Q&A 44: How should we in the church view the Sermon on the Mount..How do we...
Craig Johnson · Nov 14, 2010
Questions & Answers, No. 45
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/49261731263252

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Alright, so today's question is, how should we in the church view the Sermon on the Mount, including Jesus' statement, I never knew you, and the four Gospels? How do we know what's for us in the church and what's for the Jews? So this is a pretty big topic, the Sermon on the Mount. So we're just going to hit some highlights. And these were taken from the notes from the Sermon on the Mount series. It goes quite a bit more in depth. So you can find that on the Holly Hills website or ask someone. We can get it for you.

The Sermon on the Mount. It's in Matthew chapter 5 through 7 and it's one of the most written about and talked about passages in all of Scripture. What has become known as the Lord's Prayer from the Sermon on the Mount is recited in unison at least weekly in many church services worldwide. But in baffling contrast, the Sermon on the Mount is also one of the most misunderstood passages in all of Scripture. whole denomination set aside principal teachings within it, even as I recite other parts of it with great regularity." I think that was definitely my experience in church's past. Some parts were explained, other parts were ignored.

So we're going to look at the context here from the book of Matthew. The perspective of the book of Matthew is Jewish, specifically in the Judaism of Israel in the first half of the first century A.D. Matthew is Jewish and so was his audience. He wrote the gospel about 40 to 55 A.D. and the chart that we see there, it shows the target audience for each of the gospels. Matthew was addressed to the Jews. And then we can see that basically everyone is covered when you look at the whole Gospels.

Christ gave the Sermon on the Mount in the first year of his three-year earthly ministry, and the Jews had been under Roman rule since 63 AD, so they'd been under the hand of Rome. The Jews, they had a prominent view that Messiah ben David would drive out the Romans and they would establish the earthly kingdom. And this idea was ingrained. Even those who followed Jesus, they had this idea ingrained in them as Jews that they were looking for a conquering king to throw out the Romans.

I'm sorry? And I had never seen a place like that where Matthew was to the Jews. Mark was to Romans and Greeks. Do you have any comments on that? Well, that came from the question, please. Sure. I can repeat this. He was asking, the chart that you see there, it shows the gospel name and the author of those gospels.

Matthew was addressed to the Jews, Mark to the Romans, Luke to the Greeks, and John to all. And I guess the question is, if you weren't familiar with the people that were... I had these two Jews, my grandpa used to go with me. Luke was a Greek, but I've never seen him put down a friend like that. I know Luke wasn't a Jew. And then in John, I know that there are passages that cover each group. where John addresses the Jews specifically, and then in another part he'll address believers. So that would be Gentiles. Do you have any insight, Vern? Do you have any other details on that?

Well, for example, with Matthew, Matthew explicitly and make sure that the passages focus on Jewish questions Matthew is the one where chapter 10 Jesus sends the disciples out two by two and tells them go only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and the other gospels don't say that chapter 15 In Mark, which is the shortest of the four Gospels, Mark keeps saying immediately, and that's because the Romans were into getting things done. They wanted accomplishment, so it moves quickly. In Luke, you're right, And he focuses particularly on the Greek viewpoint on things. John, one of the reasons he addresses to all is because he states his purpose towards the end of the gospel, right?

These are written so that you might what? Believe. Right? And that's an open invitation to everyone to believe. So anyway, quick summary. So back to point three, Messiah ben David. It seemed that... what the Jews seemed to ignore was that there was a Messiah ben Joseph and this was the Messiah ben Joseph and Messiah ben David were actually one person but Messiah ben Joseph was a suffering Savior and it was also understood that being of Jewish descent was sufficient to enter the kingdom So if we look down on the bottom of page one, the religious and political influences of the time in Israel, we're going to be looking at the Pharisees.

They were the Jewish religious heroes. They served as missionaries for Judaism. The Sadducees, they centered around Jerusalem and temple activity. And the scribes, they were writers by occupation, but they were connected with the Pharisees. So, page two.

