Monday: Christ’s Greatest Sermon
The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) is often hailed in literature as the essence of Christianity.
Luke provides selections of the sermon in Luke 6:20-49 and elsewhere. Because Luke placed the sermon immediately after the official
choosing of the disciples (Luke 6:13), some scholars have called it the Ordination Charge to the Twelve.
Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com
As presented in Luke 6:20-49, the sermon begins with four blessings and four woes and outlines other essential characteristics of the Christian way.
Study the following sections of Luke 6:20-49 and ask yourself how closely your life embraces the principles expressed here.
- The Christian blessedness (Luke 6:20-22). How can poverty, hunger, weeping, and being hated lead to blessedness?
- The Christian’s reason for rejoicing in the midst of rejection (Luke 6:22-23).
- Woes to guard against (Luke 6:24-26). Review each of the four woes. Why should a Christian guard against these?
- The Christian imperative (Luke 6:27-31). No command of Jesus is more debated and is considered more difficult to keep than the golden rule of love. The Christian ethic is fundamentally positive not negative. It does not consist of what not to do but what to do. Instead of saying
Don’t hate
your enemy, it insists,Love your enemy.
Instead of the law of reciprocity (tooth for a tooth
), the golden rule demands the ethic of pure goodness (turn the other cheek also
). Mahatma Gandhi developed out of the golden rule an entire political philosophy of resisting evil through good and eventually used this principle to win independence for India from British colonialism. Likewise, Martin Luther King, Jr. employed the ethic of the golden rule to break the evil of segregation in the United States. Where love reigns, blessedness ascends the throne. - The Christian way (Luke 6:37-42). Note Christ’s insistence on forgiveness, liberal giving, exemplary living, and on tolerance.
- The Christian fruit-bearing (Luke 6:43-45).
- The Christian builder (Luke 6:48-49).
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God's love is very deep and long reaching. It considers the salvation of the recipient's soul. What some consider love, or "liberal giving" is merely enabling and indulgence. It is the ruin of a soul to supply him means to destroy himself. Many addicts, for example, will grab your gift and run satisfy their addictions, leaving you in the dust…. until they want more. I have rushed into "helping" people, only to find out later that my "help" assisted them to continue wrong to themselves and others. It is better to liberally share time, encouragement and the Word of God with many folks. We need to give wisely.
Why did the Sermon on the Mount seem so new and different to people who were of the nation of faith, Israel? Jesus did not reverse the principles of the Old Testament, but instead shone light on what had been obscured by religious traditions and commonplace ideas picked up under the influence of secular powers. The Messiah’s message rang out with a certain sound which was different from others.
Far from a soothing message which lulled the hearers into slumber the Sermon on the Mount was a wakeup call to those who called themselves Christ’s, but refused to do what He said (Luke 6:46). It was a message of submission and self-denial, a description of the Narrow way (Matthew 7:14).
The waymarks of time serve as a reminder and urgent call to the remnant people (Revelation 12:17) to shine light on that which has been eclipsed by man-made traditions, false teachings and intrusive secular ideas of society (1 Timothy 6:3-5). The faithful give the trumpet a certain sound which contrasts with the tune of the world and apostate religion (1 Corinthians 14:8).
The Three Angels’ Messages is the end time “Sermon on the Mount” which is different from the common soothing sermons (Revelation 14:6-12). The faithful proclaim same as from a mountain top and let all know Jesus is coming again!
One of the beauty of the sermon on the mount is not only what the lesson has identified above the 7 principles for Disciples discipline and lifestyle.
It also emphasizes that Decalogue is character of the Trinity and is to be character of Disciples throughout the ages until Parousia/2nd coming.
Most importantly, though Christ is our Creator who incarnated so He could be our Redeemer, Lawyer and Judge it is this very same 7 principles that is embedded in the Decalogue and explicitly elaborated and broken down to notice the beauty and simplicity of a sinner saved by Grace and being molded by the Blood of Jesus through the Power of the Holy Ghost working in us and through us unto the glorification of our mortal sinful bodies at Parousia.
