Matthew 5- January 19^th

We come now to one of the greatest and most well-known sermons ever preached; it is the sermon that we find here in chapter 5, commonly known as the “Sermon on the Mount.” As often is the case with these notes, there is simply too much to cover. So rather than try and touch briefly on each individual aspect of Jesus’ teaching here, I would instead like to focus on the essential essence of this sermon.

As well-known as this sermon is, there is much debate circulating as to what Jesus is exactly doing here. Many Christians take the view that Jesus is simply correcting false views and mistreatments surrounding the Law of Moses that had been developed by the Pharisees, who were the religious leaders of the day. Others believe that, instead, Jesus is bringing out the “true meaning” of the Law of Moses. And still, others view this as Jesus implementing a completely new law, one that is higher and better than the Law of Moses ever was; the “Law of Christ,” as many would call it. Now, to be honest, I am unsure which of these views is correct (perhaps they all are to some degree); this is an area of scripture that I am still unclear about; however, let me present what I am clear about.

The very essence of this sermon is counter-cultural and anti-hypocritical-superficial religion. This reality permeates through all that Jesus says here. Take, for instance, the beatitudes; Jesus does not say that it is the mighty who shall inherit the earth, but rather the meek, in other words, those who are quiet, gentle, and easily imposed upon. Again, he does not say that it is the rich in spirit who will inherit the kingdom of heaven, but rather it is the poor in spirit; it is those who realize that they are utterly destitute apart from the righteousness of Christ. Once more, he does not say that blessed are the ones who live a life of comfort and ease within castles and palaces, but rather it is those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. 

All of this is completely opposite to what the world believes. The world believes that it is the ones who are strong and can stay on their feet through the trials and storms of life who will inherit the earth; they think that it is the John Waynes of the world who will come out on top, but the truth is that it will instead be those who fall on their knees before God, able to offer nothing but a prayer. Again, the Pharisees believed they could enter the kingdom of heaven by being rich in their own righteousness, but Christ says that the kingdom will be inherited by poor sinners. And it is not necessarily those who live wealthy and trouble-free lives who are the blessed ones, but more commonly, it is those who suffer that truly have the blessing of God upon them. None of this is intuitive to the minds of fallen man, but it is true and the reality of things. It is totally counter-cultural.

Jesus also speaks greatly against the hypocritical and superficial religion that man is so prone to wander into. People are perfectly content with themselves if they can live a life without ever physically murdering a man while at the same time harboring such hate and animosity in their hearts against their fellow man that they are basically murdering them in their minds and hearts daily. And men think well of themselves if they never commit adultery; however, they are more than pleased to fantasize about it with lustful intent. 

As R.C. Sproul once explained, this is not to say that being angry at someone is the same as committing actual homicide or having a lustful thought is the same as actually cheating on your spouse. I do believe that there is a biblical argument for degrees of sin. But what it is saying is that those who believe that they are innocent just because they have not done the worst of sins are fooling themselves. It is not only the murderer who will be liable to judgment, but he who hates their brothers as well. It is not merely those who have physically cheated on their spouses who are in danger of hell, but also those who harbor lust in their hearts.

Going back to the idea of degrees of sin, perhaps certain sins are greater than others, but it really doesn’t matter because the smallest of sins is enough to earn eternal damnation in hell. Imagine two men who are thrown into the sea, one with a 100lb weight tied around his ankle and the other with a 500lb weight; one definitely weighs more than the other, but what does it matter? Either weight is perfectly sufficient to drown the man. As Jesus says, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect”. The standard is perfection, and none of us can attain that. We are all poor; it is those who recognize that and turn to Christ, the only rich one, that will be saved!

Christians are not to have a superficial-hypocritical religion. Rather, Christians are those who have been changed from the inside out. Christians are those who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and so seek to not merely live outwardly but inwardly. The standards are too high, and none of us can achieve them. Let us who are saved be ever thankful that Christ met the righteous requirements of God on our behalf.

There is so much more here; I have barely scratched the surface. Continue to study and be in awe of this text. Amen.