Jesus taught the Jews of the reign of the Messiah in the coming kingdom. He taught it with more clarity and authority than the rabbis. And his message was to Jews alone. So the first three groups on that last list we looked at, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes, they would not, someone would not become a rabbi unless they studied as a disciple under a rabbi. So with Jesus teaching with clarity and authority, and he was even called a rabbi at times, he never studied under a rabbi himself.

So this was a point of astonishment and amazement when he spoke with authority from the Old Testament. He knew the Old Testament. Matthew 7, 28 through 29. When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one having authority and not as their scribes. something that It speaks of the scribes there.

Something the scribes would do is they would leave tension in their teaching. Because they were writers by occupation, they would refer to other rabbis. This rabbi said this. This rabbi said this. And they didn't always line up. And so there was tension left. And Jesus spoke with authority. And that's why they say, and not as their scribes.

You can imagine all the other rabbis, they like to leave people with, you know, I'll quote this guy and I'll quote that guy. And then leave you with this quandary. And they like to just Jesus said, you've heard this? I tell you, it's this way. And he just, that's it. So people were shocked. The middle of page two there.

Jesus was offering the kingdom to the Jews by offering himself. The main issue of the gospel of the kingdom was that the king was to be accepted for entry. So how is this different from just being of Jewish descent? There was a choice to be made. There was something that had to be done. You couldn't just be a Jew and enter the kingdom.

In Matthew 4.23, Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. And this is just before the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount starts in Matthew 5, and this is 4.23.

And then after the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 9.35, Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

So who is Jesus going to? the Jews. And where was he going to the Jews? Galilee. And their synagogues directly to where they taught. So clearly his message was to the Jews. It was both before and after the Sermon on the Mount. I'm not sure. The Samaritans were partially Jewish, right? Half-Jews? But they would walk around Samaria, the Jews would, to avoid Samaria. reasons why John is directed to all. It's because John is the one gospel that reports that Jesus went to the Samaritans. Did you hear that Marilyn? John addresses, it's the one gospel that addresses.

In addressing the law, he did. Initially, the beginning of his ministry was to the Jews. His disciples were Jews. Is this to say in the context of the Sermon on the Mount, you're just saying that the Sermon on the Mount was addressed to the Jewish nation because before and after it says he was going into their synagogue and teaching them? Right. So it's just in the context in relation to the Sermon on the Mount? Correct.

But even when you look at the Samaritan exception, It's because they were part Jewish. They relied on, like the Sadducees, they relied on the first five books of Moses. So it was a questionable but at least partly Jewish context with the Samaritans. So in Matthew 15, 24, it's about almost the bottom of page two, but he answered and said, I was sent only to the lost house, the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

In general, we find that the Sermon on the Mount was spoken by the coming earthly kingdom's rightful king to the Jewish people who were disciples of the rightful king of the coming kingdom with a view to their manner of living until the kingdom and being qualified to enter and to enable them to pass along the same gospel of the kingdom to others as and when Jesus authorized them to do so. page five, or three, I'm sorry. So as we look at the Sermon on the Mount, we'll find that it's, on one hand, fitting to the exclusively Jewish nature of the audience, but at the same time shocking to hear, because the way he taught was different from the scribes and Pharisees.

He taught with clarity and authority. The content of what he taught in correcting the then current errors was startling. The Jews taught many, basically added onto the law many other laws so they could keep the original law. And so there are a lot of errors. There are a lot of human tradition built in.

The repent in order to qualify for entry into the kingdom message was stunning. So you couldn't be a Jewish descendant. You had to repent in order to qualify for entry. Part of the thing is all my life and most Christians and try to do this, and it's so ingrained in him. The idea that he really started out just talking to Jews hurts your head. When I first heard that when I came to this church, I'm thinking, woo-wee!

