INTRODUCTION

The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5-7 is Jesus' first discipleship training of his new followers. The usual approach we take to a teaching passage such as the Sermon on the Mount is with the expectation of building up our spirituality. However, Jesus' agenda is rarely in line with our expectations.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal live. John 3:16 (NIV)

This discipleship training of Jesus' followers was not designed to build up His new disciples. Rather, it was a sermon designed to deconstruct what spirituality they had already erected. True spiritually for fallen creatures can never involve building up, but must always be focused on diminishing.

The greatest man who was ever born of a woman, according to Jesus, was John the Baptist. (Mt. 11:11) At the pinnacle of his ministry, John the Baptist spoke six words that summarized the whole of his ministry and the focus of his spiritual life. Speaking of Jesus, John said, "He must increase, but I must decrease."

THE SETTING

In my meditations on the Sermon I began to realize that the further I stepped back the more clearly I could see the intent of the Sermon. This included examining the superstructure of the Sermon as well as looking at its place within the whole of the Gospel of Matthew. The second thing I tried to undercover is the historical setting of the Sermon. These two pieces, which will be examined in reverse order, offer us two lenses through which to view the subversive nature of the Sermon.

The Sermon on the Mount is spoken to people who were steeped in the Jewish mindset. With the exile and the end of the Davidic throne the Jewish people could no longer stake their religious claim on being God's people based on the Temple and the continuation of the line of David. Rather, they were forced to look back to where they had gone wrong. The words of the prophets resonated in their ears and they realized that their downfall was in their failure to follow the Torah. So for the next five hundred years leading up the time of Jesus, the focus of much of Judaism was placed on obedience to the Torah. It permeated all facets of religious and secular life. It was so pervasive and persuasive that obedience to Torah became blurred with worship of Torah. However, the worship of Torah that seemed to dominate the Pharisaical mindset was not one of adoration, but rather as one worships a pagan God--it was a relationship of manipulation and control. They twisted the law to serve their need to feel righteous and holy....more...

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Sermon on the Mount Bible Study - Jesus Discipleship ... by Matthew Daniel Freeman