St. Matthew

The Sermon on the Mount

The first of the 5 discourses is contained between Matthew chapters 5-7 and has come to be known as the Sermon on the Mount. Only Matthew places Jesus teaching on the mountain top, a place appropriate to continue the image of Moses who received the law on Mount Sinai.

Before we look at the Sermon itself, we look at Mt 1:23-25 which presents an interesting bridge to discourse. Each of the discourse are signaled by the words, “Jesus went . . . teaching in their synagogues . . . and curing every disease and every sickness. . .” The Kingdom of Heaven which has come to be present in the person of Jesus has these two impacts – preaching and healing. As we look at these 5 verses we also note some geography. People are coming to be present with Jesus from Syria, From Galilee, from the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordon. These are a mixture of geographic locations that represent a wipe and diverse population of both Jews and gentiles. The inclusiveness is that reflected in God’s original all to Abraham whom God blessed so that he could be a blessing to “all nations.” That term “nations” is an important one. The Hebrew is “goyim”. That the word for gentiles. In the face of the exclusivist stance that is reflected in the Jews of Jesus’ day, the Scribes, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees, the Kingdom of Heaven is open by invitation to all, the clean and the unclean alike. Jesus is inviting “all nations” to become disciples. God’s plan has returned in its fullness. No one is to be excluded including those who have been taken over by all of the power of darkness. Jesus is laying a strong message about the exclusion of anyone who is deemed to be unfit for the kingdom. If there is to be any measure of unfitness, it will come from God through the teaching of Jesus.

Jesus begins the discourse with proclamation of the “blessedness” of those contained in the kingdom. Some translations handle this as term “blessed” as “happy” or in terms of “God blesses those who . . .” It’s a hard term to deal with in translation and there have been many attempts at trying to come to terms with the phrase. There are several things that go into the very complex make up of this word:

It is a condition that is present in the Kingdom of Heaven
It is connected to the things that God values most. Look at those conditions:

Poverty of Spirit – this is a condition of having reached the bottom of the barrel and having realized that there is no place to go but to God. In this condition one as realized that God must be “all in all” for us
Mourn – it isn’t that God loves mourning. Quite to the contrary, God comes to bring joy; nonetheless, a joy that flows from God alone; a joy that is only found in the presence of God – in a relationship to God the most high
Meekness – there no boasting here, no false pride, no arrogance. The meek are those that seek out the second place to both God and to others. Jesus exemplified this meekness constantly, not in weakness, but in servitude to humanity as his first choice. Jesus adopted, by choice, the place of servant to humanity
Hunger and thirst for righteousness – First look at those strong verbs, hunger and thirst. Those are drives that push humanity along the path way to acquisition both toward food and drink, but also toward wealth. Jesus defines the terms blessedness as a hunger and a thirst, a drive toward righteousness (that state of being congruent with God; of being on the same page as God).
Merciful – blessedness and mercy are equated. This is perhaps the single most quality that we see in Jesus’ life and his dealing with individuals. Jesus has compassion for the sick and for sinners who have gone far from God; unlike those who define righteousness in terms of “doing the right things,” of obeying the law and following all the precepts that have been laid down. Jesus defines blessedness in terms of showing mercy to those who need mercy.
Pure in heart – says something about single-mindedness, an absence of mixed motives. This is a complete devotion to the things that God values
Peacemakers – this a term that describes those genuinely seek peace, not a tem that defines those who seek peace at all costs. We look to Jesus as the model. There were many times where Jesus rocked the boat against those who were leading the little one astray; against the spiritually arrogant who thought that they had God in their pocket because of who they were, or what they had done. Peacemakers are those who devote themselves to establishing peace on earth – an end to conflict and war – an end to all of those things that displease God.
Persecuted for righteousness sake – Once again we must look to that term righteousness. These are the people who are hated, rejected, and persecuted because they are congruent with God; because they are on the same page as God.
Those persecuted for Jesus’ sake – This takes the persecution one step further to talk about those who have seen Jesus as the Messiah, the savior, and have heeded the invitation to follow him

Look at the qualities of the disciple.

“You are the salt of the earth.” Salt gives flavor. Disciples give flavor to the world, but if they don’t they are useless.
“You are the light of the world.” Light is important to be shown; yet take note, when the disciples’ light shines and the good works are seen by all it is a reflection of God. God’s goodness is known in this light and God is to be recipient of the glory.
God law – his commandments – remain and they must be fulfilled perfectly; however, disciples of Jesus in the fulfilling of the law must display a “righteousness” (there’s that word again – a congruence with God) that exceeds that of the Scribes and the Pharisees. These were the professional legalists that sought to do the law to the maximum.

Here are some examples:

· One the commandment about murder – Jesus takes the commandment out of the range of simply “doing” and presses it into the range of righteousness that exceeds even not murdering someone. Jesus discusses getting angry with someone as a violation of the commandment; of insulting someone as a violation of the commandment; of calling someone a foot as a violation of the commandment. Far beyond the realm of doing, these attributes are actions that take place in the thought and feelings realm where there is not control. At best, in these areas we can only retract that thought or the word that came flying out reactively. God monitors thought, words, and deeds.

· One the commandment about adultery – even lust and thoughts come under judgment as breaches of the commandment.

· On divorce which was permitted under Jewish law – Jesus points out that breaking the covenant has divine ramifications.

· On swearing – once again, swearing is permitted in the law; Jesus brings reflection upon oath taking and says that it is unnecessary. A disciple should be able to be taken at his/her word.

· On the matter of justice – the law provides for an eye for an eye. Jesus reflects a kind of righteousness that doesn’t seek repayment at all. If someone steals you cloak, give you coat as well; if someone slaps your face, look them in the eye as let them have another shot face to face. This is the reflection of the life that Jesus lived. He did not fight his accusers. He did not seek retaliation upon those who crucified him but went where they led him and accepted their punishment for the sake of others.

· On enemies – Jesus reflected the need to love the enemy and to pray for the enemy.

The rationale behind Jesus’ teaching is one of God being in charge absolutely. God does not treat the righteous and the unrighteous differently. God provides rain and sun shine for the evil as well as the good. His teaching is, in fact, a teaching about exceeding the minimum. It’s easy to love those who love you; it’s easy greet those who are friendly and accepting of you. Yet, God’s righteousness is reflected in the disciples who love those who hate; and in those who greet those who don’t like us. God’s goal is perfection. “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” This is Jesus’ reflection upon the holiness code’s injunction to, “Be holy, and I the Lord your God am holy.” Leviticus 11:44.

The state of blessedness connected with the Kingdom of Heaven, in the last analysis is not about the doing of the law. It is not about anything that can be attained on our own, but a state that comes to us from God. It is the state of those who have reached the final destination in the presence of God; or those whom Jesus has reached this side of the grave.

The Rev. Dr. Kipp W. Zimmermann

Thursday, January 12, 2006