But I now understand it, but it is, it is a, you know, you think Jesus came for everybody, and it's just as a pillow at first, Jesus taught correctly the Old Testament teachings. So as he taught the Sermon on the Mount, he founded what he said solidly on what God had revealed to the Jews in the Old Testament. So there was a lot of fogginess, apparently. The Jews didn't totally have it right. Jesus was going back to the Old Testament. And he was correcting a number of errors. And the centuries of accumulated Jewish tradition were stripped away. So the Sermon on the Mount brought the Old Testament teachings forward.

In Matthew 5.21 it says, you have heard that the ancients were told, and it goes on in Matthew 5.27, you have heard that it was said. So in doing this, Jesus He would say, you have heard that it was said and then he would follow that by a statement of what the Jews taught as far as the law. And then he would correct the traditional teaching with a contrasting statement after that by saying, but I say to you, In making these corrections, Jesus underscored the continuing applicability of the law to his Jewish listeners, and the depth of heart and attitude with which the law of Moses should be understood. You know, the bottom of the first page has all the bullets for the different groups. And a lot of what Jesus did was to go around and say, hey, this group teaches this, and this group teaches this.

But that's not what the law of Moses says. And it says this, you know, and so he stripped away a lot of this stuff. Like the Essenes, where Jesus points to them, the Essenes actually taught you, you're supposed to hate your enemies. Well, that's not what the Bible says, you know. So he corrected it.

And he was underscoring the anticipation of the coming earthly kingdom. So Jesus came to fulfill the law in Matthew 5, 17-19. Do not think that I come to abolish the law or the prophets. I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the law until all is accomplished.

Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. So built into these verses are figures of speech, Jewish figures of speech that Jesus used. Page four, top of page four.

To abolish the law of Moses was to violate it. To annul any part of the law of Moses was to misinterpret it. to fulfill was to preserve and sustain the law by interpreting it properly. So after verses 17 through 19, Jesus proceeds to correct the teachings and practices of the Jews so that the law is properly interpreted, kept rather than violated. And therefore what the law said originally, Jesus preserved and sustained so that the law of Moses would be taught and kept properly.

So taking what the Essenes said and scraping that away, he got down to the heart of what the law really said. So is the church under the law. However, it is clear that believers are not under the law of modus or any principle of the law, and have been separated from the law, having died to the law, and are to live under the principle of grace.

Romans 6.14 says, For you are not under law, but under grace. So what applies to us in the church?

We can say that Jesus was going specifically to the Jews, but there was a view, or how do I say it? He had in mind that the Jews would share the gospel of the kingdom with all people. even though the Sermon on the Mount was directed to them, to the Jews, for life coming up to the kingdom and kingdom life. But we can draw some things from it that is beneficial for us. In 2 Timothy 3, 16-17, All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be adequately equipped for every good work. So we've been presenting the Shemnon to Mount as directed to the Jews in keeping with the anticipation of the coming kingdom. We don't want to say that the Sermon on the Mount has nothing for us in the church, but there's a number of ways that it has direct application to believers in the church, in the body of Christ.

If you look at the bottom, the bullet points, the character of God is always the same and God does not lie or change his mind. God is always the creator and everything else has a creature relationship to him. I have a question. Let's say for example the character of God is always the same and God does not lie or change his mind.

There are Old Testament references and there are New Testament references even including those that are clearly directed to the church. significance of that? Did everybody hear that question? What's the significance of the reference, the scripture references of these bullet points? The character of God. There's Old Testament references as well as New Testament.

Well, God doesn't change. The message, I think, the message of faith, of salvation by faith, has always been the same. That's one reason. And that's expressed through the whole Bible. And God's character doesn't change. It's expressed through the Jews. of the Old Testament and the New Testament to us. Does that answer your question? But yeah, it's a good point. It's something to think about.

The passage in Hebrews talks about thou, Lord, and the day ending has laid the foundation of the earth. It's the same. It's the same God. It's the same God of Abraham. It's the same God. So God is always the creator. Point three. Once having fallen, all those in Adam have the same nature. That means Jews and Gentiles. Salvation for all those in Adam is always by faith in God's provision. Can I ask a question? Yes.

