Matthew 5-7--The Sermon on the Mount

The Sermon on the Mount....where to start? To address every single part of this teaching of Jesus would take several more, lengthy posts. There is so much that Matthew crams into these three chapters. It is by far the most extensive teaching of Jesus recorded in the gospels. Many scholars agree that what Matthew presents is likely a summary of several days' worth of teaching by Jesus--almost like Jesus was teaching a class and what we have are someone's study notes.
Despite the length and amount of teaching that goes on in this chapters, they are nevertheless crammed with practical life advice. If we go back and reread some of the issues with which Jesus deals, my guess is they are things we have all dealt with at some point in our life and faith journey. Teaching about prayer--check. Dealing with anger, lust, worry, money, criticizing others--check, check, check, check, and check. These are things we all deal with; some of us may even struggle with one or more of these issues. This teaching of Jesus doesn't require some great theological understanding and it is not taught in the cryptic way Jesus sometimes uses; it is straight up life advice--living a life that is pleasing to God and providing God's perspective on some of the issues with which we deal as human beings.
Woven through these different teachings is a strand of humility. Jesus frequently uses the phrase "don't be like the hypocrites". The hypocrites to which Jesus is referring are those who want to use their good deeds--their righteousness--to draw attention to themselves. Jesus says that this attention is their reward. A life of faith, though, is one that is lived in humility; doing the right things but not making a big show about it.
If I were to pick two verses that captured the essence of the entire Sermon on the Mount, I would have to pick 6:33 and 7:24. In 6:33 Jesus teaches the crowds, and us, that in all we do, our first aim should be the Kingdom of God; everything else will fall into place after that. In 7:24, Jesus teaches that wisdom is hearing and putting into practice what Jesus has just taught. These two verses seem to sum up nicely the entirety of what Jesus is talking about, and what he is talking about is a life lived in humble faith.
As you read the Sermon on the Mount, here are my questions for you to ponder: How can you aim for the Kingdom of God today? How can you put into practice the words that Jesus speaks and the lessons Jesus teaches? God bless!