01.26. The Sermon on the Mount (34)
The Sermon on the Mount (34) The End
’And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine’ (Matthew 7:28). The sermon of the Lord has come to an end. Although his words were directed to his disciples in the first place (see Matthew 5:1), the crowd of listeners was much greater. Many had listened to the serious and clear teachings, and were astonished at them. We read of such astonishment on the part of the listeners at the doctrine of our Lord in Matthew 13:54; Matthew 22:33 etc. as well. It was different from what they were used to hearing from the Jewish scribes. His words were filled with authority, wisdom and grace (Mark 1:22; Mark 6:2; Luke 4:22).
Many are still impressed today by the words of the Sermon on the Mount but they think they can use them to lead mankind out of the misery and injustice of our world! How many there are who admire the human greatness of Jesus of Nazareth without accepting him, the Son of God, as Saviour and Lord in faith! Others are astonished at the uniqueness, greatness and literary value of the Bible without recognising it as the Word of God, which shows the way out of darkness (and distance from God) into his wonderful light!
’For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.’ (Matthew 7:29) The Lord Jesus spoke with His own, incontestable authority. His words were the words of God, and therefore sharper than any two-edged sword (compare with Hebrews 4:12). As Son of God he revealed the thoughts of God, but he also knew how the heart of man, into which his words pierced as a sword, would respond to them. In contrast the Jewish scribes relied on the authority of well-known Rabbis who had lived before them for all they taught. This is why their explanations were often lengthy and dry. Many of the schools of Jewish teaching from the Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes had grown up in the 400 years after the last prophets of the Old Testament. They disputed over basic questions but were often taken up with debates about trifling matters. It is difficult to follow the arguments of the scribes, but many a sermon of our own day is not much better.
Certainly there were those listening to the Lord who were astonished and yet remained in unbelief as their fathers did in Isaiah’s time. The prophet complains: ’Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?’ (Isaiah 53:1). But many must have left for their homes after this sermon with serious and deep thoughts about their lives because they had been touched in their innermost soul. The words of the Lord Jesus are words of eternal life (John 6:68) and those who follow them in faith will only find blessing.