Ultimately it also confirms that these are the criteria that will be the crux of Judgment whether it is the now Pre Millennium, or Millennium or Executive Judgment and rightly so when Jesus calls He equips us with the spiritual gifts so that as we work with Christ in seeking the lost to save we are endowed with the Fruit of the Spirit and there is no other way to have the Fruit but through and by product of maximizing the Early Rain that fell in the upper room more than 2,000 years ago. and this work of the holy spirit is the only way to write and instill and recreate us a new heart and in doing so the character or life in the Decalogue becomes our lifestyle and not a program for if it were so, then we always fall short and wanting at the end of every day.
But Praise Christ at the end of the day since Jesus stated we are only faithful in managing small few amounts of gifts but we are expected to abide to all principles of the Character of God to enter heaven though it is a gift and always a gift and the way to maintain this status is being faithful in gifts to seek and save the lost but always bearing in mind the principles and motives of the Decalogue for you can be evil at heart but still do good and you could be very efficient in carrying out your gifts in the right ministry but still be evil at heart. So the sermon on the mount should be our thoughts every day and moment.
To not give materially to an "addict" is to make excuses or judge them! Did Jesus say only give to someone who knows me and will use my blessing for what you consider to be positive! People "in sin" don't want to hear about the bible or Jesus usually they have physical needs to be met! Jesus says give! Period, let him take care of the rest! Being careful, is usually a cop out, however to give a meal, toiletries or other necessities of life, says i love you like Jesus did! Bring healing not Judgements!
I meant to help an addict once with money, because she said she said getting her life together, but she increased her substance abuse instead. i felt bad. For lack of money she was forced to quit, but as soon as I tried to help her, she went back with a vengeance! I learned that I needed to be listening more to God as to how to really help people.
There are mothers who seem to be using young children as bait for begging purposes and able bodied young men and women leading blind beggars instead of the blind using a cane.How to respond to these situations?
I totally agree that we need to give wisely; but when the real end of what we give is unknown, we should not keep ourselves from helping others and satisfy their needs. Before we help, it is a good idea to consider the kind of help people need so that we do not give people what they already have and do not reinforce their greed, forgetting those who really need what we have to offer.
We, Christians, have to bear in mind that the strogest need (humanity) people have is Jesus and all we give to help them should lead them closer to Jesus. In one word, the gospel message should always follow our help...
Christ drawn many to Him by showing them LOVE.We can do greater work of finishing the work when we act the CHRIST way 'showing love to all' HATE SIN AND LOVE THE SINNER
The Sermon on the Mount touches on the core of humanity that is filled with despair, want and poverty. Today, if man is touched by this Infinite inspiration, the world will be a better place because our Lord would have come to take us Home to live with Him for ages to come. I long to see my Saviour's lifestyle replicated in mine and my brethren worldwide. I pray for you and myself, let us behold Jesus and by beholding we become fashioned in His Innate character. Amen.
Until we get to the point where we realize that true Christianity & Discipleship embraces two major themes.... LOVE and SELFLESSNESS then we truly haven't begun living the life, walking the walk & talking the talk! May we ask of of him who alone is worthy & capable of equipping and endowing us with the grace we need to accomplish his will, knowing full well that "ALL his bidding ARE enabling! Remember. .. ask and it shall be given, seek and ye shall find. May we all run the race together and emerge as winners at the finish line in Jesus' name. .. Amen. So help us Lord. 🙂
Jesus gave intangibly ie time, opportunity,healing through touch , and via prayer. When it came time to pay the tax an opportunity to go fishing to get the coin from the fish was made. I have found providing for the poor does not always mean money. It may require other means that they themselves aren't able to do. Often times even giving food and clothing is done through government/charitable programs which renders your giving of these items as unwanted or needed. However doing as Christ did can never be wrong for those whom Christ has called both to give and receive.
Question for you christian scholars....Who really is our neighbor? I the story of the Good Samaritan the neighbor was incapacitated and could not do for himself like wise with Lazarus in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Jesus healed those who were blind, dead, and crippled those who could not help themselves. In fact some of the honorable able body poor gave their last...the widow and her mite...the mother and son who only had enough flour and oil to make their last meal and gave it to the prophet Elijah. Even the widow whose sons were to be taken by the creditors had something to offer for God to use. In the story of the rich man and Lazarus Jesus tells us that he has given the world enough to know and hear which way we ought to choose to walk. It begs to question who really are the poor? Can able body people be counted among them? Should the help be different for them versus those who truly cannot do for themselves?
