Intro to Sermon on the Mount

Reason for Studying the Sermon

• Matthew 5-7 archives the greatest sermon in the history of the world.
• Jesus preached it to a mixed congregation of the disciples and the curious.
• As Jesus gathered His growing followers together, He taught a simple yet thorough overview of how Kingdomcitizens should live.
• Christianity is more than a mere association of rules; it is a complete dedication to a countercultural lifestyle.
• It serves as the bridge between the Old Testament Law and the New Testament standard.
• Jesus confronted the external trappings of legalism and prioritized the internal workings of devotion.
• It is the first of 5 discourses in the Gospel of Matthew:
  • Discipleship: 5-7
  • Apostleship: 10
  • Revelation: 13
  • Church: 18
  • Judgment: 23-25

Conflicting Views on the Sermon

1. Interim Ethic View - Some believe that this radical standard was used waiting for the consummate kingdom but can be dismissed since it did not arrive immediately.
2. Classic Liberalism - This view rejected the need for redemption and highlighted the sermon as the code for a progressive society.
3. Lutheran Orthodoxy - This view sees the standard as unattainable and points to the need for redemption.
4. Existential Approach - This view highlights the resolve to operate from a heavenly perspective of openness to making the future better.
5. Dispensational Approach - This sermon offered a millennial kingdom to the Jews, but when they rescinded, he took the call away and ushered in the present age of grace.
6. Straightforward Approach - This way acknowledges the impossible nature while emphasizing the necessary standard.

The Emphases of the Sermon

• The content of this sermon is to be the Kingdom standard in a confused culture.
• Jesus' words are the standard to which the disciples should ultimately strive.
• Since we belong to Jesus, we should strive to live like Him.
• Even if we can't keep the standard perfectly, it doesn't mean that we shouldn't live trying.

Outline of the Sermon

• 5:3-12 - The beatitudes of the disciples
• 5:13-16 - The witness of the disciples
• 5:17-48 - The Law and the disciples
• 6:1-18 - The disciplines and the disciples
• 6:19-7:12 - The priorities of the disciples
• 7:13-27 - The path of the disciples