SPECIAL recap and thoughts on the Sermon on the Mount before today’s Reading in Matthew 8 (next blog post).

Read and Believe in Jesus.

“For I tell you, ‘unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven’.” Matthew 5:20.

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At first glance, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount seems like living a “good” life with all the blessings that follow. In fact, Jesus’ first words were “Blessed are…” Then He looks at the crowds and says, “You are the salt of the earth” and “You are the light of the world.” Later, He assures them that their Father knows all their needs and will supply them.

Jesus’ kingdom sounds pretty nice. Let’s all join!

But look deeper. Jesus says the “blessed ones” are only those who humble themselves, mourn for their sin, seek God and His righteousness, are merciful and peacemakers. And especially, they are ‘pure in heart‘.

Salt may be diluted with the dirt around it and become useless. Light can be hidden.

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HIS kingdom people must not only avoid murder, adultery, flippant divorce, and casual oaths. No, they must not be angry with a brother, or even call him a derogatory name. They must not look on a woman with lust in their hearts. They must hold marriage sacred, as well as the oaths they make. And Kingdom people must LOVE both their friends AND their enemies, even to the point of graciously praying for them.

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Jesus says they must be PERFECT, even as their heavenly Father is perfect. PERFECT!!!

They must not be like the Pharisees and “practice their righteousness before others.” NO! If they want to enter the kingdom of heaven, their righteousness must EXCEED that of the religious leaders who make a show of following the ‘letter’ of the law but miss its heart altogether.

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Those who desire to enter Jesus’ kingdom must have their treasures and their hearts in heaven. They must FIRST seek God and HIS righteousness.

They must not be hypocritical in their love and service to others; they must be humble.

They must be givers. They must trust God for everything. They must do only good to others. They must enter at the narrow gate and walk the hard way.

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Then Jesus cautions the people sternly. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.” “On that day, I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me.'”

From blessed to outcast. Why?

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This is the Gospel.

God is holy. He cannot look on sin. (Jesus was born of a virgin, was identified by God as “His Beloved Son, in whom He was well pleased,” and did not sin with any temptation the devil threw at Him.) Jesus is sinless, holy, and God.

But humans from the Garden of Eden are sinful. It’s our nature.

God pronounced a death sentence on sin, so we are doomed without a savior, because there is NO WAY we can be perfect. See Romans 5:23 (For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God).

God allowed Israel to substitute an animal for that death. If they killed a lamb, goat, pigeon, or bull and presented the blood to God, He would “overlook” their sin. The blood represented the creature’s life. But it was temporary.

God promised a Savior who would take away the sin of the world. That Savior was to be Jesus. He would be killed, like that sacrificial animal bearing our sins, and lifted up on a cross, there to be forsaken by God. Why? Because Jesus represented all the sin of every person who would believe on Him through the ages. HE, the sinless Lamb, became sin for us. (2 Cor. 5:21) And God looked away.

But God also ACCEPTED this sacrifice as the atonement for our sins. And He proved His pleasure in the work of His Son, Jesus, by raising Him from the dead and later welcoming Him back into Heaven and onto His throne.

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This is the Gospel. Holiness. Death. Faith. Atonement/forgiveness, Eternal Life.

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In studying John, we saw repeatedly that anyone who came to Jesus in faith would not be lost, and He would raise them up (resurrection) on the last day.

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Soooo, what has this to do with the Sermon on the Mount?

The sermon proves to Jesus’ followers that THEY cannot save themselves in any way.

The standard is PERFECTION; their righteousness had to be GREATER than the Pharisees’. Impossible to do by themselves. They needed a Savior. And they needed to BELIEVE in Him.

NEXT… we will see that the first thing Jesus does when He finishes the Sermon and comes down from the mount is highlight two individuals who exhibited FAITH.

Without FAITH, it is impossible to please God. Hebrews 11:6.

For by grace you have been saved through FAITH. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works. Ephesians 2:8-9.

For with the heart one BELIEVES and is justified… Romans 10:9a.

Therefore, since we have been justified by FAITH, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1.

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So, to sum up. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount showed Israel their sin and their hopelessness before a holy God. Then He would show Himself as “the Way.” (Nobody comes to God except through Jesus and His death.)

People could believe on Jesus before the cross. They would have to see their need as a hopeless sinner, and Jesus as the Way.

Later Jesus would tell them that He was the Good Shepherd and would “lay down His life for them.” He would also tell them that “No one TAKES my life. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back up again.”

And several times, Jesus told His close followers that in Jerusalem He would be tortured and killed, but He would be raised on the third day.

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Read and Believe in Jesus.

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