Sermon on the Mount: Listening to God
The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus’ famous sermon, from which we get many of the principles, guidelines and examples of what it means to live a Christian life. This is where the Beatitudes come from as well as The Lord’s Prayer. It is an extremely important section of scripture, and we are going to take the next few months to go over it and see how we can apply it to our lives today.
So, before we jump in, let’s set the stage. Jesus had just begun His public ministry. He was traveling all around the area, teaching, healing, performing miracles and displaying wisdom. He had just called His apostles, those twelve who were closest to Him, who traveled with Him and ministered with Him and learned from Him. He was gaining notoriety and fame, and as such, a huge crowd of people were beginning to follow Him, to see what He was going to do and hear what He was going to say. They didn’t have Instagram or TikTok during that time, but if they did, Jesus’ follower count would have been skyrocketing, and every one of His videos would be going viral.
Matthew 4:23-25
“And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.”
Jesus recognized all of this and so, “Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.” – Matthew 5:1
This was not an attempt to get away or escape the crowds. Rather, He was positioning Himself to teach them all something. During this time, teachers would often give lessons while sitting, rather than standing at a podium like we are used to today. Jesus elevated Himself on the mountain so that people could see and hear Him, and then He sat “And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:” – Matthew 5:2
Here’s the thing, when Jesus spoke, people listened, at least initially, and to most of what He said. He had authority without overt strength and power. He wasn’t some military or political leader, but what He had to say was important, and people came to Him. He didn’t have to do any clever marketing tricks to make Himself stand out or convince people that they should follow Him. We actually see quite the opposite in Jesus’ life. He simply lived and spoke the truth. He acted on Truth, unashamedly and unapologetically. He did what was right. He said what was right. He was loving and compassionate when the time called for it and He was harsh and judgmental when the time called for it. He had no smoke and mirrors, no Photoshop, no agent, no editor, no one to create and spin His image to increase His likability and make His message more palatable to the masses. He was genuine. He had integrity. People were drawn to Him.
I think that, in some ways, we’ve lost sight of this a bit today. Jesus is enough. His Word is enough. His Truth is enough. We don’t need to wrap it up in giveaways and slick social media accounts and funny and engaging Bible Studies and sermons and LED screens and billboards and professional musicians and marketing campaigns with TV commercials. I’m not saying that any of those things are inherently bad, or even bad at all, but when we start to think that we need to have them all to “convince” people to follow Jesus there’s an issue. I can’t convince you to love Jesus. I can’t convince you to surrender to His leadership in your life. I can show compelling evidence for the existence of God or the veracity of the Bible, I may be able to convince you that God is real and that He loves you and that Jesus died for you and rose from the dead to give you salvation, but I can’t convince you to be a Christian, to follow Christ. That is something that comes when you make a decision based on Jesus drawing you to Himself. Jesus is enough. He is worthy of praise and devotion, and we see that throughout His ministry, but specifically here, at the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus sat down to speak, to teach, and people came to Him.
John 6:44-45 says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—”
So, we see here an example of what we should model in our lives. No, we don’t physically have Jesus sitting here across from us, speaking audible words for us to gather around and listen to and learn, but that doesn’t mean that He isn’t with us, and He isn’t still teaching us and speaking to us.
John 10:25-30
“Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”
Here, at the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is providing an “Owner’s Manual” for life. He’s giving you all the tips and tricks and showing you what a life looks like that is functioning in the way it was designed to, that is following God.
For most video games today, there are tutorials and gameplay videos, that show you the controls and reveal tips and tricks and secrets and how to’s. Sometimes they make the game easier, or help you get past a place that you’ve been stuck on, or possibly reveal something brand new about the game that you had no idea about. These are not expansion packs that add something onto the game that wasn’t previously there, but rather instructions for how to access everything that is already available to you. They show you what a game, fully played, looks like. That’s basically what is happening here. Jesus sits down to teach, and people are drawn to Him because He is authentic and His words are Truth. He starts to lay out the “secrets” of living a full and abundant life. Some of the things He is about to say make perfect logical sense to almost anyone. Some of them seem a bit counterintuitive, but put together, they offer a blueprint for a full and abundant life, lived in accordance with God’s design and following Him.
Next week we will start to look at the Beatitudes, all of the “Blessed are…” verses, but I want to leave you with one verse to prepare for that and to think about as you go throughout your week.