In Galatians 3 where it talks about the law as a tutor to bring us to Christ, there are some who, I guess I have a question about that, because there are some who teach that Paul is saying, you know, he's saying we the Jews as a tutor bring the Jews to Christ. will point out that, well, the law shows us our sin. And so it's a tutor to show us that we need Christ, the Savior, rather than to a Gentile. I mean, how do you interpret that? I mean, how?

I'm just curious. I mean, I know there's the Mosaic law, and then there's the law of principle, which would be the law of principle in general. The Gentiles have the law written on their hearts just by their conscience. So I mean, how do you interpret Galatians 3 and let it out? Paul tells them.

I mean, obviously, he's addressing people who are Judaizing. Galatian believers and saying you need to be circumcised, you need to do all this in addition to, you know, just the grace by, you know, believing the gospel by faith and even their walk of faith. But I mean, how do you, I'm just curious, like in Galatians 3, I mean, is the law, I mean, do we see the law, like if someone were to read Matthew, because like when I first read Matthew, I was Is it true that... I mean, I'm not Jewish, so I'm going to be saying... When we look at Galatians 3, what is he referring to? I read one commentary where they're saying that...

I don't know who it was, but they're saying that when Paul says, you know, the law is a tutor to bring us to Christ, he's actually referring to himself as a Jew. Saying, you know, the law was for us Jews, it was a tutor to bring us to Jesus Christ. I'm just kind of confused on that. I mean, is it truly a tutor for everyone?

I would think so. By the law and his knowledge of sin. Right. And who can follow the law? Even the Jews. Paul said he was, I don't know, what was he referred to as? I mean, when he was talking about himself, about the law, He wouldn't know which company it was unless the law said do not come in. That's all you take is just one. Right? He said just try to follow one. That's all it takes.

And I realized I'm doomed. I was told basically that I was wrong. But when I first read the Bible and reading Matthew, I mean, honestly, like I read that. And it was like, I'm undone. I mean, I can't do any of this. I'm totally done. I mean, I can't stand. And I saw my need.

I was told that's not right because I'm a Gentile. Well, no. No. I mean, it's kind of difficult to divide the word, I think. I made this comment, and everyone got really quiet. Like, well, that's not how you got to see it. But I'm saying I saw my sin. And isn't that sort of the same concept even for the person who is not Jewish, it's a moral standard that says, you know, this is sin, this is wrong.

But I mean, isn't the law a reflection of the character of God, right? I mean, in a way, and it reveals to us His character, and that's why Paul calls it holy. I mean, it's holy because it reveals His character, even though we can't, in our flesh, obviously we can't do any of it. And to break one law, you're breaking the whole thing.

So Galatians 3 then, I mean I'm correct in thinking that that was, I mean when I read Matthew, it's convicted, I need a savior. Isn't that what he's talking about, Galatians? I don't understand. Because I always thought that. My God, Galatians. I remember thinking, oh, yeah. Who's he writing to? Most of the believers in Galatia were Gentiles.

Right. But Christ also said he came to fulfill the law. So he fulfilled the law. Yeah. And he made a place for that. So that kind of put us in a place where And he's the only one that could fulfill it. Who can fulfill it as a human? We're all flawed. I understand all of that. It was just, like I said, I made this comment. And it was like, well, you've misinterpreted Matthew. That was my understanding. And like I said, it doesn't really matter.

But there are some commentators who say that, and I don't know if it's DeHaan or Al McLean, but someone, because I was reading it the other day, and I think it is Mark DeHaan, or someone who, or I don't know, it's one of those two. They say that when Paul said in Galatians that the walls of Tiberius bring us to Christ, he's saying we, he's talking about, he's telling the Gentiles, hey, this was for us, the Jews. But was Paul was no longer a Jew. I mean, he was technically the only the Jews that are no longer under a tutor.

