The Sermon of the Mount SeriesUddrag

Part 1 - Introduction

"The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them. Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.

When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying (…)." Matthew 4:24 – 5:1,2

He prayed the night, seeking the Father's heart before appointing the Twelve disciples who would later start His church on earth. At that point in His ministry, Jesus was incredibly popular, and therefore, a great crowd greeted Him as He came down from the mountain where He selected the Twelve.

The multitude came from Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon to hear His words and expect to witness His work. They had heard about the miracles validating Messiah's message: The Kingdom is near!

People from every walk, Jews and Gentiles, crowded the Mount of Beatitudes between Capernaum and Gennesaret on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was there that Jesus gave his longest and most quoted Sermon. Matthew dedicated three chapters to Jesus's teaching in that Sermon.

Jesus saw these followers as sheep, longing to hear their Shepherd's voice, ready to fill the emptiness religion had failed to satisfy.

The Pharisees sought to help those who wanted to seek righteousness by codifying the Law into 365 prohibitions and 248 commandments, thus making righteousness impossible to obtain.

In offering Himself as their King, Jesus demanded the same righteousness as a prerequisite to enter God's Kingdom. The difference was, however, incommensurable.

Christ's measure of righteousness had nothing to do with attending the feasts nor following the Sabbath's laws. In the New Covenant offered by Israel's long-awaited Messiah, righteousness would be obtained by repenting and putting one's faith in His Person.

The multitude on Mount Sinai agreed on one thing: Righteousness is needed to enter the Kingdom of God. They had heard the same thing since their toddler years, preached in the synagogues and every Jewish religious gathering. Therefore, the question in their minds was not: "What is required to enter God's Kingdom" but rather: "What IS righteousness."

Jesus summarizes the contrast in Matthew 4 verse 20:

"For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."

To the Pharisees, His words were heresy. They even accused Him of being demon-possessed. But Jesus did not back down. He had come to fulfill the Law by becoming their righteousness – The righteousness they could never attain, as hard as they may work to keep it.

But in a seemingly simple, however profound discourse, the Savior explained to those following Him what true righteousness looks like.

The Sermon is fascinating… and challenging. For as many other things the Savior said, there is much more in its words than what meets the eye.

This Sermon is not a mere accumulation of disconnected teachings. It is believed that it is one harmonious unity, seamlessly progressing in a rational order. It was Jesus' inaugural Sermon, delivered soon after His return from Galilee, where He had performed His first miracles.

It was strategically delivered at a time His followers had enough evidence given by His supernatural miracles to substantiate His Messianic claims.

The Sermon of the Mount Series.

I invite you to join me on a journey as we unfold the Sermon of the Mount together.

It will inspire and make you think. My main objective in this series, however, is to challenge our walk as followers of Jesus, for a deep study of His words on the Mount of Beatitudes should inspire and challenge every Christ follower.

Because even though it's true that His amazing grace is vaster than the ocean and salvation does not depend on anything you and I do or don't do, there is no doubt that He longs to find His church walking in righteousness when He returns.

So, I invite you to come back for the second part of this series, as we start unpacking Jesus' Words… to understand what the "blessed" in The Beatitudes truly mean.

In the meantime, I invite you to read the Sermon, found in chapters 5 through 7 in the gospel of Matthew, and rejoice that you and I do not have to abide by endless prohibitions and laws.

Jesus' blood - our righteousness - is all we need to enter the Kingdom of God. And His Spirit - our Guide - is all we need to be able to live as Christ taught us to live, that we may experience and further His Kingdom right here on earth.

Question: Is there any part of the Sermon of the Mountain that particularly challenges you? Share your thoughts!