JESUS' SERMON 8: LESSONS
(Message by Tanny Keng)
1. Introduction
a) Jesus traveled from town to town in the region of Galilee. He preached in the Jewish synagogues and healed the sick. He became very popular with the people, and great crowds followed Him wherever He went.
b) One day Jesus went up a mountainside and spoke to His disciples and the crowds of people. This "Sermon on the Mount" outlines the right ways for us to approach God and to deal with other people.
2. Questions
a) Do we really have to live the way Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount? Isn't it too hard for anybody to really do those things? Isn't it good enough just to obey the Ten Commandments? Didn't Jesus mean it just for His twelve apostles? Wasn't He just telling how things would be in a perfect world? Wasn't He just telling how things will be in heaven or in His future kingdom?
b) Jesus directed the Sermon on the Mount primarily to His disciples (Matthew 5:1-2).
c) But "disciple" just means a person who learns from a teacher, and Jesus had many more disciples than just the twelve apostles (Matthew 8:21, Luke 6:17, John 6:66).
d) Jesus also directed this sermon to the crowds of other people who came to hear Him preach (Matthew 7:28-29).
e) Interpretations other than the plain meaning have been invented to explain away many of Jesus' difficult teachings, but Jesus said all these same things in other ways at other times.
f) So, it is best to assume that the Sermon on the Mount is meant as a model of the perfect Christian life. We can never completely live up to the high goals Jesus set for us, but the Sermon on the Mount must be the perfect goal we sincerely try for every day (Matthew 5:48).
3. Lessons
a) Jesus said that God requires more of us than just living by a set of rules, as in the Old Testament. Many people of Jesus' time lived strictly by the Old Testament rules, but still found enough "loopholes" to live lives of wickedness and greed. They acted very holy in public, and they thought they we doing all that God required of them. But Jesus said they were hypocrites - like drinking cups that were washed clean on the outside but were filthy inside (Matthew 23:25-26).
b) Rather than any outward show of holiness, it is our inner lives (attitudes and motives) that really matter to God. Rather than living by a set of rules, Jesus said we should live by two great principles:
i) Humble obedience to God above all else and
ii) Sincere respect and kindness for all people of the world (Matthew 22:34-40, Mark 12:28-31, Luke 10:25-28, John 13:34-35).
c) If we truly live by these principles, we don't have to worry about following a set of rules (Romans 13:9-10, 1 Corinthians 9:20-21, Ephesians 2:11-15).
d) None of us can measure up to the vision of moral perfection that Jesus presents in the Sermon on the Mount. But it is the goal we must continually strive for. When we fail to live up to the ideal, we must ask God for forgiveness and sincerely resolve to do better in the future. The good news is that, no matter how serious the sin, God is always seeking us out and is willing to forgive our sins and give us a fresh start!
The End ...
1. Introductiona) Jesus traveled from town to town in the region of Galilee. He preached in the Jewish synagogues and healed the sick. He became very popular with the people, and great crowds followed Him wherever He went.
b) One day Jesus went up a mountainside and spoke to His disciples and the crowds of people. This "Sermon on the Mount" outlines the right ways for us to approach God and to deal with other people.
2. Questions
a) Do we really have to live the way Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount? Isn't it too hard for anybody to really do those things? Isn't it good enough just to obey the Ten Commandments? Didn't Jesus mean it just for His twelve apostles? Wasn't He just telling how things would be in a perfect world? Wasn't He just telling how things will be in heaven or in His future kingdom?
b) Jesus directed the Sermon on the Mount primarily to His disciples (Matthew 5:1-2).
c) But "disciple" just means a person who learns from a teacher, and Jesus had many more disciples than just the twelve apostles (Matthew 8:21, Luke 6:17, John 6:66).
d) Jesus also directed this sermon to the crowds of other people who came to hear Him preach (Matthew 7:28-29).
e) Interpretations other than the plain meaning have been invented to explain away many of Jesus' difficult teachings, but Jesus said all these same things in other ways at other times.
f) So, it is best to assume that the Sermon on the Mount is meant as a model of the perfect Christian life. We can never completely live up to the high goals Jesus set for us, but the Sermon on the Mount must be the perfect goal we sincerely try for every day (Matthew 5:48).
3. Lessons
a) Jesus said that God requires more of us than just living by a set of rules, as in the Old Testament. Many people of Jesus' time lived strictly by the Old Testament rules, but still found enough "loopholes" to live lives of wickedness and greed. They acted very holy in public, and they thought they we doing all that God required of them. But Jesus said they were hypocrites - like drinking cups that were washed clean on the outside but were filthy inside (Matthew 23:25-26).
b) Rather than any outward show of holiness, it is our inner lives (attitudes and motives) that really matter to God. Rather than living by a set of rules, Jesus said we should live by two great principles:
i) Humble obedience to God above all else and
ii) Sincere respect and kindness for all people of the world (Matthew 22:34-40, Mark 12:28-31, Luke 10:25-28, John 13:34-35).
c) If we truly live by these principles, we don't have to worry about following a set of rules (Romans 13:9-10, 1 Corinthians 9:20-21, Ephesians 2:11-15).
d) None of us can measure up to the vision of moral perfection that Jesus presents in the Sermon on the Mount. But it is the goal we must continually strive for. When we fail to live up to the ideal, we must ask God for forgiveness and sincerely resolve to do better in the future. The good news is that, no matter how serious the sin, God is always seeking us out and is willing to forgive our sins and give us a fresh start!
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