the fear
of the Lord.
Those are
sort of the
big themes
that we'll
see throughout
those sections.
But I want
to fast
forward to
the end
a little bit.
So look
toward the
end of
chapter 7.
At the
end,
Jesus
challenges
us
with
four
contrasts.
Chapter 7
verse 13
and 14
he says
there are
two roads.
Well,
there are
two gates.
gates.
The narrow
gate
and the
wide
gate.
The narrow
road and
the wide
road.
And then
he says
there are
two trees
in the
next section.
Every
healthy tree
bears good
fruit,
but the
diseased
tree
bears bad
fruit.
And then
he goes
on in
21 through
23.
He says
there are
two kinds
of people.
The people
who say
to me,
Lord,
and the
people who
do the
will of
the
father.
And
finally,
24 through
27,
he says
there are
two houses.
There's a
house built
on the
rock and
the house
built on
the sand.
And only
one will
survive
God's
judgment
in the
end.
You see,
this is a
challenging
sermon.
Because at
the end,
Jesus pushes
the issue.
He says,
you can't
stay neutral.
There's no
third way.
There are
only two
ways.
You're
either on
one road
or the
other.
He pushes
the issue.
He says,
whose kingdom
are you
living in?
Who are
you living
for?
And where
is your
life going?
And he
says,
come to
me and
follow me.
You see,
Jesus is
teaching the
disciples about
what it
means,
those who
had been
called to
him and
were committed
to follow
him.
And he's
saying,
this is
what it
means to
live in
my kingdom.
But you
know,
he also
had a ton
of other
people who
were listening.
The people
in the
crowds.
There were
whole crowds
who followed
Jesus around,
but they
weren't
committed.
They were
interested.
They were
curious.
They saw
his miracles.
They probably
wanted to
see more
miracles.
They wanted
to experience
some of
his power,
but they
weren't yet
committed and
loyal to
him.
So the
Sermon on
the Mount,
Jesus asks
us that
question.
He'll be
asking us
that question
throughout this
summer as we
look into it.
He says,
are you a
disciple?
Have you
been called,
have you
responded to
my call
to follow
me?
Have you
become part
of my
kingdom?
Totally by
his grace?
Or are you
interested but
still on the
outside?
And the
invitation is,
if you're
interested but
still on the
outside,
the invitation
from Jesus is,
come and
follow me,
and I will
make you what
I've called
you to be.
Jesus says,
in my
kingdom,
there's great
blessing and
there's great
joy and it'll
last forever.
And outside,
there's no hope
and everything
will perish.
let's pray.
Lord Jesus,
we pray
that as you
called the
first disciples,
that you
would be
calling us
to you.
Lord,
we thank you
Lord,
for those
of us who
have been
called to
you,
we pray
that we
would hear
your voice.
Lord,
that your
Holy Spirit
would work
in us,
that you
would teach
us more
and more
what it
means to
reflect your
character and
your ways in
this world
that we live
in.
Lord,
we pray
that you
would teach
us this
summer of
who you
are.
As we
look into
this
Sermon on
the Mount.
And make
us who
you've
called us
to be.
May this
be part of
how you
are making
us what
you've
called us
to be.
In Jesus'
name,
Amen.