03.13. Sermon on the Mount

Sermon on the Mount When people accept Jesus as the promised Saviour, they enter his kingdom and come under his rule. But his kingdom is not governed by a system of laws such as those that formerly operated in Israel. InChrist’s kingdom, behaviour is modelled on the character of the king himself, Jesus Christ. He wants his character to be reproduced in his followers. The collection of Jesus’ teachings called the Sermon on the Mount deals with the attitudes and behaviour of those who have placed themselves under the lordship of Christ. It is not a plan to reform society by rewriting a nation’s legislation, but a set of teachings to show the followers of Jesus the sort of life he requires of them.

Critics might complain that the Sermon on the Mount has not changed the world, but the reason is that the world has not accepted it. It cannot be judged a failure if it has not even been accepted. On the other hand, where it has been accepted, namely, in the lives of Jesus’ followers, it has transformed those lives. Once people come into union with Jesus Christ, they become ‘new people’. Jesus begins to transform them, and they find that his teachings are practical and his purposes attainable.¹

Laws can control outward actions, but Jesus wants to control the heart. Laws might discourage wrong behaviour, but Jesus wants to remove wrong attitudes. When he controls the heart, right behaviour follows.² This does not mean that Jesus was opposed to the law of Moses. The law was given for a purpose, but that purpose was not to provide a way of acceptance with God. The righteousness God demands cannot be achieved by keeping rules and regulations. It comes from God’s grace in response to repentance and faith, and is developed through submission to Jesus.³ 1. Matthew 5:48; Matthew 6:33; Matthew 7:24; cf. 2 Corinthians 5:17 2. Matthew 5:21-22; Matthew 5:27-28; Matthew 5:33-39; Matthew 5:43-48 3. Matthew 5:20; Romans 1:17; Romans 3:21-22; Romans 3:28

Sea of Galilee from Mount of the Beatitudes