Sermon on the Mount - Part 1

God has place the Sermon on the Mount on my heart and brain lately. Not bits and pieces, but the whole thing. He has shown me that if I look at it as a whole, parts take on a different meaning, and there is a definite flow and message to this sermon. Not that this invalidates the messages we get from looking at the individual parts, just a different take that I think I was missing before.

THE AUDIENCE

One of the pieces that I sometimes don't completely consider when trying to understand a passage is the audience. Who was Jesus originally speaking to and perhaps even why was He speaking to them? I believe that His audience was the Jews of the time, both the leadership and the common folk. 

A quick look at the leaders. They were the ones who had it all. They had the power, prestige, knowledge, respect, etc. of the people. They were there most likely there to see what would be said by this man that they had likely been hearing about. This mystical person who others claimed had the ability to heal people, or maybe they had even been witness to some of the miracles. I believe they most likely stood together, wanting to be with their peers and not wanting to mingle with the common folk. This was common for them, seeing themselves and separate, not wanting to mingle in with others lest they contaminate themselves and become unclean. I don't believe that this was God's intention for leadership, but it was what it had become. It was what man had made it into.

That brings me to the other group. The common Jews, the have nots. The sheep, following these leaders wherever they would take them. Ignorant people. I don't say that as an insult, but as a statement of fact. They did not study the Scriptures the way the leaders did. They did not get to interpret them, or decide what rules needed to be followed. They trusted the leaders to do this for them, for they were the ones who had the knowledge and experience to do so, at least in the minds of good Jewish people.

RELIGION

So this is what religion had become in the time of Jesus. People trusting in leaders, leaders trusting in themselves and their traditions. It was organized, specific, ritualistic. It was also cold, calculated, and done in a manner that kept those in control in control. Does this still exist today? Well, has the heart of man really changed? I am sure that there are some leaders who are good people, but I wonder if this is a minority. The New Testament reveals that it did not take long for things to go south as far as the church was concerned. Just read pretty much any book after the Gospels and you will find issues that arose and needed to be confronted. Ananias and Sapphira? Judaizers? Adultery and fornication in the church? Simon wanting to buy the ability to impart the Spirit? The list goes on. So for us today not to be vigilant about what is going on in the church seems a bit unrealistic. Beware of the wolves, for they come in sheep's clothes.

MANIFESTO

So along comes Jesus. He did become a rabbi through the usual means as far as I know. He was not on the radar as coming from good stock, but rather of questionable lineage, the son of a peasant girl and a carpenter. Perhaps there were even rumors of His illegitimacy. Probably did not have the highest level of mentors as far as the Jewish leaders were concerned. And then there were those challenging questions He kept asking. But surely He showed some promise.

In the series, The Chosen, Jesus makes a comment prior to giving the sermon, that this sermon is His manifesto. I agree with that thought. This is His first recorded sermon, and will set the stage for His ministry. I believe it will bear a message of great importance and foundation for His ministry. I also believe that many of the future things He will say and do can be directly tied to parts or all of this sermon. So it deserves a lot of thought and examination. And even though I will not go through with it in one setting, I will attempt to always look at each piece in conjunction with the whole.

Starting with my next post in this theme. Today I will close with this question: If Jesus were to address the masses today, would He need to change His message?

My answer is, no. While we might not be Jewish, I do believe that there are still two distinct groups who would be in attendance. One side being those who lead, and who expect their leadership to be followed. I recall sitting in an elder's meeting when a suggestion was brought up. The chairman said, "If that happens here, it will be might last day as an elder." End of discussion. Then there is the other side, the one that I sat on that day in the meeting. The one who worships the leader instead of the Lord. The one who sits back and says nothing, even though they question the wisdom. There are so many on that side. People who blindly trust the wolves who lead them because they do not know Jesus, they only know the Jesus the wolves present to them. Jesus wants this to change. He came to set us free, not to change the chains of bondage.

Edited 2/2/2022