Hearing from the Master
An Introductory Understanding of The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 5:1-2, 48
Turn to Matthew 5. Beginning this new series, each week I will be giving you a memory verse. This week is an easy one, and I challenge you as families to keep each other accountable with these verses.
“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:48 (LSB)
And my single goal for this morning is that we will understand how this verse fits with the Sermon on the Mount, as I believe this is paramount to understanding the whole sermon. And as a prelude to the series I wish to share with you something that will help us in this understanding. When I first began my study of the Sermon on the Mount, one of the things that struck me immediately was the contrast of Christ’s sermon with the Book of Ecclesiastes. So, I tried to find something written on that topic or thought, which, to my surprise, I found absolutely nothing. But what I noticed with the Book of Ecclesiastes and the Sermon on the Mount were two contrasts and one similarity. …
The Sermon on the Mount and the Book of Ecclesiastes
- A Contrast of Preachers
The Book of Ecclesiastes was written by a preacher. This is given right at the beginning of the book (Eccl 1:1) “The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.” This, of course, was Solomon, King Solomon. The wise man who also had many struggles in life, but in many ways is likely looked upon by Jews as the most successful man in their history, when you consider things such as wealth, success, and safety from enemies. I mean, it was certainly in Solomon’s day that Israel was most powerful, a time when Israel was at their peak in possessing much of the territory that God had promised. Not all of it, but much of it. And it was only after Solomon’s time that Israel began to lose some of their strength and land. We too may look at various times in our history when we believe it may have been best to live as Canadians. We may look back at different periods when we feel that either God was most honoured or that it was a time of material blessing. And for Israel, that was likely the time of Solomon, with little threat from enemies and much physical prosperity. So, the Book of Ecclesiastes was written by this great preacher, King Solomon. Whereas, the contrast, the Sermon on the Mount was spoken by the greatest Preacher, Jesus Christ.
“Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. And He opened His mouth and began to teach them.”
Matthew 5:1-2a (LSB)
So, we have the contrast of preachers. The second thing I noticed was the contrast in the message by these two preachers.
- A Contrast in the Message
The Book of Ecclesiastes, right from the get-go, preaches a message of vanity. “‘Vanity of vanities,’ says the preacher” (1:2). And Solomon goes on to teach that in many ways life makes little sense, as he says things like (3:9) “What advantage is there to the worker from that in which he labors?” And sometimes we might look at life this way. That things come and go, time marches on, babies are born, and old folks die, and sometimes we win, and sometimes we lose. And the struggles we have with all the changes in life and maybe with the injustices in life. When things don’t really go the way we think they should or when the rich prosper or when the poor struggle. This is why Solomon begins the Book of Ecclesiastes this way, that everything, as he looks around in life, is vanity, or everything seems so meaningless. In other words, we come and go with no real purpose, and much of the things that turn out seem to turn out for the wrong. For example, you work so hard for something in life, and when you finally get it, it does not really mean as much as you thought it would. So, Solomon goes on in the book to cite examples of things which appear to have no purpose and concludes at times that life is not worth living.
Listen to some of what Solomon writes. “There is nothing better for a person [sounds a little skeptical] than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God” (2:24). He almost wants to blame God, suggesting that there is nothing else for man to do than enjoy his toil, which doesn’t always amount to much. So, we almost cringe to read the conclusion that Solomon comes to in chapter two.
“So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is vanity and striving after wind.”
Ecclesiastes 2:17 (LSB)
Solomon realizes that after all his toil in life to gain wealth, it is just left to someone else who may be very lazy. After being on holidays for eleven days and getting up in the morning and having a raspberry paczki (large doughnut), a couple of Pop-Tarts, a glass of iced tea, and then taking Ted for a walk, you can get a little lazy. And so, Solomon might think that leaving the wealth that he gained through hard work to someone like me might be a little meaningless. And so, he says again that all is vanity. So, much of the message of Solomon is that life should be this way, but it is not, or at least there are no guarantees that life will turn out right.
And yet in the Sermon on the Mount, the Preacher (capital “P”) does not really look at prosperity or perceived outcomes from a human point of view. For the second Preacher, His message is sort of upside-down in the world’s eyes. However, His message is not doubtful, for the things the Preacher states bring certain results. And again, He is not talking about legacy or amassing wealth or building an earthly empire; no, He sort of speaks about things that humans do not necessarily find themselves attracted to. For the second Preacher says things like, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are they that mourn, blessed are the lowly, blessed are those who are persecuted.” And though there will be trials, the results are things like a promised kingdom, comfort, inheritance, and satisfaction. So, in Solomon’s sermon—the first sermon—the results are uncertain and often disheartening, though the labour, and the toil should have brought good things or success. But you never really know. And even if they do come, when it is all said and done, it seems so meaningless. Yet in Christ’s sermon—the second sermon—the results are certain and satisfying, though the means to get them do not appear to be means of success, but ultimately they are. So, there is certainly a great contrast in the message of these two preachers.
