Biblical Concept: The Sermon on the Mount Situation

The situation of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-7:29).

The arrival of the Messiah was at hand. Israel was expecting an arriving Messiah – Daniel 9:20-27.

Jesus was offering the Kingdom of heaven to the nation of Israel – Matthew 4:17, Mark

Jesus was dealing with a people dominated by extra-biblical-religious-rule-keeping (Matthew 15:1-20).

Jesus addressed a large group of Israelites (Matthew 5:1). Some were His disciples, some were not His disciples, some were the hyper religious, some were in opposition. Parts of this mountain teaching address each group. Examples: Matthew 5:11-16 addressed His disciples. Matthew 5:17-20 addressed those who were not His disciples. Matthew 7:13-23 addressed those opposed.

The Kingdom being offered would be lead by an enlightened Despot, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ – Compare Matthew 25:31-46 and Revelation 19:15-16. Thus, some of the radical applications suggested by the sermon (Matthew 5:38-42) would occur under the watchful eye of an avenging Messiah.

Conclusion: The Sermon on the Mount offers Israel the Kingdom of God on earth with a ruling Messiah.

Observation: The Sermon on the Mount is used by liberals to promote their social (socialist) agendas.[1]

NAS Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

NAS Mark 1:14 And after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."

NAS Luke 4:43 But He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose."

NAS Matthew 15:1 Then some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, 2 "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." 3 And He answered and said to them, "And why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 "For God said, 'HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,' and, 'HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER, LET HIM BE PUT TO DEATH.' 5 "But you say, 'Whoever shall say to his father or mother," Anything of mine you might have been helped by has been given to God, " 6 he is not to honor his father or his mother. 'And thus you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 "You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, 8 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. 9 'BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.' " 10 And after He called the multitude to Him, He said to them, "Hear, and understand. 11 "Not what enters into the mouth defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man." 12 Then the disciples *came and *said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?" 13 But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be rooted up. 14 "Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit." 15 And Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain the parable to us." 16 And He said, "Are you still lacking in understanding also? 17 "Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? 18 "But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. 19 "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. 20 "These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man."

NAS Matthew 5:1 And when He saw the multitudes, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.

NAS Matthew 5:11 "Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. 12 "Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 "Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

NAS Matthew 5:17 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. 18 "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished. 19 "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.

NAS Matthew 7:13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. 14 "For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it. 15 "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 "So then, you will know them by their fruits. 21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. 22 "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

NAS Matthew 25:31 "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 "And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34 "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. ' 37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? 38 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 'And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' 41 "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me. ' 44 "Then they themselves also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' 45 "Then He will answer them, saying, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' 46 "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

NAS Revelation 19:15 And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

NAS Matthew 5:38 "You have heard that it was said, 'AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.' 39 "But I say to you, do not resist him who is evil; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 "And if anyone wants to sue you, and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. 41 "And whoever shall force you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 "Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

A-Z

[1] (CNSNews.com) – House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said last week that Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.)--who was censured by Congress in December for multiple ethics violations--has often told his congressional colleagues: “The Gospel of Matthew made me do it.”

Pelosi made the remarks at a Capitol Hill reception for the unveiling of an oil painting of Rangel that will hang in the hearing room of the House Ways and Means Committee, where Rangel formerly served as chairman.

Rangel was forced to step down from that chairmanship last year while he was being investigated by the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.

“What I think what brings a passion to his work is the fact that Charlie Rangel is a deeply religious man,” Pelosi said. “How many times has he said to us: ‘The Gospel of Matthew made me do it.’ When the Gospel talked about the least of our brethren, when they were hungry, when they needed shelter, when they needed clothing. Even Christ said: 'When I was in prison, you visited me.’ Very, very important.

“So, in Charlie’s list of accomplishments, which are very too many to mention in this big crowd, standing this long--but they were about the Gospel of Matthew,” said Pelosi.