Day 2: Matthew 5-7, The Sermon on the Mount
On Day 2, Jesus goes up a mountain and begins to teach people. This is the famous "Sermon on the Mount, of which we have heard snippets. ("Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" comes to mind.) But today we get to read the whole thing, in one sitting. How does this sermon strike you? (Be honest.)
It is no coincidence that Jesus go up the mountain to teach, for Matthew wants us to draw parallels between Jesus and Moses, his ancestor. Moses went up the mountain and received the Ten Commandments. From his mountain, Jesus also gives teachings, which seem to me to be upping the ante on the commandments Moses gave. "You have heard that it was written", "but I say to you...."
The Sermon begins, however, with some incredible statements about who is really blessed in this world. My translation calls them "Happy." "Happy are people who are hopeless, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Happy are people who grieve, because they will be made glad." Are these passages comforting or challenging to you?
Jesus goes on to compare those listening to salt and light. He doesn't tell them to BE salt or to BE light. He tells them that they already ARE these things. Now what are they going to do about it?
Afterwards he goes on to give teachings about the law, about loving our neighbors and even our enemies. He teaches about prayer, and fasting, and "giving to the poor", counseling his disciples to do it for God and our neighbor, and not to make a good impression on anyone else. He teaches about the futility of worry (one of the most comforting and challenging passages in the Bible for me (I am a worrier from WAY back).
He teaches about judging (or not judging, as the case may be), about taking those HUGE logs out to our own eye before we take itty bitty splinters out of other people's eyes. He encourages us to ask, to seek, to knock, and to judge a tree by nothing else but its fruit.
He ends his sermon with this brief parable of two people who built: one on rock and one on sand. Guess which house withstood the storms? (no really: guess!)
What do you think of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount? Is it comforting or challenging? Is it anything like other sermons you have heard? (Be honest!) How would you have reacted, if you had heard it, long ago, on a mountain?
It is no coincidence that Jesus go up the mountain to teach, for Matthew wants us to draw parallels between Jesus and Moses, his ancestor. Moses went up the mountain and received the Ten Commandments. From his mountain, Jesus also gives teachings, which seem to me to be upping the ante on the commandments Moses gave. "You have heard that it was written", "but I say to you...."
The Sermon begins, however, with some incredible statements about who is really blessed in this world. My translation calls them "Happy." "Happy are people who are hopeless, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Happy are people who grieve, because they will be made glad." Are these passages comforting or challenging to you?
Jesus goes on to compare those listening to salt and light. He doesn't tell them to BE salt or to BE light. He tells them that they already ARE these things. Now what are they going to do about it?
Afterwards he goes on to give teachings about the law, about loving our neighbors and even our enemies. He teaches about prayer, and fasting, and "giving to the poor", counseling his disciples to do it for God and our neighbor, and not to make a good impression on anyone else. He teaches about the futility of worry (one of the most comforting and challenging passages in the Bible for me (I am a worrier from WAY back).
He teaches about judging (or not judging, as the case may be), about taking those HUGE logs out to our own eye before we take itty bitty splinters out of other people's eyes. He encourages us to ask, to seek, to knock, and to judge a tree by nothing else but its fruit.
He ends his sermon with this brief parable of two people who built: one on rock and one on sand. Guess which house withstood the storms? (no really: guess!)
What do you think of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount? Is it comforting or challenging? Is it anything like other sermons you have heard? (Be honest!) How would you have reacted, if you had heard it, long ago, on a mountain?
The Sermon on the Mount is very straightforward. while it is full of Hope it is also sad to think that we must be at a low point in order to gain. it truly does make sense though considering you do have to be at a low point for us to fully appreciate the highs in our life and the reward that is to come. if I was present at the time of the sermon it would definitely strike Within Me much more deeper than it does today. it would be much more easier to be obedient and to have that Hope and Faith knowing that the Messiah was there in front of me. knowing that I'm the Salt and Light makes me more aware of how I treat others and of My overall temperament that I show to others. although it can be quite hard at times I think about this a lot as well as the principle of do unto others. the passages about worrying are very comforting but very hard for me as I deal with anxiety. overall I really appreciate these passages that I read and as I haven't read them in so a long it really lifted spirit.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to mention that I also enjoyed the passages on forgiveness, Treasures on Earth, being a slave of two masters, and judgment. all are very hard Concepts to live by. for me being a slave of two masters is hard because we have so many things that we do in a day. I know that the time I spend with God and reading the word is not as much time as I spend doing other things especially at the end of the day when I'm tired and just want to sit and watch Netflix! I also had a question about the passage that talks about tossing your pearls before pigs. is that teaching us to have discernment? what exactly does that mean?
ReplyDeleteNicc Made -- I think these are not just hard concepts but impossible (at least sometimes). I think then that the challenge is to rely on God. You are right that "tossing pearls before swine" has to do with discernment. I sometimes think that about arguments on facebook where people are just ratcheting up the rhetoric and there's a lot more heat than light. Is it worth my time to insert a reasonable point of view, or is that just "tossing my pearls before swine"? (a waste of time.)
ReplyDeleteYou know I never really thought about the concepts sometimes being impossible. that does make me feel better and now I understand what tossing Pearls Before Swine means. thank you for the modern Facebook analogy!
DeleteWhat I mean by "impossible" is that we might look at these and say, "I can't possibly do that!" and then say, "God help me!" Which is exactly the right stance to have.
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