Sermon on the Mount

[mindlight]

The Sermon on the Mount as in Matthew 5-7 is said to be the foundational teaching of the Kingdom. My Bible Group will be studying it over the next few weeks. I have some broad questions:

1) Is it an impossible ideal or is it achievable?
2) Is it the same as the sermon on the plains in Luke or a different talk.
3) Is this one sermon or many condensed by the Biblical author

I have some more specific questions:

1) Can a person have money and be blessed like the poor in spirit?
2) What does it mean to turn the other cheek today? How can that apply to a Christian with the responsibility of government?
3) Is Divorce never permitted after a person is married? Is adultery of the eyes and heart grounds for divorce?
4) Are oaths completely forbidden? Aren't oaths sometimes a useful aid to personal discipline.
5) What did Jesus mean about cutting off the part of ones body that leads one to sin? Is this metaphorical?
6) If we are not to worry about tommorrow - does that also mean we should not plan for it?
7) If we criticise a brother is that the same as calling him a fool?

 

[johnd]

The Sermon on the Mount as in Matthew 5-7 is said to be the foundational teaching of the Kingdom. My Bible Group will be studying it over the next few weeks. I have some broad questions:

1) Is it an impossible ideal or is it achievable?

It was to put away the foolish notion that a fallen human being could ever actually keep the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses was given to prove man's utter futility trying to save himself (Galatians 3:24-25). And by giving up on saving ourself / trying to be righteous enough, and seeking the higher righteousness of the Savior we uphold the Law as it was intended (Romans 3:31).

The Sermon on the Mount dealt 99.9% with traditional interpretations of the Sanhedrin (priests, pharisees, scribes, lawyers).

2) Is it the same as the sermon on the plains in Luke or a different talk.

No doubt Jesus repeated many of his teachings, my guess (and that's all it is) is that it is the body of the same sermon preached in two different locations. Note that there is not a verbatum parallel to them but striking similarity. No one preaches the same sermon exactly twice.

3) Is this one sermon or many condensed by the Biblical author

Both, as I recall are restrospective (bear in mind the Holy Spirit led them 2 Peter 1:20-21, John 14:26) accounts. Matthew was an eyewitness and Luke was doing investagational documentation for Paul's trial documents for his appeal to Cesar (which are essentially what we now refer to as the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts).

I have some more specific questions:

1) Can a person have money and be blessed like the poor in spirit?

The passaage does not read blessed in spirit are the poor but blessed are the poor in spirit. Poor folks can be as selfish as a rich person. And there are rich people who are genreous to a fault.

2) What does it mean to turn the other cheek today? How can that apply to a Christian with the responsibility of government?

Individuals cannot judge but the power of the sword is granted to governments. Turning the other cheek can also mean patience / tolerance / not giving up so easily on a soul.

3) Is Divorce never permitted after a person is married? Is adultery of the eyes and heart grounds for divorce?

Matthew 19 indicates it is, but it is not required.

4) Are oaths completely forbidden? Aren't oaths sometimes a useful aid to personal discipline.

Remember this is with regards to keeping the Law of Moses. If you for example took an oath to pay a mortgage but fell on hard times and lost the home to repossession, the Law of Moses says your vow was broken.

And the Law of Moses is only to prove we can't keep the Law of Moses ushering us to seek mercy and grace.

5) What did Jesus mean about cutting off the part of ones body that leads one to sin? Is this metaphorical?

Rabbinical irony. A method of speaking in such a way that the weight or gravity of the situation is conveyed.

For example: A one-eyed man would be king in a world of blind people.

6) If we are not to worry about tommorrow - does that also mean we should not plan for it?

"Be mindful of the future yet not at the expense of the here and now"
-- Qui Gon Gin, Jedi Master

7) If we criticise a brother is that the same as calling him a fool?

It can be. The point is that if you have not kept the whole Law perfectly from your very thoughts to off handed remarks to glimpses at the opposite sex, then you are guilty of breaking the Law. The religionists had tried to turn Judaism into a series of infractions and penalty sacrifices with higher and lower classes based on how self righteous a body was.

The points Jesus made was only to convict the self righteous that they had been self deceived. And they wanted to kill him the most or this one thing.

 

[mindlight]

Yes thanks for that - thats a good overall theme. The sermon was critical of the selfrighteousness of the Pharisees and in a sense explained the human aspiration for godly standards to be one requiring Gods grace and mercy to be possible. That there are not different grades of Christians but rather there is the reality that we are all sinners, all poor in spirit screaming for Gods grace in our lives. There are jewels we need to incorporate into our lives here and there is the challenge to our basic condition which should keep us all humble.