Luke 11:28
“But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
Listen to God this week. Draw near to Him. Learn from Him. Apply it to your life.
So, before we jump in, let’s set the stage. Jesus had just begun His public ministry. He was traveling all around the area, teaching, healing, performing miracles and displaying wisdom. He had just called His apostles, those twelve who were closest to Him, who traveled with Him and ministered with Him and learned from Him. He was gaining notoriety and fame, and as such, a huge crowd of people were beginning to follow Him, to see what He was going to do and hear what He was going to say. They didn’t have Instagram or TikTok during that time, but if they did, Jesus’ follower count would have been skyrocketing, and every one of His videos would be going viral.
Matthew 4:23-25
“And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.”
Jesus recognized all of this and so, “Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.” – Matthew 5:1
This was not an attempt to get away or escape the crowds. Rather, He was positioning Himself to teach them all something. During this time, teachers would often give lessons while sitting, rather than standing at a podium like we are used to today. Jesus elevated Himself on the mountain so that people could see and hear Him, and then He sat “And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:” – Matthew 5:2
Here’s the thing, when Jesus spoke, people listened, at least initially, and to most of what He said. He had authority without overt strength and power. He wasn’t some military or political leader, but what He had to say was important, and people came to Him. He didn’t have to do any clever marketing tricks to make Himself stand out or convince people that they should follow Him. We actually see quite the opposite in Jesus’ life. He simply lived and spoke the truth. He acted on Truth, unashamedly and unapologetically. He did what was right. He said what was right. He was loving and compassionate when the time called for it and He was harsh and judgmental when the time called for it. He had no smoke and mirrors, no Photoshop, no agent, no editor, no one to create and spin His image to increase His likability and make His message more palatable to the masses. He was genuine. He had integrity. People were drawn to Him.
I think that, in some ways, we’ve lost sight of this a bit today. Jesus is enough. His Word is enough. His Truth is enough. We don’t need to wrap it up in giveaways and slick social media accounts and funny and engaging Bible Studies and sermons and LED screens and billboards and professional musicians and marketing campaigns with TV commercials. I’m not saying that any of those things are inherently bad, or even bad at all, but when we start to think that we need to have them all to “convince” people to follow Jesus there’s an issue. I can’t convince you to love Jesus. I can’t convince you to surrender to His leadership in your life. I can show compelling evidence for the existence of God or the veracity of the Bible, I may be able to convince you that God is real and that He loves you and that Jesus died for you and rose from the dead to give you salvation, but I can’t convince you to be a Christian, to follow Christ. That is something that comes when you make a decision based on Jesus drawing you to Himself. Jesus is enough. He is worthy of praise and devotion, and we see that throughout His ministry, but specifically here, at the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus sat down to speak, to teach, and people came to Him.
John 6:44-45 says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—”
So, we see here an example of what we should model in our lives. No, we don’t physically have Jesus sitting here across from us, speaking audible words for us to gather around and listen to and learn, but that doesn’t mean that He isn’t with us, and He isn’t still teaching us and speaking to us.
John 10:25-30
“Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”
Here, at the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is providing an “Owner’s Manual” for life. He’s giving you all the tips and tricks and showing you what a life looks like that is functioning in the way it was designed to, that is following God.
For most video games today, there are tutorials and gameplay videos, that show you the controls and reveal tips and tricks and secrets and how to’s. Sometimes they make the game easier, or help you get past a place that you’ve been stuck on, or possibly reveal something brand new about the game that you had no idea about. These are not expansion packs that add something onto the game that wasn’t previously there, but rather instructions for how to access everything that is already available to you. They show you what a game, fully played, looks like. That’s basically what is happening here. Jesus sits down to teach, and people are drawn to Him because He is authentic and His words are Truth. He starts to lay out the “secrets” of living a full and abundant life. Some of the things He is about to say make perfect logical sense to almost anyone. Some of them seem a bit counterintuitive, but put together, they offer a blueprint for a full and abundant life, lived in accordance with God’s design and following Him.
Next week we will start to look at the Beatitudes, all of the “Blessed are…” verses, but I want to leave you with one verse to prepare for that and to think about as you go throughout your week.
Luke 11:28
“But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
Listen to God this week. Draw near to Him. Learn from Him. Apply it to your life.
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