Read Ellen G. White, “The Sermon on the Mount,” pp. 298-314, in The Desire of Ages and the book Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing (Book available online at www.whiteestate.org/books/mb/mb.asp). In the parables of Matthew 13:44-46, the men found something of great value. Given the context, especially after Jesus told the third parable (Matt. 13:47-50), … Continue reading –>
A mountaintop wasn’t the only place Jesus preached. He preached the same message of the kingdom all over Israel. Matthew 13 records Jesus teaching from a boat, “while all the people stood on the shore” (Matt. 13:2, NIV). Jesus then told the people parables intended to drive home the importance of not only hearing His … Continue reading –>
Perhaps the most radical teaching of Jesus is found in Matthew 5:48. Read the text. How are we, especially as sinners, supposed to do that? Of all the teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, this has to be one of the most amazing, the most “extreme.” To be as perfect as “your Father in … Continue reading –>
Read Matthew 5:20. What does Jesus mean when He says that unless our righteousness “surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law” (NIV), we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven? Though salvation has always been by faith, and though Judaism, as it should have been practiced, was always a system of grace, … Continue reading –>
Some Christians view the Sermon on the Mount as a new “law of Christ,” one that replaced the “Law of God.” They say that a system of legalism was now replaced with a system of grace, or that Jesus’ law differs from the Law of God itself. These views are misconceptions about the Sermon on … Continue reading –>
Skim through the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. Summarize on the lines below what stands out the most in your mind about it, about what it says to you. “Perhaps no other religious discourse in the history of humanity has attracted the attention which has been devoted to the Sermon on the Mount. … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Matthew 5-7, Rom. 7:7, Gen. 15:6, Micah 6:6-8, Luke 6:36, Matt. 13:44-52, Rom. 8:5-10. Memory Text:“When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law” (Matthew 7:28-29, NIV). In the … Continue reading –>
An evangelist came to town and advertised his meeting like this: “Come see a preacher tear a page out of the Bible!” That, no doubt, brought a crowd. He then stood before them, opened his Bible, and—to their astonishment—tore out a page. “This page,” he said, “never belonged there. It’s the page separating the Old … Continue reading –>
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17, NKJV). Just like John, Jesus began His ministry with a call to repentance. He knew, as did John, the fallen state of humanity and the need for all people to repent and come to a knowledge of God. Thus, it’s not surprising that His … Continue reading –>
Matthew 4:12 tells about the imprisonment of John, thus ending his ministry. At this point, Jesus’ ministry “officially” begins. The text doesn’t say why, when Jesus heard about John, He went to Galilee, only that He did. (See also Mark 1:14-16 and Luke 4:14.)Perhaps, while John was still preaching, Jesus wanted to keep a lower … Continue reading –>
