Sermon on the Mount

[hotcoffee]

Should we review the Sermon on the Mount.... it's lasted a few chapters and a lot of threads....

Jesus walked up on the top and sat down. Then He talked about ...

Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who are mourning, meek, hungry, thirsty, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and the persecuted.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you for His sake.

You are the salt and the light

Jesus didn't come to abolish the law but to fulfill it... [He didn't come here as a king to change all the laws to suit us... He came here to teach us how to live a good life]

Jesus told us to get along with one another, not to insult others or give them a reason to bring us to judgment [court]

He condemned adultery and divorce

He told us not to take oaths... because after all God sees and hears all that we say and do anyway so to swear an oath is redundant

He told us not to fight... if an evil person slaps us.... offer the other cheek.

He said to love our enemies.... after all it's easy to love our friends but loving our enemies sets us apart

He told us to give to the needy but don't make a big deal about it...

He told us to pray in quiet... and told us how a prayer should be structured..

He told us when we fast... don't make a spectacle out of it....

He said not to try to hoard a bunch of treasures here on earth.... our treasures are in Heaven

He told us not to worry.... if God takes care of the plants and the birds... He'll surely take care of us

He told us not to judge others....

He told us to ask and it will be given, seek and we'll find, and he told us to knock and the door would be opened....

He told us it isn't going to be easy to be a follower of Jesus....

He told us to watch out for false prophets or people who will distort the gospel... He used the fruit of a tree to show His point.... a good tree is known by the fruit it produces....

He told us that we should put His Words into practice because they would give us a good solid foundation to build on...

And when He was finished talking everyone knew that He knew what He was talking about....

[ItalianScallion (Premo)]

Some of these are good examples of how the Bible is written and why we MUST know how to read it or we'll come up with a VERY wrong understanding of it. Many see these as contradictions when, actually, they're not. They just have to be understood & explained properly so as to convey the true message to us.

Telling us to "turn the other cheek" makes it look like we should never defend ourselves but that isn't true. There is "a time for every purpose under Heaven" but they must all be done at the proper time. The same goes for judging and not judging...

Saying: "Honor your father & mother" (Exodus 20) but then saying to hate them (Luke 14), looks contradictory to some but it only needs the proper understanding to see that it isn't.

If we take praying in secret literally, we could never pray out loud or in a public setting.

[hotcoffee]

I've been thinking about the Sermon on the Mount.... Actually, the whole book of Matthew so far....

Jesus of Nazareth.... We said that being from Nazareth was almost a curse.... a poor carpenter's son.... from Nazareth.... of all places....

He had seen hunger, thirst, mourning, and sickness in His life. He had grown up in a very lowly town.

I'm sure since He had grown up in Nazareth, that place so despicable that it was known as a curse to live there, He had also seen misery, people taking their neighbors to court for debts.... and fighting.... lots of fighting...

Unlike God.... His human side had allowed Him to understand feelings of real sorrow and sadness....

So He walked up on a Mountain side, and said... "you know it's a blessing to come from such humble situations."

Jesus gave those people a glimpse of hope. That's why they followed Him, IMHO.... He gave them hope, He called them the salt of the earth and the light.... He gave them self respect....

How often do we hear good things about ourselves in this life? Some of the saddest people I have encountered in the last 62 years couldn't sit down and list three good things about themselves if their life depended on it.

Jesus gave us two good things to put on the list. We are valuable... we are the salt and the light of the world.... and if we really look into our hearts I think we will all see the third good thing.... we care about others... those are three very good characteristics.

Jesus didn't speak from the scrolls in the satchels on His clothes. He spoke from the heart. He knew the law of the kings and of the Father.... and He said the best way to live within the law is to be yourself, the salt of the earth, the light of the world, and care for one another....

John Kennedy is still quoted for saying "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."

Jesus said "you are the light of the world, don't hide that light under a bushel"

People were following Jesus because He made them feel better about themselves and their lives. It is a positive message.... one that we should be grateful for.

[ItalianScallion (Premo)]

Originally Posted by hotcoffee

I've been thinking about the Sermon on the Mount.... Actually, the whole book of Matthew so far.... People were following Jesus because He made them feel better about themselves and their lives. It is a positive message.... one that we should be grateful for.

True and He made a lot of enemies too but that was to be expected because of the nature of His teachings. The same thing happens today, for sure...