I know that's the principle of what you make. The principle is wider than that. I just want to make sure I said that. And it was the response was, well, I can't be like I said, it doesn't happen. In fact, it doesn't matter. Understand. Thank you. Can I go back to page three? Yes. Matthew five. The part that is confusing to me is how bad Jesus is. It's not a job. It'll change the law. And so I do. system is that deep yogurt, basically. Yeah.

We teach the law and politics is the law. So, so that we're because we're not following it to every jot and tittle. Is that as believers saying that the law is in place and if someone tells you, of the law will never, never end. And if you're one of the least of these, if you don't believe that it continues on. So there's now what is he talking to?

You know, neither is circumcision, you know, being under the law, anything, or uncircumcision, but a new creation. And those who will walk by this rule, that's our rule, not the rule of the law of the Old Testament, but the rule of the new creation being led by the spirit of Christ. You know, that's where we find peace and mercy. So...

That's the whole mind of it, where I didn't realize there was that Jewish initial preaching for the Jews. There was a new one for the Gentiles in the church. And what was Jesus trying to bring the Jews back to? It was the heart of the law. the person Christ, it was bringing them back to himself, an acceptance of him.

So, and they just let the law get in the way and just added on to it and lost sight of the heart of the law. Can I ask you a question about that too? I was reading that the other day, and I was wondering about that, where he does say, not one John or Jehovah will pass away, or the law will basically withhold all the effects until the end of time. Can't that also be from the perspective that God is not done with Israel yet, and they still don't know their Messiah, and so the law is going to be in effect until all things are fulfilled in it? for Israel? I mean, not for us, the church, but... Well, what was the... I know he's speaking to Jews, and I know it was pre-Cross, and they were still in a dispensation of the law. So, I mean... And what was he asking them to... I guess to look at the law as a form of lifestyle? until and in and during the kingdom, the earthly kingdom. And during that time they'll have the law written on their hearts in the earthly kingdom.

But as far as like, when you said, to whoever is in and out of one of these commandments, it's just going to be the same. But when he says, until heaven and earth have been made, I guess I really had a problem with that, like understanding why he would say that. I mean, seeing that we're not under a wall today in the church. And I mean, he says, until heaven and earth pass away. And so I was thinking, well, maybe he meant, or maybe that's pertaining to the fact that until all is accomplished for Israel, I mean, I don't know. I mean, you know what I'm saying? Right. It sounds like... I don't know the answer. If you look at it, who is he talking to? He's talking implicitly to the Jews. No question about it. He's talking to the Jews.

Until all is accomplished. Why is it important until all is accomplished? This is a law that is in place for the Jews. all the way to the very end. And even under the millennial reign, when Christ reigns as king, the Jews will be under the law. Yes, they will fulfill the law down to every jot and tittle.

The church is a deliberate to the church. Not that we can't learn from it, we should. But it's not directed to us. Otherwise, we'd better be burning our lands, and we'd better be slaughtering lambs here, and we'd better not be biting into apples at work.

Has anyone here ever asked a contemporary Jewish person what do they depend on for salvation today? They depend on works. What they've done is they've basically taken back in the Old Testament. I desire mercy, not sacrifice. And so now contemporary Jews today do all these good works. And each day at Atonement Day, they look at their past year and try to make a Yom Kippur. They'll go through the past year and see if all their good works had outweighed their bad works. And so they believe that now that sacrifice is a lot, they have to show mercy.

And Jewish people, I mean, I grew up in a Jewish community. They're some of the most charitable people you will ever meet. I mean, we were very poor growing up. And people in a church that give us things, I was clothed by Jews and they gave us food and did all these things for us.

I mean, they're supposed to, and they do it. I mean, because they think those good works are going to get them there. I mean, yeah, that's how they look at that today. Do they also still think that because they're Jewish, that they get to talk to the Kingdom, just because they're of Jewish descent? Do they still believe that? Yeah, I'm sure they do. That was an idea that they came up with themselves. Dissent was sufficient. I'm sure it's prevalent. Alright. I lost my spot. No, no, it was good. Thanks for the input. Salvation for all those in Adam is always by faith in God's provision. There's some references there. Page five.

