The Essential Jesus (Part 9): The Sermons of JesusSample

The Sermons of Jesus

HOW MANY SERMONS HAVE YOU LISTENED TO IN YOUR LIFETIME? Probably too many to count. I'm sure I've heard thousands, but I don't know if I'll ever apply even half of what I've heard. There's one thing, however, that I know for sure. I'd trade all my sermons to listen to one from Jesus. In our next five readings, we'll have the privilege of reading three major sermons of Jesus that we find in the Gospel accounts.

The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5--7) is undoubtedly the most famous sermon ever preached. Jesus delivered it at the beginning of his public ministry and used it to spell out his view of the world. We immediately notice that Jesus' and our worldviews are radically different. He starts with what has become known as the Beatitudes, a series of statements that might seem like devotional inspirations until you think about what he's saying. Jesus wants his followers to be poor in spirit, meek, hungry for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, committed to peacemaking, and willing to endure persecution for living that way. Hmm.

He sets some incredibly high standards for his followers: we should love our enemies, help the needy, stop worrying about money and make his kingdom our priority. In fact, at one point, he even says, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). Maybe I'll listen to that tape later.

In his following sermon, we'll discover a hard edge to Jesus' preaching, which may come as a surprise. In his "Seven Woes" sermon, Jesus lays into the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and teachers of the law. He relentlessly pounds them for not practicing what they preached, but even amid this angry tongue-lashing, Jesus never stops loving his listeners. As he says at the end of the sermon, "How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing" (Matthew 23:37).

In the final sermon we'll cover in this section, Jesus boldly predicts the end of the religious establishment of his day and then bridges it with a description of the end of the world. It's a spellbinding sermon.

So hold onto your seat. You're about to listen to the words of the world's greatest preacher.

The "New" Reality

PRAY: Lord God, I want to know more about you so I can live in a way that pleases you more. Please help me with that today.

READ: Matthew 5:1-48

REFLECT: What we now call the Sermon on the Mount has become the most famous sermon of all time. Some think it's a collection of "blessed little moral statements." Still, a careful look reveals that Jesus preached about an important and challenging topic: the kingdom of heaven (referred to elsewhere in the Gospels as the kingdom of God). What exactly is it?

In general, the kingdom of heaven refers to God's rule on the earth. That's what Jesus came to announce and establish, and it will involve two distinct realities. The first is internal. Those who belong to the kingdom of heaven have a committed heart to the values important to God; they are humble, meek, merciful, peace-loving, righteous, pure, and so on (vv. 3-10). Jesus says God will reward those people (v. 12). They will also be persecuted (v. 11) because those who live out God's values will stand out in contrast to the darkness and corruption of the world (vv.13-16).

The second reality is external. Throughout the Old Testament, God instructed his people to obey God's laws or suffer the consequences. That led to a system of legalism; do the right thing, and you're good with God, but note how Jesus repeats the phrase, "You have heard that it was said..." (vv. 21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43). He's holding up various Old Testament laws and linking them to the new motivation of the kingdom of heaven. In essence, he's saying, "It's not good enough to simply do the right thing; you need to do it for the right reason."

God had in mind all along a new inner and external reality - that's what it means to belong to this new kingdom (vv. 17-20).

APPLY: What motivates you to do the right thing?

PRAY: Which things mentioned in verses 3-10 would you like to see more of in your life? Make that the focus of your prayers.