Mountainside Sermon – Matthew 5:1-12

I’ve heard some pretty amazing sermons in my life. I even studied one in American history, Jonathan Edward’s Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. Sermons have moved people to good and evil actions. Their power is obscured by the many boring and lifeless sermons we have heard. But never has a more powerful or world-changing sermon been preached than Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

   “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:1-12 ESV)

Though this teaching is directed at his disciples, everyone in the crowd is hearing this mountainside sermon.  Jesus begins with a startling series of statements.  The way into the kingdom, the way of the blessed, the ones who experience God’s joy and peace, is not for those who are sterling examples of righteousness as commonly considered, but for those who know they don’t deserve it.  

They are poor in spirit.  They recognize that they bring nothing of worth or merit with which to pay God.  He is not a God who takes payment.  His love is not tied to merit.  They mourn the consequences of their sin rather than trying to cover it up or pull themselves up by their own boot straps and as a result, God comforts them.  They don’t try to take the kingdom by force of will but are given it as an inheritance for their gentle submission to God’s agenda.  They don’t consider themselves righteous but as those starving for it and sitting at God’s table to receive it as a gift from a generous hand.

As a result, they are merciful to others who are also not sterling examples of righteousness but who are just as needy as they are and so they receive God’s mercy.  Their hearts are pure in their desire to know and love God and such purity will be rewarded with a glimpse of Him.  And they sow peace among others who have been granted this precious sonship.  Even when they are persecuted they feel blessed because this only gives more evidence that they have the kingdom as their reward, the world not being their hope of treasure but heaven only.

And so begins Jesus’ startling, basket-overturning sermon, in which he sets forth the pure teaching of God that has been so obscured by misinterpretation and traditions. I’m sorry critics, but if, as you say, Jesus didn’t even exist but was a concoction of hyper-religious people seeking a following, then they were unprecedented geniuses for devising a sermon with more insight into God and His will than anyone we have ever seen before. No, only the real Jesus, represented by these disciples as the Messiah, makes sense of these incredible teachings.