- A Similar Conclusion
As a young guy, when reading through the Bible numerous times, I probably never really understood the Book of Ecclesiastes. For as a young Christian in my early teens, I likely had the idea that two plus two should equal four, as it takes life experiences to learn that things are not always the way they should be. As Solomon, in this regard, is absolutely right. Though Solomon, after considering all the disappointments and inconsistencies of life, makes this wonderful conclusion at the end of his sermon.
“The end of the matter, all that has been heard: fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the end of the matter for all mankind. For God will bring every work to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (LSB)
This is a stunning conclusion. Basically, Solomon is saying, yes, life may be very perplexing at times, but in the end, God will determine all things and make all things right. So, we are thankful that Solomon does not throw in the towel or make life into a great big event or fun and games. No, Solomon chooses at the end to look to God and obey Him. And one of the things he takes comfort in is this: that God is in control. He has already acknowledged that God controls the end from the beginning, and therefore, in serving Him, how could this ever be meaningless? This is not dissimilar to the passage we looked at in Romans before I left.
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”
Romans 8:28 (LSB)
Is Paul saying that everyone who places their faith and trust in Christ is guaranteed great days every day? No, certainly not. But Paul was convinced that serving Christ as the Lord of your life will ultimately be for your good, because serving God with a great purpose and passion is a meaningful life. And though the Sermon on the Mount comes from a very different perspective than the Book of Ecclesiastes, this second Preacher comes to a very similar conclusion.
“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:48 (LSB)
And the reason that Jesus said that “therefore” you are to be perfect as Your Heavenly Father is perfect is that ultimately—as upside-down as life may seem—serving and striving to be like the Father will bring ultimate joy and satisfaction. And so, what Jesus will teach us in the Sermon on the Mount is His character as He lived as a human. In other words, how godly character is lived out in a very practical way in this life that will guarantee our ultimate good.
The Sermon on the Mount. One day in the life of Jesus and His disciples, the crowds began to gather, and Jesus, along with His men, went up to a mountain and delivered the most famous of all discourses, the Sermon on the Mount. The Bible gives no information on how the people knew that Jesus would deliver this message, nor do we know the size of the crowd. However, those who heard were treated to such depth of wisdom and truth. Our Bibles give us the indication that it was Jesus and His disciples, as it says he saw the crowds, and His disciples came to Him. Though at the end of the sermon, it says the crowds were amazed at His teaching. It would seem best here to understand that the word “disciples” is certainly not limited to the Twelve, but it may not mean the complete crowds that followed Him—large crowds (Matt 4:25)—but likely included the many who did truly desire to follow Him. And while most of the culture, like ours, was chasing after blessings to find satisfaction, Jesus was teaching them to hunger and thirst after righteousness to find satisfaction. While others were pursuing happiness and desiring to live comfortably, Jesus told them to mourn so that they would be comforted, as we will find over these next eleven weeks the great challenge of following Christ. And Jesus would conclude the sermon with warnings that a person must be certain to enter through the right gate, bear the right fruit, and build on the proper foundation if he was to find life.
Interestingly, the length of the entire sermon would take about ten minutes to deliver. Yet I noticed from (5:1) that He sat down to deliver the sermon, and when He was finished, the crowds were amazed at His words, and they followed Him, for He spoke as one with authority. So, let’s pray before we begin to dig into the most famous of sermons. Lord, the crowds were amazed at Your words, for You spoke as One with authority. So, may we be amazed at Your words as we study these three chapters, and may Your words have absolute authority in our lives. And might the things we learn not only enter our heads so that we might understand correctly and think biblically. But might they also enter our hearts so that we might live correctly and love the right things. And we ask these things in Your name, amen.
Well, what I wish to do this morning is to introduce the Sermon on the Mount by focusing on this one verse. “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt 5:48). Author Steven Kovac states the obvious:
“I know what you’re thinking: nobody’s perfect … The word we translate as perfect is the ancient Greek word telos. It conveys the idea of something or someone’s end goal or purpose. At this moment, Jesus is forcing us to consider why we exist. What are we here for? What is our purpose?”
Steven Kovak, Beyond the Edge of the Water: Reclaiming Biblical Discipleship for a Rising Generation 32.