A good observation Kris. I think that we need to become good listeners to the prayers of others. I do not mean listening to what they say, but listening out for their needs. Sometimes all it takes is the willingness to stop and listen. We are often very quick in telling others what they should be doing, but the ability to help those around us often evades us. In today's world, in spite of all the means for communication at our disposal, we often forget to listen to others.
Our neighbours - those closest to us - often go unheeded because we simply take them for granted and do not listen to their "prayers". We should be God's ears.
What does it really mean to turn the other cheek? Does it imply that we allow others to abuse us? Or that we become doormats for others to trample all over us? Are we to understand this in a literal context?
For my benefit, please focus more on what it actually means to turn the other cheek, rather than on what it does not mean. Many thanks in anticipation of Spirit led answers
The lesson asks, "How can poverty, hunger, weeping, and being hated lead to blessedness?" I don't think it does unless we wish to be like some orders of monks who feel that misery is holiness.
As I review the first few lessons we had this quarter it comes to mind that Luke was writing to a person like himself who was marginalized by the Judaism of his day. We observed that Luke includes groups of people in his gospel that the Jewish leaders thought were basically on the outside looking in. It seems that Luke was generally saying that those people on the periphery were part of Christ's mission too and were to be included in the kingdom as part of the church.
In the crowd that surrounded Jesus were two basic groups: those who thought that they were the chosen ones that were perfect in the eyes of God because they kept the law and then the others who were thought to be questionable people, sinners of all sorts, those of low social status that God was cursing who would struggle to make it into the kingdom. That last group essentially had little hope. Because of that they were the ones that Jesus tended to minister to the most in lifting up their sunken heads and telling them of the Father's love for them.
So the first order of business was to tell the despised that they were blessed and not cursed as they were taught by the Jewish hierarchy (Jn 8:33,41; Jn 9:34; Gal 2:15). That God loves them. The scribes and Pharisees also had to be reached but with a different message, one that said you are no better than the rest and have a situation and an attitude that is not as good as it seems. Two messages to two different groups - one that lifts the broken up and the other that brings the proud down. In doing so He was "in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ" (Eph. 1:10 NKJV). With Jesus everyone is on equal ground where one cannot say to the other that they have no need of them or to say that one group is not as important as another group (1 Cor 12:14-26).
Jesus was also very careful not to endorse debauchery and gross sin so His message was carefully constructed to reach both groups.
I Can not tell you how hard it is for most Christian to live by the Golden Rule of Luke 6:20–49. Mahatma Gandhi yes, epitomized turning the other cheek. However some may question his motives. He exercise this strength for political power and to gain independence for his people, (the greater good). but I wondered how did he exercise that strength to his immediate brothers and sister or other family members. my point is, as Christians we can easily forgive strangers but bottle up hatred and venom for those in our family who have done us wrong. That pain seems to hurt much more and is every heavier to carry. I can see why Jesus commanded us as Christians to love those that hate us and to turn the other cheek, Painful yes Lord its a TALL Order. However feeble I am Lord Help to to Love as You love and to Forgive and You have commanded. Good Debate and much food for thought!
Marcia, my understanding of Matt 5 vs 29 is that it talks about humility and meekness that we ought to have as true christians.it simply means that we should repay evil with good at all times .for example if someone accuses you of something that you did not do, do not quarel with them or fight with them but pray for them and also ask God to help you deal with the situation.A God who is in heaven will hear your prayer and intervene.As true christians we are not supposed to partake in fights, literally if someone claps you on the cheek we are not supposed to fight back but to keep our humility and meekness, it sounds weird but thats what we are expected to do as christians!remember at the garden of Getsemane when Peter strike the ear of one of the soldiers, Jesus picked it up and put it back, thats what we are supposed to do as christians, always do good and dont repay evil with evil for that is what sinners do!!!