The earth that we walk is cursed until the time when all things are restored. Though Israel has a different relationship to the kingdom that Christ spoke of in the Sermon on the Mount than we do, we also have a place in a similar looking forward time perspective on the coming kingdom. So we're looking forward to the kingdom as well. And it's the millennial kingdom on earth. Like Israel, the entrance into the kingdom is not on the basis of something earthly, but is spiritual.

So getting back to the heart of the law, considering who Christ was, While Israel was then under the principle of the law, and we in the church are under the principle of grace, we are going to find that the ethics, morals, and even some of the spiritual principles conveyed in the Sermon on the Mount have a lot in common with what is revealed for church-age believers in the New Testament epistles. Why? Because God does not change. Is there any encouragement, for example, to simply repeat prayers again and again in the Sermon on the Mount or the Epistles? Is there not encouragement to forgive in both the Sermon on the Mount and the Epistles?

Something that we have to consider is, well, for the Jews, there was a certain They had to follow the law. They had to perform a certain way in order to be blessed or cursed. Something that we have in the church is we're already blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. So because we are blessed, we can live a certain way. And so that's why we can learn these things from the Sermon on the Mount. As far as ethics and morals, these are things that we can live out in our daily lives because of who we are in Christ.

So the love of Moses. would take the Jews back to the original content of the Law of Moses. He stripped away various traditions and developments that changed the original content and original intent of the Law of Moses. It was a law that started at the heart level. It wasn't just external compliance. Jesus made clear that the original intent of the Law of Moses was exactly what God had in mind for the Jews and that God intended it to start from the heart. I think if you think about it, Jesus pointed back to the Law of Moses and then He drove it to a heart level.

It's not just if you externally commit adultery, but if you commit adultery in your heart. And that was part of what stung him. Because their thought was, well, as long as it's all okay on the outside, I'm fine. And he said, nope. You've got to comply from the heart.

And that just That's a part of what makes us realize that the law is not simply something superficial, but if we really take it to heart, we realize there's no possible way for us to fulfill. The culture had come to see that the scribes and the Pharisees, they were the cultural heroes of the time, were the ones who had the lot of Moses down pat. Most people saw these men as exemplary. Jesus saw them as otherwise.

A new concept for the Jews was, will I be qualified to enter the kingdom Matthew 7, 21-23 Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. But he who does the will of my Father, who is in heaven, will enter. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you.

Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. So we could say that these people saying, Lord, Lord, and this is in Matthew 7, so it's directed to the Jews. These are the ones, the exemplary men, the ones that followed the law. They just didn't get it. And they didn't know the Lord.

So the Jews were to return to the heart of what Christ was telling them about the law. And to consider Christ offering himself for entry into the kingdom. And the Sermon on the Mount was offering a pattern of lifestyle until it would be realized in the kingdom. So do we have to consider who Christ is as believers, as the body, the church?

And we're under grace, we're not under law, but we still have to get to the heart of Christ's message about Himself. And under grace, we can live in a way that is true of who we already are in Christ. we are already blessed so that we can live in a way that's pleasing to God. It's like he's so clear that we're not under the law. I mean, it's crystal clear that we're not. Jesus is not a good discernible man.

He's got thousands of people listening to him. He says, whosoever in a way you can I believe it. I believe it. But I honestly do believe that it's true that it is. It has been confusing to me. Everything you say is correct. But I know it's not. All right, I think we're over time.

Let's pray. Father, thank you for your words. We just pray that it'll sink in, that we'll learn more about you through it. And we just thank you for your grace. And thank you for Christ. that we don't have to fulfill the law because we have the person of Christ who did that, that we trust in. Thank you for that. In Jesus' name, Amen.