Patrick Hartin defines this as wholeness, meaning “to attain God’s original intention or will. The perfect one is the one who has been obedient to God’s will and has carried out God’s commands to the fullest possible extent.” The great question of both listeners then and readers today is: how could Jesus demand such perfection? For is Jesus referring to a present perfection or future perfection? Yet how could Jesus be referring to perfection during a lifetime, knowing the human heart? How would Jesus expect anyone—apart from Himself—to be perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect? The answers to these questions really set the stage for the Sermon on the Mount, and are absolutely integral in our understanding of the Sermon on the Mount. Was it legal morality alongside the OT Law or apart from the Law? Was it so demanding that the Christian would look upon it as the ideal, but not the expected? Or will it be the new norm in the Millennial Kingdom when Christ reigns and not necessarily applicable to today? Or is the Sermon on the Mount simply the goal of every believer as he strives to be like Christ? Alfred Edersheim, in his masterful work The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, wrote this regarding the Sermon on the Mount. And I want you to look at this carefully as you consider your thoughts. He wrote:
“It opens with the ten Beatitudes, which are the New Testament counterpart to the Ten Commandments. These present to us, not the observance of the Law written on stone, but the realization of that Law, which, by the Spirit, is written on the fleshly [tablets] of the heart.”
Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, vol. 1 529.
Though I greatly enjoy Edersheim’s writings, as he is excellent. He was a Jew who came to Christ. And yet he seems to suggest that the Sermon on the Mount is the “new Law” or a “set of laws” to come alongside the Old Testament Law, conflicting with much of the New Testament, especially the writings of Paul. So, I would disagree with Edersheim. John MacArthur wrote:
“Morality on its own is no solution; it damns just like immorality. Morality cannot turn the stony heart of flesh; it cannot break the chains of sin, and it cannot reconcile us to God. In that sense, morality alone is as empty to save as any satanic religion.”
John MacArthur, Christ’s Call to Reform the Church: Timeless Demands from the Lord to His People 10.
I mentioned to the elders that I am so grateful to be able to get through almost the first eight chapters of Romans before tackling this Sermon on the Mount, as it has given me a better understanding of our view of the Old Testament Law. And therefore I agree with MacArthur. Therefore, it would be good to quickly review some of the things we have been learning in Romans. Remember the Apostle Paul gave a reason for the Law. He wrote:
“Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are in the Law, so that every mouth may be shut and all the world may become accountable to God.”
Romans 3:19 (LSB)
We also looked at (1 Tim 1:8-9) “But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, knowing this, that law is not made for a righteous person,” but that it was made to condemn the sinner. Therefore, if the Old Testament Law was written so that people would realize their guilt before God—and it was—then would not an additional law in the Sermon on the Mount simply re-emphasize this further, especially since the Sermon on the Mount demands even more from us than the Law actually does. William Fiess correctly wrote:
“Nobody enters into the kingdom of God by works, whether those works are prior, during, or after salvation.”
William Fiess, “Those Who are Counted Worthy” 68
So, the Sermon on the Mount was not written to give us “another Law” to go alongside the Old Testament Law or to replace the Old Testament Law. So then, was the Sermon on the Mount written as an ideal way in which to live, but not necessarily the expected way for the followers of Christ to live? This too seems to be a contradiction, as Jesus placed so many conditions in His message and never indicated that they did not apply to His followers or to us today. He spoke about a blessed life in the Beatitudes and gave real promises for such obedience. In Matthew 5:11, Jesus talked about real insults and real persecution, and in the very next verse, He used the example of the prophets who were also persecuted for living such a life. He also spoke about believers being salt and light and said that their righteousness must be greater than the Pharisees’ (5:20). These are serious threats if there were no concrete expectations. He later gave illustrations (Matt 5) of challenges to the Christian of forgiveness, praying, and loving. Quite meaningless if they had no practical and real application. And near the end of His sermon, Jesus said:
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and does them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock”
Matthew 7:24 (LSB)
Would this be a real exhortation to the Christian if it had no real expected application? Now some, such as Donn Kittle, believe that the Sermon on the Mount is not applicable at this time during the church age, but would only become relevant during the Millennial Kingdom. Kittle wrote:
“The Sermon on the Mount is the manifesto of the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens, which is to come upon the earth in the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus.”
Donn Kittle, “Matthew: Messiah’s Authentication and Opposition” 12
I would disagree. John Darby leaned in this direction as well, which I disagree with, that the Sermon on the Mount was primarily, he said, for those entering the kingdom. Daniel Wiley wrote:
“For Darby, the Sermon ‘preached the good news of the kingdom’ in which Jesus lays down its principles, describes the character of those who would enjoy its privileges, and gives positive direction for the government of their conduct.”
Daniel Wiley, “Interpretations and Applications of the Sermon on the Mount: A Historical Survey” 11
However, during the Millennial Kingdom—the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth—this would be a difficult understanding considering the conditions on earth during that time. Revelation 20 speaks of this period as a time when Satan would be bound. Yet in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke of those who compromised the truth because of the evil one (Matt 5:37). And He encouraged believers to pray that they would be delivered from Satan (Matt 6:13). These would be odd concerns if this period were during a time when Satan was bound. Montgomery Boice correctly notes that there is absolutely no mention of the Millennial Kingdom in the Sermon on the Mount, as the illustrations are full of sinners, hypocrites, and thieves—a landscape that is quite different from a Christ-centred Millennial Kingdom.
Finally, then, is the Sermon on the Mount the goal of every believer as he strives to be like Christ? This would seem to be the proper understanding of our Saviour’s message, that there is the expectation and joy of Christians to strive for this perfection. And I believe that what we gain as readers of the Sermon on the Mount is that we gain the knowledge of what perfection looks like, as I would say that unless we had, for example, the Beatitudes before us, not only would we be imperfect, but we would not even know what perfection was. In other words, if you asked someone on the street how they should live, no one but the believer would ever start reciting the Sermon on the Mount. And the perfection that we see in the Sermon on the Mount is the character of Christ. Martyn Lloyd-Jones correctly wrote:
“[W]e are not looking at men confronting one another, but we are looking at men face-to-face with God. And if one feels anything in the presence of God save an utter poverty of spirit, it ultimately means you have never faced Him.”
- Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount 36
Therefore, Lloyd-Jones would agree that saying we could be perfect in obedience to Christ is instantly shot down when we see the Old Testament Law or as we might consider the principles taught in the Sermon on the Mount. For the Bible is very clear that the Law condemns us because of our sin. This is why Paul said:
“[N]ot having a righteousness of my own which is from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God upon faith.”
Philippians 3:9 (LSB)
See, what we had to have, we could not create or supply or perform—God freely gives us. Namely, His own righteousness, the righteousness of God. For this reason, Paul could write:
“But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe.”
Romans 3:21-22a (LSB)
Montgomery Boice brings up a tremendous key in Jesus’ words, writing that we cannot gain a full theology from the Sermon on the Mount alone. For he said that it would be easy to read the Sermon on the Mount and believe that we are expected to reach a kind of perfection. But the pursuit is vastly beyond us, as we do not possess the means to accomplish this impossible task. So, listen to this statement: Jesus said that our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees (Matt 5:20), because we need another kind of righteousness.
However, there is not only the perfection of righteousness that we have received in Christ, but there is also the continual striving for that perfection. Yes, the key term here is striving. And this ought to be our understanding and view of the Sermon on the Mount. But again, we need to put up some red flags when even speaking of this striving. For this striving to be perfect can never and will never replace the perfection we have in Christ. Do you understand that? Our acceptance by God is based upon Christ’s perfection and not our imperfect perfection, if that makes sense. Yet the believer who has been transformed by Christ has already received the perfect righteousness from God. That believer’s life becomes different. In fact, faith itself, given to us as a gift from God, enables us to know who Christ is. Prior to faith, we did not know that Christ was God. We did not know that Christ was our Saviour. But we also did not know that Christ was Lord. Therefore, the gospel is powerful. For the realization that Christ is God and Saviour and Lord has a powerful effect upon the believer, a drastic change. John Stott quoted Martin Luther, who nailed it, saying:
The Sermon on the Mount is not addressing how a person becomes a Christian, “but only about the works and fruit that no one can do unless he is already a Christian and in a state of grace.”
John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount 20
Therefore, the statement by Christ to be perfect relates to the believer’s position in Christ, but it also reflects the ongoing sanctification of the believer to be growing in Christ. And the bottom line, as Charles Nathan Ridlehoover wrote, is that “followers of Jesus are obligated to follow his teaching…why? Because Jesus Christ is Lord.” In other words, we are obligated to both hear from the Master and obey our Master. These two principles must be kept front and center as we study over these eleven weeks: #1 – We are positionally perfect in Christ; and #2 – We must strive to be like Him. These two truths must be paramount in our minds to properly understand the purpose of the Sermon on the Mount. Again, what was required for our salvation was completely fulfilled by Christ, a perfect righteousness lived by our Saviour. So now, as believers, we are no longer under the Law, as we have been freed from the Law. But we have been set free to serve and to follow our Lord and Master Jesus Christ and to strive to be like Him. The ultimate goal of every Christian is to follow the Master. And the Sermon on the Mount is our guide to learn how to do that correctly.
Hearing from Jesus, following Jesus, and obeying Jesus is our only hope not to live—as Solomon wrote—a meaningless life. But it is our only hope to have a blessed life both now and in the life to come. Amen? And over the course of this series, we will likely all become uncomfortable as the Lord, by His teaching, will greatly stretch us. Let’s pray. Father, we come to You this morning with the desire to become like Christ, as You have shared with Your disciples what a Christian truly looks like. So, may our eyes and ears be open so that we might hear from the Master. And may our hearts be willing to do what You have called us to do in the Sermon on the Mount. And all God’s people said, amen. ManuscriptManuscript